Red's Fly Shop | Power Hour Fishing Report - Yakima River Fly Fishing Report

Red's Power Hour Fishing Report
July - September 2004

The Power Hour Fishing Report is brought to you exclusively by Red's. The content of this report is not the generic "fishing has been good in the morning, and afternoons, and later in the evenings, too." Rather, when we go fishing, we will analyze one session and report the day, time, location, fly, number of fish caught, species, and size (if we caught any). We'll also write up the method we used. Keep in mind that the fishing report is based on a prior day's fishing and weather conditions.

Flies: sz. 8 Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 8 Beaded Prince, sz. 18 Green & Brown WD-40s, sz. 10 Beaded Red Squirrel Stone, sz. 18 Bird's Nest, sz. 20 Beaded Brassie, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug, sz. 14 Green Soft Hackle, sz. 10 Royal Coachman, sz. 10 Orange Ugyn Bug, sz. 16 Split Wing Purple Haze, sz. 14 & 16 Parachute Adams, sz. 10 Orange Bugmeister, sz. 8 Royal Stimulator, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator

It was another day of fishing just about every bug we had in our boxes. Nymphing with the WD-40 was the most productive tactic until about 5:30 pm, when we started to see some fish on the bigger dries. The Electric Blue Stimulator was the best bug during the evening hours; however, the largest fish of the day was taken on the Royal Coachman. Cheryl had her hands full with this fish. With that Coachman in his jaw, he liked the air better than the water. We are still having plenty of sunshine with temperatures in the mid 70's to mid 80's and light and variable winds averaging about 5 to 15 mph.

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Flies: sz. 16 Soft Hackle PT, sz. 18 Baetis Nymph, sz. 16 Orange Soft Hackle, sz. 14 Green Soft Hackle, sz. 18 FBPT

We snuck off yesterday afternoon and did some experimentation with soft hackles and non-weighted nymphs. The water we were fishing was 18"-36" in depth, and there were some sporadic feeders present. The objective with these flies is to position yourself upriver of the fish, and present the fly down and across to the fish on a traditional "swing". As with any fishing that you are doing utilizing a swing (steelhead, salmon,...), the hang down is very important. The hang down is when your line has finished the drift and is laid out straight below you. At this point, I like to give 2 or 3 long, slow 12" strips before casting back up. You will have a fair number of short strikes that you don't hook up when fishing this way, and you tend to hook a number of small fish; but it is always exciting to feel the grab.

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Flies: sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Red Copper John, sz. 18 WD 40, sz. 18 Bird's Nest, sz. 18 Flashback Pheasant Tail, sz. 6 Beaded Prince Nymph, sz. 14 Beaded Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle, sz. 10 Beaded Red Squirrel Stone Nymph, sz. 8 Orange Phat Fly, sz. 8 Orange Bugmeister, sz. 8 Royal Stimulator, sz. 16 Split Wing Purple Haze, sz. 14 & 16 Parachute Adams

We tried about every productive fall fly pattern we had in the box on this float. Nymphing with the WD-40 or Bird's Nest below a stone on a double nymph rig, or with a dry and dropper set-up seemed to be the most productive method. However, two of our biggest fish were taken on the Purple Haze and the Stimulator. We did see several October Caddis, and we are still looking forward to the best of the Blue Winged Olive and October Caddis fishing. The weather is warm with forecasted temperatures for today at 86 degrees and the low 80's over the next couple of days.

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Flies: sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Red Copper John, sz. 18 WD 40, sz. 8 Phat Fly, sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 16 Orange Soft Hackle, sz. 16 Olive Soft Hackle, sz. 18 Split Wing BWO

Fishing was tough yesterday, both on and below the surface. The fish we did see actively feeding were smaller and not real consistent. This bright, sunny weather we are seeing has slowed the BWO hatch, and it is still early for October Caddis. We fished October Caddis patterns for the last hour and a half of daylight and only had a few fish come up. Fishing will pick up as the weather cools down again.

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Wading conditions below Roza Dam are good, and this part of the river seems to be fishing similar to the rest of the canyon. The biggest Rainbow caught had a large snelled salmon hook stuck out it's lower belly, but seemed very healthy. Dylan was able to gently remove the hook and release the fish safely. This hook did not appear to have snagged the fish; rather, the fish must have ingested the hook (probably camoflauged in a glob of eggs) which later poked through. Bait fishing is legal starting 1 mile below Roza Dam. We have had some warm, sunny weather move through these past 4 to 5 days, and it looks like the forecast will hold through the weekend. With the warm weather, the Baetis fishing has slowed considerably, and although we have seen a few October Caddis, it is still a bit early. Nymph fishing remains the most productive strategy for us, running the same sz. 6-10 Stonefly nymph with a sz. 16-20 trailer under an indicator. The best of the Fall season is yet to come!

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Flies: sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Copper John, sz. 20 WD 40, sz. 18 Bird's Nest, sz. 18 Olive Split Wing Adams, sz. 18,20 Sparkle Dun, sz. 18-22 CDC Emerger, sz. 8 Orange Bugmeister, sz. 6 Marathon Bug, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator

Fishing was tougher yesterday than what we had anticipated and seen during the past week. We fished nymphs, small dries, and big dries throughout the day, and had a little success with each, but not a lot of success with any. There was a good hatch that came off around 2:00 and a fair number of fish up feeding on small Mayflies. We hooked some small fish during this hatch, but the bigger fish were tucked away in tough spots and not wanting to move out to eat a fly. We had 3 big fish lined up eating consistently on an inside seam along the grass below a fly-eating bush. JJ managed to get one up and had several refusals, but the hatch finally waned and we tipped our hats and pulled anchor - another day, another time - they'll still be there!

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Flies: sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Prince, sz. 18 Olive Split Wing Adams

Cloudy, dark, and rainy described most of the day yesterday, and it was a fabulous day to be on the river. We started the day fishing nymphs, hooking fish both anchored up and on the move. Around 1:00, the first good BWO hatch of the Fall came off and the fish podded up. We spent about two hours between Bighorn and the rock slides casting to an amazing amount of feeding fish. We tried several different BWO patterns, but had our best luck with the size 18 Olive Split Wing. The sun came back out for the late afternoon, and it was time to cover some water to make the takeout before dark. We went back to nymphing on the go and saw a few more fish, but as the evening progressed the productivity declined. Overall it was a great day to be on the river. I would have to say that the Fall BWO fishing is on!

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Flies: sz. 4 Yellow Bunny, sz. 6 Gold Fruit Fly, sz. 6 White Fruit Fly, sz. 6 Root Beer Bugger

A non-conventional Power Hour report today, but we couldn't resist! Our schedule allowed us to skip town for a day and a half and sneak in a float on the Clark Fork. We met our old friend Mitch Kowalski, and spent a beautiful Fall day pulling streamers with hopes of seeing some big Browns. The weather was partly cloudy skies, and the fish were definitely more active during the periods of cloud cover. We got back into the canyon about 2:00 am, but it was worth every minute. On a not-so-distant note, we are looking at a partly cloudy sky on the Yakima and a flow rate of 1427 cfs. The forecast through the weekend shows a chance of rain each day, which should produce some Baetis activity. Nymphing on the move remains the most productive tactic; however, any day now could kick off the Fall BWO's!

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Flies: sz. 16 Purple Split Wing, sz. 16 Rusty Spinner, sz. 14 Parachute Adams sz. 10 Marathon Bug, sz. 18 CDC Baetis Emerger

The cloud cover was late in coming and the wind was late in going is how I could pretty much sum up yesterday's fishing. We stuck with dry flies through the bright sunshine and strong wind and had pretty decent activity, but mostly smaller fish until the late afternoon when the clouds rolled in and the wind died down. We did hit one pod of feeding fish about 3:00, but other than that, it was mostly just casting to likely spots and seam lines. The weather forecast looks favorable through the weekend, with cooler temperatures and cloudy skies in the forecast. The fish are in great shape right now, and these early Fall conditions could make for a very long and productive Fall season. Although the Army Corps' flow site is down, the rates are at 1321 this morning and starting to show signs of stabilizing.

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Flies: sz. 12 Orange/Yellow Stimulator, sz. 10 Marathon Bug, sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stonefly Nymph, sz. 8 Prince Nymph, sz. 8 Double Beaded Peacock Stonefly Nymph, sz. 8 Beaded 20"er, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Red Copper John, sz. 16 olive Hare's Ear, sz. 16 Flashback Pheasant Tail, sz. 16 Beaded Prince Nymph

The wind that the weatherman has been forecasting finally showed up yesterday. As a result, we fished nymph rigs on the go most of the day and had a fair amount of success. The biggest fish of the day came out of the water and straight at the boat. I thought he was going to jump into Jack's lap, but he got a little slack and came unpinned at the last minute. The river flows are still declining with the flow this morning at 1391 cfs. The cooler temperatures are great, and we have even had some rain showers to freshen things up a bit. The forecasted temperature for today is 69 degrees with a west wind at 10 to 20 mph. We are looking forward to seeing some podded actively eating fish in the near future.

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Flies: sz. 12 Royal Stimulator, sz. 16 Purple Split Wing, sz. 8 Grey and Gold Stimulator, sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stonefly nymph, sz. 8 Black Cone MT Nymph, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Red Copper John, sz. 16 olive Hare's Ear

The wind that was forecast for yesterday never really materialized, which coupled with partly cloudy skies, made for a good day of fishing. We did the best fishing both nymphs and dry flies on the move. With flows on the way down, a lot of the fish we picked up were out along the seams where the water color changes from brown to green. There are lots of options on the Yakima right now - fishing nymphs, dries or streamers; wading or floating; big dries or small dries; etc... Each of these can be productive with the conditions we are seeing on the river.

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Flies: sz. 12 Orange Stimulator, sz. 16 Purple Split Wing, sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stonefly nymph, sz. 8 Plan B, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Red Copper John

River flows are now on the South side of 2000 cfs and will remain there until Spring of next year. We expect the drop to continue at the same rate we have been seeing for another 4-5 days and then start to stabilize around 1200 cfs. The river has continued to fish pretty well through the drop using both dry flies and nymphs. There are still a variety of insects hatching (Caddis, Stoneflies, Sallies, Midge, and a whole bunch of different Mayflies) but not enough of any one of those to really get the fish keyed in. We have found the fish more responsive to a smaller dry fly offering - even going down to size 16's on the move. We are in the transition stage from the Summer bugs (Hoppers and Stones) to the Fall bugs (BWO's and October Caddis). The extended forecast looks like highs in the seventies and partly cloudy skies. Tomorrow (9/9) is supposed to be windy.

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Flies: sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 16 Purple Split Wing, sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 4 20"er Stonefly nymph, sz. 16 Lightening Bug

We fished a combination of dry flies on the move and nymphing a few select slots from anchor. Except for a couple of 15-20 minute slow periods of dry fly fishing in the bright sunshine, we had good action throughout the drift. River levels continue to come down (2390 cfs), and there are new rocks sticking up each day. We targeted a lot of water that was 10' off the banks with dry flies yesterday. I bumped bottom in a few spots that I'd floated through clean just a couple days ago. The ledges and bars are starting to show and wade fishing access is getting easier each day. The weather forecast looks favorable (regarding both temperature and wind!).

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Like last week, we have had some cooler, cloudy weather move in and the dry fly fishing has picked up. We fished big dries on the move the entire drift, and other than a few fairly short dry spells, the action was consistent. The river continues to drop (currently 2588 cfs), and we have seen quite a variety of insects coming off during the "stage down". Dry fly fishing with the big attractors and nymphing have both been good, especially if you're lucky enough to catch a cloudy day. The forecast for the weekend calls for things to warm a bit to nearly 80 by Sunday, but suggests partly cloudy skies throughout.

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It was a beautiful evening to be on the river. The weather was great, and the dry fly fishing was good. The Stimulator was the best pattern, with the biggest fish of the evening coming from some faster water on an inside corner. The river flows are continuing to gradually decline as we move toward the September 1 "Flip Flop." The flow today is 2832 cfs. After a warming trend over the last couple of days, it is starting to cool down a bit with the forecasted temperature in the mid 80's for today and the 70's tomorrow. The weatherman is also predicting some wind over the next couple of days.

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Flies: sz. 10 Leopard Hopper, sz. 12 Marathon Bug, sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 12 Feth's Hopper, sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 6 Double Beaded Peacock Stone, sz. 6 Kaufmann's, sz. 16 Lightening Bug

Despite a slight bit of color in the river from the rain we've had over the past 4 days, yesterday was probably the best day of summertime big dry fly fishing I've seen this season. We had some nice fish up on a regular basis throughout the drift - both in tight to the banks, and out a ways at times. Around noon we pulled over and waited for a good thunderstorm to pass through, but after it passed, the sun came out and the fish continued looking for dry flies. We stopped and nymphed one run and picked up several fish on both the big stone and a smaller nymph. Other than that, we stuck with the big dries on the move. This cooler weather has been a nice change - both for us and for the fish. Right now, water temperatures are starting out 4 degrees cooler in the morning than they were a week ago. The fish we caught yesterday were in excellent shape and full of energy. It looks like things will warm a bit to the mid 80's for the weekend.

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Flies: sz. 10 Leopard Hopper, sz. 12 Feth's Hopper, sz. 10 Nightmare, sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 6 Double Beaded Peacock Stone, sz. 6 Kaufmann's, sz. 16 Lightening Bug

Other than one slow period in the early afternoon, we had fish up on dry flies throughout the entire float. The cooler weather did move in on Sunday, and it brought some cloud cover and even a little rain along with it. After the hundred-plus degree weather we've had this summer, yesterday seemed like one of the nicer days of the year. It looks like this will stick around through the weekend, and dry fly fishing should remain productive with these conditions. The river flows did bump up a bit (3353 cfs) and it did change color slightly yesterday, but not enough to effect the fishing. We are starting to notice some early signs of Fall - a few leaves changing color, the slight morning chill, and the shimmering afternoon light...

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Flies: sz. 10 Leopard Hopper, sz. 12 Feth's Hopper, sz. 8 Nightmare, sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 6 Double Beaded Peacock Stone, sz. 4 20"er, sz. 16 Lightening Bug

Although we did bring some nice fish up on Hoppers along the grassy banks, dry fly fishing was slow throughout the float. Our most productive tactic was fishing nymphs in the riffles under an indicator. River flows continue to drop, and the water temperature at the takeout was back up to 70 degrees. This cooler weather next week will help, but again, get the fish in quick and keep them in the water. Anglers have been doing a good job of releasing fish this summer, and I have yet to see a dead trout in the river. Keep it up!

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Flies: sz. 10 Black Nightmare, sz. 12 Feth's Hopper, sz. 8 Tan Turk's Tarantula, sz. 12 Para Hopper

Once again, the early morning part of this trip was the slowest period for dry fly fishing. Once the sun got high on the water, we had our best activity using Hopper patterns and fishing tight to the banks. The river flows have continued to drop at a slow and steady pace of about 75 cfs per day, and are currently at 3256 cfs. We walked the banks a bit yesterday and saw fair numbers of both Grasshoppers and Summer Stoneflies. These bugs will remain the focus of the trout's diet for the remainder of the Summer. The weather forecast calls for 2 more days of hot weather before a cooling period moves in next week. High temperatures are forecast for the high seventies and low eighties all through next week. This will have a positive impact on the high water temperatures we've been seeing.

Flies: sz. 10 Black Nightmare, sz. 12 Feth's Hopper, sz. 10 Winged Thing, sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 10 Royal MT Bar Fly, sz. 8 Matt's Stone, sz. 4 20"er, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug

We put on and fished only dry flies for the first hour with little action. After that we alternated a bit between a dry/ dropper combination and some full on indicator nymphing and picked up some fish. We went back to the dry flies near the Miracle Mile and had pretty decent action until we took out around 1:00. Air temperatures are still hitting the mid to high nineties out here, and we are constantly checking water temperatures throughout the day. At the takeout yesterday on the lower river, we had a reading of 69 degrees, which is slightly improved, but still something to stay aware of when landing and releasing fish.

Along with the two fish we landed, we had several long distance releases and misses. One of the long distance releases was a nice fish that wanted to jump rather than swim. He cleared the surface of the water at least six times before coming unpinned. We are continuing to see both high air temperatures and water temperatures. The weather forecast for today is 96 to 101 degrees with winds in the 10-20 mph range. The river flow has gradually decreased over the last few days and today it is 3452 cfs. This decrease in flow only adds to the increase in the water temperature. With the water temperatures reaching 70 degrees or close to it during mid-day, please handle the fish very carefully. Land and release fish as soon as possible.

Flies: sz. 14 Tan Feth's Hopper, sz. 10 Black Nightmare, sz. 12 Ant, sz. 6 Terminator, sz. 10 Dave's Hopper, sz. 12 Phat Fly

It was another good morning for fishing dry flies. We have gotten away from the bigger (sz. 6 and 8) sizes and had more success fishing medium sized bugs (sz. 10-14). The fish have been tucked in tight to the grassy banks and in the shallower, faster moving water, especially in the bright sunshine. The weatherman was not far off with the forecast, as temperatures the past 2 days have hit 102 degrees. It looks like it is going to remain hot through the weekend and then start to cool down on Monday. Once again, don't play the fish too long and get them back in the water quickly. Water temperatures have hit 70 degrees in the afternoon the past 2 days, and those conditions are difficult for trout.

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 14 Tan Feth's Hopper, sz. 10 Black Nightmare, sz. 12 Ant, sz. 8 Plan B, sz. 6 Winged Thing, sz. 8 Marathon Bug (dries), sz. 8 Black Cone 20"er, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug

Fishing was fairly consistent throughout the day using both nymphs and dry flies; although the evening dry fly fishing was particularly good from about 5:30 pm until 7:00 pm. We fished some smaller dry patterns through the heat of the day with success. At one point, Walt hooked a nice fish that ate the fly and continued upriver on the run. Before he got a chance to get things under control, it had taken his line and wrapped it around a log or rock. When he finally caught up with it, all he had left was the empty fly. I refer to this as getting "taken to the woodshed", and Walt will be reminded of it frequently in the future! Air temperatures hit 102 degrees yesterday and the water temperature on the lower river last night was just under 70 degrees. We can't stress it enough that when conditions are like this, it is important to get those fish in quick and back in the water - save the photos for the Fall.

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Feth's Hopper, sz. 6 Tan Parachute Hopper, sz. 8 Royal Stimulator, sz. 8 Plan B, sz. 6 Winged Thing, sz. 8 Marathon Bug (dries), sz. 8 Kauffman's, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 16 PD sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug, sz. 16 PD, sz. 14 Caddis Pupae, sz. 16 Olive Prince

We put in a long float and a covered a lot of water, fishing mostly dry flies on the move. We hit several sections where we had fish coming up consistently, and went through some periods where we'd go 20-30 minutes without seeing a fish come up at all. The evening, which had been picking up, was not especially productive for us last night, either. Every day is different... Air temperatures hit 98 degrees in the canyon yesterday, and the forecast is for temperatures of 100 degrees plus through the weekend. Flows are down slightly to 3633, which could lead to rising water temperatures. With air temperatures as warm as it's going to get, it's a good idea to keep these fish in the water as much as possible - use a net to land them and if you want a picture, try and keep them in the net and in the water.

Flies: sz. 6 Kauffman's Stone, sz. 8 Matt's Stone, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug, sz. 16 PD, sz. 14 Caddis Pupae, sz. 16 Olive Prince

Our focus on this drift was to nymph a few spots in the lower river. Nymphing was pretty productive overall, with the majority of the fish we caught taking the smaller trailer flies. We did hook a few nicer fish that we lost, but overall, these fish we picked up nymphing were not as big as the fish we've been catching on big dries. Our most prductive water was the shallower faster stuff above the ledges and drops. The best fish that we actually saw came up and ate my yellow strike indicator on about the third or fourth cast - it took some will power at that point to stick with our original plan and keep nymphing!

Flies: sz. 6 Nightmare, sz. 6 Chernobyl, sz. 6 Montana Bar Fly, sz. 8 Para-Hopper

We had plenty of both eaters and lookers during this float. Early in the float, while the sun was still on the water, we concentrated on the shady spots and had a fair amount of success using this tactic. We are seeing some warmer temperatures again, and the expected high for today is 92 degrees. The river flow has dropped some and is currently at 3860 cfs.

We fished only one fly this morning, and the results are a little deceiving. Along with the two fish landed, we had several long distance releases and a many other lookers. They really liked seeing just a little bit of movement on the fly. It was beautiful on the river this morning; cool enough to be in waders and a mist rising from the water. The sun is shining here right now,and we are expecting temperatures in the high 70's or low 80's today. The rain we received yesterday helped bring the current river flow up to 4160 cfs. This past week, we registered the highest water temperatures of the season at 66 degrees. This will become more of a factor as August wears on, and it is important to keep this in mind when landing and releasing fish.

Flies: sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 6 Matt's Stone, sz. 14 Lightening Bug, sz. 12 Lightening Bug, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 6 Plan B

We rigged up two full-on nymph rigs at the beginning of the drift and fished them both on the move and stopping and anchoring on a few spots. Nymph fishing was pretty good once we lengthened our leaders to about 10' and added enough weight to get the flies down. We started with our indicators at only 4'-5' above the top fly and ended up having our best success after we adjusted them to 7'-8'. After the sun started to go off the water at the top end of the Miracle Mile, we switched to dries and brought 3 or 4 nice fish up just before the takeout.

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 10 Feth Hopper, sz. 10 Marathon Bug, sz. 8 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 6 Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 14 Silver Lightening Bug

Morning fishing proved itself again, with plenty of dry fly activity for most of the float. The best window of fishing we had was between the hours of 6:30 and 10:30am. Summer Stones and Hoppers have been the bugs of choice in the morning, but fishing other terrestrial patters like beetles and small ants gives the fish some variations and can produce some results. After 10:30am the dry fly fishing slowed down enough to warrant switching our fishing tactics. We nymphed for the duration of the float between Red's and Lmuma, targeting mostly the weaker banks, and had enough activity to keep things interesting.

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 10 Tan Turk's Tarantula, sz. 10 Marathon Bug, sz. 8 Tan Para Hopper

Dry fly activity has picked up a bit over the past 2 or 3 days. While the morning and evening are still the optimum times to be on the water, we have been seeing more action during the middle part of the day on Hoppers. Our strategy has remained the same - cover a fair amount of water and work for good presentation. Sometimes playing around with drift duration can make a difference, too. Rather than casting and getting a 5' drift, then recasting; go ahead and leave the fly on the water for another 10'-15' if the drift is drag-free. It seems like that can entice tough fish to come up. They follow the fly for a long ways to make sure it looks right, and then they eat it with a downstream charge! We have more hot weather in store for the next couple of days before it looks like things may cool down on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 6 Orange Nightmare, sz. 10 Peacock Tarantula, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 10 Montana Bar Fly, sz. 10 Para-Hopper

Another consistent evening on the Yak! We began the first part of the evening dead drifting hopper patterns close to the bank, producing an abundance of smolt activity with a decent fish coming up every once in awhile. Later in the evening we switched to the adult stone fly patterns (Tan Nightmare, Montana Bar Fly, Winged Thing, etc...), producing plenty of aggressive takes. The fishing was very productive with the best hour being between 7:30 and 8:30. The fishing has stayed fairly consistent in the evening. If you're having trouble getting the fish to look up at your bug simply switch around patterns until you find something the fish like. When we are out fishing we are constantly changing patterns, size, and color just to see what the fish are focusing in on. Small changes in patterns can really make a difference on how good your fishing will be.

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 10 Grey and Gold Stimulator, sz. 10 Daves Hopper

We fished the middle part of the morning yesterday, and although we didn't land any fish, the mid morning activity was pretty good. We had fish up throughout the float, casting big dries tight to the banks along the straight grassy banks, and 5'- 10' off the bank on the structures where the seam lines move out. It can be difficult to hook fish with big dries. The takes are all different and hard to pattern; the fish are often on the move when they eat the fly so there's an immediate run when you set the hook; and it's harder to get the fly set in a solid spot in the fishes' mouth. Several fish that we hooked yesterday turned and came straight at the boat, while a couple others headed upriver. Regardless of what seems to be the problem, the solution is just to keep practicing...and don't get frustrated. If you're getting the fish to come up, then you're putting the bug in the right spot and the presentation is good. The rest is the fun part to work on!

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 6 Plan B, sz. 6 Light Orange Nightmare, sz. 6 Daves Hopper, sz. 6 Para-Hopper, sz. 6 Kaufmans Stone, sz. 16 Lightening Bug

The morning dry fly fishing wasn't as productive yesterday as we have seen it this summer. We fished strictly dries until 10:00 am, and only saw a handful of fish come up. Around then, Eric Sr started nymphing, and stayed with nymphs for the duration of the trip. For nymphing technique, we utilized the standard 2 fly set-up, fishing a bigger stone nymph underneath an indicator with an attractor nymph about 16" behind. Eric Sr's son, Eric Jr, being the purist of the family stuck with dries for most of the day. We had a few more fish up on dries through the middle of the day; but overall, nymphing was far more productive for us. Eric Jr., much to his father's delight, finally gave in switched to nymphs for the last hour of the drift and finished with a couple of beautiful Rainbows.

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 6 Plan B, sz. 6 Light Orange Nightmare, sz. 6 Orange Para-Chernobyl

The fishing was a little slower on this morning outing than it has been. Other than the results, we had several rises only to have the fish either bump the bug or turn away in rejection. We would have 4 or 5 fish up in a 200 yard section of river, and then nothing for a much longer section. The river has dropped some more, and this morning the flow is 3756 cfs. The weather forecast for today is calling for temperatures between 94 and 99 degrees with light and variable winds. More of the same is predicted for the weekend with the temperature on Saturday expected to reach 101.

We took advantage of a beautiful morning, and snuck a short float in. The river has dropped since Monday, when it hit the highest level of the year at 4270 cfs, and is currently in great shape. We had some great takes, landed several nice trout, and saw deer, big horn sheep, and a variety of birds. Our main strategy has been to stick with the big dries tight to the banks and cover some water. The morning and evening windows have offered the most consistent action; and just this past week, we have started to see a bit of an evening Caddis rise at some spots in the lower canyon. The weather shows a chance of wind this afternoon, followed by some warm, calm conditions over the next few days.

Flies: sz. 8 Dave's Hopper, sz. 8 Feth Hopper, sz. 8 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 6 Pink Nightmare

As has been the protocol for the past several weeks, we stuck with the big dries on the move, casting tight to the banks. Fish activity was good throughout the drift, but as is the case with fishing the big dries - hooking and landing fish is the challenge. We had a nice thunderstorm move through the canyon early this morning. Currently, the clouds have burned off and the sun is starting to warm things up again. Flows are up to just over 4000 cfs this morning, with no change in overall water clarity. It looks like we're going to settle in for a long hot spell through this week, so don't forget the sunblock!

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 6 Para Chernobyl, sz. 8 Dave's Hopper, sz. 8 Yellow Feth Hopper, sz. 8 Bar Fly, sz. 6 Kauffmans Stone, sz. 16 Lightning Bug

Another productive, and hot day on the river. Between nymphing and hopper fishing in the heat of the day, nymphing proved to be the best bet. Even though we have seen some good hopper days on the river this summer, today was one of the slower days we've had. We have been nymphing using the basic summer technique - fishing a large stone pattern 4 feet under the indicator with a small attractor pattern about 16 inches below. The switch to dries started at 6:00 and stayed fairly consistent for the duration of the float. Between 6:00 and 9:00 pm we were fishing mostly all bigger stone patterns with the exception of a trailing CDC Caddis Emerger. If you see fish working give this technique a try, it may work.

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 6 Para Chernobyl, sz. 8 Dave's Hopper, sz. 8 Yellow Feth Hopper, sz. 8 Button Hopper, sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 10 Yellow Hex

Again, the results are not the whole story on this float. We saw alot of fish, but they were not aggressively eating our offerings. Some of the biggest fish either came up, looked and left or just bumped the bug and left. The Nightmare patterns and the Yellow Hex were the most productive imitations. The temperature is suppose to reach 98 degrees today with winds in the 5 to 15 mph range. The weatherman is predicting a cooling trend into the weekend with a forecasted temperature for Sunday of 79 degrees. The river flow is currently at 3653 cfs and is in great shape for fishing big dries on the go.

The results are not the whole story on our float this morning. We had quite a few fish come up to eat our offering. Overall, they were a little more aggressive than we have seen over the last few days. The Nightmare patterns were the most productive bugs we fished. The weather is cooler today with a current temperature of 74 degrees. The forecast for the next few days is sunshine with temperatures in the 80's. The river flow is currently at 3452 cfs and has been at this level for the last few days. It looks as though the river is going to stabilize at about 3500 cfs.

Flies: sz. 8 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8, 12 Dave's Hopper, sz. 8 Feth's Hopper Yellow, sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 8 Dirty Yellow Stimulator, sz. 10 Royal Stimulator

We started the morning fishing Stonefly patterns (Nightmare's and Stimulators) and then switched to Hoppers around 10:00 am. We had quite a few fish come up throughout the drift; however, a lot of the rises were not real aggressive eats - just bumps or fly byes. It's hard to say exactly why this happens - it could be fly selection or possibly presentation or maybe the bright sunshine or... All you can do is keep changing tactics until you find something that works and enjoy the activity in the meantime. Sometimes seeing the fish that don't eat your fly are more exciting than the ones that do!

We started the day fishing dries and never looked back. We had fish up for most of the float, although things did slow down for a couple of hours in the early afternoon. A drag free presentation tight to the banks proved to be our best strategy. When fishing during or just after there has been a lot of recreation floaters on the river, it's not a bad idea to target the weak banks. Most of the recreation traffic will end up floating along the strong side of the river and the fish tend to shy away from that.

Flies: sz. 8 Winged Thing, sz. 6 Nightmare, sz. 8 Feth's Hopper, sz. 8 Tan Para Hopper

The fishing was actually better than the results might indicate. We had fish up consistently throughout the entire float. As is often the case with big dries, hooking and landing fish can be a challenge. The strikes vary from hard and fast to sllooowww and subtle, where you see the fish coming from 3 feet away with its' mouth wide open. The best advise we can give is to match the hookset to the strike. We miss fish because we're too slow on the former or we're too fast on the latter. We also see some "fly byes" with the big dries - the fish swirls and bumps the fly but doesn't take it down. When that happens, the best thing to do is leave the fly right where it's at...often the fish will come back around and eat it.

Flies: sz. 8 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 8 Dave's Hopper, sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Feth's Hopper, sz. 12 Royal Wulff, sz. 8 matt's Stone (Nymph), sz. 14 Olive Caddis Pupae (Nymph), sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug (Nymph)

We had some cooler weather and cloud cover roll in yesterday, and it stayed around for most of the day. Dry fly fishing was slower for us in the morning but picked up later in the afternoon. Our most active window for big dries was about 1:00 until 3:00 pm. We did nymph a couple of runs along the way, and hooked several fish on the Caddis Pupae. The river has bumped up to 3295 cfs, and looks to be leveling out for the summer. We're expecting temperatures in the low 90's through the holiday weekend with clear skies and calm conditions.