Your Yakima River Trout-Full Species Guide. When fishing the Yakima River you can expect to catch Rainbow and Cutthroat trout. For you that are more invested our Rainbow trout are a mix between a Mccloud and a Washington raised trout and our Cutthroat are Westslope Cutthroat.
The Yakima River was once a catch and keep fishery but since the 80s it changed to a catch and release fishery and we have been reaping the benefits since. There are still some that wish the Yakima was still a catch and keep fishery but we have so many lakes and rivers around us that allow those rules that we can still keep this river growing and safe for years to come. The Yakima remains a catch and release, single point barbless, no bait fishery. This allows for generations of fish to reproduce in the river.
Yakima River Trout- Full Species Guide
Down in the canyon below Ellensburg you will most likely catch Rainbow Trout and Mountain Whitefish. While the upper river is more half and half, half Rainbow and half Cutthroat with whitefish mixed in. The biggest mistake in fly fishing is that the whitefish is a trash fish, they aren’t, they are a native fish related to the trout. Contrary to popular believe they are NOT a sucker fish!
By the end of the day we have Rainbow, Cutthroat, and Whitefish. What we didn’t mention were Steelhead and Chinook Salmon that people sometimes catch. Yes those are definitely a possibility while in the river but very rare. these species are there to catch but aren’t always eating so catching them is somewhat impossible if you aren’t on the river everyday. I usually here of a few being caught every year and that is by guides who are out every day so the occasional angler catching a steelhead or salmon is very very rare but not impossible!