Taylor River

Today Dalton and I set out for the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River and ended up fishing the Taylor River. Located just north of the Middle Fork Campground, the Taylor River flows from Snoqualmie Lake into the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River.

Mission of today was to fish a new river while giving my buddy some one on one lessons of how to fly fish. Dalton has never caught a fish on a fly rod (before today that is). Choosing to take my car we parked on the east side of the bridge crossing the Taylor River. From here we set out up river. Much like the Middle Fork and South Fork of the Snoqualmie River, the Taylor River is mountain clear water with boulders scattered in the water. The boulders make great holdings for fish. The rocks are slippery, and Dalton fared much better in felt bottoms than my Vibram soles.

I had the same set up on my rod as the previous day (floating line, size 12 elk hair caddis) and Dalton started with a March Brown and finished with a Mosquito. All bugs were struck at but only the caddis secured any official landings of fish. The Taylor river is much smaller than the Middle Fork but simular to the South Fork. The fish in the Taylor are the same as well. Fish caught today ranged from 4"-10", the question is what are you looking for? If you just want to catch fish then hit every holding you see before and after rocks and I promise you will have fish biting. But, if you take the time to walk river, you can find deeper holes that produce nicer fish. Dalton and I stumbled upon one of these holes where we not only caught bigger fish but lots of fish. Dalton caught his first fish on a fly rod with his first cast of Gus. I stepped into the hole after he landed two and lost several more. My first cast landed the biggest fish of the day pictured below. Had we fished longer and traveled more river I'm sure we could have found more holes similar to the one we found, with more fish, and more size. That is TBD with future visits.

The day was capped sitting by the car with a cold beer and grilled chicken. Dalton and I promised we would come back soon, next time planning to camp (if conflicting schedules allowed) to allow more time to fish more river. As Dalton said, "You could probably spend a lifetime back there trying to fish everything (multiple rivers and alpine lakes). What a day that was."

At this point I extend the invitation to fish with anyone that needs a fishing partner or lessons. Let me know and I'll take you out free of charge (except traditional splitting of gas and food, etc.)

Summary:
Location: Taylor River, 12 miles from exit 34 off I-90, go North on 468th to Middle Fork Rd, follow road to river
Time: 4:30-8pm
Rod: 5 wt w/ floating line
Tackle: 12 brown elk hair caddis (fish), size 14 March Brown (bites), Mosquito (bites), I would recommend a Parachute Adams or Royal Coachman as well
Fish: 20+
Species: Cutthroat Rainbow
Biggest Fish: 10"
Smallest Fish: 4"
Rating: 7.5/10

 Taylor River Shot on the Water

 Dalton's First Fish on the Fly

 Taylor River from the Car

 Taylor River Shot on the Water

 Cutthroat, Gus, and I (Its a George Fox College, Bruins hat too)

 Taylor River Shot on the Water

 

Cutthroat

Eleanor (a.k.a. Base Camp for Today)