Central WA's husky rainbows 2/22/2024

[Starman77]

Headed over the pass on Thursday to see what I could find over in central WA. Lots of fog along the drive, but from what stillwater I could see, most of the ice is now gone. Here's a photo of Dry Falls from the Interpretive Center (but that is not where I fished!):



Looks like Dry Falls will be ice-free for the March 1st opener, regardless of the Seeger Effect.

Fishing was tough with the cold water temperatures (42 degrees where I was fishing). Only hooked 3 rainbows, landing 2 of those, but the two I landed were quite husky. This 18 incher weighed 4.5 pounds:



The other one was 21 inches, but 6.75 pounds. Since there was no one else around, I tried to take a selfie with the fish, but need to take lessons from Billy on how to take selfies:



Hooked all the fish in shallow water that was only one to two feet deep. Used a small, dark brown fly to entice the fish:



Long drive, for sure, but where else are you going to find 6.75 pound rainbows?

Rex

 

[SurfnFish]

well done! your pics have me jonsing for opening day on Crane Prairie

 

[Robert Engleheart]

That second fish picture looks like a cuttbow, they get chunky. Am I correct in thinking they are sterile, thus growing fast?

 

[Starman77]

That second fish picture looks like a cuttbow, they get chunky. Am I correct in thinking they are sterile, thus growing fast?

I don't really know, although I also thought it was a cutt-bow hybrid due to that orange slash under the chin, but all the other appearances are typical rainbow.

 

[skyriver]

Chunky! Well done!
I bought a scale this winter just for such chunky fish. Which means I probably won't catch any now. Haha! I actually had carp in mind when I bought it.
The only fish I can usually guess accurately are steelhead and even then it can be just that...a guess. Generally, 27=7, 28=8, 29=9, 30=10, then it gets blurry, but usually a 38=20.

Your 18" fish of 4.5 is crazy! Man, those must have felt heavy on the rod.

 

[Islander]

Great report and beautiful fish! That Simi Seal material spends a lot of time at the end of my rods.

 

[Starman77]

I have a small handheld scale for weighing trout, which I think is fairly accurate. For larger salmon, I have a digital scale, but I don't think it is all that accurate. The two fish I landed were retained, so that's how I was able to weigh them, so it wasn't just guessing.

The 18 inchers didn't feel that heavy, but the 21 incher (6.75 pounds) felt heavy on the rod (I was using 3X tippet and was concerned that the old tippet material might snap), but it was especially heavy in the net (I had to use both hands). I was afraid it was going to tear my new Measure Net bag. A month ago, another 21 incher broke through my old Measure Net bag and escaped (a close distance release).

 

[Lue Taylor]

Nice fish Rex

 

[Hobbyranch]

Beautiful Fish!

 

[Shawn Seeger]

That is s beautiful fish! Great job on getting out early, before the "opener". Thanks for sharing.

 

[Matt B]

I don't really know, although I also thought it was a cutt-bow hybrid due to that orange slash under the chin, but all the other appearances are typical rainbow.

It is not uncommon for those Columbia basin redband rainbows to show yellow or orange slashes but it’s maybe notable that they’re apparently using a local stock in the hatchery and resulting in some really nice looking fish. Great catches!

Native Trout Fly Fishing: Columbia Basin Redband Trout

This page is all about the Redband Trout native to the Columbia and Fraser River systems.

www.nativetroutflyfishing.com

 

[Brian in OR.]

Since you retained them was there any stomach content?

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Way to go Rex! Those were worth the cold feet and gas!

 

[Starman77]

Since you retained them was there any stomach content?

The 18 incher had a half dozen very tiny midge pupa way down deep in the stomach, but otherwise it had not been eating anything. The 21 incher had nothing at all in the stomach. A month ago I had also retained some fish and they also had nothing in their stomachs. Of course, it is winter and there aren't many insect hatches to speak of, but it is surprising that the trout don't find crayfish or leeches or other natural forms of food. It is also possible that the trout throw up their food when being played, which might explain finding nothing in their stomachs.

 

[dep]

you da man Rex. awesome job in getting out.

 

[Starman77]

Here's some of that 21 incher after I smoked the meat, and then I removed the skin, the dark stuff (fat line or bloodline) along the lateral line and the pin bones:



Definitely one of the best-tasting trout I've retained in WA; very high fat content, nice salmon color and good flavor. Going to use some as a salad topping for dinner tonight; Smoked Trout Caesar Salad. My wife doesn't like to eat fish very much, but she sure likes this smoked trout. Anything to make my wife happy.

 

[Tim L]

Long drive, for sure, but where else are you going to find 6.75 pound rainbows?

I would have driven a lot farther for those two fish. So would you!
Well done Rex

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Anything to make my wife happy.

Yeah right Rex……let the rest of us know what that secret is……

 

[Starman77]

After spending a week down in California, I was chomping on the bit to get back out fishing. Decided to go back to central WA on Friday 3/8/2024 to try for those husky rainbows again. I was the only one fishing this area, but maybe for a good reason, as in the first 2.5 hours I didn't even have a single hit. Later I thought I heard a fish splash behind me, but it could have been one of the many diving ducks, but I headed over in that direction to make some casts in that area, and was rewarded with a solid hookup to this fish:



I retained this fish, and it was a 23 incher that weighed 7.75 pounds, a real fattie. Glad I brought my salmon net this time...

Fishing remained tough for most of the day. I hooked a small fish, maybe around 13 inches, and then a skinny 14 incher that looked like it had been caught and released several times. Near sunset, I finally hooked another good fish, but lost it. Soon thereafter I hooked into and retained a 21 incher that weighed 6.25 pounds, which was a good way to end the day.

All 3 of the big fish I hooked on this outing were again in shallow water of less than 3 feet. Why they are in the shallow water and not the deeper water I don't know, as they don't seem to be eating, and their stomachs were totally empty. All the fish were hooked with that fly pattern I showed earlier, using my RIO Aqualux II clear intermediate line, casting and stripping.

Long drive to get out there, but worth it, don't you think? Where else in WA are you going to hook into a rainbow of this size? There aren't a lot of fish out there in this area, but it only takes one or two rainbows of this size to make one's day.

Rex

 

[Irafly]

Rex, those bigger fish in shallow water are likely pre-spawn attempts. I’ve seen a lot of that behavior this time of year through the years.