3 Great Destinations Fished in ONE DAY

August 21, 2017

There is more fishing to do right now than any one person can handle!  Seriously. Rivers, creeks, lakes, bass, trout, carp, and even Steelhead.  Holy moly.  Combine these species with the fact that all of them can be pursued on our amazing public lands and you have yourself boundless opportunity.  Also, keep in mind that National Public Lands day is September 30th and we're celebrating with the Red's Shootout.  Come join the fun, learn where and how to hunt/fish, and celebrate the endless opportunities we have.

A Great Day of Fishing 3 Destinations in Central Washington 


We had a great day doing some "day off" fishing last week and hit several local fisheries other than the Yakima River to showcase some of the great fisheries that might be right under your nose.  Our goal was to video how easy it is to fish some of the more "off the wall" places that we know and love.  The best way to get a full run down on this great day is to listen to The Mend Podcast - Episode 10, download the Podbean App for your smartphone for the best listening experience and to learn a bunch of tips for each fishery.





Rocky Ford - Early Morning Hours

The first place we hit in the morning was a spring creek called Rocky Ford.  Where is Rocky Ford Spring Creek?  Its far from a secret but we are always shocked at few of our customers have actually been there and matched wits with the lunker Rainbows that call this place home.  Here are a few photos from the trip to Rocky Ford.





Joe Rotter releasing a nice Rainbow on Rocky Ford




Largemouth Bass - Midday Hours

We hit the Largemouth at the wrong time, but still managed to have some decent fishing! It was hot, mid day, and very sunny but we still got a half dozen small to mid-sized Bass.  We got a few of the nicer ones on video (that we'll post later) including some amazing drone footage.  While we fished our private lake, Hilltop Lake, there are TONS of public water with wonderful bass and warmwater fishing in the areas surrounding Red's Fly Shop.  

We sight fished to a handful including a group of 3 cruisers we estimated would push 7-10 pounds!  


Here is a pretty typical bass, they hit hard and are fun to catch up against the reeds. 



Father and Son Creek Fishing - Late Afternoon

After wrapping up at the bass lake, we headed back into Ellensburg and tracked down our boys.  I picked up by older son Jensen and Steve picked up Henry aka "Henners".  We headed for one of our local streams and did some fishing for beautiful little Rainbow, Cutthroat, and Brook Trout.  We got the creek slam!  The boys had a great time navigating the creek and we all had a lot of fun.  Small streams with small trout are among my favorite adventures!

There are DOZENS of creeks in Central Washington, in fact, here is a list of suggested fisheries within driving distance of Red's Fly Shop.







  1. Great photos. With the strong family resemblance it isn't hard to figure out who is a Rotter and who is a Joyce!
  2. Hello Joe, By reading this blog I can tell that you and your family had a great time together. After reading this, my memories with my family hit my mind and I miss those days fishing with my family. I heard Mattoon Lake near Ellensburg is a great fishing spot for anglers. I love bass fishing and I heard largemouth bass are available in this lake. Correct me if I am wrong. Someday would love to visit this Lake for fishing. Also, I would like to post an article about fishing in Ellensburg in my website: http://guideforfishers.com/ If you have any suggestion hit me up.

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