Feb 15th Part 1: Shadow of Big Fish

It's still in a winter month so the weather here could be a bit unpredictable or mixed of wet stuffs. But at lease we have no problems with this mild winter!!

As I planned, I went to Yakima for the third time. I will try to get up there once a week till the end of March. First of all, I am just quite happy to go to the river and I can wade in. I am still learning but also getting some touches and feelings of this river. I am still observing accesses, spots, structures, and characters of waters but also now am starting to think about or even select my tactics and flies and where to fish and to explore.

Today, I fished up the Canyon Road. This little one was caught by accident on a Rubber Leg. I was walking upstream as I left my line unattended and let it swing downstream.....

As I fishing with nymphs upstream, I finally had a potentially big hook-up!..........gone........ See the scale on my $3 Serendipity. I felt bigger than trout from past two days but who knows? It could have been a foul-hooked also......

Then a real big accident!! As I was walking upstream the bank, I was like "WHAAAAAT???" and "OHHHHHHH MEEEE OHHHHH MYYYYYYY!!!!".

It was a carcass of Coho salmon (I couldn't identify so I showed the picture to Steve at Worley Bugger).

I just felt "what a mother nature................." I'd say it's about 300 miles of our driving from the mouth of Columbia (Portland area) to where I was standing. But these salmon and steelhead have to go through all the dams, all kinds of anglers, and other environmental issues (there's a nuclear plant along the Columbia in WA.....). Furthermore, they are swimming upstream while we drive cars!!

According to Steve, there actually are lots of Kings and Cohos that come all the way up to upper Yakima and local anglers often hook them accidentally. FYI, fishing for steelhead and salmon on purpose is not allowed in Yakima River.

This one must have served its life and purpose. Must have been quite a journey....

But also I did imagine and day-dream that someday (hopefully soon), I would be hooking into this kind "accidentally" while swinging big soft-hackles in Yakima.........