Yeah, I was never huge on combat fishing, but the plunkers usually kept to their own spot. I always fished the ditch, and there it was just a contest between us hardware fisherman and the drift guys. Impossible to drift when some yahoo like me is pitchin' spinners, but somehow it worked. I must be one o' them crosseyed spawn.

Thanks for the location, Adipose! I figured the morons and their crosseyed spawn must be fishing either down at the ditch or up at the creek. I fish in between and, aside from an occasional fly fisherman, everybody is pretty normal.

Actually, most of the guys who fished the ditch really knew what the hell they were doing. Some of 'em were downright old and gave the impression that they'd been fishin' that ditch for 50 years. Then there were the crackers like me.

Have we hijacked this thread?

Yea, that was pretty harsh. Sorry to all for the rant. And no you aren't one of the cross eyed spawn Adipose.

"Back in the day" guys who fished Ringold (the point, ditch, willows, flat, and creek) were all generally good fishermen. You could put 10 guys in an area and count on everyone staying in sync. Nobody elbowed in on anyone. When someone hooked up people reeled in and got out of the way. Nobody long lined when everyone else was drifting. It wasn't perfect but it was a nice place to spend a morning.

For some reason salmon seasons bring out the worst kind of fishermen imaginable. Littering, obnoxious, rude, crowding, self centered... And once they "discover" a spot its like a cancer.

Oh well. Now I just pray for cold weather to keep the masses home

That's precisely why I like fishing out of boats so much more. Well, that and I don't get that awful pain in my back and shoulders that comes from holding a rod and reel out of the water and casting over, and over, and over, and over, and over again for 6 hours straight while standing in an irrigation ditch full of carp.

It's a good thing lots of folks like to float fish for Steelhead in the lakes above dams, and that others, like you Adipose, like boat fishing. If everybody wanted to Steelhead like I do, drift fishing from the bank, the few pieces of water around here good for fishing that way would be hellaciously crowded.

Thank goodness for us lazy people!

Yes, thank you Adipose! Though to me messing with a boat seems like a lot of work.

What a shame that our government wastes our tax dollars on a lot of inconsequential crap instead of spending it on important things like Steelhead and Salmon fisheries. With proper priorities for government spending we could have practically year around abundant Steelhead and Salmon for folks of all fishing persuasions.

I agree, Jimmy! We could even have fish for those dumb ol' drift fisherpeople!

Yeah Adipose, having a few fish for drift fishermen is the whole point!

It would be the simplest thing in the world to put a small but powerfully chemically scented water flow into the Columbia down here at Leslie Groves park, like a pipe with a few cfs of flow. Use pens or ponds to acclimate a 100K smolts a year to return to the stinky water and we would have a Steelhead fishery right here in Richland. There is fine drift fishing water most of the length of the park. All we need is fish!

Why in the world do the powers that be in Richland spend a fortune tearing up and rebuilding the streets year after year, a total waste of taxpayer's money? A fraction of that wasted money would be enough to create a fine Steelhead fishery!

JimmyD--nice to hear from you again. I put some of your drift fishing advice to work this season and picked up a few fish on the 'Ronde and at Ringold--thanks. The main point I recalled (maybe this wasn't YOUR main point--but it's what I remember) is that you needn't dredge bottom to be successful. In fact, I employed a neutral water filled casting bobber in some of the slower/shallower drifts and picked up a few that way too.

On the topic of local fisheries, I've been meaning to write a letter to WDFW regarding a hatchery run on the lower Yak. The run has been closed for decades now, and although still not robust, I believe it could survive a harvest season on the lower river for marked fish. Sort and recycle the brats at Prosser, and require selective gear and barbless hooks up to there. They could fund the program through a boost in sales due to the increased fishing that comes from an urban steelhead fishery, and they could probably involve the Yakama nation to run the operation.

Anyway--probably wishful thinking...

Now if somebody would just make Jimmy or Emann king we'd be somewhere!

Hi E-mann! Glad to hear you have been having some success with drift fishing! I guess a one sentence summary of my drift fishing advice is to learn to control the drift so you can make a controlled presentation where ever you want, dredging the bottom, skimming along just above the bottom, or higher up in the water column.

Thanks for proposing us as possible kings, Adipose, but we probably would do better working within the current political structure.

The economic future of the Tri-Cities is going to depend on promoting this place as a desirable place for people to retire and businesses to locate. A flourishing urban Steelhead and Salmon fishery in the Tri-Cites would give enormous bang for the buck in accomplishing those goals. A fine fishery could be established and maintained for peanuts compared to conventional attractors.

But it may be wishful thinking, E-mann. It would require some creativity and forward thinking. And civic leaders that don't fish might not realize what a boon for the future of the Tri-Cities an urban fishery would be. But if we were to get an urban fishery it wouldn't be from WDFW talking the lead. Local politicians, civic leaders, and business people would have to take the lead.

I mean the damn river is right there and there is public property along most of it! There isn't a place in the country which would be better suited for establishing an urban Steelhead and Salmon fishery than the Tri-Cities.