Dear Angler,

The Summer is closing in fast and finally shorts, sandals, and sunscreen are becoming the substitutes for Gore-tex waders, heavy boots, and Windstopper!  Along with the benign weather comes more consistent fishing and dry fly fishing to be sure.  There are many opportunities coming up this including  fly fishing classes, great insect hatches, and a Father's Day BBQ at the lodge that will be a blast! Also, Tom Petty and Joe Cocker are the Gorge June 11th and 12th and the Lodge makes a great base camp.

June Hatches and Fly Fishing Tips - Yakima River


Video - Golden Stonefly Hatch on the Yakima River - A great little video to demonstrate the movement and articulation of a Golden Stone

The month of June will bring a steady supply of PMD mayflies, especially on the cloudy days.  Other insects of note are Golden Stones, a few tardy Salmon Flies, and later in the month there will be Short Wing (aka Summer)stoneflies.  There will be literally dozens of various Caddis and you will notice that the average size decreases some as we move on into June, and the color of many is almost black, and a Peacock body is the ticket.  We like to call the June Caddis hatch the Father's Day Caddis.  Conveniently for Moms, the Mothers Day Hatch is usually mid-day, whereas the Fathers Day Hatch is at dusk.  Make sure to shift from size 14's and 16's down towards size 18 and the fish will typically be a little more selective based on pattern.  The traditional EHC (Elk Hair Caddis) that worked well in May is likely to be overlooked by the larger trout.  The feeding window for Caddis will be just before dark and if you see fish rising mid-day then think PMD imitations.  In the sections above Ellensburg, consider ants, bees, beetles, and Yellow Sallies.  On days that the river flows are stable and relatively low, the fishing on dry flies can be great all day long.  Use attractor dry flies and this is one of the best months for dry/dropper fishing on the Yakima as well.  This is because the river flows are high enough for trout to feed in shallow water along the banks, and there are many hatches keeping an ample food source midway up the water column.



Video - Double Dry Fly Setup - Use this to track your emerging Caddis in low light as dusk approaches.

A good float idea later in the month as the Summer Stonefly Hatch starts is to fish later into the evening.... until it too dark to see your hand in front of your face!  Make sure you have a good headlamp.  Like the Father's Day Caddis, the Summer Stonefly Hatch is also nocturnal.  The last hour of the day can be mayhem on dry flies.  Of course some evenings are slow but if your guide suggests fishing until dark - fish until dark.  Always believe in your guide.  The great thing about these Twilight floats is that the fishing is predominantly dry fly fishing the last few hours. At times you won't catch a single fish on dry flies all day until the last 2 hours.  Combine this float with an overnight in the Lodge and that is a great getaway that is easy to plan.  At some point during the next few weeks, the operators at the dams upriver from us will decide it is time to begin the irrigation release for the summer.  There will be a period of time that the fishing gets tough but overall the river should be in great shape all the way through June.

Father's Day BBQ, Poker Tourney, and Fly Fishing Event

We are hosting a Fathers Day Event at the Lodge on June 20th.  It will be a hoot.  Bring your dad or son out for a fun day from 12pm - 5 pm.  The cost is $20 and there will be a great BBQ, some fly casting demos and lessons, there is a How to Row a Drift Boat Class, and a Poker Tournament.  We are also offering a special room rate of $159 per night.  You do not have to be with your dad to attend, just come out and have some fun with us!  Joe Rotter will be teaching the Drift Boat School from 10 am - 2 pm, and then will do a fly casting seminar from 3pm - 4 pm.

Tributary Streams and Rivers Open June 5th

Most smaller streams and rivers in Eastern Washington open on June 5th this year, and we are so excited to get rolling on the Naches.  We have also started to dabble in the Tieton River as well which is only about 35 minutes from our fly shop and lodge.  There are too many small streams in the upper Kittitas and Yakima valleys to even mention, and this is a great chance for anglers who enjoy solitude, mountains, and scrappy little wild trout on dry flies!  We will be running guided float trips on the Naches all the way through June and it is a spectacular fishery.  Use our staff for a day to show you around and get you dialed in so that you can wade fish on your own dime.  Check out some photos to see what it is like!  Most trout are in the 11-14" range but there are a few bigger ones caught, especially early in the summer. 

2010 Steelhead Season
One for the Record Books?

I had to read the fish count numbers several times to be sure they were right, I thought it cannot be!  The number of Steelhead coming over Bonneville Dam is in one word... UNREAL. Maybe the run is early, or maybe it is just plain HUGE.  So far in 2010, there have been 7,553 Steelhead that have passed over the Bonneville Dam.  Let us put that into perspective.  In 2009 (an incredible year), there were only 4,508 at this time.  We are up 43% more than last year!  The 10 year average is 4,402. At Wells Dam, the one just downstream from the Methow, there were only 69 Steelhead over in 2009 and this year there is 93. 2010 might be better than 2009, which frankly is hard to imagine.  If it half as good we will be tickled, but it looks like there is going to be some serious catching going on!  We are encouraging anglers to look at Klickitat River trips in July and August this year as a staple to complement a day on the Yakima River.  With the lodge now open, you now have a landing pad in Central Washington where you can knock out a day of Steelhead fishing followed by a day of tagging trout on the Yakima.  It is about 2 hours to the Klickitat from our lodge, but the drive is peaceful and we rather enjoy some road time in the summer.

Methow and Wenatchee River Steelhead

NEW - Columbia River Steelhead Endorsement - Start to Book Trips Now!

Questions about these fisheries?... email us at info@redsflyshop.com directly and one of our Methow/Wenatchee River guides will answer you directly!  Also, consider signing up for Spey 101 or 201 and getting both hands on your fly rod this fall.

Methow River Steelhead Guided Trip - Book Online Right Now!
Wenatchee River Steelhead Guided Trip - Book Online Right Now!

There is a new item that anglers will need to purchase to fish Steelhead on the Methow, Wenatchee, and Klickitat Rivers this fall.  The Columbia River Recreational Salmon and Steelhead Pilot Program endorsement was authorized by Senate Bill 5421 during the 2009 Legislative session. The annual endorsement fee was one of several license fee changes approved by the Legislature earlier this year to help offset a $30 million cutback in state funding for WDFW.
 

The total charge of the endorsement, after transaction and dealer fees, will be $8.75. The huge upside for this is that it all but assures the opening of seasons on the Methow and Wenatchee Rivers which are typically sensitive to not only fish counts, but lack of funding to properly audit the catch on a daily basis.  Because of this, most anglers are beginning to book trips early and get their dates set aside.  We will almost certainly book our guide staff full on these rivers in the month of October so if you are a diehard Steelhead angler, or if you are looking to catch your first steelhead give us a call or book online!  We are booking trips from October 2nd, 2010 on.  Reserve your space now, just fair warning.

Klickitat River Steelhead Camp


    KLICKITAT RIVER
   STEELHEAD CAMP

Questions about the Klickitat Steelhead Camp - See our link or email Joe Rotter at joe@redsflyshop.com directly!

When we started this camp we had a pretty clear vision of what it would become.  Stories from around the campfire and on the river down there will live on in fishing folklore forever.  There was the Peterman Pig in 2007, the 26 hookup day guided by Tommy Randall in 2009, the 50 lb. plus King that Shan chased down river for miles, the Huber King last year, the 37 inch Buck landed by Joe S. on the swing, and more steelhead landed by first time steelhead anglers than we could ever count!  Anglers have created memories that will last an eternity with our staff while fishing in this camp.  You will fish till your arm falls off, eat too much, hang out with guides all evening around the campfire, and make memories that you will never forget.  We are nearly booked full again with nearly all the guests that fished with us last year, and the year before... and the year before.  Join us, make a memory.

Dates Available

September 28/29 - Up to 6 anglers
September 30/1st - Up to 4 anglers
October 2nd/3rd - Up to 6 anglers
October 6-8th - Up to 6 anglers
October 18th/19th - Up to 4 anglers
October 29th-31st - Up to 4 anglers
November 1st - 3rd - Up to 6 anglers
November 6/7 - Up to 4 anglers
November 8/9 - Up to 6 anglers


New and Improved
Online Booking System for Yakima River Guided Trips


Yakima River Guided Trip - New Online Booking System

At Red's, we are constantly striving to innovate faster, easier, and more efficient ways for you to schedule a guided trip with our staff.  We love to hear from you over the phone, but the truth is a lot of our guests find it tough to pick up the phone and get a trip booked during business hours because... well they are busy!  For this reason, we have improved our online booking system for Yakima River Guided Trips.  Now you can book trips any time of the day or night, and make deposits, pay trips in full, or pay a balance due on a trip that have already made a deposit on.  This works especially well for guests that often fish the Upper River or the Farmlands sections of the Yakima River with us.  Now you can have a relaxing evening, sip a glass of wine, and book a guide trips!  It is fast, easy, and secure.

Back Yard Fly Fishing School - Lets Get Started!

We all have a friend that has said, I would like to try that sometime, but lo and behold they still haven't picked up a fly rod.  Lets face it, fly fishing puts off an intimidating  persona.  For any readers still new to the sport reading this right now, you know exactly what I mean!  Expensive rods, flies with more syllables than should be allowed, and you still are not convinced that fly fishing should be two words instead of one!  It is tough to get started alone, and it is also a tough proposition for an experienced angler to take a rookie under their wing all day and burn up their own fishing time with a greenhorn slowing them down.  However, we want to encourage you to lead the way this month and try to bring at least one new person into the great sport of fly fishing even if it is still a new sport to you.  There are many ways you can do this.  Take them along with you on a fishing trip, send them out to Red's for our Introduction to Fly Fishing course, or simply get a rod and reel out in the back yard and teach them to cast!  You can do this at the next BBQ you attend.  Horseshoes are overrated anyway.  Bring a fly rod if you are going someplace, or string a few up of your own if you are having some company over.  It is a lot of fun to teach beginners while enjoying a cool malt beverage (this helps your patience!).  Enjoy teaching this month, and you may be shocked how much you learn about casting while teaching somebody else.

Want to learn something new?
Sign Up for one of many Fly Fishing Courses that we offer!

                                         

Thanks Again!

We LOVE to hear from you.  Please ask any questions specific to fly fishing equipment, guide trips, fishing advice, or whatever you want - just email our pro shop at info@redsflyshop.com anytime and we are happy to help.