Latest updates, page 21

At least the day ended well.

Having dropped my wife off at a social event around noon, I was excited to have a full day to explore small streams in the mountains. My main plan was to revisit a secret spot where I had great fishing for very colorful little Westslope Cutthroat last year. First, I would try a new small stream, a bit closer to my starting point -- the West Fork of the Teanaway. This required a 45-minute drive between drainages on old logging roads, but it would deposit me out on the main roads of the Teanaway valley and connect to my destination. Supposedly. Instead, I got almost to the West Fork and found that the road was blocked by foreboding signage, high bulldozed berms, and a stream crossing minus the "crossing" part. I walked in to fish that creek, which had some pools that looked appealing but no sign of trout.

Knowing what awaited at my next destination, I gave up quickly on the West Fork (after about five pools) because I would have to waste an extra couple hours driving around the long way to my next spot.

When I got there, it didn't disappoint. It's a tiny stream with a great density of hungry, colorful trout, stable flows, and prolific bug life. I followed it through the meadow I fished last year and up until it practically disappeared into the grass, catching well over fifty fish up to ten inches long. I caught a nine-incher where the creek was small enough to stand with a dry foot on each side; it was probably my all time biggest trout when measured in stream-widths (about 25 %), a unit a small-stream aficionado can appreciate as much as inches. When I ran out of water I headed downstream, catching more fish of the same size and spooking a mule deer and two bull elk. Small-stream fishing at its finest.

I spent (Spent: The wing position of many aquatic insects when they fall on the water after mating. The wings of both sides lay flat on the water. The word may be used to describe insects with their wings in that position, as well as the position itself.) a couple hours in the evening fishing the Yakima upstream of the Cle Elum river, where flows were around 265 CFS at the Easton gage. These were pretty good conditions for wading a stretch that looked promising, but there was no sign of decent fish. Most were just salmon parr hitting midges on the surface, and I caught a single small cutthroat.

There wasn't much bug activity, but a few fish were looking to the surface anyway.

After work last night I drove up to the Taylor River, a tributary of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie. I was just in the mood for the aesthetics of this place, and it didn't disappoint. The largest of the several wild coastal cutthroat I caught was less than 8" long, and most were around 6".

I'm glad I enjoy catching small trout in big places.