GRIFF'S FLY FISHING
Guiding fly fishers is my only business!!!
Lower Yakima
A NICE LOWER YAKIMA SMALLIE
The Yakima was my home river over the past 20 years. I actually started fishing the Yakima back in 1986 when I bought my first drift boat. It was an old Slide Rite and my son Clint and I used to trek up to the Yakima from the Tri-Cities most every chance we got in the summer and fall. Back in those days, the lower river was open for steelhead from October through the end of March or so. We used to do very well for steelhead from Prosser to Whitstran out of the drift boat, and in the Satus Bar area with a Wooldridge Jet Sled that we launched at the Mabton Bridge. Now the steelhead fishing in the Yak is only a memory. However, over the last few years they have allowed anglers to fish the lower river again for spring chinook. Two years ago, we landed 2 springers in the 10 lb. range that ate swung leech patterns we were fishing for bass.
The upper approximately 65 miles of the river from Roza Dam upstream to Keechelus Dam is catch and release. This stretch is also the only Blue Ribbon trout stream in Washington and rates as one of the top rivers in the United States. I have guided guests from all over the country on the Yakima over the past 7 years. The lower canyon section is known for its great Rainbow fishery, and the middle and upper stretches of the river from Ellensburg to its source have some pretty decent Cutthroat to add to the Rainbows. Another great thing about this stretch of the river is that dry flies are effective about 9-10 months of the year. The Yakima is a year-round trout fishery unlike the other rivers we fish, and the winter can be pretty darn good for trout when the conditions are right.
The lower Yakima is a great smallmouth bass fishery. There is a resident population, but the section from Benton City to its mouth at the Richland Y can produce fish up to 8 pounds during the spring and early summer. Back in the 70's when I first moved to the Tri-City area, I remember being in Ray's at the Richland Y when a kid came in holding a huge smallmouth. They weighed the fish on a store scale at 8 lbs - close to a state record. The kid caught it on a night-crawler. These bigger bass move into the Yakima from the Columbia in April and May to spawn. The numbers are fewer than some of the stories I hear about such rivers as the John Day, but the size of the fish can make up for it. April, May and June can be very good dependant upon water temperatures and run-off.
Yakima Flow: http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nws/hh/basins/yakima.html
Water Temperature @ Prosser: http://www.usbr.gov/pn-bin/yak/dfcgi.pl/?sta=YRPW
The upper approximately 65 miles of the river from Roza Dam upstream to Keechelus Dam is catch and release. This stretch is also the only Blue Ribbon trout stream in Washington and rates as one of the top rivers in the United States. I have guided guests from all over the country on the Yakima over the past 7 years. The lower canyon section is known for its great Rainbow fishery, and the middle and upper stretches of the river from Ellensburg to its source have some pretty decent Cutthroat to add to the Rainbows. Another great thing about this stretch of the river is that dry flies are effective about 9-10 months of the year. The Yakima is a year-round trout fishery unlike the other rivers we fish, and the winter can be pretty darn good for trout when the conditions are right.
The lower Yakima is a great smallmouth bass fishery. There is a resident population, but the section from Benton City to its mouth at the Richland Y can produce fish up to 8 pounds during the spring and early summer. Back in the 70's when I first moved to the Tri-City area, I remember being in Ray's at the Richland Y when a kid came in holding a huge smallmouth. They weighed the fish on a store scale at 8 lbs - close to a state record. The kid caught it on a night-crawler. These bigger bass move into the Yakima from the Columbia in April and May to spawn. The numbers are fewer than some of the stories I hear about such rivers as the John Day, but the size of the fish can make up for it. April, May and June can be very good dependant upon water temperatures and run-off.
Yakima Flow: http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nws/hh/basins/yakima.html
Water Temperature @ Prosser: http://www.usbr.gov/pn-bin/yak/dfcgi.pl/?sta=YRPW
