Ladies and Gentlemen of the Washington Flyfishers:
I urge you to go out and fish the Yakima soon. Today, fellow list
member Jere Crosby and myself fished the Ellensburg Canyon. We floated
in Jere's driftboat and had a magnificent day. We started at 9:30 am
and got off the water at 4 pm, and were catching fish the entire time.
I don't know how many we caught, but it was a bunch. All sizes, from 6
inches long to the whopper Jere landed which was around 19 or 20
inches. Many, many fish were 14-16 inches. It was a blast. The trout
were maniacs for the caddis today. You could tell they were hot after
the emerging pupae because they would come shooting 1-3 feet clear of
the water chasing the fast, little suckers to the surface. Even though
much of the day, the fish were keyed on pupae, we didn't have to fish
soft hackles or sparkle pupas because they were more than willing to
smash our #14 Elk-hair caddis fished off of 12 foot leaders to 5X. The
adults were bouncing everywhere. It was great to see.
I have to tell you about Jere's big fish. We were pitching in tight
against the bank when Jere made a loud, moaning noise; that noise that I
have come to identify as meaning, "Holy mackerel, look at that beautiful
cut-bank coming up ahead. There has just got to be a big fish in there
(I know what Jere's different grunts and primal sounds mean after
spending many years of studying him on the water. It is similar to the
way zoo workers understand the screams and calls of chimpanzees during
feeding time)!!" Knowing he was excited, I held back my next cast and
watched as he put his fly within an inch of the bank, just as the water
deepened and had gotten a little darker. His wrist muscles flexed in
anticipation, and just as if he knew it was going to happen, he set up
on the big head that came out of the water and inhaled his fly along
with a quart of water. Amazing! His only comment was, "I dreamed him
in there! I dreamed him in there!" He was right. That's the kind of
fish savvy that only comes with endless hours of reading water. We past
many cut-banks, but that one called to him. Pretty dang cool. Anyway,
Jere landed the big bow', full of spawning colors, and released it back
to take refuge in its lair.
In case you've never fished with Jere, if you get the opportunity to do
so, it is a pleasure. He is an excellent oarsman and allowed me to get
many extended floats, some 15 to 20 seconds long. Consequently, I had a
great day too and caught plenty. When I got on the oars, I did pretty
good, but I've got a long way to go to attain his level as a guide.
Best day I've ever had on the Yak. Go before the snow melt fills the
resevoir and they start dumping into the river. Jeff Hale
