Trip Report - Rocky Ford 2003

I awoke at 2:45am to load up and make the 2 hour drive from Okanogan, WA, to the Soap Lake area. I was to meet up with a fellow, whom I met via www.flyanglersonline.com some time back, to fish with him at his favorite spring creek, Rocky Ford.

The Ford is a spring creek that runs through the basin in the Soap Lake area, maintaining consistent water temperatures all year. The creek has a dense population of scuds, the primary food source for the rainbows who reside there. This, coupled with the consistent water temps, allows the fish to eat and grow year ‘round. The creek is not large, but still provides for a couple miles of fishable pools and chutes, with a very large number of very large fish per acre. Two commercial fish hatcheries reside on the creek as well, raising rainbow trout for restaurant and private use.

The 60 degree morning temp was a refreshing change from the near-100 degree nightly temps that Phoenix, AZ had been recently experiencing. Passing through the wheat fields on the way to the Coulee City junction, the temp dropped to 46 degrees and thick, wet fog formed. The drive for about 45 minutes became eerily reminiscent of the low budget horror flicks where the unlucky traveler has strayed off the beaten path.

I arrived at the Dry Falls overlook about 4:45am and stopped to snap a pic of daybreak. That’s Coulee City in the background, Dry Falls Lake in the fore. Dry Falls is the remnant of what is thought to be the largest waterfall that ever existed on Earth, 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. In its day, it would have been 3 times the size of Niagara falls.

I continued on my way and was south of Soap Lake at the Hatchery Road turn-off about 5:45am, the meeting place with Cary, my generous guide for the day. Cary arrived and we headed to a parking area that was about mid-way along the creek, geared up, then began the walk to the first hole we were going to try, the Giggle Hole.

The vegetation was thick, tall and wet along the creek, providing for some casting challenges, but also providing good cover for the large rainbows that inhabit the area. In fact, had I not been fishing with Cary, I would have definitely ended up in the creek, over my head, thinking that firm ground must be under the vegetation, when actually it was just deep water along the banks. In the colder months, the vegetation dies off and the creek becomes more apparent. Here in August, the various plants were taking over – and every now and then you’d see a huge head poke out from underneath as the trout filtered out the drifting scuds.

We arrived at the Giggle Hole and Cary gave me his secret weapon, the F100, size 20. Cary designed this pattern specifically for the Ford and it was very successful in getting the fish to rise to dries, in a place where scud fishing normally rules. And taking 20+ inch fish on size 20 dries, I gotta tell ya, is a hoot!

My rod for the day was a new Thomas & Thomas Light Presentation Series 7’ 6” 4wt. I had not yet fished with the rod and was eager to see how it handled the small dries on 6x tippet, with large fish prowling about. For detailed specs on the rod, just click the LPS764 link.

Fish were beginning to rise around the pool, so I began targeting one that was working a seam where the main channel of the creek was emptying into the hole next to a large rock. It took me a few minutes of casting to get used to the light 4 wt, but soon I had the distance I needed to get across the pool and get a good drift to the feeding fish. It wasn’t long and there was a good hook-up. Cary instructed to get the fish on the reel as quickly as possible, as they tend to take long runs. Cary likened them to a bulldog – not especially fast or acrobatic, but strong, stubborn and determined. And that they were. After a couple strong runs and some tugging back and forth, I had my first Ford fish in hand – an 18 inch slab.

Cary was successful in bringing in another fish from the hole and we had a few more takes and losses. We’d been fishing the hole for the early morning, so we decided to move up the creek and give these fish a break. Due to the thick vegetation growth, there were few places where you’d be able to successfully land a fish. We did stop at a few places and drift scuds, with Cary picking up another fish that was hanging out just below a small concrete dam.

When we broke for lunch, there were a large number of cream/white mayflies, about size 18, flying about. I snapped a pic of one hanging on the car door – the blue fuzzy stuff in the picture is actually automotive carpeting, to give you an idea of how small the mayfly is. I’m going to tie some imitations of these and send them down to Cary to try out.

After lunch, we fished the upper end of the Ford. This section of the creek is much wider, with very large pools that are really more like ponds. Despite all the cattails and reeds, there were plenty of places where you could get to the edge and do some fishing. The fish like to hold to the bank, so approach the weed line cautiously, as you might be able to just dap for fish.

We split up, each trying different sections. Cary brought several more fish to hand using scuds, while I fished mostly with a Para-Hopper. I did get several strikes, but missed them all. My scud fishing techniques truly leave something to be desired; I could not get more than an occasional look, or a spooked fish when my scud would bounce off its nose. I definitely have some practice to do.

The last fish of the day was quite a beauty. The rainbows at Rocky Ford are a brilliant pinkish purple, very striking in their appearance. Fishing at Rocky Ford was very similar in many ways to fishing the South Platte in Colorado. There is a large population of fish, especially large ones (the smallest we got all day was 14”), it is very much sight fishing, they receive a lot of angling pressure and their diet largely consists of scuds. However, you can be very successful with dries if you use light tippets. It is also similar to the Platte in that it will drive you mad watching all the 20” + fish ignore everything you have to offer!

But, it’s a good madness. After 10 hours of stand-up fishing, my casting arm was sore, my legs were tired, I was sunburned, I was dehydrated, my jeans were wet and my boots were muddy with pond muck.

And I left there as the happiest person in the world.

Many thanx to Cary for sharing such a wonderful place with me. I can't wait to get back!

Additional Resources

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Thomas & Thomas LPS764 Review (in progress)

Teton #4 Review (in progress)

Cabela’s Prestige Plus Fly Line WF4F Review (in progress)

Good information about the Dry Coulee area and the formation of Dry Falls can be found here.

View looking down the creek from the dam. Stepping off the rocks would result in a splash and spooked fish.

Cary plays a large fish on one of the upper holes. Put 'em on the reel and let 'em run.

Cary resuscitates a fish for release. Water temps were good, but flow was low and slow, so plenty of time was taken to stimulate the fish and make sure they were able to swim off under their own power.

Cary shoots line across to the incoming flow of the Giggle Hole.

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