Cle Elum @ Suncadia

I drove the family through a fall blizzard over Snoqualmie Pass to spend the night at Suncadia (just off Bullfrog Road near Roslyn).

The Cle Elum River runs just below the Lodge at Suncadia, and there is a gorgeous little trail that invites the flyfisher to try for a rainbow or a west slope cutthroat. The Cle Elum is a tributary of the better known Yakima. Emerald Water Anglers has a nice post about the river.

According to Dave Shorett's Central Cascades Fishing Guide, "fishing is surprisingly tough in this large river, both from the dam at Cle Elm Lake downstream to the river's junction with the Yakima River and above the lake up through Salmon La Sac."

One of these days I'm going to surprise myself and have a big fat trout picture to show for my efforts, but once again this was not the trip. Some positives, though:

• I got a new 9'6" 6wt rod from Orvis (one of the Access rods). It's really a beauty. Got the reel and line thrown in for free. It casts well.
• For the first time I set a pair of split-shot weights just above my nymph, which I had learned in preparation for fishing the Yakima and its tributaries. This gets the nymph down in the water and allows it to appear to the fish as if it is floating just above the bottom.
• I used my new wading stick for the first time. I am in pretty good shape, but I sometimes struggle to keep my balance in swift, rocky water so I got it to help me ford the faster runs. It helped. I also learned how to use it to support from behind when casting.

I fished Saturday evening from 4-5 pm beneath the Bullfrog Road bridge just off I-90. In my rush to fish before dark I accidentally tied on an emerging Blue Winged Olive (BWO). I had meant to tie on a nymph. With the snow softly falling and warm lights appearing from nearby cabins, I felt a decent strike just along the bank in a pool, but I was not able to set the hook.

Sunday morning around 10 am I made my way from the Lodge down to the river. The snow from yesterday was starting to melt but I still had to pass through some slushy snow on the trail down to the river bank. Today I used a red copper john nymph tied about two feet below a split-shot weight.

After fishing several promising areas, I sunk the numph into a deep pool downstream. On the retrieve I had what I think was a decent cutt, but it got away before I could get him close enough for inspection.

I had planned to fish the Yakima on Sunday but winter storm advisories caused me to stay close to the lodge and try the Yak another day. I've learned a few things about the Yakima which I will share in a future post when I actually get a chance to fish it.