Yakima River - Washington

 

Yakima River—Washington

March 2nd, 2024

(Excerpt from a letter to Glenn Bracket)

Hello Glenn,

I hope all is well with you today. I got the 7’9” 2/2 5wt quad shipped off to you.

I want to let you know that I have really enjoyed using your fly rods. This has been my first foray into bamboo and I really am enjoying it. I now find my self disappointed when having to fish my graphite rods and fish caught on them don’t seem to have the same gravitas.

I first saw a Sweetgrass last spring at Nelson’s Spring Creek. Jacqui had one in the shop and I was instantly taken with it. Though Jacqui offered to let me try it out on the creek, I was afraid of the temptation, so chose to decline. The seed was planted and in under a month I got the mantra 7’ 3wt pent from you (after first reaching out to Nelson’s about the one in shop), and had a great summer of fishing with it. From Michigan, to New Mexico, and many states in between. I also fished it many days on my own home waters of Wisconsin. I fish almost exclusively dry flies into the end of our trout season in October.

In the end, even though I started sort of late in the year. I fished more days in 2023, than I think I ever have. This was mostly caused by decades of fishing steelhead and salmon to the exclusion of almost all other quarry. Now my rediscovered love of trout fishing and it vast daily rewards.

Any way, I want to tell you about my first days with the quad 7’9” 5wt. I have been very happy with this rod. As you know upon receiving this rod from you I took it out to Washington State with me to explore the trout waters out there.

Of course the beginning of March is not exactly prime time on these western waters. Temperatures are generally dipping below freezing at night and many days never rise above. But there the occasional hatches and I was hoping to find some trout feeding on top.

I headed to the Yakima as the weather in the area looked a lot better for a weekend of fishing. I had originally wanted to fish the Metolius and Crooked Rivers in Oregon, but forecasts for that area lacked promise.

I fished the Yakima on Saturday and enjoyed it. I was able to hook a decent fish on a nymph but lost it after a bit, it was sluggish and may have been a whitefish. I never connected with anything else through the rest of the day.

Continued on the Report for Rocky Ford Creek....

....After Rocky Ford Creek, I came back through and fished the evening before heading back to the Portland area. Didn't touch anything, but what a beautiful river.

 

Rocky Ford Creek - Washington

 

Rocky Ford Creek—Washington

March 3rd, 2024

On the next day I headed for Rocky Ford Creek. This is a spring creek in the high dry country of Central Washington. I came ready with several $5 bills, as that was the needed item to park at the best spots on the Yakima and I didn’t have it, so today I was ready. Unfortunately, on Rocky Ford it is a Discovery Parking Pass that is required and I ended up having to drive into a Walmart to get the discovery pass.

But before I made the trip into town I found a spot that I could get into with out the pass. I was the first angler on the upper creek, it was in the mid 20s. I was able to walk right down and begin fishing. All the water is flat and laminar.

The indicator seemed to dart upstream. I lifted up on the rod and felt the heavy head shakes of a large fish. I’m not exactly sure what happened next. I know the fish jumped a couple time and I thought about the fact that I had 6x tippet on, and I was trying to reel in line to get the fish on the reel when the line suddenly came tight and started peeling off of the reel and all the line I had reeled in was gone. Then the end of the fly line went through the guides.

I was getting pretty worried. I knew that the #22 Scud I was fishing was very barbless, as in it was made barbless, not crimped. Added to that was the light 6x tippet, and that trout was well into the backing and there was now a lot of tall weeds between us, as the fish had gone around the next bend. Wading was not allowed on the stream, so I could not get down to the fish, and I really could not see getting the fish back up stream through the cattails and weeds separating us. In the end However there really wasn’t any other choice.

In the end the leader held through the cattails and weeds, so did the hook. I even had a cattail hanging on the leader as I guided the fish back up into the pool. The fish, however was not yet done. It took to the air again, and I felt and saw that Bamboo bend down to the cork, but the leader held. The trout bull rushed into a bunch of cattail across the stream. It was was a chore to work the fish out, I did and after a battle with guides that suddenly and repeatedly froze-up solid, that was it.

I guided the fish into the near shore and for the first time that day, I got my feet wet, as I guided the fish into the net. It was beautiful, more like a fat steelhead in many was than what I imagine a spring creek trout to look like. Around 22” long and a body as round and as hard as a football.

I got a few Okay pictures and began releasing the trout but I did not want to revive. I rubbed its belly and rocked it in The water but it remained sluggish in the muddy water. I then noticed the mud, and picked up the fish, placed it in clear water, and off it went, with spunk. I guess muddy water is hard on fish

From there on out it was down hill on the creek. The fish was gone and I was feeling great about the whole expedition. I decided to go check out some other water. As I walked down stream to the foot bridge. I saw the first angler. We said a brief “hello” and exchanged the usual pleasantries, but we was b-lining to a spot. I started fishing a deep slot under the bridge when the next angler shot by with out a word also in a hurry.

I finished up under the bridge. Maybe something happened early on but really who can tell with an indicator. I headed up the far bank and saw the two guys who headed in both camped 20’ apart where I had just landed that rainbow.

I kept working up to some water that had a little riffle. It seemed more like one pond dumping into another, but this is a spring creek in these parts. Just as I was working up from the bottom of this bouldery area, two other angler walked in from the other side. Stood on the steep bank and began fishing to fish the were right on top of. I knew this because they would point to the fish and call to each other. I could also see the fish. They were big and beautiful. More fishermen came in from above 3-4 more, maybe a family and a dog.

I drove down stream to the lower section of Rocky Ford. This section was about as slow as the upper, maybe a bit bigger. And it was here where I learned why you don’t wade this creek. I had hopped out to an island to fish a bend pool. Nothing doing so I turned to head out. I was about 3-4’ from shore and the was between me and the shore look to be 2-3” deep, I was sure I could see the bottom in such a shallow puddle, but as I stepped my foot descended into the void. I grabbed the far bank with my hands and pulled myself out. I was now covered in a black stinky mud. This was a spring hole, where the springs seeped in. My foot never touched bottom.

There were springs like this all over the creek and a person trying to wade could quickly end up injured or dead. I was glad to be ok after the brush with disaster. I found a spot to wash out my waders and head back to the rental car and back to the Yakima, and points west.