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

Red's Power Hour Fishing Report
January - March 2006

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. 16, 18 BWO's, sz. 16-20 Emergers, sz. 16 Griffith's Gnat, sz. 8, 10 Skwala Dries

We had a decent BWO/ Midge hatch during the middle part of the day, which was the most productive window overall. Prior to, and after that activity, we fished Skwalas on the go and turned a few fish. The river has been on the rise for the past few days, and visibility has decreased a bit.

3/29/06

Flies: sz. 8-10 Stonefly Nymphs, sz. 10 Dirt Snake, sz. 16 lightening Bug, sz. 16, 18 RCJ, sz. 18 WD 40, sz. 16, 18 BWO's, sz. 16-20 Emergers, sz. 8, 10 Skwala Dries

We caught fish on nymphs in the morning, small dries in the middle of the day, and big dries in the evening. The fishing wasn't red hot - just steady all day long with each technique - although the larger fish we saw were on the Skwala dries. The day started out with clouds and even a bit of rain, which had us optimistic on the BWO possiblities; however, by noon we had clear blue sky and 65 degrees - the things we find to complain about! We are seeing 68 degrees today, and the river is on a slight rise this afternoon, but still in good shape. The marathon will be run this Saturday April 1, so the canyon will be closed to non-recreational traffic. Fisherman can pick up a pass at the Flying J or any of the local fly shops and access the Canyon Road. Also, don't forget to buy a new license - April 1 is the changeover day!

3/26/06

Flies: sz. 10 Skwla Nymph, sz. 18 WD-40, sz. 8 Dirt Snake, sz. 14 Prince, sz. 16, 18 BWO, sz. 18 Griffith's Gnat, sz. 18-20 Baetis Emergers, sz. 8 FW Skwala, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimi, sz. 8 Bugmeister, sz. 8 Bitteroot Skwala

With the exception of a bit of wind in the afternoon, we had some pretty nice weather conditions. The best part of the day was between 1:00 and 3;00, where we located a couple of pods of fish eating BWO's and Midge. The nymph fishing before that and the big dry fly fishing after that were less productive than what we'd seen over the past week. The river has come up over the past 2 days and has some color below the Teanaway. It's still very fishable at the shop this morning, and it looks like the weather should cool down enough overnight that we expect it to stay in shape.

3/25/06

Flies: sz. 8 Flat Wing Skwala, sz. 18-20 Baetis Emergers, sz. 8 Dirty Yellow Stimi, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimi, sz. 8 Bugmeister, sz. 8 Bitteroot Skwala

The strong wind we had seen all morning died down just a bit, so we put on and made a short float. We stuck with dries the entire way, casting towards the bank on the go. The results are deceiving, as we actually had a half dozen or so fish bump, nose, or eat the fly and come unbuttoned before they made it to the net. Today looks like a much better day on the wind factor, but the flows are on the way up. The river is still in good shape right now - but we'll keep an eye on it.

3/18/06

Flies: sz. 8-12 Stonefly Nymphs, sz. 18 WD-40, sz. 18 Black PT, sz. 16 RCJ, sz. 8 Dirty Yellow Stimi, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimi, sz. 8 Bugmeister, sz. 8 Flat-Wing Skwala, sz. 8 & 10 Bitteroot Skwala, sz. 8 Skwalameister

We fished nymphs under an indicator - both on the go and out of the boat wading - for the first couple of hours and then switched to big dries on the go. Nymphing in the morning was tough, and the fish we picked up on nymphs didn't seem keyed in on any particular pattern. There were a fair number of BWO's getting blown around and a few scattered fish eating them, but nothing consistent enough to justify switching to small dries. The wind is a tough element to deal with when you're trying to target a hatch. The Skwala fishing has been our most productive tactic in the afternoon - and the fish we've been seeing are nicer fish!

3/14/06

Flies: sz. 8 Dirty Yellow Stimi, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimi, sz. 8 Bugmeister, sz. 8 Flat-Wing Skwala, sz. 8 & 10 Bitteroot Skwala, sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 8 Skwalameister, sz. 8 Feth Skwala

Seeing as how I had two persistent dry fly fisher-women on this trip, we fished nothing but dry flies the entire day. Overall the fishing was pretty darn good. Besides the fish landed we had several others come to the fly. I sure enjoy Skwala time. You have to stay on your toes, because it is kind of like a vacuum cleaner sucking your fly under water. On more than one take yesterday, I got to see the fish come downstream to take the fly; and when they eat it they're hooked. I took a water temp yesterday at about 2:00 pm, and it was just under 42 degrees. We have another beautiful day today with plenty of sunshine, and a temperature of 51 degrees. We are looking forward to the dry fly fishing getting nothing but better, and the nymphing is alway pretty consistent. Hope to see you on the river soon!

3/9/06

Flies: sz. 8-12 Skwala Dries (Dirty Yellow, Para, Bugmeister, Stimi's), sz. 10 Stonefly nymphs, sz. 16, 18 PT, WD-40, sz. 6 Olive Bugger

What a difference one day can make! The cold weather and snow that was in the forecast didn't materialize, and the fishing was pretty good overall. We fished dries through most of the float and had a few fish up on them. It's still early, but there were a few spots that they seemed to be looking for Skwalas. Outside of that, we hooked a couple of fish with nymphs and turned one nice one on a streamer. The forecast for tomorrow looks even better with highs back up near 50 degrees.

3/8/06

Flies: sz. 10, 12 Skwala Nymphs, sz. 18 Baetis Nymph, sz. 14 Hare's Ear, sz. 16 Lightening Bug, sz. 8-12 Skwala Dries (Bitteroot, Bugmeister, Skwalameister, Dirty Yellow)

We started off fishing Skwala dry flies through some water that we had a few fish up over the weekend; but the only thing that came up was the wind and the cold! Once the rain joined in, we decided to throw some nymphs and bobbers on and get down the river. It seems that the weather has squelched the big dry fly fishing for the time being. The forecast calls for some tough weather over the next 2 days - we'll keep you posted.

3/3/06

Flies: sz. 8-12 Skwala Nymphs (several patterns), sz. 10, 12 Brown Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 8 Rubber-legs Stone, sz. 16 Copper John (several colors), sz. 16 PT, sz. 16 Silver & Gold Lightening Bug, sz. 18 Brassie, sz. 18 Black WD-40 , sz. 6-8 Olive Buggers, sz. 8 Dirty Yellow Stimulator

We tried a little bit of everything on this float. The good news is that we saw several bows come to the dry Skwala pattern in the late afternoon, and the streamers produced a couple of nice fish. Water temps in the early morning are in the high 30's but have been reaching the low 40's by mid afternoon. The river is in great shape and the flow this morning is at 1286 cfs. Daytime air temps are supposed to reach 49 degrees today and 53 degrees tomorrow. The dry fly fishing should only get better.

2/25/06

Flies: sz. 8-12 Skwala Nymphs (several patterns), sz. 10, 12 Brown Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 16 Copper John (several colors), sz. 16 PT, sz. 16 Silver & Gold Lightening Bug, sz. 18 Brassie, sz. 6-8 Olive Buggers

Although we had a fairly warm mid-day temperature with sunshine, the lower nightime temps have dropped water temperatures at night to around 35 degrees and the fishing has suffered a bit. In fact, we had to deal with ice in our guides for a while during the late morning on this float. The stonefly imitations produced the best results. The river flows have been pretty consistent at around 1150 to 1250 cfs. The weatherman is forecasting daytime temperatues around the mid 40's with lows in the low to mid 30's over the next few days. We are still looking forward to the best of the Skwala Stone dry fly fishing.

2/22/06

Flies: sz. 8-12 Skwala Nymphs (several patterns), sz. 10, 12 Brown Kaufmann's Stone, sz. 8 Dirt Snake, sz. 16 Copper John, sz. 16 PT

The weather and water temperatures have certainly turned around for us since the cold snap over the weekend. We had a daytime high air temperature of 53 degrees and water temps near 42 degrees today. Although the fishing was not red hot in the riffle we waded this afternoon, we're expecting to see bugs and fish get more active in the days ahead. It may even be worth prospecting with a big dry fly during the warmest part of the afternoon. We saw the first 2 calves of the season at Lmuma Creek... it feels like Spring has arrived!

2/20/06

We still had pretty steady ice flows throughout the canyon early this morning, but the warmer weather has prevailed (air temps at 42 degrees), and the ice bergs are all but gone this afternoon. We're looking forward to a week of warmer conditions and expect the fishing to follow suit!

2/17/06

We put in and fished a dry on the go the entire float just to see what might happen. We did have one fish come up for an inspection, but it's still a little early. The cold weather that the weatherman predicted did make it - we had a low of 12 degrees last night - which has triggered some significant ice flows this morning. If you planned to come out over the weekend, a change of plans might be in order. It's pretty much unfishable right now, and with lows in single digits tonite, tomorrow might be worse...maybe by Monday.

2/13/06

Flies: sz. 8-12 Skwala Stonefly Nymphs (Brown, Olive), sz. 16 PT's, sz. 14-18 Prince, sz. 10 Dirt Snakes, sz. 16, 18 Copper Johns, sz. 6 Brown Bugger

Fishing nymphs under an indicator, especially later in the day was the most productive method yesterday. We experimented with some streamers, but didn't have any luck. The river has continued to drop and remains in great shape and at favorable levels for floating. We just returned last night from the Fly Fishing Show in Bellevue - it was great to see the "usual suspects", and to greet many new faces. We're glad to be back in shop and look forward to the next 2-3 weeks as the 2006 Skwala hatch gets underway!

2/7/06

Flies: sz. 8-12 Stonefly Nymphs, sz. 16 PT, sz. 10 Mud Snake, sz. 16, 18 Copper Johns, sz. 10 Teeny Leech, and a variety of Buggers

The river has continued to drop over the past 3 days, and is in great shape at 1800 cfs this morning. The fishing yesterday was pretty good, but it was concentrated in certain locations. We didn't hook a lot of fish fishing from the boat on the go. Both nymphing under an indicator and swinging a larger profiled streamer on a tip were effective. It seems like we're still a little early for the Skwala nymph migration, but if we get several more nice days in a row (the last 2 days have been beautiful!) - we should see the Skwala nymph activity with the dries to follow!

2/2/06

After peaking near 2200 cfs, the river went back down and then came up again in the afternoon yesterday. Flows are currently 2000 cfs and dropping with visibility at 2'. With the weather forecast we are seeing (highs in the upper 40's and lows in the 20's), it is likely that this fluctuation in levels will continue. As temperatures warm during the day, flows will go up until it freezes at night and starts to drop. Hopefully this pattern will continue through the entire Spring season - but that may be wishful thinking! We drove over the pass again yesterday, and there is a bunch of snow on top! We anticipate a much better water year than last year and a solid fishing season!

1/31/06

Flies: sz. 12 Skwala Nymph, sz. 16, 18 Copper Johns, sz. 10 Teeny Leech, sz. 6 JB Yellow and Black

After a couple of good snow dumps in the mountains and some sporadic rain in the low hills, we're looking at a dirty river again this morning. Visibility at the shop is less than a foot, although the river looks like it's starting to drop. With cool evening temperatures in the forecast, we hope to see conditions continue to improve over the next couple of days. Nymphing under an indicator has been our most productive technique, but pulling streamers has produced some nicer fish. We like to use streamers with white or yellow rubber legs when stripping streamers because it helps you see the bug in the water to see how it's behaving, and also to pick up the flash of a fish when it eats the fly. As soon as you see a fish flash, set the hook - because often is the case - by the time you feel the tug, it's the fish turning away and the fly coming out of the corner of its' mouth.

1/26/06

Flies: sz. 12 Skwala Nymph, sz. 10 Peacock, Brown Stone Nymphs, sz. 14, 16 Lightening Bugs, sz. 20 Brassie, sz. 16, 18 Copper Johns, sz. 6 Fruit Fly, sz. 6 JB Yellow and Black

The early and late part of the day was tough fishing, both with nymphs and streamers. We had about an hour and a half right after lunch when big red made an appearance (the sun) and fishing really picked up; however, the before and after was not real productive. We had our best luck fishing the slower water sections - the tails of riffles versus the heads. The river is in beautiful shape and we expect the fishing to follow suit!

1/25/06

We just returned last night from a couple of days in the Methow Valley. The snowy backdrop made for a beautiful setting, but it was a little cold for the fishing to be productive. The Yakima, on the other hand, is in great shape and should be picking up. At 1487 cfs, flow levels are ideal for both floating and wading the river. We'll be fishing today and have a fresh report posted for tomorrow.

1/20/06

Flies: sz. 6 J&J Special, sz. 6 Root Beer, sz. 4 Olive Zonker, sz. 8 & 10 Stonefly Nymphs, sz. 14-18 Lightening Bugs, sz. 16 Red Copper John, sz. 16 Beaded Prince Nymph

We went back and forth with nymphs under an indicator and streamers on the go. We spent some time in a few of the better pockets changing up nymphs every 8 or 10 casts, but nymph fishing was tough. We did catch a couple of beautifully colored, healthy Rainbows on streamers. We experimented with a slow retrieve and the swing, and found the slow retrieve received the most attention. The river has continued to drop, and is in great shape. We had antoher good dump of snow in the mountains last night, and are looking forward to some favorable water levels this summer. The shop will be closed Monday and Tuesday (Jan. 23th and 24th) for Staff Holiday Eve, and Staff Holiday. This is a Holiday we recognize to celebrate the end of the winter season! What will we be doing on our days off? A rigorous schedule of morning "meetings" (ie. breakfast) - followed by fishing - of course!

1/17/06

Flies: sz. 6 dark colored Buggers, sz. 8 & 10 Stonefly Nymphs, sz. 10 Beaded San Juan Worm, sz. 16 Red Copper John, sz. 16 Beaded Prince Nymph

This is a little late, but we got a chance to get out on the river Sunday afternoon and the fishing wasn't too bad. We hooked fish on both streamers and nymphs with the nymphing being the most productive. The river has continued to drop. It is at 2017 cfs this morning and the visibility is improving. We had snow here in the canyon yesterday with more of the same forecast throughout the weekend. We will be at the Tri-Cities Sportsmen Show in the TRAC this weekend starting on Friday. If you are in the Tri-Cities stop by the booth and say hello.

1/14/06

The river has consistently dropped over the past day and a half, and this morning it is flowing at 2901 cfs. Visibility is not great but looks to be about 1.5' to 2.5' here at the shop. We may try wetting a line this afternoon or tomorrow if we get a chance.

1/12/06

The recent weather we have been experiencing has caused the river to peak-out at about 4400 cfs, and look a little like chocolate milk. The rain has stopped, and today it is on the drop, 3818 cfs, but still unfishable. We believe we're still probably 5 to 7 days away from having a fishable river. It should be great fishing when it does come back in.

1/10/06

Flies: sz. 8-12 Stonefly Nymphs, sz. 14 PT, sz. 16, 18 Lightening Bugs, sz. 16 Prince Nymph, sz. 18 RCJ, sz. 6 J&J Special

The entire river was coming into shape by the end of yesterday, as flows in the canyon were down to 1700 cfs with visibility at 2.5'+. We had more intense rain overnight, though - and the flows are again on a steep rise throughout the system, with visibility reduced to about 1' at the shop. You'd think it's May with all the rain we've had these past 2 weeks... but we're certainly not complaining about the moisture and rising reservoir levels!

1/5/06

Flies: sz. 10, 12 Stonefly Nymphs, sz. 16, 18 Lightening Bugs, sz. 16 Prince Nymph, sz. 18 RCJ, sz. 6 J&J Special

The nice afternoon weather and good water conditions made for another productive afternoon of nymph fishing. Utilizing a shallow nymph rig has been the best option; however, we have seen some nicer fish on streamers as well. Temperatures warmed up a little bit overnight, and we had some rain at the shop this morning.

1/4/06

Flies: sz. 10 Black Kaufmann's, sz. 12 Pearl Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug

The fishing has been good over the past 2 days with the river on a steady drop and a stable weather pattern. Flows this morning are at 1200 cfs and clarity is very favorable. We have been near freezing at night with temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees during the day. We have a backdrop of snow in the landscape, which makes spending a day on the water an even more enjoyable experience.