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.