The rivers we fish
Yakima river
Hone your skills, match the hatch, and cross wits with wild trout. Join me for flyfishing in a scenic setting for feisty trout. From headwater evergreens, through hay meadows and ranchlands, into its basalt-rimmed canyon, the Yakima flows as a great river of the West.
On the east slope of the Cascades, some sixty miles from of the upper Yakima have been set aside as quality water for catch-and-release fishing. Protected are the Yakima's wild Rainbow and Cutthrout trout. Each season from late spring into fall I anticipate finding these impressive trout and fishing the rich succession of hatches that sustains them. Since 1984, I'm proud to say I guide the Yakima.
Cowlitz river
The Cowlitz consistently ranks first in return of summer-run steelhead. This year the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has increased the limit from two to six hatchery steelhead a day. We expect a bountiful return. The Cowlitz cutthroat population is second to none. Showing in good number from mid-August on, these "Harvest Trout" come up out of the Columbia.
Draining the southern slope of Mt. Rainier and flowing to the Columbia the Cowlitz is the largest river in southwest Washington. Its a beautiful river to wade and fish with a good cobble bottom and numerous bars and side-channels. Using my jet-powered river skiff, Bella, I ferry you to the river's distant reach—our classroom. There we search the drifts with the wet or dry fly swung on a sink-tip or floating line. For the cutthroat we will either wade or cast from Bella operated under oar.
Grande Ronde river
Though I pursue them on many rivers, the steelhead of the Grande Ronde rivet my attention during the fall. By October the Ronde's sea-run rainbow have negotiated the Columbia and the Snake to begin their run up home waters. Whether wild or hatchery bred, these seven-pound-average steelhead nab dry flies on top or "greased-line" flies fished in the surface film. But don't forget your nymphs! One day last year my client hooked five steelies high-sticking with a Kaufmann stone.
The fish, the fishing, and its scenic remoteness make the Ronde a superb setting for steelheading. A mid-sized western steelhead river flowing less than a thousand cfs in October, the Ronde drains Oregon's Blue, Wallowa and Elkhorn Mountains, enters Washington State some thirty miles from its juncture with the Snake, and winds through a rugged canyon whose steep walls rise three to four thousand feet above the river.
Skagit & Sauk rivers
For sport with the fly, steelhead evince the best of stream and sea. Washington State lies at the heart of steelhead country. Its wild and scenic rivers offer a sporting chance to catch these superlative, sea-run rainbow. On the coast from December through April, I guide fly fishers for winter-run steelhead.
By dory, raft, or skiff, by oar or outboard jet, I ferry you to the river's distant reach—our classroom. We wade nimble and cast far, searching the drifts with the wet fly swung deep, swung slow.
Steelheaders fish the holding water, not the hatch. Keen to discern where fish hold, the successful fly fisher reads water well. Think of the river as a railroad, and of holding water as railroad stations where fish pause to rest during their journey.
The angler strives to cover the holding water methodically with precise, successive swings. If the fly fishes at the right speed and attitude to the current, it proves irresistible. To get the grab we tickle the fish's curiosity and trigger its instinctive, predatory response. A river never sleeps. The current runs in endless change. Charmed and good, we wizards in waders ply the fly, unlock the river's mystery, and find fish.