Anybody hit the Yak yet? There are Prosser dam counts available at the DART website: www.cbr.washington.edu/index.html and interestingly there was a shot of fish that went over Aug 21-24--not a ton, but more than than I would have expected. I'll be trolling off of Bateman Is. tonight--I'll post results here. Anybody got suggestions for the killer rig?

Good luck, Mark-- I've heard of a few caught there already trolling. I'd probably try either herring or a baitwrapped kwik.

This post is a little late but I would second the baitwrapped kwikfish.

Any word on fish being caught yet from shore? I am going to give it a try tomorrow (Sat Sept 7,'07) from shore and/or pontoon boat. Any info or advice for the Horn Rapids area would be appreciated!

Rambomber,

How did the trip to the Yakima workout. I am heading down there the first weekend of October. That should be around the peak for fishing the Yak. Hopefully I can wrestle one or two out of there.

RAE

Unfortunately, time didn't allow as I was trying to combine business with pleasure! I did see a couple of rigs parked by the Chandler Pumping Station however, as I drove by on the freeway. I will be heading back down solely to go fishing in a week or two. I will let you know how it goes....

Bummer deal, I will be looking forward to see how you did. Hopefully we can see a few pics. :wink:

Heading down to the Yakima just below the Prosser Dam tomorrow. Any fish being caught that anyone knows of?

Just an FYI, but the water below (400') the chandler power station output is closed waters now. Emergency reg this year, likely to become permanet as of next year.

fortress.wa.gov/dfw/er...jsp?id=549

You can thank the inbreeders out snagging fish. I've always said that Salmon runs bing out the worst element of the fishing community.

grrrrrrrrrrr.....

I picked up a nice, bright, 17 lb. chinook down in Prosser today, Sunday. I saw no other fish caught, and felt pretty darn lucky to get the one I did. I think it may be one of the very first fish to be caught in the Prosser area this year. A hen to boot, so plenty of eggs, thankfully. Hopefully this year will make up for the awful year I had last year.

DoubleD

The water 400' above and below the power plant is closed waters for good during the Salmon season. It will be an official regulation in next years fishing regulations. It will be reopened to Bass fishing outside of the Salmon season. I spoke to Fish and Game a couple of weeks ago and the numbers were staggering from that area last year.

Due to the large snagging and flossing problem at the power plant 60% of the harvest came from the Chandler power plant area. Those are awful numbers.

The fish like to stack up there because the water is more arriated and cooler from the churning water, problem is they are sitting ducks. Dev88t saw alot of the migrant workers down there last year snagging away. Even though it was clearly marked when you pulled up I still saw several individuals get ticketed for fishing in that area.

Lets hope the change will make a positive impact on the Salmon season on the Yakima. I'd like to remind alot of people it wasn't that long ago when there was no open season at all. It won't take much to get it shut right back down. If you value the Salmon season on the Yak like I do, as it is one of the few rivers that bring the Salmon close enough for me to get in on the action as I do not live near the coast. You will do everything you can to help perserve the fishery.

Report all offenders of flossing and snagging, don't get sucked into doing something you shouldn't. Fishermen can make a difference out there too.

RAE

How far under the surface do you guys fish your roe? I have caught plenty of Yakima salmon on lures like spoons, blue fox, etc, but have yet to catch one on roe. I have fished roe about twice as much as lures, so there must be something I am doing wrong... I have tried it bouncing along the bottom, but was told that this year, people are catching them with the roe two to three feet under the surface. This seemed a bit strange... Just wondering what you guys have had luck with. Thanks

Well I have never caught them on roe either. I have tried it many times to no avail so I am no help. I always seem to on get them on hardware. See pasco steelheaders advice!! Has anyone tried jigs for salmon similar to the first bite salmon jigs on our waters??

For salmon 6 inches to a foot off the bottom is ideal although I have caught them 6 feet deep in 15 feet of water.

When I fish my roe, I adjust the bobber stop so that it will just tick off of the bottom every once in awhile. This works even better with tuna balls where the bait is sturdier and can handle bouncing off the bottom a bit w/o getting tugged off. I've seen folks fish their roe quite a bit higher off the bottom, and you'll definately lose less bait, and I think the fish will rise to it, but I suspect the fish are near the bottom and not suspended. Where I fish on the Yak (usually the first couple of long riffles below Horn Rapids) not many folks drift off the bottom--rather than a nice gravel bed the rocks are large and irregular, so you'll get hung up quite a bit; I much prefer to bobber drift roe here--especially when the fish are stacked up--otherwise you'll definately foul hook some fish. Also, the fisherman stack up here too and it's easiest to do as the Romans... There are other spots where I find shallower pocket water, and here I'll use hardware, and while I think it should work, I've only ever picked up a few nooks on hardware.