After attending the 2016 Washington Fly Fishing Fair in Ellensburg, Washington this past Friday and Saturday, I had Sunday off to play around on the water.  I hit the Troutwater Fly Shop in Cle Elum to get info about access and water conditions on the Yakima River.  Kudos to the shop staff…they were very friendly and knowledgeable, and were extremely helpful in pointing me towards access points on the river.  After that, it was all up to my skills and abilities to find cooperative fish.  The water is still running high and a little ‘coldish’ but the color was good.  Since I knew I would be throwing some large stonefly nymphs, I chose my 8′  3″  5 wt Signature Series bamboo fly rod for my day.  I managed to tempt several smaller smolts to the net, who were happy to take a #8 black girdle bug, and while I didn’t get anything larger, a day on the water is always a great time.  Here are a couple of photos of my day.

The Yakima River near Cle Elum.

A pretty Yakima River fish.