The river was moving at 6000 cfs – and there was little of the river cobble to be seen, but for a very few places.  Tucking into the corners gave little respite from the flow, nor at the ends of the barely visible islands that normally make up the river’s edge and banks during lower flows.  But that’s where the force of the water was the most reasonable.  I suspect that underneath the Salmonfly, amid the caddisflies and golden stones in the water, that we were right on top of the fish.  Maggie spotted them, gave out a small bark…your next Emerging Rivers Guide Services protege!

Here’s the river dog all suited up and ready for her maiden voyage on the Yakima.  She did well, mostly rested and let me do all the work…it’s a dog’s life.  She’s got her Orvis dog bed on order…

We felt the river dropping underneath us, and sure enough after getting home the numbers told the story.  There will be a short period of time over the next few days in which to sneak in a float and perhaps catch the river on the drop…

Not much has changed in the lower canyon, although this stump just above the Rock Garden is certainly new.  Won’t pose a problem to most floaters, but it will provide some main channel structure.

We drove home via Hwy 10 between Ellensburg and Cle Elum, to check out the upper canyon area.  It was certainly windy but a nice sunny day.  I’m going to float this section on Saturday – in high water, the pools in this section are even better.

Put $5 in the can…

Lest you think it was a perfect day…we ran into traffic on the way home.  Two hours later, in the gray and rainy skies, we were home after a successful first river float for Maggie and me.  We didn’t fish, but the fish were there.  Middle of the river, splashy vertical rises for size 16 tan caddis and blue winged olives, dripping slowly into the water like the rain drops on the windshield.  Thanks for reading – Derek & Maggie.

What have I been up to?  Well, in a longer than I prefer winter/spring, there’s been a lot of travel.  Along the way, I picked up a nice piece of hardware from the good people at Orvis – I had to buy a new belt….

And when I returned home from a two week trip through the West, fishing MT, WY, and UT – my home water was blown due to rain and snowmelt.  What does that look like?

It looks like this.  Chocolate milk, mocha, mud – whatever you want to call  it, it ain’t clear.  But with the right fly and technique, there’s always a fish to catch.

Took the new puppy along, and she’s becoming quite the fishing dog.  Right at my feet, eating rocks, sleeping in the truck, etc.

So, as the title implies, it’s down to chasing blue lines where you can find them for some spring time fishing.  As most of the Western US has record snow packs this year, it’ll be a while.  But, I’ve heard the Kootenai fishes well at 20K, so perhaps a trip to visit Tim & Joanne at Linehan Outfitters is in order.  All the while, chasing little blue lines on the map…

Thanks for reading – there’ll be more soon.  Much more frequent than 5 months.

Derek