Yakima River

[Smalma]

When I fished the "yak" regularly the March brown was by far my favorite hatch. Producing specular catches, both in numbers and size. Fish adults were often a poor choice with either emergers or cripples being much more reliable. At times the most effective pattern would change from spot to spot or even fish to fish. Regardless being able to achieve long drag free floats were essential.

Some great times that until I found more reliable fisheries closer to home were the most awaited period of the year.

Curt

 

[BryanG]

I went out today, primarily out of stubbornness/desperation, as I hadn't been trout fishing since October and I had a hall pass from the wife. Did Green Bridge to Diversion. Put in around noon. Winds were ROUGH and it was probably 15 degrees cooler than yesterday. Fished dries all day. Salmon flies are out. Not in an abundance, but they're out. I had one hit on the salmon fly late in the afternoon. Caddis are also out. Trout were keying in on those. Several nice hits on the caddis. That all started around 2:30 or so. I had hits regularly from them until I got to the takeout around 6:00. Would have fished longer but the W was making things unproductive.

I can only imagine that if the "W" settles down, the next week or so is going to be awesome. Alas, I won't be there, as work and little league duties in Pugetropolis will keep me on the west side for awhile, but I'm hoping to hear some solid reports soon.

Crazy silly wind today, but with my wife and I both working full time plus having 2 kids (13 y/o girl and 10 y/o boy) who are super engaged in multiple team sports, I'm just thankful to get out. I probably won't be able to get out again on the river until the flows jump to summer time levels, so I guess it's back to building up some marital capital so I can spend it all in the Fall when the flows drop again!

 

[jeradjames]

First day of consistent dry fly fishing I’ve had.
Some willing participants.

 

[johnnyboy]

Went upriver today. Quite a few salmonflies around. At around 2pm or so, there were a ton of mayflies that were like size 12 but had a very reddish hue. I’m still new to this but I think they were March browns?

I hooked into my first big Yak fish today, but it came off right at the net. I get nervous fighting fish of that size and try to get them in quickly because I don’t want to hurt the fish, but some would say I horse them. How long do you guys fight a solid fish? Im using 5x tippet out there.

 

[nelsony]

One thing is the hook set, if you're confident they're well hooked, you don't have to get them in that quickly. I fish streamers almost exclusively and have a feel if I've strip set properly. I also use an oversized net for the largest fish I might encounter, so if it's an extended play I can revive them comfortably before release.

For example, this 18inch rainbow l caught earlier this week looks rather small in this net but glad I had it.
The other thing is tippet size. I've never found Yakima fish to be tippet shy and typically use 4x. I even used 3x tippet for years, and I really couldn't tell any difference (again, this is all streamers, 5x may be better for dries). If you know your tippet may stand up to a heavy fish, then you can horse them in a little more.

I provide these suggestions having learned the hard way Grasshopper.

 

[nelsony]

The net in the photo is the Stubby Lunker from Rising Fishing. It can net a salmon comfortably. As an aside, the handle functions as a flask but I wait until afterwards to imbibe. I've thought of filling it with M&Ms for the field though.

 

[jeradjames]

I think they were March Browns I saw the same thing on Monday.
I used 5x earlier in the spring but have been using 4x for all nymphs and 3x if I’m throwing a bigger bug like a salmonfly. Streamers I just use a straight shot of 4-5 ft of 12lb maxima so I will play them a little more confidently.

 

[Adrian M]

I went out today, primarily out of stubbornness/desperation, as I hadn't been trout fishing since October and I had a hall pass from the wife. Did Green Bridge to Diversion. Put in around noon. Winds were ROUGH and it was probably 15 degrees cooler than yesterday. Fished dries all day. Salmon flies are out. Not in an abundance, but they're out. I had one hit on the salmon fly late in the afternoon. Caddis are also out. Trout were keying in on those. Several nice hits on the caddis. That all started around 2:30 or so. I had hits regularly from them until I got to the takeout around 6:00. Would have fished longer but the W was making things unproductive.

I can only imagine that if the "W" settles down, the next week or so is going to be awesome. Alas, I won't be there, as work and little league duties in Pugetropolis will keep me on the west side for awhile, but I'm hoping to hear some solid reports soon.

Crazy silly wind today, but with my wife and I both working full time plus having 2 kids (13 y/o girl and 10 y/o boy) who are super engaged in multiple team sports, I'm just thankful to get out. I probably won't be able to get out again on the river until the flows jump to summer time levels, so I guess it's back to building up some marital capital so I can spend it all in the Fall when the flows drop again!

You’re speaking my life.

 

[jeradjames]

View attachment 152820

That is a striking bow. Was that in the upper section? I've found one area in particular with primarily heavily spotted and colored up rainbows but none as spotted as that one. Almost looks like some coastal cutthroat I've seen.

 

[Dave G]

So I have about 15 years experience rowing, but have now only rowed the Yakima twice. Once from the KOA to Ringer (Is this the Farmlands stretch?) and now from Cle Elum to above the diversion dam. I have never rowed the canyon.

There is one tight spot right below the boat launch where you have to ship your oars and bounce between some wood. Easy to line it up right and the flows are easy. After that it's about as easy as a float as I have experience with, but I row a lot of pretty technical high gradient stuff in inflatables for fun so take that with a grain of salt. A couple spots someone might get in trouble if they're not paying attention or incompetent. Lots of very nice water.

View attachment 150554

That point you've circled is the site of the former log jam. Some years ago I liked to wade a circular route, starting at that same put in. I'd walk upriver just a bit and cross over, then I'd fish down to the log jam, and cross just upriver from it. (Looking back this may have not been the brightest thing I've ever done, seeing that the consequences of loosing my footing could have been fatal...) Then I'd fish along the main channel just past the log jam. I'd return via the side channel where it rejoins the main channel. I'd fish back up to the same crossing point and back to my car. It was a nice 1-1/2 to 2-hr outing. I've caught cutties just downstream of the put-in where the water is soft.

There is pretty much NO bank access along the circular route, so watch the flows and plan accordingly.

Since the log jam evaporated 5 or 6 years ago we no longer need to take the very shallow side channel that bypassed the main channel. I don't think I ever floated that side passage without having to drag my raft!

 

[nelsony]

That is a striking bow. Was that in the upper section? I've found one area in particular with primarily heavily spotted and colored up rainbows but none as spotted as that one. Almost looks like some coastal cutthroat I've seen.

It's a holdover I lucked into on a local westside lake. It probably looks strange bringing a net that big to a freshly stocked lake, but it came in handy for this guy.

 

[holtad]

I fished below green bridge the end of last week. Few hrs late in the evening Wednesday and then afternoon Thursday. Brought a few nice bows to hand on the nymph rig. Caddis were still thick on the bushes and big swarms would get knocked into the river if you bumped anything near shore but it was pretty chilly and trees were whipping around hard so I didn't see much on the surface.

 

[Jim Allen]

The best way to check the hatch and bug activity. My wife just returned home (Ellensburg) from a Costco in Yakima. She always takes the Canyon Road home. She drove through around 2pm. The front of her car showed the Cadis hatch is in full swing. Time to float the river

 

[jeradjames]

Had some time today with the wife and baby running around with friends from out of town so I headed over the pass for a few hours. I had really good luck last year right about this time fishing salmon flies so thought I’d give it a go again.
I fished pretty high up in the system which I like at this time of year. I enjoy the canyon but prefer fishing it more in the fall. Hiked upstream to my little get away spot that produced two really nice rainbows last year.
Ended up landed 6/8 on my uncle’s old stimulator pattern he tied 30 years ago for the Deschutes. Pretty satisfied with the outing and will probably leave the Yakima alone until the fall considering the wetside streams will open at the end of the month.

 

[BayouJ]

Hit the canyon on 05/08 - very very windy all day, but beautiful. The fish that I could get to eat were feisty. End of the day, they started eating emergers almost under the bank - I just couldn't cast close enough due to the wind. Great day to be outdoors.

 

[Matt B]

We floated to Green Bridge yesterday, and considering that we were stumbling around having not river trout fished in a while and definitely not from a drift boat, and not fishing the Yak but maybe once a year in October on average lately, and that the flows bumped up from about 1800 cfs to 2800 cfs the day/night before, I think we did okay. We Just kept trying stuff, and caught sorta slow and steady fish on a grab bag of mostly nymphs, a few on dries. As soon as I saw a salmonfly or two I switched to a salmonfly dry and had some good interactions, including a couple takes from nice fish but just could not convert on the good ones. You all know what 10-12 inch rainbows look like so no pics. I did catch one westslope on a cdc caddis. Fun float, fun day. I’m out of practice rowing and fishing for river trout.

 

[FlyHunt]

Last time I fished the Yakima was back in late April, and we had some pretty awesome luck nymphing under an indicator. We were running Pat’s Rubber Legs paired with a variety of random nymphs, with most of our eats actually coming on the top Pat’s. On that trip — and a few before it — we floated from Rinehart Park down to Umtanum Campground.

We’re heading back out Wednesday but planning to fish a little farther upriver this time, from Cle Elum down toward Ellensburg. Just curious if anyone has any tips, recent reports, fly suggestions, or things we should keep in mind for that stretch this time of year? Appreciate any insight!

Thanks!

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Glad you had a good trip and some nice feesh.

Not meaning to be an a'hole, but are you not concerned about becoming a sea anchor should you somehow find yourself taking a swim (ie, no belt, no PFD)?

 

[FlyHunt]

Glad you had a good trip and some nice feesh.

Not meaning to be an a'hole, but are you not concerned about becoming a sea anchor should you somehow find yourself taking a swim (ie, no belt, no PFD)?

Hey, not taken as being an a’hole at all — I genuinely appreciate you looking out. Totally fair point. We did have PFDs in the boat, just weren’t on in that moment. Always good to have the reminder though. Thanks for watching out for us! I think instead of a sea anchor we would end up being more of a river log or boulder haha

Also, have any info on the upper Yakima or tips?

 

[holtad]

Last time I fished the Yakima was back in late April, and we had some pretty awesome luck nymphing under an indicator. We were running Pat’s Rubber Legs paired with a variety of random nymphs, with most of our eats actually coming on the top Pat’s. On that trip — and a few before it — we floated from Rinehart Park down to Umtanum Campground.

We’re heading back out Wednesday but planning to fish a little farther upriver this time, from Cle Elum down toward Ellensburg. Just curious if anyone has any tips, recent reports, fly suggestions, or things we should keep in mind for that stretch this time of year? Appreciate any insight!

Thanks!

I fished on the 14th in that same stretch (Teanaway -> Thorp diversion) and the fishing was okay... I also got caught out with an over-night flow bump due to them pushing water for smolt out-migrating. I'd guess you'd have better luck with consistent flows (albeit higher flows) for the past few days, and prob slightly dropping.

I'd prob fish double-nymph rigs (Pats + PMD or Caddis) until it warms up. We should be close to the golden stone hatch so I'd keep those at the ready and fish dry-dropper or dry-dry.