About the Author

Joe Rotter

Joe is the "blogger in chief" here at Red's in addition to being our guide service manager and partner here at Red's. He is a father of 3 spunky children his wife Kelly can only be found fishing when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the fish are gobbling up dry flies.

In addition to being a fly fishing junkie, Joe is a hard core bowhunter, is a volunteer Hunter's Eductation Instructor, and loves riding horses with his kiddos. Joe still guides a small part of the time but spends most of his time working on web marketing, travel, and helping customers find the right tools and information for the job.

Yakima River // Late Fall Fishing Report

November 15, 2020

As the days get shorter, the bite window on the Yakima River shortens as well. This works in the angler's favor! The best action of the day from now till ice-up, is between 12 pm and 4 pm. You won't miss much in the morning hours as the fish tend to feed during the peak water temperatures in late November - December.

Strategies can vary, but most anglers will find their best success using streamers in the large pools with sink tip lines, and nymph fishing the walking speed ledges. Most of the trout have moved into the more obvious holding water and are getting "podded up".

There has been no BWO hatches to speak of, in general this hatch was very light this year. We may see some Midge activity on warm cloudy days in December, but it looks like the dry fly fishing is pretty much over for the year.

Tips for Late Fall/Winter:

Fish the warmest part of the day, which is often just before dark.
Look for walking speed currents
Target Depth should be 3' - 6' deep on soft ledges
Sink Tips for your streamers are nearly essential
Nymphs should be fished on 4X - 6X Tippets
Yarn Strike Indicators (or New Zealand Style) are a great idea
Dress for success.
Bring 2 pairs of gloves (one will get wet eventually)

Fly Suggestions:

Hibernator Streamer
Sculpzilla
Micro Zonkers (fish on a heavy sink tip - DEADLY!)
Egan's Frenchy
Spanish Bullet
Duracell Jighead Nymph
Baetis Nymphs

Some Video Clips From This Past Week:

Joe - I would disagree that the Spanish Bullet (or the Bobby Special as we call it) doesn't work well under an indicator. We fish it that way all the time and it is a killer for us on most days. I love that fly. If someone doesn't Euro Nymph this fly still is a great fish catcher on the dead drift. I do agree there are probably better flies to use on a dry-dropper setup. If you tie your own flies try building one with a silver or gold ribbing so it is similar to a Zebra Midge (but bigger). That baby caught lots of fish this fall when others didn't produce.