Well, thought I'd take a break from studying my thermodynamics and physical chemistry, and give the Yakima one last whirl. I've spent three years trying (two years trying hard) to figure out the catfish fishery. I know multiple people who've told me you can catch those things one after another in the Yakima up to the Horn Rapid Dam, some up to 20-25 lbs. I've never caught a single catfish in the Yakima after all that time trying (although I've done reasonably well on the Snake - an unpleasantly long drive, however).

This time I tried a rig with 3 oz of slinky weights on the bottom, and side tied a leader with bait off to the side with a three-way swivel. This rig definitely helped slow down the horrendous rate of gear loss on the bottom, although current and grass pickup was still a problem. Went to a promising, pretty unmolested spot in the Three Bridges area.

However, the rig did absolutely zilch in terms of catching anything. Not a bite. Tried fresh stew meat, chicken livers, and nightcrawlers. Nothing. There was good structure (backwaters, rocks providing protection from the current), but nothing worked.

So I'm done with the Yakima for good, and will leave it to better fisherman than I. I have to admit, I'm truly baffled how people are fishing this and doing so well - something *really* should have worked. Especially given the reported density of fish in the river during the May-June spawning run. Oh, well. It's time for me to take a fishing break, anyways. Too much frustration and annoyance at fishing without catching.....