Want to Catch Trout, Steelhead & Salmon in the Lower 48?

If you want all three species in their native waters, Washington is one of the few places left in the continental U.S. you'll find them.

A healthy Klickitat River steelhead. | photo by Jasper Taback

For a trout, salmon, and steelhead trip, conventional wisdom points you toward Alaska or British Columbia. 

You can't go wrong with either place. But the truth is, you don't have to go that far.

What Makes Washington Fly Fishing So Special?

Washington is a pretty remarkable place to fly fish. You get all five species of Pacific salmon, winter and summer steelhead, native cutthroat, rainbow, and bull trout – plus the occasional Dolly Varden. 

Fly into Seattle, and in just a few hours you can be surrounded by rainforest, desert, canyons, or alpine peaks. It's a kind of geographic variety that just doesn’t exist elsewhere in the continental U.S.

A Memorable Central Washington Fly Fishing Road Trip

From Seattle, I drove a clockwise loop around the southern half of the state – making stops on the Cowlitz, Klickitat, and Yakima Rivers. 

It turns out that six days, five hundred miles and ten hours in a rental car will get you to some great spots. 

Fly Fishing the Cowlitz River for Trout, Salmon, and Steelhead

The Cowlitz doesn’t get as much love as some other Washington rivers, but it’s one of the most consistent producers of trout, salmon and steelhead. 

Blue Creek is the most popular access point, with hatchery fish stacking up at the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery outflow – but wild cutthroats, salmon and steelhead move through the stretch too.

Steelhead & Salmon Fishing on the Klickitat River

Drive the Washington side of the Columbia River, and you’ll run right into the mouth of the Klickitat River. It gets its start high on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, then cuts through plateaus and basalt canyons for almost a hundred miles before emptying into the Columbia. 

The river gets strong runs of steelhead, coho, and fall chinook salmon – a mix of native and hatchery fish –  and it forms one of the most beautiful stretches of the Columbia River Gorge. 

The best way to see it is from a drift boat with longtime guide Tracy Zoller. You won't be disappointed.

The Klickitat holding on to its fall colors. | photo by Jasper Taback

Native Redband Rainbow Trout in the Yakima Canyon 

Washington has two strains of native rainbow trout, separated by the Cascade Range: coastal rainbows on the west side, and redband rainbows on the east. 

Yakima River rainbows fall into the latter category – native fish perfectly adapted to the high-desert canyon country east of the Cascades. They’re typically on the smaller side, but they fight about as hard as any trout you’ve come across.

November in the Yakima Canyon. | photo by Jasper Taback

One Piece of the Washington Fly Fishing Puzzle 

Aside from one day on the Cowlitz, this trip was all about the rivers and landscapes of central Washington. But there’s a whole other world of fly fishing opportunity west of the Cascades. 

The Olympic Peninsula is a special fishery in its own right – one that deserves its own trip. That’ll be happening sooner rather than later. 

Stay tuned.