I had a great time last Sunday, floating the Yakima River with Jim Unsworth, Director of Washington Fish and Wildlife, and Johnny Boitano from the Troutwater Fly Shop in Ellensburg. When Unsworth and I first spoke he mentioned he had a drift boat and wanted to learn the Yakima, so I arranged this float so he could be familiar with at least on stretch this quality water. We floated what is known as the “Farmland” section of the river, and put in near the town of Ellensburg and took out just above the canyon. It was obvious that Unsworth was an experienced angler and he caught and released numerous rainbow and one dandy cutthroat on the drift. This stretch is a favorite of mine, as I hooked and landed a steelhead on my 5 weight rod on a float through here a couple of falls ago. The Yakima is running lower than normal but anglers should expect excellent nymph fishing right now and there will be very good dry fly action coming on very soon. Fishing above the canyon is favored as we get into the non-fishing rafting and tubing season.