One day on the Yakima River in Washington

[sstasiak]

I spent the past week in and around the Seattle area for work, and extended my trip to do some fishing. I had only planned on fishing Thursday, but wound up getting done with work early on Wednesday...after finding out that one of the guys I was meeting out there was a fisherman, I soon got some info on a nearby trout stream...the Snoqualmie River.

I only got to fish this river for about an hour and a half before dark, but with the very warm weather, I thought it might be productive. The air temp was 49 degrees and I found the river at a nice flow, but way off color. There was an intense midge hatch the entire time I was there, and I could only imagine what the fishing might've been like if that water was clear. I didn't catch anything, but got to take some pictures and see beautiful country.

On the western side of the Cascade Mountains, everything is extremely green, with evergreens and moss covering everything.

The next day I had a guided trip on the Yakima river, on the eastern side of the Cascades. The Yakima is the only Blue Ribbon trout stream in the entire state. This side of the mountains is an area that looks more like a desert, and is much different than the evergreen forests around Seattle.

We started fishing at 8:30am and until around 1pm I had caught 8 whitefish and my first Westslope cutthroat in the 15" range...then someone flipped a switch and I was on trout the rest of the afternoon. With bald eagles around every bend of the river, there was always something going on...and most of it was hooking up with rainbows and cutthroats. By the time we got off the river at around 6pm, I had landed close to 20 trout. There weren't any brutes, but all the fish were active and strong. These fish were eating golden stone nymphs, san juan worms, wet flies, and eggs. Here are some of the better fish of the day, and my view on the way home.

Cutthroat

 

[coolkyle]

Nice pics! Looks like you had fun. So you know, the Snoqualmie (looks like the Middle Fork there) forks pretty much shut down from the end of fall until July 5th, when summer begins. If you are out there during the summer or fall, head up the middle fork. You can catch 60 rainbows and cutts on dries on a good day.

 

[MACFLY]

I spent the past week in and around the Seattle area for work, and extended my trip to do some fishing. I had only planned on fishing Thursday, but wound up getting done with work early on Wednesday...after finding out that one of the guys I was meeting out there was a fisherman, I soon got some info on a nearby trout stream...the Snoqualmie River.

I only got to fish this river for about an hour and a half before dark, but with the very warm weather, I thought it might be productive. The air temp was 49 degrees and I found the river at a nice flow, but way off color. There was an intense midge hatch the entire time I was there, and I could only imagine what the fishing might've been like if that water was clear. I didn't catch anything, but got to take some pictures and see beautiful country.

On the western side of the Cascade Mountains, everything is extremely green, with evergreens and moss covering everything.

The next day I had a guided trip on the Yakima river, on the eastern side of the Cascades. The Yakima is the only Blue Ribbon trout stream in the entire state. This side of the mountains is an area that looks more like a desert, and is much different than the evergreen forests around Seattle.

We started fishing at 8:30am and until around 1pm I had caught 8 whitefish and my first Westslope cutthroat in the 15" range...then someone flipped a switch and I was on trout the rest of the afternoon. With bald eagles around every bend of the river, there was always something going on...and most of it was hooking up with rainbows and cutthroats. By the time we got off the river at around 6pm, I had landed close to 20 trout. There weren't any brutes, but all the fish were active and strong. These fish were eating golden stone nymphs, san juan worms, wet flies, and eggs. Here are some of the better fish of the day, and my view on the way home.

Cutthroat

You managed to avoid some of the crappy weather they have been having this year. Thats a great day on the river. By the way we dont call them whitefish...We call them freshwater bonefish
Congrats

 

[sstasiak]

Nice pics! Looks like you had fun. So you know, the Snoqualmie (looks like the Middle Fork there) forks pretty much shut down from the end of fall until July 5th, when summer begins. If you are out there during the summer or fall, head up the middle fork. You can catch 60 rainbows and cutts on dries on a good day.

Why does the river shut down for that whole time?

 

[coolkyle]

It shuts down because a river that during the summer flows between 150-300 cfs averages around 1,000 cfs and can be higher than 10,000 cfs during the wet season. Also, the Pratt River, a MF tributary, is known to puke mud quite easily. The only time this river is clear during the wet season is during periods of dry, freezing weather which are rare in Western Washington.