Rivers of a Lost Coast

North Coast Legends

Matsui Okisaka

Matsui Okisaka, a neighborly member of the Central Valley’s Asian American community, was always willing to provide a hot-meal to one in need. Kim Yip, a fellow coastal angler, described ‘Oki’ as a “real steady figure, very much appreciated by the Asian American community in the Valley.” Kim went on, “ . . and he was one of the best fishermen on the coast. He had fish sense, lot’s of it!” When Oki wasn’t tending to his restaurant/bar, he was a regular on California rivers from the American to the Smith. An extremely successful bait and fly fisherman, he was famous for his crouched shoulder fishing stance; an unmistakable early morning silhouette on coastal rivers.

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