Yakima walk and wade advice

[Arbutus menziesii]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been fly fishing for about a year now and am hoping for your wisdom on walk and wade fishing the Yakima.

I’ve gone out a few times this year while the flow has been lower but have been skunked each time. I’ve been primarily using a nymph and dropper set up and a sculpzilla streamer (though with floating line). I’ve fished places that I think should hold fish: soft seams, slower riffles, heads and tails of pools, in front of boulders, drop offs, even slow water and water that’s probably too fast. Nothing.

I’ve focused more on moving up and down stream rather than changing flies, not spending a great deal of time at any given spot. I think my drifts are ok? In some cases I tick bottom, so I think I’m often deep enough but maybe not. I find this bigger river much more challenging than the smaller streams I’ve been on. On previous trips to the yak, I’ve only landed smaller 8-10” fish.

Any advice?
Should I hire a guide for a float trip to learn the river?
Not asking for your secret spots (though I’ll gladly accept if you want to share!), but is there a general section of the river you like for spring wading?

Thanks!

 

[Wadin' Boot]

Alls I can add is that is how many of us started. A guide will no doubt accelerate your learning, though you can also learn the river yourself. Flows <400 CFS are wadable above the confluence of the Cle Elum. Beware flows with dam releases for irrigation, they rapidly make most of the Yak unwadable, keep close tabs on this as it gets warmer. Try swinging some bead headed wooly buggers, fished deep, in two foot bumpy water that ends in a deeper dropoff.

You probably want an intermediate line for that. If you are catching fish with parr marks they could be salmon and best to leave them alone. The upper Yak, at least the last time I fished it, had way more brook trout than I remember, they will hit just about anything.

Ohh and when the Cedar is open, practice on that, less spectacular, true, but often a kinder wade and equivalently sized fish.

 

[Arbutus menziesii]

Alls I can add is that is how many of us started. A guide will no doubt accelerate your learning, though you can also learn the river yourself. Flows <400 CFS are wadable above the confluence of the Cle Elum. Beware flows with dam releases for irrigation, they rapidly make most of the Yak unwadable, keep close tabs on this as it gets warmer. Try swinging some bead headed wooly buggers, fished deep, in two foot bumpy water that ends in a deeper dropoff.

You probably want an intermediate line for that. If you are catching fish with parr marks they could be salmon and best to leave them alone. The upper Yak, at least the last time I fished it, had way more brook trout than I remember, they will hit just about anything.

Ohh and when the Cedar is open, practice on that, less spectacular, true, but often a kinder wade and equivalently sized fish.

Appreciate the note of solidarity in beginnings as well as the tips! I fished the cedar quite a bit last season and had a lot of fun there, looking forward to it opening this year.

 

[Matt B]

If all else fails on the Yakima, I can usually nymph something up off a riprap bank. The riprap holds fish on the Yak.

 

[jaredoconnor]

Finding big fish requires time on the water. That applies to any river. Personally, I've given up on the Yak; it is too far for me to drive. If you have some kind of watercraft, that would enable you to cover more water and learn the river faster. Unless someone gives you hot tips, I wouldn't bother wading.

If you're in the Seattle area, I strongly suggest learning the Snoqualmie forks. There are decent fish to be had, if you put in the effort, and you can fish all year. With the travel time being significantly less, that results in more time on the water. The WDFW study, linked below, has some data that will help you figure out where to go.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/01377/wdfw01377.pdf

 

[DFG]

Where are you fishing? The canyon offers the best opportunity for varied bank access and wading. The Cle Elum area offers some opportunity to walk the river and get back to the starting point without heroic measures or extensive bushwacking.

I echo the sentiments above about tie on the water. I have been out with guides and still gotten skunked. Don't give up hope. It can be a tough river to fish, given the extreme pressure it gets. Talk to the guys at your local fly shop to see what they recommend. Talk with the guys at Red's. Talk with other fishers along the way. Eventually things start falling in place.

 

[Stonedfish]

100% agree with @Matt B regarding fishing rip rap areas and them holding fish.
Besides nymphing them, my favorite way to fish them is on higher water casting a dry straight upstream along side the bank.
Those little soft spots behind behind rocks sticking out or up into the river are money. Some people will also tell you once the water is up, you can't 'wade" the Yak. That may be true, but you can certainly fish it and catch fish without getting your feet wet. Those rip rap areas are great for doing so.

As far as the Yak vs the Snoqualmie, I'm driving further every day between the two. It isn't even a close call in my opinion.
SF

 

[Arbutus menziesii]

Finding big fish requires time on the water. That applies to any river. Personally, I've given up on the Yak; it is too far for me to drive. If you have some kind of watercraft, that would enable you to cover more water and learn the river faster. Unless someone gives you hot tips, I wouldn't bother wading.

If you're in the Seattle area, I strongly suggest learning the Snoqualmie forks. There are decent fish to be had, if you put in the effort, and you can fish all year. With the travel time being significantly less, that results in more time on the water. The WDFW study, linked below, has some data that will help you figure out where to go.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/01377/wdfw01377.pdf

Looks like an interesting read, thank you! I am in the Seattle area and have been to the forks quite a bit and appreciate the shorter drive. I've had mixed success, but looking forward to checking out this novel to see what I can learn. Thanks!

 

[Arbutus menziesii]

Where are you fishing? The canyon offers the best opportunity for varied bank access and wading. The Cle Elum area offers some opportunity to walk the river and get back to the starting point without heroic measures or extensive bushwacking.

I echo the sentiments above about tie on the water. I have been out with guides and still gotten skunked. Don't give up hope. It can be a tough river to fish, given the extreme pressure it gets. Talk to the guys at your local fly shop to see what they recommend. Talk with the guys at Red's. Talk with other fishers along the way. Eventually things start falling in place.

Appreciate it! I've primarily fished the canyon, though have also gone out near the Cle Elum area and recently a Thorp prairie section. The hope is still there, mixed with some frustration. I feel I have the basics more or less down, but starting to wonder why that info isn't necessarily paying off in terms of fish in the net, and has me curious about what aspects I'm missing/overlooking. I also started out with zero knowledge of fishing of any kind, so it's been a steep learning curve despite the wealth of resources/the internet.

 

[Arbutus menziesii]

100% agree with @Matt B regarding fishing rip rap areas and them holding fish.
Besides nymphing them, my favorite way to fish them is on higher water casting a dry straight upstream along side the bank.
Those little soft spots behind behind rocks sticking out or up into the river are money. Some people will also tell you once the water is up, you can't 'wade" the Yak. That may be true, but you can certainly fish it and catch fish without getting your feet wet. Those rip rap areas are great for doing so.

As far as the Yak vs the Snoqualmie, I'm driving further every day between the two. It isn't even a close call in my opinion.
SF

I had to Google riprap. Are we talking large rock areas on the banks, used to mitigate erosion?

 

[wetline dave]

The Yak can be an extremely frustrating river! It can be fickle, Good one day and the next three you would swear there are no fish in the river.

Down below Big Horn in that flat nearly featureless water I have seen the river look like a boiling pot of water with fish rising on a huge cadis hatch. I have seen no fish come up and couldn't buy a fish there.

Yes some days one may have many hook-ups but that is not the rule and I take reports of high numbers of fish caught with a big grain of salt.

The fish are there but don't always play nice, Keep pounding away and you will get some good days and some that are just a nice walk along a beautiful river.

I hear more BS stories about success on the Yak than just about anywhere else.

Dave

 

[Stonedfish]

I had to Google riprap. Are we talking large rock areas on the banks, used to mitigate erosion?

Yes and there is a good bit of it all along the river. A good example would be the area around the south Cle Elum bridge.
Keep at it. You'll see patterns start to develop as you start catching more fish.
SF

 

[RCF]

I agree with @wetline dave . The river can be very, very finicky. I had times where one day fishing was very, very good. The next day, same spot, same time, same weather conditions, same hatches at same time of day, ---> zero, zip, nada, nothing.

For wet wading, due to access limitations and safety issues, I limit my wading to just after the river drop starting Labor Day and then the next couple of months. Crowds are down as are the flotilla of floating devices.

You might consider fishing some of the tributaries of the Yak. Some have fish and are much more supportive of wet wading - especially when the Yak is at high flows...

 

[Bob Rankin]

My favorite time on the Yakima is September to February. I float the lower canyon swinging flys.

 

[jaredoconnor]

Looks like an interesting read, thank you! I am in the Seattle area and have been to the forks quite a bit and appreciate the shorter drive. I've had mixed success, but looking forward to checking out this novel to see what I can learn. Thanks!

If you put in the effort, you will be rewarded. My personal best is 18". I'm optimistic that I can find a 20 incher. People that I trust say that they exist. This is a far cry from folks saying the forks only contain dinks. I haven't even been able to explore many spots that I want to, because I mostly have to fish alone and I'm too much of a scaredy cat to venture into the sticks.

 

[Jake Watrous]

In my limited experience, the pullouts/wide spots in the road north of Red’s at mileposts nearing 20 can have some very eager fish that can be nymphed from the bank. Younger fish are more shallow, bigger fish deeper. Nymph a grid both vertically and horizontally and you’ll get into fish without getting your feet wet.

 

[Arbutus menziesii]

If you put in the effort, you will be rewarded. My personal best is 18". I'm optimistic that I can find a 20 incher. People that I trust say that they exist. This is a far cry from folks saying the forks only contain dinks. I haven't even been able to explore many spots that I want to, because I mostly have to fish alone and I'm too much of a scaredy cat to venture into the sticks.

How do you find the forks in the winter and spring? I'm guessing you have more success in the summer and fall, but curious how you find it this time of year.

 

[Arbutus menziesii]

In my limited experience, the pullouts/wide spots in the road north of Red’s at mileposts nearing 20 can have some very eager fish that can be nymphed from the bank. Younger fish are more shallow, bigger fish deeper. Nymph a grid both vertically and horizontally and you’ll get into fish without getting your feet wet.

Thanks! The grid approach makes a lot of sense, had never thought of looking at the water this way. I've mostly headed south of Red's when in the canyon but will explore some of the areas above next time.

 

[Jake Watrous]

Thanks! The grid approach makes a lot of sense, had never thought of looking at the water this way. I've mostly headed south of Red's when in the canyon but will explore some of the areas above next time.

1-2’ wide and deep grid rows/columns seems to work as a good pattern for me.

But my experience is limited.

 

[troutstalker]

How do you find the forks in the winter and spring? I'm guessing you have more success in the summer and fall, but curious how you find it this time of year.

They're not very productive. I would try somewhere else.