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Yakima river steelhead

17K views 47 replies 21 participants last post by  samiamfishing 
#1 ·
Can anyone give me some advise for winter steelhead on the yakima(what color,size jigs, location and so forth)PMs welcome.Thanks for any help u have!
 
#2 ·
When I lived in Yakima I used to park above Roza dam on the big curve and walk down the trail and fish the big long hole below the dam. gets cold down there as the sun will not shine at all on that part. Eggs or shrimp below a bobber. remember that was 20 some years ago. good luck.
 
#9 ·
as a Yakima county native, I can tell you that it gets a heathly run of white fish, and the river holds alot of smallies. as for steelhead, I only know of one person who caught one out of it (fishing for smallies) it was about a 7 pound native. But yeah, Roza!
 
#24 ·
Maybe you're just trolling on here like you seemed to be for much of the summer. If you and your friends can't respect the resource I hope law enforcement can at least help correct your behavior.
These incidental catchs are nothing, when you consider the incidental catch rates of purse seiners working coastal waters.

If you observe your own seiner incidentally catch 30 or so winter steelhead near the mouth of your favorite stream system at the peak of the run, and then multiply that number by the number of seiners fishing the system, and then compare that number to the published run totals of the stream system. It can be very scary indeed!

Due to the intense pressure regulators receive when enforcing the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with commercial fishermen, the specific run timings and routes are now so well known, that these incidental catches can literally be traced back to their stream of origin.
 
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#27 ·
I wouldn't advertise that picture to much (as a heads up you may want to remove it). It is illegal to hold a native ESA listed species out of the water. The picture may lead to an investigation by the WDFW. If you don't think they are on here reading posts you are wrong!

Fishing a Pat's stone with a lightning bug dropper on a spinning rod is a method I haven't tried; that's interesting.
 
#26 · (Edited)
In perusing this post I figured heck I'll chime in and share some information. I'm new to ifish.

We are receiving and will continue to move a few steelhead through the Yakima River for the remaining summer run. We should set a new record. These fish are protected under ESA and should not be targeted. Keep in mind that within the Middle Columbia ESU the Yakima River is a stronghold for wild fish production. Approximately 95% of our run is wild, with only a small percentage of hathery fish straying. This is a good thing. Incidental catch is one thing when fishing open water with legal tackle while targeting at present mountain whitefish, but going fishing to target steelhead is illegal and in my opinion unethical throughout the course of the river.

Most of the habitat currently utilized by the steelhead is below Roza Dam, although efforts to improve fish passage and screen irrigation diversions is helping habitat conditions in the upper river.

The Yakama Nation's coho reintroduction efforts are not focused above Roza Dam, but throughout the basin. We expect to see coho utilization throughout the lower, middle and upper Yakima River and its tributaries. Coho are well documented colonizers.

The Yakama Nation's spring Chinook production facilities are above Roza Dam and this is where most of the return occurs.

The Bureau of Reclamation is modifying a roller gate to aid downstream migrations of outmigrating smolts and kelting steelhead.

Hope this helps.
 
#28 ·
Thanks YakFish for clearing all of that up for us. So if the CleElum Hatchery isn't in charge of the Coho reintroduction who is? Is it the Yakama Nation that releases those fish? P.S. look closely at JoshP's picture, it's hard to tell but it looks like there's no adipose fin present on that fish.
 
#33 ·
well i never knew it was this big of a deal, all i wanted to do is catch one dang steelhead. I guess i wont even try if this gets everybodys panties in a bunch. Nobody said i will not be white fishing and hopeing for a suprise tho. Sorry for the uproar but i just seemed a little intense for the situation. SRY
 
#35 ·
Travis, it seems like we probably fish a lot of the same water. If I weren't away for school, I bet we would have bumped into each other by now. I hope you will catch many Yakima steelhead. In this particular case, I believe the regs are probably intended to help you toward that goal by allowing the endangered, 95% wild, summer-run stock to spawn in peace. Most people consider the upper extent of Columbia R winter steelhead to be be much, much lower in the basin. There are better legal opportunities in WA this time of year. :twocents:
 
#36 ·
Recently, like in the last few years I have noticed a growing number of illegal imigrants taking on stellheading 100% illegaly. Particuraly in the Parker through Zillah areas of the Yakima river. These guys come down usually in large groups with cases of beer. Ive watched them come down below the parker dam in recent months while whitefishing , some of my favorite holes, crowd me out, when they got about a mile stretch to fish. I try to take it nicely but cosidering im usually fishing alone and im usally out numbered 5 to 1. Anyways these guys dont know a speck of english begin throwning big old blue foxes and spoons with trebles and all. I end up moving down away from these guys, about an hour later i pass these guys on the way back to my truck, look down and they got two native steelhead and a rainbow trout laying on the bank, by this time they got beer bottles all over the place. I stop and try explining that it is illegal. They laugh! Not sure if they new what i was saying. Boy was i ******, of course i dont have a cell to report these guys. Then i go down there the nxt weekend and pass all there trash from the previous weekend , and thres the a couple of the same guys but this time the they got kids that know english, ask them if ther doing any good the kid replies got one picks it up( another steelhead) and i explain to him that it is illegal to keep them he explains this to his dad and the dad says something back to the kid in spanish which turns out to be i dont give a ****! tnen i get the evil eye and the stare from all of them. This has become a very common thing down in these areas. It is very upsetting to me as i have grown up fishing these streches. These areas are now commoly poached and litterd with out ever seeing a game warden this time of year to enforce these guys. I have called and reported this activity over the years, picked up there trash. Nothing is happening, still yet to see a warden this time of year. Im done fishing down in these areas, because i cant just fish anymore without being disgusted at what i see anymore. It is also very unfortunate that all these native fish are being taken from this river. Not sure theres much I can do at this point, any suggestions would be helpful. Sorry to go on and on, just had to get off my chest. SG
 
#37 ·
Recently, like in the last few years I have noticed a growing number of illegal imigrants taking on stellheading 100% illegaly. Particuraly in the Parker through Zillah areas of the Yakima river. These guys come down usually in large groups with cases of beer. Ive watched them come down below the parker dam in recent months while whitefishing , some of my favorite holes, crowd me out, when they got about a mile stretch to fish. I try to take it nicely but cosidering im usually fishing alone and im usally out numbered 5 to 1. Anyways these guys dont know a speck of english begin throwning big old blue foxes and spoons with trebles and all. I end up moving down away from these guys, about an hour later i pass these guys on the way back to my truck, look down and they got two native steelhead and a rainbow trout laying on the bank, by this time they got beer bottles all over the place. I stop and try explining that it is illegal. They laugh! Not sure if they new what i was saying. Boy was i ******, of course i dont have a cell to report these guys. Then i go down there the nxt weekend and pass all there trash from the previous weekend , and thres the a couple of the same guys but this time the they got kids that know english, ask them if ther doing any good the kid replies got one picks it up( another steelhead) and i explain to him that it is illegal to keep them he explains this to his dad and the dad says something back to the kid in spanish which turns out to be i dont give a ****! tnen i get the evil eye and the stare from all of them. This has become a very common thing down in these areas. It is very upsetting to me as i have grown up fishing these streches. These areas are now commoly poached and litterd with out ever seeing a game warden this time of year to enforce these guys. I have called and reported this activity over the years, picked up there trash. Nothing is happening, still yet to see a warden this time of year. Im done fishing down in these areas, because i cant just fish anymore without being disgusted at what i see anymore. It is also very unfortunate that all these native fish are being taken from this river. Not sure theres much I can do at this point, any suggestions would be helpful. Sorry to go on and on, just had to get off my chest. SG

Same groups I have seen up and down the Lower Yakima they fish with a coke bottle! I have never seen that done anywhere else!
 
#39 ·
Sam, I understand your frustration for people who don't know the laws. Before you start slinging mud though, it is important to get all of your facts straight. Did you know for a fact they were illegal immigrants? I am with you on people trashing the environment and illegally fishing, but I am not going to forget all of the progress we have made and take two steps back. I from this area too and have fished these waters for many years. Still no need for the unecessary.
 
#40 ·
Come on Bigrez! ive lived in Yakima my whole life., and I am definetly not a racist if thats what youre trying to get at:flowered:. I have plenty of hispanic friends. I think im smart enough to tell the diffrence between illegal and not, when they dont know any english they are illegal in my book. Im not saying it is all illegals doing the poaching on this river, it is all races, but i am talking this particular area! Whats so unecassary about what ive said? What do tou mean all the progress we have made? All i am trying to do is find a way to save these fish from being taken from the river.
 
#43 ·
Let's set the record straight here.

The only gear legal to fish with below Roza Dam right now is whitefish gear, size 14 hook or smaller. Selective gear rules apply above Roza, but if you're using bait to fish for whitefish, you must use a size 14 or smaller single hook. All fishing is closed below the Granger bridge since October 22, because too many folks were "incidentally" targeting steelhead illegally.

Any incidental catch of summer steelhead is "something" and it won't take many occurances of Yahoos such as some of those above to shut down the entire river for ESA protection. We all have a duty to report the illegal retention or threatened steelhead; let's do it. If you're are concerned enough to complain about poachers, you should be concerned enough to report it.

There are no winter steelhead in the Yakima River.

Incidental catch rates of purse seiners working coastal waters are extremely minimal for steelhead, as steelies don't school up in marine waters like salmon and migrate in river over a much longer time period. Trollers are more likely to catch a few steelhead but it's very minimal.

The Cle Elum hatchery produces springers, not coho. However, the Yakima Nation in Cooperation with WDFW is indeed reintroducing coho in many tributaries above Roza Dam including Manastash Creek, Taneum Creek, Teanaway River, Big Creek, Little Creek, Reecer Creek, Currier Creek, and the Naneum/Cherry Creek complex. Coho are now found in all these creeks. Many of the fish passage barriers associated with irrigation diversions have been removed from these creeks and many miles of spawning and rearing habitat are once more accessible to steelhead and coho....and natural production is ramping up. We have coho returning this year to habitat that hasn't been accessed by coho and steelhead for over 100 years. In addition, an experimental outfall flume has been installed on Cle Elum Dam and coho have been planted in the upper Cle Elum River to test survival through the lake and outlet. Juvenile passage has been deemed feasible and last October about 1000 adult sockeye from the CR were placed in the upper CleElum River to spawn. A new trap and haul facility to adult coho, chinook, steelies, and sockeye in currently being planned.

There will very likely be a decent springer season although as most folks know historic forecasting models went completely south about 4 years ago. Regardless, all indications from multiple forecast tools, point to at least a good return, say minimum of 14,000 or so, maybe 17,000-20,000 if we're lucky. The new catch buffers for the lower river should help sportfishing in both the upper Columbia River and Yakima as well. Also, runoff timing and water conditions are the big unknown that play a huge role in catch conditions in the Yakima. However, snowpack is around 80% right now and irrigation folks are getting a bit nervous although we have a bit of winter left to catch up.

Things are happening to help recover the Yakima Basin,:meme: let's keep it going.

See ya on the river chasing springers.
 
#44 ·
Let's set the record straight here.

The only gear legal to fish with below Roza Dam right now is whitefish gear, size 14 hook or smaller. Selective gear rules apply above Roza, but if you're using bait to fish for whitefish, you must use a size 14 or smaller single hook. All fishing is closed below the Granger bridge since October 22, because too many folks were "incidentally" targeting steelhead illegally.

Any incidental catch of summer steelhead is "something" and it won't take many occurances of Yahoos such as some of those above to shut down the entire river for ESA protection. We all have a duty to report the illegal retention or threatened steelhead; let's do it. If you're are concerned enough to complain about poachers, you should be concerned enough to report it.
Who ya calling yahoos? I obviously have reported it over the years, in case you havent read what i have to say! Like I said nothing happens, its like the wardens have better things to do. I have been whitefishing these areas for years, never seen a warden! As for incidental catches, its gonna happen when you got as many steelies as we got this year. I have caught many over the years, everyone quickly released unharmed. But that is great news on the coho and yas cant wait for the springers, last year the fishing was pretty good for them, with a smaal run and all. I cant imagine 20,000 springers in the Yakima, that would be unreal!

There are no winter steelhead in the Yakima River.

Incidental catch rates of purse seiners working coastal waters are extremely minimal for steelhead, as steelies don't school up in marine waters like salmon and migrate in river over a much longer time period. Trollers are more likely to catch a few steelhead but it's very minimal.

The Cle Elum hatchery produces springers, not coho. However, the Yakima Nation in Cooperation with WDFW is indeed reintroducing coho in many tributaries above Roza Dam including Manastash Creek, Taneum Creek, Teanaway River, Big Creek, Little Creek, Reecer Creek, Currier Creek, and the Naneum/Cherry Creek complex. Coho are now found in all these creeks. Many of the fish passage barriers associated with irrigation diversions have been removed from these creeks and many miles of spawning and rearing habitat are once more accessible to steelhead and coho....and natural production is ramping up. We have coho returning this year to habitat that hasn't been accessed by coho and steelhead for over 100 years. In addition, an experimental outfall flume has been installed on Cle Elum Dam and coho have been planted in the upper Cle Elum River to test survival through the lake and outlet. Juvenile passage has been deemed feasible and last October about 1000 adult sockeye from the CR were placed in the upper CleElum River to spawn. A new trap and haul facility to adult coho, chinook, steelies, and sockeye in currently being planned.

There will very likely be a decent springer season although as most folks know historic forecasting models went completely south about 4 years ago. Regardless, all indications from multiple forecast tools, point to at least a good return, say minimum of 14,000 or so, maybe 17,000-20,000 if we're lucky. The new catch buffers for the lower river should help sportfishing in both the upper Columbia River and Yakima as well. Also, runoff timing and water conditions are the big unknown that play a huge role in catch conditions in the Yakima. However, snowpack is around 80% right now and irrigation folks are getting a bit nervous although we have a bit of winter left to catch up.

Things are happening to help recover the Yakima Basin,:meme: let's keep it going.

See ya on the river chasing springers.
 
#45 ·
Who are ya calling yahoos! I have repoted whats going on over the years, like I said in my earlier posts. Nothing happens there always to busy or not in the area. It seems they have better things to do. As for incidental catching its gonna happen! I have caught many steelhead over the years fishing these areas for whitefish, and every fish ive caught has been quickly released unharmed. As for the coho thats great news for this river. And for the springers last years fishing was decent on the yakima considering the low return, I cant imagine the Yakima with 20,000 springers or more. That would be unreal!
 
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