Trip To Wa State

[Nortrad]

Sorry for the late post. Started my new job at Ft. Leonard Wood and I am kinda tired every night after commuting. Went back to my home state of WA. Fished on the Yakima River and caught my first cutthroat, a 12". I found a nice piece of slack water on the edge of the main flow (river was high). Drifted big stone fly nymphs w. a smaller dropper and caught quite a few smaller rainbows--8-10 in. The bigger ones are in bigger slack pools and fished by drifting. I could only drive and wade, tiring.

Next day I fished below the Roza Dam, one of four irrigation diversions on the Yakima hoping to nab a small mouth or white fish w. some articulated streamers. Scared a BIG white fish (28" 30"?) after stepping into a hole that I stripped flies through several times. Scared the waders off me almost. Continued to slap runs and strip. Finally nailed another white fish who pushed 20" with Fathead Minnow (KG) that I tied. A lot of guys fish for these in the late fall and the bald eagles like to feed on them. He fought and fought and ran downstream on me.

Also fished up in the mountains on the upper Klickitat River on my reservation, nothing big, a lot of smallish wild 'bows. Beautiful country up there that I miss a lot. Didn't get a chance to fish on the lakes I used to fish on.