Marty's Drift May 2003

Yakima River Trout Fishing

The Yakima River's rise as a "Blue Ribbon Trout Stream" began 20 years ago when planting the river with hatchery trout was ended. In 1986 the use of bait was prohibited, followed in 1988 by a single, barbless hook regulation. The trout population began to increase in numbers and size. In 1990 "Catch & Release" was begun and in 1991 the river was open year round. From this sequence has come a first class trout fishery.

The Yakima is a river of distinct sections. From its source high on the east slope of the Cascade Mountains, at Keechelus Lake, to its mouth, where it joins the Columbia, near the Tri-Cities of Richland, Pasco and Kennewick, it makes drastic changes. The most popular section of the Yakima for trout fishing is the "Canyon." The Canyon begins just below the town of Ellensburg, and the nature of the Yakima River Canyon makes it a perfect river to fish from a drift boat. This is an area of roughly 15 to 20 miles of floatable river with six or seven boat launch/takeout points.

When Jerry Tone and Gayle Bush bought a 16' Low Profile, I offered to deliver it to them on the Yakima. What the heck, I wanted to fish the Yakima anyway, what better excuse to go?

In 2002 Red's Fly Shop bought two ClackaCraft Drift Boats for rentals and to guide with. In 2003 they added two more for a total of four boats. Steve Joyce is the manager of Red's Fly Shop and Campground, so I called him and asked him to save a campsite for my wife, Joyce, and me for the weekend of May 9 & 10. At Red's Fly Shop you can book a float trip with one of the guides, arrange a shuttle if you have your own boat, or you can rent one of their ClackaCraft Drift Boats.

Besides the campground, with its showers, water and electrical hook-ups, Red's also has two cabins and several rooms for rent. In the fly shop you will find an array of fly fishing tackle and a large selection of Yakima flies. There are also soft drinks and camp supplies.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, got our camp set up and took the dogs for a hike up Umtanum Creek. There were lots of wildflowers in bloom and, of course, Yukon and Buster had a great run.

On Saturday Morning we drove to Ellensburg to say hello to Jack Mitchell and grab a latte at the Evening Hatch Fly Shop and Espresso. Jack has been guiding on the Yakima for many years, and he and his crew know the river well. His fly shop is well stocked with a complete line of fly fishing tackle and an excellent selection of flies for the Yakima. Jack is an authorized Orvis dealer. He also maintains a riverside camp on the Yakima, with nice hard-floored outfitter tents, wood stoves and cots.

On Sunday Steve, his wife Natalie, Joyce and I loaded two boats and launched at The Slab for a drift to Roza. Steve rowed the two anglers, Natalie and Joyce, and I rowed our two dogs, Buster and Yukon. There were lots of caddis in the air and Steve suggested that we rig a two fly set-up. We used an Elk Hair Caddis with a tan and gray CDC Caddis Emerger as a dropper, about eight to 10 inches away.

We pounded the bank as we floated, and, when we found fish rising, we anchored and worked the area. Because the wind was fairly kind, I fished a 4-weight Orvis rod most of the day with a Ross Colorado reel. Several of the fish I hooked in the 13 to 15 inch range were great sport on that outfit. One fish got into the heavy current and didn't stop.

By the time we reached the Roza boat take-out we had all hooked, landed and lost a number of nice trout. The weekend was over too soon, but it had definitely been a good one, well worth repeating.

As good as the Yakima River trout fishing is, it could be even better. When I returned home from my trip I called Nick Gayeski at Washington Trout. In his opinion, the major factor that limits the size of Yakima rainbow trout is the river's water management. The Yakima is managed for irrigation. Instead of a natural water flow that would slowly recede as summer progressed, the Yakima runs full all summer. This creates a sluice-box effect that has two detrimental affects on the trout. First of all it drives all the trout to the edges of the river where they are more tightly concentrated and more competitive for food. Secondly, this high flow regime makes the river less diverse, by eliminating side channels, gravel bars and islands. These are all-important rearing and feeding habitat for trout, and they don't exist during the summer growing months.

There is also an effort underway to restore salmon and steelhead runs to the upper Yakima. Historically the Yakima was a huge producer of anadromous fish. The fear now is that increased runs of salmon and steelhead could out compete resident trout and cause a decline in their numbers. If restoration is done by releasing large numbers of hatchery smolts, that will most certainly happen. If a slower approach is taken by allowing native fish to repopulate their natural range it could actually help rainbow populations by providing another food source in eggs and carcasses.

If you care about the Yakima River you should stay abreast of developments in the river's management. Washington Trout is a good source of information. You can reach them at: 1-425-788-1167 or at www.washingtontrout.org

Yakima River Contacts
The Evening Hatch Fly Shop and Guide Service
www.theeveninghatch.com
1-509-962-5959

Red's Fly Shop and Campground
www.redsflyshop.com
1-509-929-1802

Give Marty a call at: (503) 655-9532

You can also call Idaho Falls at (800) 394-1345.