red's fly shop - day tours

Great restaurant at Reds as well! Super rooms available for an overnight stay as well. Expert fly fishing advise as well as a full service fly fishing shop!

I have been on a fair number of guided fishing trips over the years so I feel like I have a good idea of what to expect. These guys take it to a new level. It is apparent from the moment you walk into their shop until you shake hands with your guide at the end of the day that these guys love what they do and want you to love it as much as they do. I have had the opportunity to fish with several of their guides and each of them has fantastic. If you are looking to fish Central Washington and particularly the Yakima River, this is the shop you want to deal with.

We had planned this rafting trip for about a month and couldn't have picked a more beautiful day on the river. We arrived at Red's Fly Shop around 9:30 in the morning for a 10am trip and were greeted by friendly, helpful staff who went out of their way to accommodate our earlier than expected arrival. The facility is beautiful with an earthy, natural decor. It's pretty new (November of 2012) and has not only raft rentals, but a high quality fly fishing / outdoor store, classy eatery - Canyon River Grill and what looked like cabin rentals. Our raft was a 4 person, self bailing model that fit 4 XL adults comfortably. We left our car at the rental area and they drove us up to the drop off site approximately 8 miles up the river. The drive wound along the canyon rim and gave spectacular views of both the river and the basalt walls of the canyon. This is a marvelous time of year to raft! The water is refreshing, but warm enough to get wet and not be chilled to the bone. If you go early enough, most of the way will be shaded by the canyon walls, but from about 11am on, it's in full sun. The basalt formations are fantastic and most of the time you spend just staring at the variety and stunning beauty of the dark rock. This area is the transition between the high desert and the first stands of Douglas fir trees. There are a few sentinel trees along the river, but the cliff walls are mostly bare rock with a few shrubs and brown, late summer grass. I would think this would be prime mountain sheep habitat, but the only animals we saw were a couple of tawny, black tailed deer. We were only about 30 feet away from them, but they pretty much regarded us with disinterest as they drank by the riverside. That was cool! We also saw quite a few birds... orioles, a few ducks and a number of song birds. Dense berry laden bushes lined the river sides along the way and they seemed to be full of birds.The water was very clear. I could easily see to the bottom, which, in a few places. was deeper than my 4' paddle could reach down! For the most part, this is a wide, shallow river that has minimal rapids. (Class 1 - if at all.) Our companions had never been in a raft before and one person didn't even swim, so we wanted to start with an easy river.Midway through the trip, we pulled ashore on a rocky outcropping to have lunch. We left our bottle of wine tied to the raft so it dangled in the cool water - how's THAT for planning?! I would recommend bringing something to sit on because the exposed rocks spend at least part of the year under water and have a dried slime. We just ended up sitting on the raft edges to eat. There were no biting bugs at all. It was glorious!One thing to note... most everything gets wet in the raft, so bring a cooler and keep all the stuff you want to remain dry in those really big ziploc bags.The trip lasted about 3 hours and cost $150 for all 4 of us. We paddled occasionally to work our way to one side or the other and keep the boat straight, but you could just as well let the current take you along. If you go early, you don't have to contend with the hordes of tube flotillas that start arriving around noon. For the most part, we had the river to ourselves except for the occasional fly fisherman. If looking at remarkable natural beauty and floating down a pristine river is your thing, then this is something you want to add to your Central Washington bucket list!

Reds Fly Shop in the Yakima river canyon offers a high quality, full spectrum outdoor sporting experience. I have had the pleasure of guided trips by this group on the Klickitat River for Steelhead. And each time the experience was top-notch. The guides are knowledgeable, friendly, and professional.They can accommodate any angler from novice to advanced with a day filled with fun and challenge on several of Washingtons great rivers. Reds has a full service fly shop right on the Yakima river. Not to stop there....there are also beautiful accommodations at the Canyon River Ranch (next door), and just opened, the Canyon River Grill offers up some tasty options for lunch or the end of a great day on the river. So wheather you need to re-stock the fly box, need a shuttle, or some expert guide service,...hook up with these folks and you will not regret it.David W.