@holtad I appreciate the info. Yeah, I personally have never fished anywhere above Irene Rinehart Park, only below it so I am excited to see some new area. I will definitely note to keep some of the golden stone flies handy just incase. But I appreciate the tips and info! Yeah I have a ton of pats handy so I will make sure to add a few pad or caddis nymphs. Thanks again!
Good observation. My friend makes a big stupid deal every time I mention it. And that's his Lavro, so I didn't have a lot of cards to play. When we float together in smaller craft I tell him that we just ain't going if he won't put the damn thing on while we are floating, and he groans and grumbles and complains but he does it. He made a comment before this trip, "Bring a PFD for yourself," and I knew exactly what he meant. And so I did bring my inflatable PFD, and I wore it.
Definitely sandwich priority, Boot. Get real.
Had I been carrying my Panini machine (the Avantco PG100GS Commercial) wading the Yak years ago, I may not have made it, that's about 12 pounds of unwieldy metal tipping the scales. PLus I think the circuitry wouldn't have taken a dunking, unlike say the Wolfgang Puck refurbished which may already have taken said dunking and lived...
Tends to happen time from time.
If it's low and clear and sunny, the fish were probably in heavier water with some chop, like where you hooked that rainbow. Gotta feel safe somehow!Yesterday we floated the Upper Yakima, putting in at Teanaway Junction and taking out at Green Bridge, and man… it gave us the business. Extremely low, clear water and some pretty tough fishing conditions. Personally, we didn’t see much in the way of risers and the bite definitely wasn’t on for us.
We managed to hook a few smaller cutthroat tucked into some of the deeper pools, but we had to really work for every fish. Had one random but awesome hookup on a solid rainbow while drifting through some heavier water/rapids — only to lose it right at the boat. Tough and humbling day, but hey… still beats a day at the office!
That said, what an absolutely beautiful stretch of river. The scenery alone makes that float worth it. Also, are they planning on developing on one of the stretches? It looked like the property belonged to Wallace Ranch, but looked like they were starting to mark lots. Wild.
For flies, we mainly ran Pats Rubber Legs in black and brown (sizes 4–8). We played around with sizing quite a bit, and the bigger rainbow actually ate the size 6 Pats. Underneath we rotated through a size 16 pheasant tail, a PMD, Duracell type of flies and a Brush Hog.
It sounds like the day before, though, the Upper was actually fishing pretty solid from what I’ve heard. Makes me wonder if it had something to do with the dam flows or water conditions changing overnight? Curious if anyone else noticed anything similar. Also could be user error
That makes sense, more chop less visibility! Gotta hide somewhere! But man, did that section/ day humble us! Love/ hate those days for sure! Still beats any day in the office plus got to learn a little bit. Waiting to plan now round two on that stretch for some hopeful redemption. haha
The canyon area last time we fished it was solid, just yesterday was one of those days on a new to me stretch of river! You ought to give it another try!
It helps to have stable flows. It's not uncommon that the days of and right after significant flow changes make the bite go off a bit. I think we both fished on the transition days right after big changes--the 24th and 27th. Nice days to be out on the water, but not the days I'd pick to fish based on the hydrograph, if I could pick. Mostly, I don't get to pick.Yesterday we floated the Upper Yakima, putting in at Teanaway Junction and taking out at Green Bridge, and man… it gave us the business. Extremely low, clear water and some pretty tough fishing conditions. Personally, we didn’t see much in the way of risers and the bite definitely wasn’t on for us.
We managed to hook a few smaller cutthroat tucked into some of the deeper pools, but we had to really work for every fish. Had one random but awesome hookup on a solid rainbow while drifting through some heavier water/rapids — only to lose it right at the boat. Tough and humbling day, but hey… still beats a day at the office!
That said, what an absolutely beautiful stretch of river. The scenery alone makes that float worth it. Also, are they planning on developing on one of the stretches? It looked like the property belonged to Wallace Ranch, but looked like they were starting to mark lots. Wild.
For flies, we mainly ran Pats Rubber Legs in black and brown (sizes 4–8). We played around with sizing quite a bit, and the bigger rainbow actually ate the size 6 Pats. Underneath we rotated through a size 16 pheasant tail, a PMD, Duracell type of flies and a Brush Hog.
It sounds like the day before, though, the Upper was actually fishing pretty solid from what I’ve heard. Makes me wonder if it had something to do with the dam flows or water conditions changing overnight? Curious if anyone else noticed anything similar. Also could be user error
Summer is notorious for getting high numbers of small fish. You're way more likely to find bigger fish in the spring and fall, but are more subject to the whims of the flows/weather. Summer is a great time to take kids if you want to ensure they get into a few fish
This is true!
That was my experience as well. Was thinking river left would be the way to go. Will be interested what this looks like at low water. For some reason I love that stretch.