Yakima River

[wjlapier]

I'm thinking of heading over to the Yakima River Sunday and was wondering what other's thought of it. Local fly shop shared some info with me but I would be curious to hear from folks who have fished this river this time of the year. Looking at the canyon part of the river if I can access it to wade. I'll hang around Monday until midday so I might head upstream towards Cle Elum if I can find access up there. Or do the opposite--Cle Elum first then the canyon.

 

[flav]

I've only fished the river once in the fall. It's a nice river, especially nice for wading at this time because levels drop after irrigation season ends. Blue wings and midges on the menu, hope for clouds and midday hatches to bring up risers. October is prime time for summer/fall steelhead, so you may find you have the river to yourself.

 

[wjlapier]

Sunday I drove up to the Yakima river. It's about 2.5 hours from where I live. Beautiful scenery there and temps were in the low 60's. Fishing was OK, but this is my first time there and I bet the more I go the more I'll learn about where to fish and what flies to use. I did catch many smaller fish and a couple of "larger" one's--see below. A lot of folks enjoying the area either checking out the fall colors, hiking, hunting, or fishing. Another river nearby to check out again in the future.

Canyon section of the river.







Up near Cle Elum.





From what the fly shop guy told me this is a typical size fish for this river, but bigger ones can be caught too.

 

[kevind62]

I'm thinking of trying it out this spring. Got a colleague who lives in OR that recommended it. My work assignment has moved me to China so I'll be flying through LAX and SFO each trip for the next 2 years. Thinking of booking a 5 to 7 day layover and booking an extra leg to Seattle or Portland and see what I can find.