One fish from number 99 (and a whole bunch more from the Touchet and Tucannon)

With the rains finally ended and sunny weather forecast, things were looking good for a trip to the T-rivers (Tucannon and Touchet).  And due to a quirk in the 2013 regulations, a chance to pick up stream #99.  For years the regulations have had the first two lines shown below, effectively closing all tributaries to the Tucannon.  This year, for some reason the third line was added, which to my reading, opened the Little Tucannon for fishing (it enters between Rainbow Lake intake and Cow Camp Bridge).   So I decided to pay it a quick visit on this trip.




 

A quirk in the 2013 regulations...

I fished a section of the Tucannon and walked up the Little Tucannon back to the road.  Very, very small stream, but I finally came upon one spot where it made a little hole.  (The picture makes it look bigger than it was - that log was only 6" diameter or so.)

 

Little Tucannon (really little)

 

And in that little hole, was one little fish...kaching!  Number 99!  On the caddis green psycho prince, of course.



A fish to match the river size

Well, besides that one mighty fish, I found plenty of others.  I fished several places on the Tucannon and had 76 fish, most in the 8 to 11 inch range.  Fly of choice was generally the psycho prince, but at times the X-wing prince came through.  Fishing both, I had 80% or more on the psycho.  A great day!  I also found why the psycho green could be so effective.  I squeezed a larvae out of a rockroller from the river bottom, and out popped the little worm, about size 16, with a little black head and a bright green body - put a hook in it and it would look like the fly.


 

Nice Tucannon rainbow

But wait, there's more.  Fishing alone, I didn't have anybody with me that needed food or other sustenance (I forgot the granola bars I was going to bring but at least remembered the quart of water), so passing back through the town of Dayton, how could I pass the Touchet without paying a visit?  Started at the footbridge by the football field where I normally fish, and immediately found large numbers of willing fish in the smaller, Touchet size (4" to 9", occasional to 10").  Many are likely steelhead smolt.  Again, psycho green caddis almost exclusively.  Finally changed the X-wing prince on top with a psycho green size 12, so I was fishing size 12 and 16 psycho green, and started catching them on both flies.  Proof it wasn't just the size of the fly - they like the psycho.  Anyway, the fish were generally not in the deeper water, but in moving water over medium gravel near the bank.  Some of the nicest fish came from water 6" deep next to the great looking deeper water which delivered nothing.  And did they ever come - 78 fish before I could see the dam and had to climb out!  So relaxing to walk up the shallow stream, cast, drift, set, unhook, repeat...



Typical Touchet rainbow

With the fishing done, I could now eat, so I paid a visit the Ray's in Dayton for a giant burger and great milkshake, always a fine way to end the day.



Alyssa makes a Nunya visit and makes the Blog!

I got an early Father's Day present today with a fishing trip with Alyssa to Nunya and Little Nunya.

We woke up early (5 am) and made it to Ritzville for the #7 breakfast.  Alyssa went with pancakes and sausage, so I blame her for any poor results.

We arrived at Nunya to find two other groups there.  One guy and his wife came back from fishing below the bridge.  He hadn't turned anything, so we hopped in and started working our way up.  We turned one on a black wooly buggar in the first holes.  We picked up a nice brown just above the crossing right on the bank.  Alyssa fought it like a champ.  It was a nice brown that jumped several times.

As you can see from the photo below, Alyssa gets her fish holding skills from Rick.

Visibility wasn't great, but wasn't terrible (about 18 inches).   Water levels were good.

We hooked and landed a nice rainbow at the corner bank hole crossing again.  Alyssa fell in trying to get the pose for that one.  (Enter the reference to Rick's posing skills again.)  So that ended our Nunya trip.  It was time for lunch as well, so back to Ritzville!

After some nutrition (or at least calories from Zips) we headed up to Little Nunya so Alyssa could get some easier casting and faster action.  She managed to cast, hook and land 4 all on her own below the bridge.  She was really getting the hang of it.  One of them was a nice little brookie pictured below.

Perhaps the most amazing feat was in the slow pools above the bridge at Little Nunya, I was able to cast, hook and land about 10 without spooking the others.  There were literally HUNDREDS of trout schooled and swimming in the pools!  I've never had much success there, so the 5 pm lighting must have been good.  They were rising, but were all caught on purple Pyscho Prince Nymphs.  (Need to order more caddis green!)

It was a great day with a great fishing buddy!

Naches River

Dad & I floated the Naches River yesterday with Joe of Red's Flyshop.  Rubber raft and swift water made for a fun ride.  A little windy most of the day, but sunny and pleasant temps.  Golden stones were on the water and both dry and as nymphs were recipients of welcome attention.  We found nice native cutthroats, rainbows, and bull trout.

Joe Rotter, our trusty guide, with a nice cutthroat

Dad contemplating his next cast on the Naches River

Biggest that were landed were 18".  Some BEASTLY big ones were on the lines briefly, but not to the boat.  A fish in that very swift water is a challenge to fight.  Joe did a great job for us.  We did almost all of our fishing from the boat.

Dad & I are looking forward to some saltwater flyfishing in March at Ascension Bay south of Cancun, Mexico.  That will be a new and exciting challenge.  Spots are open if anyone is interesting in joining us.