The waters of the Humptulips flow as clear as Lake Tahoe, home to salmon, steelhead, resident trout and yokels. I was lucky enough to fish the crystal clear river two times, in two totally different conditions. The first came late on a sunny June afternoon for a very short period. The river was like nothing I have ever seen before. If I could see a foot below the surface I could see a mile. The river drops off quick to the channel holding what I only hoped would be a treasure of massive steelhead and trophy rainbows. The let down was that there were no massive steelhead but only a couple of small rainbows biding their time to make the sojourn the sea to become chrome. The second condition, the day after. The finicky coastal weather brought rain that only served to bring the flows up but didn't dirty the river at all. We launched the drift boat just below the 101 bridge above the hatchery. This was my first time in a boat on a river. The locals say the river is low but to a guy from Nevada, this river is flowing like nothing I've yet seen, and still, crystal clear. We made our way down stream a couple of miles with no fish, no takes, not even a sighting but the trip was a success. I was able to fish water like nothing in our area. Some of the most amazing habitat I have ever laid my eyes on, those bait chuckin red necks are truly lucky. For what it's worth, we spent a morning floating on water as clear as glass with no fish in it. This was one of those days that helps you realize that, while we are addicted to the bite and the fight, we live for the feeling that only comes from being on the river.
I hope you enjoy these images as much as Cherish and I enjoyed taking them.
A small rainbow in the Humptulips. In a few years, he'll return as a steelhead to spawn chrome.
Most folks were stuck working.
Nothing beats the feeling of showing up to a river you don't know, and catching fish.
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