Generally when anglers imagine fishing for large Westslope Cutthroat it is on a winding freestone stream in Idaho or Montana, or maybe it is in the upper Columbia in BC or a river in Alberta. Generally, Oregon and Washington aren’t peoples’ first guess, but they both have small isolated populations of these beautiful fish. This article will discuss the former, but if you are interested on the unique Westslopes that Oregon has to offer click here to read an article from earlier this last summer.
My first trip to Washington for these fish was two years ago with Robbie. On a whim, we ran up North in search of Washington’s Westslope seldom spoken of. I did my research and had a large drainage I planned on exploring, in hindsight at the wrong time of year. It was mid July and extremely hot. The best fishing was isolated to the mornings and evenings, and although we caught plenty of what we were looking for, I left knowing this beautiful drainage had more to offer.
There are several distinct subspecies of Westslope Cutthroat trout distributed all across the West. At one point, it was the most widely distributed Cutthroat in the world. The specific subspecies of Westslope present in Washington is the Clearwater-Eastern Cascades Cutthroat (CECWT). They are lumped in the same subspecies as the famous Westslopes from the Clearwater and Loscha rivers in Idaho. The range of this subspecies is disjunct and has one portion in Idaho and the other isolated in Central Washington on the East slope of the Cascades. There currently is not a conclusive explanation for the two distinct species. Some hypothesize that possibly it historically was one large population. Some think that Columbia Redbands moved in and outcompeted or hybridized with the cutthroat, and this created two separate populations of similar fish. Hopefully additional genetic testing will be done in the future that can tell us more about how this isolated pocket of Westslopes came to be.
The appearance of Washington’s Westslope is typical of many subspecies of Westslope. A beautiful golden backdrop decorated with dark spots mostly occurring above the lateral line. Generally the tail is heavily spotted and the back is a deep mustard-olive color, often slightly darker than the sides of the fish. The fish always have the tell-tale scarlet slashes on their jaw, males especially can be found with pink to red bellies, and they can sport red cheeks. Especially young fish will sport beautiful blue parr marks along the lateral line. The average size of fish will be from 6-12 inches, but I bumped into several over 20″. From my experience, this will largely be dependent on how hot it is. The Washington population of the Clearwater-Eastern Cascades Westslope Cutthroat Trout (CECWCT) is often more spotted than their Eastern relatives in Idaho.
The region in you can find these fish in Washington is vast. Unfortunately, I have only had the chance to explore a small portion of their home. The section I decided to focus on is the Yakima basin, however I plan to return in the future and explore further North into their range. The character of the drainage is unique, and appears different from our local rivers in the Willamette Valley. Things are dry here in the high desert; vegetation is isolated along side the rivers and creeks. The river in lower elevations looks reminiscent of the lower Deschutes River. As you move higher in elevation into the headwaters and tributaries, the shade of nearby mountains making up the Cascades allow for more lush growth; everything is much more green and more closely resembles the upper Deschutes or Metolous river. Because of the hot climate, I learned the hard way that the middle of the summer is not necessarily ideal to fish the area. Hot days and lack of shade lower in the system can make fishing slow, especially if you’re searching for large fish. The tributaries are cascading freestone streams that run cool. The water is crystal clear in the summer and fall, and as you move your way out of the valley floor, the scenery changes from arid desert to lush coniferous forest. Fall was an especially beautiful time of year to visit with the leaves changing and comfortable weather.
The Westslopes share their home with other native species including: Whitefish, Columbia Basin Redband Trout, protected Bull trout, and various Sculpins and Dace. Many of the small creeks hold resident Westslopes. As they age many of them experience a fluvial life strategy, and they migrate downstream into the larger tribs, and eventually into the mainstem. As a rule you can seek out larger fish by looking at the corresponding size of the system you are on and imagining how much food may be available. There are several reservoirs in the basin and some large Westslopes exhibit an adfluvial life strategy, migrating to and from lakes. Several species of Salmon return to the drainage such as: Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, and Sockeye Salmon. I saw a few Chinook on my trips and bumped into hundreds of Sockeye high in the drainage in just one day. Bull trout are protected in the drainage and there are great efforts in the form of many projects in the works to aid in their habitat and spawning. Nonnatives, none of which I bumped into, include: Brook Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Carp, and Catfish.
This most recent trip I made the trip up solo. I spent 3 days fishing up there and that was ample time to explore a lot more than last time. I spent the first day poking around a small tributary that I had read about, and ran into some gorgeous resident Cutthroat using my 3 wt. I headed to a larger trib and poked around some spots from the last trip and ended the day catching some larger fish during the evening hatch of October Caddis, BWO’s, and Mahoganies. The next day I poked around the mainstream Yakima and learned it is best fished out of a boat, but I did have some success. Instead of beating my head against a wall all day, I headed up to a reservoir looking for large advluvial Cutts. I did not find the large fish I was looking for, but I found hundreds, maybe over thousand paired up Sockeye cutting redds. It was an amazing sight, one that I never will forget. The last day I felt the pressure to find the 20 inch Westslope that I came up here for; after being broken off by two large fish, I knew they were around. I decided on a system I was familiar with and landed one large female in the morning on a nymph, a gorgeous colored up male with shoulders on a dry in the afternoon, and at last light I ended up with a huge Colombia Basin Redband, and plenty of other fish in between.
My most recent trip I fished a dry dropper most of the time. A large buoyant dry fly was a sufficient attractor and served as an indicator. I was lucky enough to tease large fish both to the surface on dries, and entice them subsurface with nymphs. I swung medium and small sized streamers for large Westslopes with no luck this trip. I’ve heard tales of Westslopes chasing streamers with little hesitation, but I was surprised that I did not experience any of that this trip. On the smaller tributaries I fished smaller buoyant foam flies like: Hi-Vis Micro Chubby, Rio’s Blade Runner, or a Dry Humper. The smaller dropper nymphs I used on the smaller tribs follow: CDC Hot Spot Pheasant Tail, Roza’s Jigged Pink Pheasant Tail, Miller’s Victim Jig. On the large rivers I fished a large double stack chubby such as: Chubby Chernobyl, Double Stack Chubby Chernobyl, Craven’s Big Fat Angie. These often had larger nymphs, sometimes two, running below to get deep. Here are some larger nymphs I used both with a buoyant chubby and an indicator rig: Montana Fly Company Jig Hot Spot Girdle Bug, Sen’s Improved Jigged 20 Incher, T.J Hooker Nymph, Flagler’s October Caddis, or an Olsen’s Blowtorch. Any of the nymphs listed above work fantastic for running under an indicator. If you happen to tie flies, here are some of my nymphs that I did well with on the trip: October Super Pupa, Jigged Ace, Jigged Pink Squirrel, and the Jigged Winter Stone. For small streamers here is what I’d bring: Sculpzilla Jr, Thin Mint, or a Tactical Jig Zonker.
Hatches in the Yakima Basin are consistent with other Western freestones. Summer time is full of PMDs, various Caddis, Gold Stones, Yellow Sallies, and Terrestrials. A variety of the following would make a great summer selection: Sparkle Flag PMD, Rusty Spinner, Goddard Caddis, Burkus’ Bearback Gold Stone, Silvey’s Yellow Sally, and Morrish’s Hopper. Fall is a different game as there are hatches of Baetis (BWOs), Mahogany Duns, October Caddis, Craneflies, and some leftover Terrestrials. Here is what I used on my trip or what I wish is brought in terms of dry flies: Henneberry Hopper, Burkus’ Sedgeback October Caddis, Jake’s Hatchback Mahogany, Morrish’s May Day Blue Winged Olive. Smaller tributaries are often easier to search with dry flies. Terrestrials can make up over half of a trouts diet in smaller streams, and general attractors work great. I searched the tribs high in the system for younger Westslopes using: Fat Angie, Elk Hair Caddis Brown, Mason’s Wingman Ant, Missing Link Honey Ant, or a Ground Beetle.
On this trip my most used rod was a Winston Air 2 9″ 5wt, I paired this with a Sage Trout reel, and as always I was using a Scientific Anglers Amplitude Infinity Textured WF5F line. This rod did everything I asked and more. It provided ample reach on the larger systems, and had the backbone to turn large Westslopes that I hooked into. It also is sensitive enough to make fighting smaller fish enjoyable. On the smaller headwaters tribs, I used a Winston Air 2 8’6″ 3wt, with a Hardy Lightweight LRH, and Scientific Anglers Amplitude Infinity Textured WF3F line. This rod was my go to stick for the small streams, and is one of my favorite rods to use. It has enough backbone to throw dry dropper setups, but also can delicately present a fly to a picky fish. My streamer rod I brought was a Sage Sonic 9’6″ 6wt, and had a Sage Spectrum Lt 5/6 reel, and the line was a Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Sink Tip WF6S6. This setup searched every run and I just couldn’t get the fish to follow on a streamer like my first trip. It is my go to streamer setup otherwise and I will be going back for redemption. Other gear that made the trip easier was a good pair of boots and waders. I used the following: Patagonia Swiftcurrent Expedition, and Korkers River Ops with studded felt soles. Some areas are pretty slick in that drainage and a good pair of boots will keep you from taking a spill. As always I carried my rods in a Riversmith River Quiver 4- Banger Rod Vault. As someone without a boat, this makes my life a breeze as I can jump from spot to spot without breaking down my rods. I also do not have to worry about loose gear in my vehicle crushing my rods as I drive to the next spot. The net I carried is one of my favorites the Fishpond Mid-Length Nomad Net. It has a long handle and makes netting fish easy on your own, the big bag makes netting large fish easier too. With a Nomad End Cap the net can double as a walking/wading staff. Aside from the basics I carried SA mono and fluoro tippet from 2x-5x, Oros Indicators, Shimizaki Dry Shake, Loon Aquel floatant, Amadou Patch, and Fishpond Sunscreen.
The CEWSCT of Central Washington are much closer than driving all the way to Idaho. The city of Yakima is 4 Hours and 45 minutes away making it much more doable for a short trip than the 10 hrs on the road to get to the Loscha or Clearwater. There are campgrounds littered throughout the drainage, but beware that many of them close in the fall. I intended to camp again this fall, but most of the campgrounds were closed. There are plenty of dispersed sites, but I opted to make my home base in the city of Yakima. There are plenty of hotels to stay at up there, and the town has everything you’d need. The lower Yak runs right through town and you can reach the tip top of it and its tribs in a little over an hour, so there is plenty of fishable water on that hour drive up.
I’m grateful for the experience of pursuing these native fish in their home. As time ticks on, these isolated subspecies of native trout face unprecedented challenges ahead of them. Please use proper handling techniques and show these fish the respect they deserve if you happen to make the pilgrimage there in search of them, or any isolated subspecies of native trout. We’re happy to outfit you for your trip North or help in any way we can, just swing in the shop or give us a ring. Central Washington will always have a special place in my heart, and the more I reminisce on a visit, the closer I am to planning another trip. After two visits up there, I still have a lot to explore in that drainage, not to mention heading further north into Washington’s Westslopes range.
-Simon
A few of the great resources that I read, and that you may enjoy are below
https://www.nativetroutflyfishing.com/cascadeclearwestslope.htm
https://www.nativetroutflyfishing.com/columbiabasinredband.htm
Oregon/ Washington Cutthroat Gentic Summary
https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/oncorhynchus-clarkii-lewisi#locations
The Phylogeography of Westslope Cutthroat Trout
“Native Trout of Western North America” Robert J Behnke
