Feeling the urge to cast a line into the water, or to sleep in a tent high in the mountains where a million stars drift overhead? It’s summer, time to get away from cities and pavement and head for your favorite outdoor spot.
Whether it’s camping, fishing, hiking or hunting, outdoor enthusiasts will probably end up at FKS Outdoor Sports to outfit their expeditions.
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Owner Fred Harland can be found behind the counter most days, greeting many of his customers by name. Harland is himself a sportsman, and the lack of a sporting goods store in Sonoma where locals could go to get any of the myriad essential items needed by outdoorsmen (and outdoorswomen), prompted him to open FKS three years ago with partners Kevin Lely and Sam Mercer. Harland has since bought out Lely and Mercer passed away last winter.
He waited for the space he wanted, the building next to the Broadway Market, positive that it was the ideal site.
“People can pull in with their boat and park, and access to the highways is easy from our location,” said Harland. Judging by the continuous flow of vehicles in the parking lot, he chose correctly. Rigs hauling powerboats and high-wheeled trucks with winches to pull them over the mountains park alongside family minivans.
A surprising number of women find their way to FKS, and many men bring in their kids on the weekends. The kids are usually subdued at first, but soon get interested in their surroundings. They are awed by the trophies that line the walls, the largest of which is a buffalo shot by Sam Sebastiani. Fred has a fake deer head among the real trophies and can activate it with a microphone, causing it to “talk” and move its head. This goofy spectacle is a big hit with the kids and even catches some adults unaware.
Many of the women who come in are avid anglers, campers and hikers. Veda Lewis, a Sonoma resident, needed to get a better grade of rod and reel for the fishing season.
“I had a pretty flimsy setup,” said Lewis, “and the people here spent a lot of time helping me find the right gear and instructing me.”
Lewis ended up taking Harland’s advice to fish at Cuttings Wharf on the Napa River.
“I took my 89-year-old grandmother, who uses a walker, and we went to the public pier, sat her in a chair and helped her with the pole and hoped for the best,” said Lewis. “Now it’s all she talks about, so we got her a license and are going fishing again.
FKS also gets a large Latino clientele. Many Latinos fish and hunt in the Sonoma and Napa regions, not just as a sport but to continue traditions of bringing home fresh game and fish to their families. “Our Hispanic customers appreciate the quality in outdoor shoes and clothing and in the fishing and hunting supplies we carry,” said Harland.
June, July, and August are peak months for camping, and lots of men who used to rough it, come in to get cook sets, tents and even portable showers to make the outback more comfortable for their families. A customer remarked that his daughter was taking him camping and Harland inquired how old she was.
“Three, and it’ll be her first time in the mountains,” said the proud dad. Detailed road and recreation maps and atlases can help families decide on a route and destination. Jo Dziubek comes in each year and gets a gift certificate for her husband that he can use to get his fishing or hunting license. “It’s his time, and I want him to enjoy himself,” said Dziubek.
Fishing is a popular activity year-round and the summer months bring out trout in the mountain streams, and, in Sonoma Creek, the Napa River and nearby sloughs, stripers and sturgeon abound. FKS has every possible lure, bait and attractant to give the anglers a chance at catching these wily creatures. From “Balls of Fire” fish eggs to “Last Supper” egg cure (“The last thing they’re gonna eat before you bonk ‘em on the head”), there are more ways to attract a fish than were ever invented to attract a mate.
Crabbing season and crawfish trawling require traps, nets, and the usual assortment of attractants, including “Smelly Jelly” and “Gravy.” Maps that show streams, rivers and bay regions, and feature underwater contours are a necessity for experienced and novice fishermen, according to Harland.
For hunters, FKS has a large complement of rifles and ammunition, decoys, duck calls, waders and camouflage apparel – even camouflaged rifles. There are dog-training whistles and game bags, knives, binoculars, day-glo orange vests and hats (in case Dick Cheney visits), and a plethora of attractants and repellants—such as Bear Attack Deterrent (effective up to 35 feet).
From angleworms to zappers, FKS has a thousand useful things for your outdoor adventures.
FKS Outdoor Sports
20525 Broadway
707.939.8002
Mon – Sat 7 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.;
Sun 6 a.m. – 4 p.m.
