Winter 2012

Enter to Win a Guided Fly Fishing Trip and Lodge Stay!
We have a great Facebook page that we update all the time, the problem is nobody knows about it!  So we are giving away a free guided fly fishing trip and lodge stay to some lucky winner that "likes" Red's Fly Shop Guide Service, Lodge, and Outfitter.  Everyone that likes us will automatically be entered into the drawing which will take place on March 1st!  Yes, it sounds crazy but we want to keep you informed!

 
Switch Rod Combo - Echo SR Switch Rod and Lamson Konic -  This is the hot new Switch Rod right now!  Echo is doing some amazing stuff and this rod is gobbling up the market share.  It is affordable, high performance, easy to cast, looks awesome, and we have it conveniently packaged with a Lamson Konic Fly Reel and a Rio Scandi Short Versitip Fly  Line.

Yakima, Naches, Methow, Wenatchee, and Klickitat River Fishing Reports

Cheat Sheet Fly Fishing in February on the Yakima River

2/3/2012

Anglers: Troy L, Charles, and James

Location: S. Cle Elum to State

Flies: sz. 6-10 olive Pat's, sz. 14 Hare's Ear, sz. 12, 14 Sparkle Prince, sz. 4 Sculpzilla (olive)

Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Results: 6 Rainbows landed, 2 other Hook ups (12"-18")

We decided to head upriver yesterday and had a great float. The entire river has completely cleared up and the ice has disappeared. We nymphed all day with no sign of adult Skwalas hatching, even though they're on every guides brain right now! The weather was great all day and we did not see another angler. Nymphing a large stone or streamer under an indicator provided the most consistent action. If you’re looking to catch a nice trout or want to just enjoy a beautiful day on the water call the shop to book a trip. It's looking like a good Spring with lots of Skwala activity! Joe and Shan have checked in several times from MX with reports of Tarpon and Bonefish, but no Permit yet. They have one more day on the flats before heading home - finish strong guys!

2/2/2012

Anglers: Todd, Frank, and Craig

Location: MM10 to Roza (still ice shelf at Mahre's)

Flies: sz. 6-10 olive Pat's, sz. 16 Lightning Bug, sz. 4 Sculpzilla (olive)

Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Results: 2 Rainbows landed, 5 other LDR's (13", 19")

We are experiencing some very MILD conditions in the Yakima canyon. The snow is melting quickly and water temepratures are on the rise! The big fish yesterday were keyed in on the stonefly nymph - which is not a surpise as we are only a few weeks away from Skwala season. February can be one of the best months of the year to fish the Yakima, as the Rainbows have come through the cold winter and begin feeding voraciously to get ready for the Spring spawn. The weather forecast looks great for a good fishing weekend on the Yakima. I (Steve) made it back from a fantastic trip to Ascension Bay MX with a fun group of anglers. We all had a great time and even enjoyed some SUNSHINE!

Premium Wading Boot Buyer's Guide and Felt versus Vibram

We have narrowed down wading boots in the $160+ price range to 3 choices.  The Simms Guide Boot is our best seller but has some competition.  The competitors to the Simms Guide Boot are the Simms Rivertek BOA and the Korker's Chrome Wading Boots.  All have their pros and cons.  If you want a felt sole, then the search gets narrowed pretty fast.  That will be either the Simms Guide Boot Felt, or the Korker's Chrome with a felt insert.  The advantage to the Korker's is that you can change from a rubber sole, to felt, to felt with studs (all are included for $199.99).  It also has a BOA lacing system which is pretty cool.  You can add studs to the Simms Guide Boot but it is a little more time consumptive and they are screw in rather than being built in so they aren't as secure as the felt studs that come with the Korker's Chrome Boot. 

Felt isn't the only option.  Vibram soles are also a great choice.  You can put several different types of cleats into a Vibram sole which makes them very versatile.  Simms Star Cleats work very well for traction and they can be taken in and out or patterned as needed.  The Simms Rivertek BOA has a Vibram Sole and a BOA lacing system.  We have never personally seen the BOA fail, it is very durable and easy to use.  Your shoe laces won't ever come untied again!  However, some anglers simply like to lace up their boots by hand as part of the fishing ritual, like a football player getting ready for the big game.  If this is you, then the choice is easy... Simms Guide Boot.

Felt versus Vibram Soles

Consumers split this one pretty much right down the middle and the subject can be as volatile as talking politics at our local Tav.  Felt does grip better in-stream without studs, no doubt.  Can't argue that.  Vibram definitely grips better outside the stream on slick grass, snow, mud, ice, or steep hills.  The sharp edge of the Vibram outsole bites into steep side hills when felt can let you down and put your face in the mud.  Vibram does not track mud in or out of your vehicle, fly shop, drift boat, or living room.  Vibram also has a wider range of stud or cleat compatibility and lasts longer.  With all that being said, anglers still love felt.  It is split 51% to 49% but we won't tell you in favor of which one.  We don't want to start a debate we can't win!

1/27/2012

We have been taking some online orders and answering a lot of questions about wading boots this week so we wrote up a short Buyer's Guide above.  There is a lot of excitement surround the Simms Rivertek BOA boot.  If you haven't heard of the BOA system, check it out http://youtu.be/LrQQHUUWQng  It never loosens up or comes untied!

1/26/2012

Enjoy the newsletter and give yourself plenty of time to get through it, lots of good stuff in there.  It looks like the boys are heading to Rocky Ford today for another slug fest.  Pulling little buggers out there has been really good.  We have a few small leech patterns in the shop that have been whacking 'em.  Give us a call on the phone if you want to be hooked up with a few bugs.  Our first class at Rocky Ford is February 25th.  If you haven't been there or had much success, join us, we'll show you how.

Winter 2012

1/25/2012

The Yak is looking delicious today after 3 weeks of freeze up.  We plan to fish tomorrow and rip some lips somewhere, maybe the Lower Canyon maybe the Farmlands?  We won't be going down to the Slab or Mahre's though.  The ice build upon the edges has made it all but impossible to get a boat out down there. 

We might even bring a shotgun and jump a few ducks on the way through the Farmlands.   It is hard to predict the future, but historically the trend is that after a dormancy in the fishing the bite is ON.  Hopefully that is the case tomorrow, it should be great.  We'll be sure to post a report if we make it out.  Between the sports shows and the trips to Mexico, fishing the Yak is still a treat. 

Start thinking about getting prepared for spring fishing.  Decide what new gear you need and start doing your research so that you make good choices.  We would encourage you to kill some time today and really look through our online store.  We are trying to take a no BS approach to selling gear with the best possible price.  We also want to give you the pro's and con's of the products without a canned sales pitch that was written by the manufacturer.  We want to be able to have the same discussions on our online store that we have in the shop.  This means showing you competing products side by side (or with hyperlinks) and explain why some people might choose one widget over the other.  This is a very different approach than most online retailers, most descriptions for products online simply say "buy this one it is awesome" or something to that effect with a little more vocabulary surrounding it.  The vocab usually has something that incorporates the terms "nano", "polymer", "lunar", "modulus", and some other jargon that is truthfully meaningless and not helpful at all.  We want to explain to you "how can this help me catch more fish?".  What we want to do is introduce a product and give you the proof that it works and show you what other products you should also consider.  At this point, the consumer will be able to make a good choice based on what they plan to do with it.  We want to bring our pro shop to the internet.  Give it a browse, it is a constantly evolving creature.

1/24/2012 - update

This is just too funny not to mention, for anyone that hasn't spent any time on Moldy Chum, do so.  Here is their category titled "chicks".  Take a look.  Yes, I know Powerhour should have a topic labeled chicks of the Yakima Canyon, but Moldy Chum seems to be better at rounding up sweet picks of girls fishing in bikinis.  We'll leave that up to them and we'll focus on making fishing videos of dudes catching fish with ice bergs on the river... which now that it is in print doesn't sound nearly as exciting.  In addition to a lot of whacky stuff, there is some awesome fishing content on Moldy Chum.  Check it out.  

1/24/2012

You know it is cold when the gauge on your home river is frozen again.  The last reading was a water temp of 32.2°.  The Lower Canyon around Red's Fly Shop is severely iced up, but the Ellensburg section is fishable a few hours per day on some days for the devout angler.  It is supposed to warm up, so if you are itching to try out that new Christmas present the next couple of days look decent and should be ice free.  There will be lots of snow to deal with along the banks, a Vibram Sole Wading Boot is much better in the snow and ice because it doesn't collect ice build up like felt.  A felt sole can have you walking on platforms with an extra 10 pounds of snow and ice on the sole of your boots!  The river at Pac Man is frozen all the way across.  There is a nesting pair of bald eagles in the pine trees on the west side of the river between PacMan and Red's so if you are in the Canyon bring some optics.

When the weather is like this and the fishing is dead, take a look at something new.  Everyone always wonders what kind of flies flats fish like Bonefish, Permit, and Snook eat. See - Flies for Ascension Bay  Steve Joyce, the Red's GM is wading the flats right now hooking up with a ton of Bonefish.  They were skunked on Permit yesterday but the Bones have been aggressive and the weather is warm.  We are booked nearly full for this year, but think about this trip for 2013, learn more on our Ascension Bay Fly Fishing web page.

1/19/2012

Much to our surprise, the Yakima River is still slushy.  It probably wouldn't matter much anyway with the condition of the roads right now.  It is a good idea to stay home and fish from your computer.  A suggestion for today is to search the Red's Fly Shop Youtube Channel.  You can search for things like "Skwala", "Salmon Fly", "April", or any other key terms that you want pertinent local information about.  Since you are only searching the Red's channel you know it is useful, educational, and you won't see anything too weird.  There is a video of one our guides eating a stonefly, another guy intentionally falling in the river to demo a wading jacket, and some other whacky stuff but it is all good.  Take a look and educate yourself today for future trips. Red's Fly Shop Youtube Channel.  There are also some fantastic steelhead videos as well.

For those of you that live around Tri Cities, WA:  We'll be at the Sportsman's Show there this weekend with tons of great deals and a truckload of fly tying materials for 50% off.  Make sure to drop buy.  There will be some great rod/reel packages put together with Redington/Lamson products along with a couple of great buys on Redington CPX Switch Rods. 

1/18/2012

Snowpocolypse 2012 is upon us.  It is dumping snow over here but we are still under just a bit of ice flow anyway, so it looks like it will be at least another 48 hours before we are fishable again.  In the meantime, study up.  Above you will find a link to a cheat sheet for fly fishing in January on the Yakima River.  Short, concise, and it might give you a few ideas.

1/17/2012

On the Yakima, we are still in slush mode on the river but it looks like tomorrow the ice is going to relent and the snow is going to fall.  We have been bird hunting almost every day since the cold front hit and it has been great.  Yesterday we had a father and son duo and the young ladd shot his first bird!  Very cool.  We want to stress that our bird hunts are very beginner friendly, so don't feel intimidated if this is your first outing.  The guides are great and will treat you with the same positive, happy go lucky attitude that we do on our fly fishing trips. 

If you are an upland bird hunter, or would like to be soon - just sign up for our upland bird hunting mailing list.

1/16/2012

Fishing wise... the Yakima is running slushy still but Rocky Ford is fishing great right now with little fishing pressure.  The other trip to consider in our neck of the woods is some Pheasant hunting on our preserve.  It is very beginner friendly, great for kids, and an all around great time. 

1/13/2012

The slushy continues to pour.  We posted a survey on Facebook titled, "what is your favorite fly rod", it is fun to see the results.  Join the survey, and if you "Like" our page you will be automatically entered into a drawing for a FREE guided fly fishing trip AND a night in our lodge!  We will draw the winner randomly on March 1st from our list of likes. 

1/12/2012 - amendment

Major ice flow today, no fishing for a few days.  We'll be sure to let you know when it comes back around.  Take some extra time to browse our online store website today and start dreaming about fishing this spring and preparing your gear. 

1/12/2012

The cold snap made yesterday's fishing tougher on average than it has been.  We put 3 in the net, and all were very nice fish.  2 on streamers, 1 on a nymph.  Here is a quick rant from Craig H. (our token old wise guy at Red's:)  Rio Density Compensated Sink Tip Line - 15' Type 3 with 2X Fluoroflex Plus and a Dolly Llama. 

Why do we like this time year??
No rubber hatch!!
Never have to fish water already fished by 5 boats!!!
Never find any of the small smolts!!!
No contest to get to the water the first!!!

What is wrong with this time of year??

Virtually no dry action!
Have to Dress appropriately!
Short days of fishing!

Advice from a wise fisherman..... sometimes we fish in the shade, mostly we fish in the sun.  It is warmer.

How do we find these days, all from Red's web pages. River flows and water temperatures and latest weather forecast. These are our tools.

1/11/2012

We are heading out fishing today and embarking on a year long project that is very exciting.  We are filming a production quality DVD with an outdoor media company that we will cover 4 seasons of fly fishing the Yakima and how to be successful as a D.I.Y. angler out here on the Yak.  It will be a really cool DVD that not only shows some great fishing, but will teach folks how to unlock some of the nuisances of the various seasons out here.  It is a pretty big project and we are very excited to take this on.  It has been about 20 years since anyone put together a production on the Yakima for resale, since the days of Jim and Kelly Watt actually!  Wish us luck, the fish typically don't bite very well in front of fancy cameras.

A 19" Beauty getting measured on the Measure Net.  Use the Measure Net to tape your fish, it keeps you honest and keeps the fish under water!

Good fishing right now.  The river has been QUIET, despite perfect fishing conditions.  Come on out  The guys from the shop have been primarily streamer fishing on their 4 weight Switch Rods and getting some nice trout.  We can't say as much for the nymph fishing which is most certainly productive, based on our past experience, but we have been enjoying casting and fishing streamers.

1/7/2012

Craig H, Mike H, plus one (cannot remember who the third musketeer was at the moment) fished in the lower Lower Canyon yesterday and hit some fabulous fish on streamers. A Yellow Sculpzilla was the best fly throughout the past week.  The fishing actually slowed down in the later afternoon.  We have been finding that when the night time low is warmer than normal (high 20's or low 30's) the morning will fish well.  When the night time low is in the low 20's or high teens then the late afternoon will fish better.  The guys said that it just died off hard yesterday late in the day.  They also did a lot of fishing with their Switch Rods again.  Craig H. uses a 4 weight switch for most of his trout fishing this time of year because it is all streamer fishing and strike indicator fishing.  We'll elaborate more on this in an upcoming video or blog entry.  It is a really cool rod, the best trout switch that we have ever found.

1/4/2012

Good conditions, Yellow Sculpzilla was the best streamer yesterday.  Our token "old guy" at Red's, Craig H, was out yesterday and his fishing partner Luke stuck 2 fish that broke him off on Heavy Fluoroflex.  It is possible that they were steelhead.  the biggest landed was a stacked 19" fish that would have been called 24" on a solo trip. The guys were swinging flies on their Switch Rods and sink tips.  If you want to get better at your spey casting, now is a great time to practice and try and catch some trout while doing it.  It seems like everyone's goal is to catch a steelhead swinging a fly on a two-handed rod, but it also appears that the obstacle is that when the angler finally gets on a steelhead river in good conditions that lend themselves to swinging they are not yet prepared.  Instead of concentrating on "fishing" their fly and presenting it in a tempting manner over the right fish, they are still trying to learn how to cast.  When its game time you have to be ready!  Put in the reps so that the next time you step foot in a steelhead river your assault is polished.

1/2/2012

Watch this for entertainment, pretty funny.  The Methow and Wenatchee River are now closed for steelhead, but the Yakima River is coming back into nice shape.  If winter fishing is on your resolution list we can help you knock one goal off of it in a hurry.  We have fairly mild temperatures this week and trout will be getting caught daily.  Stick to the sweeping insides while the river is dropping and San Juan worms should be on the  menu for the next few days.  Streamer fishing can be productive most of the day, but is especially wise during the first part of the day while the nymph fishing is still sluggish.

- Tips on Winter Fishing on the Yakima River

12/30/2011

And... its over.  The Yakima got big and ugly last night and is temporarily out of order.  Stay tuned and watch the river flows because when this baby drops it should fish very well.   A wintertime freshet of water stirs up a lot of food that typically isn't available during the cold season.  It should only be a few days before it comes back into nice fishing shape again.  It is 8 pm right now and the river is starting to consider cresting.  It will most likely be in good fishing shape by about the 2nd or 3rd of January (just an estimate, please don't hold us to it!).  Have a great new year and be sure to see our fly fishing class schedule for 2012 if you haven't looked at it yet.  There are some great new classes for this year.

12/27/2011 - late pm

Great conditions on the Yakima this week.  We did some fishing today, we landed several very nice fish on a Red Brassie #18-20 and a Sculpzilla using a Rio Density Compensated Sink Tip Line - 15' Type 3.  Fishing should remain good this week!  Time to use some of that new fly fishing gear Santa left for you!