[deadstonefly]

It's been well over a decade since this thread was active so I thought I'd try to wake it up. Hopefully everybody from before is still alive and catching fish. My question is: Has anybody tried going way up into the upper stretches of the river? Looks like it could be great up there for trout but I can't find anything on the web about it. I know it flows through the Yakima Res so I'm not sure how easy it is to drive along the river and fish. Also, I don't know how safe it is but hopefully that's not an issue.

 

[deadstonefly]

Dang, I was hoping for more encouraging news. I'd still love to check out the far upper stretches in the Res but also would prefer not to get shot. I've heard some frightening tales about the eastern half of the Res but wonder if you'd ever even see anybody on the remote western portion. If anybody else is dumb enough to try it with me this spring/summer, hit me up. The river looks tasty up there.

 

[deadstonefly]

It's not legal to be up there. It's the closed area of the Res and without permission (which you can't get), you will be looking for trouble. The higher you go the fewer trout you'll find as it's very cold and unproductive water. I've snorkel surveyed almost all of it and the trout densities are very, very slim...besides being very, very small.

Thanks for that info Klickrolf, I appreciate it.

 

[deadstonefly]

I'd be interested to hear some of those stories. Are you referencing the Res that borders the Yakima below Union Gap?

It could possibly be that area. The White Swan area rings a bell. I once chatted with a local born and raised in the area who seemed like a trustworthy source. He had some pretty grim stories of people going in there and not coming back (and never getting solved) or barely making it back, if you catch my drift. Who knows, hopefully none of its true but he was believable. Very sad if true.