The Upper Yakima Gave Us The Business...

Yesterday we floated the Upper Yakima, putting in at Teanaway Junction and taking out at Green Bridge and man… this stretch absolutely gave us the business.

Conditions were tough right from the start. Extremely low, crystal clear water and fishing that made you work for every little bit of success you could find. We personally didn't see much in the way of risers and the bite definitely wasn't firing for us.

We did get what I guess you could call some early “luck” right off the bat. Hooked two smaller sub-10" rainbows within the first bit of fishing… both immediately went aerial, did what trout do best, and unhooked themselves before we could even pretend we had things figured out.

That pretty much set the tone for the day.

We eventually managed a handful of smaller cutthroat tucked into some deeper pockets against larger rock walls, but every fish felt earned. Nothing was easy. Every run, seam, depth change, fly adjustment and indicator tweak felt like trying to convince the river to cooperate.

One cool side note from the trip — I actually learned something I didn't know about the Yakima system. The Upper Yakima has resident Westslope Cutthroat trout.

From talking with people and doing some digging afterward, these aren't sea-run cutthroat like the west side fish that move between freshwater and saltwater. These are inland Columbia Basin fish that tend to live resident or fluvial lifestyles. You'll often find stronger concentrations in the upper basin around Cle Elum, the Teanaway drainage, upper mainstem Yakima and tributaries, mixed in with rainbows and occasionally cutt-bow hybrids.

Apparently there's even been discussion and study surrounding Yakima Basin Westslopes because they may represent a somewhat unique Eastern Cascades lineage. Pretty cool stuff honestly, especially when you're standing there staring at a fish wondering, “Wait… I didn't know these guys lived up here.”

Now… about the fish.

We had one completely random but awesome hookup on a healthy rainbow while drifting through some heavier water and rapids. Given how brutally slow the day had been, it caught us totally off guard.

The fish stayed down, bulldogged hard, and for a brief moment it felt like redemption had finally shown up.

We almost had it in the net.

Almost.

The fish made one more run, I got a little too aggressive with pressure, wasn't thinking clearly, and allowed the fish to work against me and pop free.

Truthfully… that's on me.

I'd love to blame my usual barbless hooks (kidding… mostly), but the reality is I gave that fish too much leverage. To make matters even better, I was literally taking a phone call when the eat happened and had to launch my phone into the boat and grab the rod.

Lesson learned.

Still… that fish has been living rent free in my head since yesterday.

Given the low, ultra-clear conditions and lack of those truly deep holding buckets they often have available, my assumption is that fish was using that heavier water and broken current as security cover. They've gotta hide somewhere when the river shrinks and visibility gets ridiculous.

Then again… after a brutal day of sparse action, maybe my brain has upgraded a perfectly respectable rainbow into a 25-inch unicorn.

We'll never know.

One thing we both noticed was how different this stretch feels compared to the iconic Yakima Canyon water most of us think about when somebody says “Yakima River.”

This upper section had some tighter feeling water mixed with larger open sections, lush green surroundings, cooler humid air in places, and a completely different personality than the canyon. Beautiful water.

Honestly, scenery alone makes this float worth doing.

There was one stretch where it looked like an old ranch property may be getting turned into development right against the river. Not trying to tell anyone what to do with their land — it isn't mine and I don't get a vote — but man… you do find yourself wishing certain places could just stay exactly as they are.

As far as flies go, we spent most of the day running Pats Rubber Legs in black and brown, sizes 4–8.

We rotated sizes constantly and changed up dropper combinations trying to crack the code. Underneath we ran size 16 pheasant tails, PMDs, Brush Hogs, Duracell style flies and eventually started throwing random stuff simply because nothing consistent was happening.

The larger rainbow actually ate a size 6 Pats.

As per usual, both of us were fishing our Titanium 9'0" 5wt setups.

My rig was floating line to 25lb Maxima Chameleon, Oros indicator, down to 4x tippet, Pats Rubber Leg, and a dropper off the bend.

Simple. Confidence setup. Usually gets bit.

Yesterday… not so much.

At one point during some of the slower water sections I actually got to spend a little bit of time learning to row.

Now before anybody gets nervous — I wasn't exactly guiding clients down technical whitewater or threading perfect lines through sketchy canyon slots. Plus I was well supervised by my buddy who spends almost everyday rowing a drift boat with actual clients.

But I gained a whole new appreciation for people who row well.

Reading current, understanding where your anglers need to be positioned, controlling boat speed, avoiding weird lines, staying off structure, keeping the boat in productive water without blowing out a run… there is way more going on than simply pulling on oars.

There were moments where I started to understand why good boat control can completely change a fishing day. Even on slower water, positioning matters. A couple feet left or right can be the difference between a good drift and dragging flies through dead water.

Let's just say I've got some practicing to do and will not be playing captain anytime soon.

One interesting thing about this trip was hearing how differently the Upper had supposedly fished just the day before.

From conversations at the launch and the fly shop, it sounded like fishing had actually been fairly solid prior to our trip. Several people mentioned the river wasn't quite as low the day before either.

That got us wondering about water conditions and possible flow changes.

The Upper Yakima is heavily influenced by releases from reservoirs surrounding the area as part of the Upper Yakima water system. Depending on water management, irrigation demand, snowpack conditions and seasonal releases, flows can change pretty quickly and noticeably impact fishing conditions, fish positioning, water levels and clarity.

My buddy also mentioned how this section usually carries just a touch more color than what we saw yesterday. With lighter snowpack contributions coming out of the Teanaway area this year, it seemed like that subtle stain wasn't really there.

Instead, we had ultra-clear water and trout acting like trout do when they can inspect every questionable life decision you made at the vise.

Tough? Yep.

Humbling? Absolutely.

But still beats a day at the office.

Overall though… I'll absolutely be back to fish this stretch again.

The Upper Yakima kicked our teeth in a little bit, taught us a few things, showed us some beautiful water, and left us wanting redemption.

That's usually a pretty good sign you'll be back.

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