Closing Day at the Creek

Rick made a quick trip to Wenatchee, ostensibly to help Dad finish setting up his new computer and to pick up a bunch of apples for applesauce, but we all know the real reason men get together in the Merrill family - yup, Dad was longing for a visit to The Creek before it closed for the season.

The road may be impassible after another year unless someone gets in there and grades out a really rough spot at the start of the hill.  Which may not matter, because in another year The Creek may be renamed The Swamp.  Very few places were even fishable, the first hole above the crossing is 2/3 full of cattails, and the banks are mostly two feet or more of floating mats of grass.  We found some fish, only a few of normal size 7" to 9", most were very small.  Either the larger fish are hiding under the mats of grass, or people have been spending the year catching and taking, leaving only the little guys.

Although we caught a reasonable number of fish, it is getting harder and harder to return to the creek. This may be my last time until a big flood cleans it out. Little Nunya is open year round and is closer for me. And it isn't overgrown.

About the biggest of the trip, this guy was dark and malformed or torn jaw

Dad at one of the few open areas (the old beaver dam above the crossing)

 

Dad doesn't quite look as excited as he does with a 26" Naknek 'bow...

#98

On the way to Walla Walla and back for Melinda's cross country meet, I took advantage of a beautiful fall day to visit an old friend (Touchet near Dayton) and a new friend (Mill Creek near Walla Walla) and in the process picked up my 98th stream in Washington where I have caught trout.

Starting on the Touchet, I had a couple hours of bliss, catching fish pretty much continually through the first stretch of water, then finding it more spotty further up.  Probably 50 or 60 or so in the couple hours ranging from about 4" to 10", with quite a few in the 9" to 10" range.  Split between the stimulator (size 8 or 10?) and the rubber-legged prince (size 18).  They psycho prince also caught some, but the x-leg prince was chewed down to the hook.

Touchet River - caught a bunch in this stretch



Nice Touchet trout

After Mel ran at the cross country meet at Fort Walla Walla (and bettered her time by 2 min 30 sec from last week), I took off to investigate possible access to Mill Creek, a new stream to me while she watched the rest of the grades run and took the bus home.  Just outside town I found easy access to a pretty stretch of the creek and again found myself alone with a beautiful stream and willing trout.  Almost everything here was on the stimulator, with the fish consistently about 5" to 8".  Much smaller stream than the Touchet, but pretty water, lots of nice holes.  I'm glad I came looking.  A great way to end the day.

Stream #98 - Mill Creek, Walla Walla county