2/18/03

Anglers: Rod, Rick, Steve

Location: Red's to Lmuma

Flies: sz. 8 BB Skwala, sz. 10 Bitteroot Skwala (both dry flies)

Results: 7 Rainbows landed (14"-17"), lots of takes

Time: 2:30 pm until 4:30 pm

The first productive days of Skwala dry fly fishing have arrived! We landed 2 fish in the 16"-17" range, and missed one more that might have even been a bit bigger! We only saw one fish feed before we caught it, and the rest came to the fly in "likely" spots. All of the fish we raised came up within 5 feet of the bank (brushy, grassy, or rocky did not make much difference). We did not bring any fish up in the middle of the river riffles we've been having success nymphing over the last two months. That's not to say they're not there - they're just not looking for dries there. We got on the water a little later than we'd anticipated, but we brought fish up right up to the end of the float at 4:30 pm. The water temperature when we started was 42 degrees, and the sky was overcast with even a few sprinkles falling on us. I would say the best game plan is to try nymphing until about 1:30 or 2:00 pm and then give the dry flies a shot. It sure was nice watching that big bushy dry fly floating along the bank! Pay attention to the water temperatures!

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2/17/03

Anglers: Steve and Dan

Location: Mile 19 to Red's

Flies: sz. 10 Skwala nymph, sz. 16 Lightening Bug

Time: 12:00 - 4:00 pm

Results: approx. 8 fish landed (10" to 16") 6 trout, 2 Whitefish

The nymph fishing yesterday was pretty good. We had fairly consistent action throughout the float on both the Skwala nymph and the Lightening Bug. We managed to hook fish in most of the riffles and buckets we parked on, which is an improvement over the last week. The nymph fishing on the move was still somewhat slower; although we did hook a few fish from the boat. We saw one Skwala adult yesterday, and we are on the front end of the 2003 Skwala season. Some of the best dry fly fishing with Stone Fly (Skwala, Salmon, Golden, Summer) hatches can be in the early and late stages of the hatch. Just before the main part of the hatch comes off, the fish will see the nymphs getting active and start looking up for naturals. Similarly, after the hatch tapers off, the fish have gotten accustomed to eating the adults, and they will continue to look for them. Both of these stages can be excellent fishing because your fly does not have to compete with many naturals on the water. The daily level of activity we will see with the Skwala dry fly fishing will be largely influenced by water temperature. Prime time is 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm, and stable or slightly increasing water temperature is favorable.

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2/13/03

Angler: Steve

Location: Lower Red's

Flies: sz. 10 Double beaded Prince, sz. 16 Lightening Bug (silver)

Time: 2:30 pm until 3:30 pm

Results: 3 fish landed (12"-14") consisting of 2 Trout, 1 Whitefish

The flows are down to 1512 cfs this morning, and the river is in good shape. The weather has been beautiful for the past 4 days now, and today looks to be no exception. I caught 2 fish on the Lightening Bug and one on the big Prince. Fishing should continue to get better over the next few weeks as the river stabilizes and the skwala (nymphs for now) activity increases (along with water temperatures which were 40 degrees again yesterday).

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2/11/03

Anglers: Steve and Greg

Location: Lmuma to Mile Post #10

Flies: Sz. 10 Skwala nymph (variety of patterns), sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 12 Bloodi Mari, Gold Fruit Fly (streamer)

Time: 2:00 pm until 4:30 pm

Results: 4 fish landed - only (1) 12" trout, and the rest Whitefish

Even though the catching was still slow, the fishing was definitely improved over the last week. We had a lot more action than the results show. We hooked quite a few fish on nymphs that we didn't land, including one pretty solid fish that broke off. Our best fly was the Lightening Bug. The water temperature was back up to 40 degrees at 2 pm yesterday, due in large part to the fact that we didn't get a frost the night before. We fished streamers for the last mile, hooking only one fish that we didn't land. The strikes we had yesterday were slight and quick. You need to be on your toes and on the trigger to consistently hook those fish, which are often Whitefish, but can just as easily be an 18" Rainbow! Given the current water conditions (colder in the morning and evening, warming slightly in the afternoon), the most productive window is from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. Find yourself a good piece of water to fish for this period and work it thoroughly.

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2/8/03

Anglers: Randy and Steve

Location: Red's to Lmuma

Flies: sz. 10 Skwala nymph, sz. 16 Brassie, sz. 16 Red Copper John, Root Beer Bugger

Time: 2:00 pm until 4:30 pm

Results: (1) 16" Rainbow landed, a few others got off

Current flows are at 1933 cfs and still on the drop, and visibility is 2'-3'. Overall, I would say the fishing is still on the slow side. The key to catching fish is to find a nice piece of water and spend some time working it thoroughly. The weather pattern has been night time lows in the high 20's and daytime highs in the mid 40's. It's been bright and sunny during the day, and if this weather continues for another week like it's supposed to, we may start seeing some more consistent surface activity.

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2/6/03

Anglers: Steve and John

Location: Umtanum to Red's

Flies: sz. 10 Skwala nymph, sz. 16 Copper John (red), sz. 16 Brassie, JB's Yellow and Black Streamer

Time: 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm

Results: 7 fish landed 12"-14" (5 Whitefish, 2 Rainbows)

Flows at Umtanum are down to 2312 cfs, and we had better than 24" of visibility yesterday, which is definitely fishable conditions. All of the fish we caught were caught while we were anchored up, or out of the boat working water. The fish were sitting in softer water with a depth of 3'-4', and all except 2 were caught on the smaller nymphs. We didn't catch any fish from the boat while fishing on the move. We did see a few fish feeding on the surface, but most looked like Whitefish (splashy rises) and none were consistent enough to warrant casting dries at them. Granted, it depends on what bugs in what form are being eaten; but in general, Whitefish tend to make more of a splash when they eat a bug on the surface because of the way their mouth is positioned. Their mouth is on the bottom, so when they come to the surface, they must do it vertically. A trout's mouth is split horizontally, allowing them to rise more horizontally, which doesn't create as much of a splash. Visibility will continue to improve as the river continues to drop. We expect the fishing to pick up over the next few days.

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2/4/03

Update: The flows at Umtanum are currently at 3156 cfs and still dropping. Visibility at our place as of this morning is 12”-18” and 24”+ at Ringer (above Wilson Creek ). Although it’s still going to be pretty tough fishing, the best option is to pull streamers and fish nymphs through the slack water on the edges and in the back eddies. When the river gets high and dirty like it was, the fish will not waste any energy fighting the current in search of food that they can’t see. They will move into the slack water and rest until things clear up.

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2/2/03

Update: After cresting yesterday at 8934 cfs at 4:00 am, the river is now flowing at 5639 cfs, and still coming down. Visibility is under 6", and the river is still unfishable. For those of you that have never seen the river at 9000 cfs, it's something to behold! It will take at least a few days for this thing to come back into shape, and then we'll have to see how the fish respond. We'll keep you posted as conditions continue to improve.

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1/31/03

Anglers: Tim, Steve, and Steve

Location: Ringer to Big Horn

Flies: Sz. 10 Skwala nymph, sz. 16 Copper John, sz. 18 Brassie

Time: 1:30 until 4:30 pm

Results: 2 fish landed, (12", 15") a few more hook ups

Well, we got one more day of fishing in before the river went out. As of this morning (1/31), the river is back up to 3569 cfs and still rising. Debris is floating down the river, and not only is it unfishable, but it would be dangerous to be out there! These last two days that we've fished, we've had three guys fishing for 7 hours total - that's 21 hours of fishing and 8 fish to hand. It equates to 2.63 hours of fishing per fish. I'd call that pretty tough trout fishing. We'll wait for this river to come back into shape and see what happens. Before this thing went out for the first time last Sunday, we had some of the better fishing we've seen in a long time. We'll keep you posted as conditions improve. We're supposed to have night time air temperatures dropping back down to freezing, and this rain is supposed to subside today. Maybe by Monday...

1/30/03

Anglers: Jason, John, Steve

Location: Irene to Ringer

Flies: Skwala nymphs in sz. 8 -12, a variety of different droppers, a variety of olive, brown, and black streamers

Time: 1:00 until 4:30 pm

Results: Approx. 6 fish landed (12" to 16")

The river level is still high, but continues to drop and clear. Visibility was approx. 3' on the section we floated. We beat the water up pretty good, and the fish we caught were hooked after multiple drifts through some prime locations (mostly out of the boat and wading). We caught only one fish and had very few takes while fishing on the move from the boat (both streamers and nymphs), which is a pretty good indicator that the fish are not overly active. The water temperature was 38 degrees, which is certainly within the favorable range. Overall, if this river continues to drop and clear, we should see things get back on track within the next couple of days. Visibility in the canyon as of this morning (1/30) is back to 2'-3'.

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1/29/03

Update: The river had gone up to over 3500 cfs during this recent rise. Flows are back down to 2001 cfs this morning at Umtanum, and still on the drop. Visibility below Wilson Creek is 18"-24", and about 3' above Wilson Creek. Rain showers are predicted for today and tomorrow afternoon. We'll have a fishing report for you tomorrow evening.

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1/27/03

Update: As of this morning, the river is what I would describe as unfishable. We have only 6" of visibility and the flows have come up considerably overnight. I drove up to Wilson Creek this morning, and there is no color difference between Wilson Creek and the main stem. This means that the system at least to the Teanaway, and maybe beyond is out as well. The only updated flow report I could get this morning is at Easton and flows have more than doubled there overnight (225 cfs to about 560cfs). It will take at least a couple of days for this plug to work its' way out. We'll keep you posted as conditions change.

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1/26/03

Anglers: Natalie, Steve, and Rod

Location: Lmuma to Slab

Flies: sz. 10 Skwala nymph, sz. 16 Black Copper John Dropper

Time: 2:00 until 4:30 pm

Results: 12 fish landed (10" to 16") including 2 Whitefish (Rod got one Whitefish that was 20"!)

The nymph fishing was good yesterday. We fished with the two nymph rig, but we caught all of our fish on the medium sized Skwala pattern. We hooked two nicer fish that came unbuttoned, and had pretty constant activity throughout the float. The river remained in great shape yesterday, but is on its' way up today. It may dirty up a bit below Wilson Creek for a day or two, but as of right now, it doesn't look like it's going to go out on us. The Skwala nymphs are going to get more active over the next couple of weeks, and the fishing should stay pretty good. I used to think that fishing with Fluorocarbon tippet didn't make much of a difference, but I have changed my mind as of late. The physics behind the fluorocarbon tippet is that it is clearer, denser, and more abrasion resistant. I used it when it first came out for fishing dries and nymphs. I found that with the dry flies, especially smaller ones, I had a tougher time mending the line because the tippet tends to sink a bit. I didn't fish it enough with nymphs to notice any difference, so I quit using it. Lately, however, I have been experimenting with the Fluorocarbon for nymph fishing. Maybe the days I have chosen to use it have just been better fishing days, but there has been a noticeable difference. I highly recommend that you try Fluorocarbon tippet for fishing nymphs and droppers.

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1/24/03

Angler: Steve

Location: Lmuma

Fly: sz. 8 Root Beer Bugger

Time: 2:30pm until 3:30pm

Results: 1 Grab, 1 Fish lost after several minutes, 0 fish to hand

The river has remained in great shape, despite the snow and sporadic rain that we've experienced these past two days. Water temperature this afternoon was 37 degrees, which is down slightly, but not enough to completely shut the fishing down. I was fishing a sink tip with a streamer, casting slightly upstream and swinging the flies down and across, much like one does when fishing for steelhead. Nymphing has remained productive with the standard medium sized Stonefly and smaller dropper tied on 10"-14" behind the front fly. If the weather warms up rapidly, the river may get some color below Wilson Creek like it did the first week of January. However, the forecast looks favorable for the weekend, and we're hopeful that the fishing will follow suit.

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1/22/03

Not a fishing report, just a weather report. Winter has moved into the Yakima Canyon! We have about 6" of snow on the ground right now and it's still coming down - hard. The air temperature is around 30 degrees. We'll keep you posted as conditions change.

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1/20/03

Anglers: Tony

Location: Lmuma

Flies: sz. 10 20"er stonefly nymph, sz. 16 Copper John (Copper), sz. 12 Skwala nymph, sz. 18 Brassie

Time: 1:30 - 2:30 pm

Results: 3 Rainbows landed, 1 Whitefish (12"-14")

The water temperature is holding right at the forty degree mark, which is definitely favorable for winter trout fishing. The same flies we've been using for the past month (medium sized Stonefly nymphs, Copper Johns, and Brassies, with some streamers mixed in) still seem to be the best producers. Over the course of the past week, we have picked fish up in every type of water from the slow, deep tail-outs, to the soft seams at the heads of fast, shallow riffles. You should plan on prospecting in all types of water, and make sure you adjust your rigs accordingly. For example, when you are fishing shallower water, take some split shot away and shorten the distance between your strike indicator and your fly. When you move to the tail-out, lengthen your indicator to fly distance and add enough shot to get your bugs down to the fish. When you do find one fish, don't get in too much of a hurry to move on, because there's a good chance there are more fish in the same spot. The dry fly fishing continues to be sporadic, but there are still fish working on midge throughout the day in some of the flats.

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1/15/03

Anglers: Steve and Joe

Location: Umtanum to Red's

Flies: Gold Fruit Fly (streamer), sz. 6 Brown Zonker (streamer), sz. 10 brown Kaufmann's Stonefly nymph, sz. 10 Double Beaded Prince Nymph, sz. 16 PT w/ Black Beadhead, sz. 16 Copper John (Red), sz. 18 Brassie, etc...

Time: 2:00 pm until 4:30 pm

Results: 4 fish landed (3 on streamers, 1 on nymphs) 13"-15"

The water temperature when we put on was right at 40 degrees, and we picked up our first fish on a streamer within 5 minutes, so we thought it was going to be an awesome afternoon. However, I would have to say that the fishing was pretty tough overall. We threw a variety of nymphs into some spots that usually hold fish, and came up with only one fish total on a nymph. The other fish we picked up were on streamers in water that was 1-2 feet deep. I don't think the fish are typically holding in this type of water right now, I just think that the few that are there are a little more active. The weather is going to be cooling down a little bit this weekend and into next week, so the water temperatures may drop a little bit along with that. This is a good time to focus on quality of fishing and not quantity. A day on the water this time of year is not just rewarded with solitude, but also with a potential 18"+ deeply colored Yakima Rainbow!

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1/12/03

Anglers: Steve and Tony

Location: Mile Post #19 to Umtanum

Flies: Root Beer Bugger, sz. 10 20"er

Time: 2:30 pm until 4:30 pm

Results: 6 fish landed (13"-16")

We fished streamers the whole time except for one little run where we fished a nymph for about 10 minutes and caught one fish. The water temp was 37 degrees yesterday, which was an improvement from the day before. We had more snow and rain last night, but the air temperature this morning is near what it was yesterday (35 degree high), so I hope the water temperature stays somewhat stable. The water we were picking up fish on the streamer yesterday was once again the slower, deeper runs. We were using a slow retrieve varying to a dead drift, and the takes were very soft.

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1/9/03

Anglers: Steve and Joe

Location: Mile Post 19 to Umtanum

Flies: Black Attack (streamer), J & J (streamer)

Time: 3:00 pm until 4:30 pm

Results: 3 fish landed (12"-16") + a 20" Sucker (foul hooked in the back)

The fish seemed to prefer a much slower retrieve or even a dead drift on the streamers yesterday. The river is down another 50 cfs to 960 today at Umtanum. Last weekend on the Ringer to Big Horn sections, we had been finding fish nymphing the faster seams at the heads of the riffles; however, most of the tugs we got yesterday came in water that was a little slower and a little deeper.

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1/8/03

Anglers: Steve and Joe

Location: Red's Lower Boat Launch

Flies: Various stonefly patterns in sizes 8-14

Time: 12:30 pm until 1:30 pm

Results: No fish to hand, 1 or 2 takes

I guess my report yesterday may have been a little ambitious! The visibility when we got out there still had a little ways to go before I would call it good. We didn't find any fish holding on that particular seam, but I've still gotta believe that the fish are going to be on the feed with the river dropping and clearing. Fish the softer water, and don't be afraid to try and give them a bigger fly. Flow rates this morning are down another 52 cfs to 1010 at Umtanum, and the air temperature is a little cooler today (32 degrees this morning) than it has been, so the river should continue to drop and clear. The water above Wilson Creek is in great shape, so if you get out here and don't like the visibility in the canyon, you can still fish the upper end.

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1/7/03

I haven't had a chance to get back out fishing yet, but I just wanted to let everyone know that the canyon section below Wilson Creek is back in shape. After peaking above 1300 cfs, the river is currently at 1062 cfs and still dropping. Visibility is back up to about 3 feet, and I am looking forward to getting on the water again this afternoon. Stay tuned for a report tomorrow.

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1/4/03

Anglers: Rod, Tony, and Steve

Flies: sz. 12 Double Beaded Prince Nymph, sz. 18 Copper John (Copper), sz. 18 Brassie, Root Beer Bugger (Streamer)

Location: Ringer to Big Horn

Time: 12:30 until 4:30 pm

Results: 11 fish landed (12"-18") + 2 Whitefish

Due to a combination of recent snow melt and rain, the Yakima River below Wilson Creek has less than 12" of visibility. The water above Wilson Creek has fished well the past two days using both nymphs and streamers. Fishing with a medium sized stonefly nymph and a smaller dropper fished under a strike indicator has been a very effective nymph rig. Concentrate on the soft seam at the heads of the riffles. We have seen fish rising for midge in a few spots with enough consistency to warrant casting for them, but staying below the surface is definitely your most productive option. Keep an eye on the flows at Umtanum, when they start to drop, the river will begin to clear again.