Fishing the Valley’s streams is a great escape

I’ve been fortunate in that I have gotten to fish a lot of different places for a lot of different fish. But when it comes right down to it, there may be nothing more enjoyable to me than grabbing my trout rod and a few spinners and hitting our local streams for trout.

Maybe it’s because fishing the local creeks and rivers was pretty much all of the fishing I did during my formative years. During the summers I would ride my bike down to Cowiche Creek and fish for hours on end. Or friends and I would wade the Naches River, or float the Yakima River in a rubber raft and fish and fish and fish. The next day, we would do it all over again.

We’d fish Ahtanum Creek and Wenas Creek and walk for miles, dropping a small lure or piece of bait in the deeper holes and along the cut banks and catch all kinds of fish.

I’m sure history is part of the reason I enjoy stream fishing so much. But I also still find it incredibly enjoyable to work one of the local streams, reading the water, trying to figure out where a fish or two might be holding and then try to get them to bite.

There is something about standing in a river, listening to the flow of the river, watching what wildlife might be around, and waiting for the tug on the end of the line that makes stream fishing so therapeutic and pleasurable.

While many of the regulations on most of the local rivers and creeks have changed in the 35 years since I learned the finer arts of stream fishing around here, the fishing on these waters actually remains quite good.

Maybe the biggest change in the regulations on our local streams is when they open. Used to be that all the rivers and creeks opened on what was then the statewide opening day of fishing season, normally the last weekend in April.

Now, the streams don’t open for trout fishing until June. This change, which was a good one in my opinion, was made to protect the outgoing salmon and steelhead smolt.

So, while there are other options for stream fishing for trout, including being able to fish the Yakima River above Roza Dam all year long, those of us who like to fish the Naches and Tieton and some of the local creeks, have a little longer to wait. But that time is now upon us.

All of the streams in Central Washington will open for trout fishing this Saturday. And barring more rain in the mountains or a hot spell, they are in pretty good fishing shape.

Most of the local streams fall under some kind of bait and hook restrictions. And most are either catch and release or have very restricted catch and size limits. Check the new fishing rules and regulations book for the specifics for each of the creeks and rivers in the region. Even with these regulations, fishing can be fun and quite good.

My very first trout ever was caught on the Naches River when I was just 6 or 7 years old. The fish hit as I was retrieving a black Rooster Tail along the calm edge of a fairly shallow ripple.

Maybe it is nostalgia, but a black Rooster Tail is still one of my favorite lures for the local streams. A barbless, single-hooked spinner like the Rooster Tail is legal in virtually all of our local streams, including the upper Yakima, and it is a very productive lure.

Other spinners such as the Vibric Rooster Tail or a Mepps are also productive. And other colors of spinners such as brown, white, yellow and green will work. Sometimes it is the spinner blade color that makes a difference. Try silver, or brass or copper bladed spinners during different light and water conditions until you figure out what the fish want.

June is here. That means the local rivers and creeks will be opening soon. There are many great fishing opportunities in our region, but none may be as enjoyable or as productive as fishing one of our local streams.
• Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.