How well do you really know your favorite river? Sure, you’ve fished it dozens—if not hundreds of times—but do you really know what makes it tick? The Flyfish Journal writer Jason L. Rolfe gets down and gets deep with one of his favorite Central Washington streams not by fishing it, but by strapping on fins, facemask and snorkel. While immersed in the current he discovers that there more to love than what happens on the surface.

Words: Jason L. Rolfe

Right away, I knew I wouldn’t fish. It was the bull trout that did it. As we drifted over her through a deep pool on a small creek in the central Cascades of Washington State, she hesitated; she swam first one way, and then the other, as if unsure whether river left or river right provided the surest means of escape. She tried to retreat and swam several feet downstream ahead of us. But then she turned, inexplicably, and angled up into the current and rose toward us.

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above “You can’t save what you don’t know to be threatened. The local public utility district is moving forward with plans to build a hydroelectric project below Canyon Falls on Washington’s Skykomish River, diverting water from this Wild and Scenic river to power 40,000 homes downstream. Never heard of this place. That wouldn’t be surprising, as Canyon Falls lies behind a locked gate and is surrounded by private property. We teamed up with local activists and river stewards to document the fish that live between two impossibele waterfalls”. – Russ Ricketts.

Photo: Leah Ricketts