Power Hour Yakima River Fishing Report

 

12/31/2010 Too cold to fish today or tomorrow, but just about right for bird hunting or watching football.  We had shelf ice form yesterday, and I haven't looked at the river yet but there is a good chance we have some ice flow this morning because it is 1 degree in Ellensburg right now.  Watch the forecast for a warm up trend, and there will be a great bite that develops as the water warms back up.  Happy new year!  Red's. 12/28/2010 Anglers: Dennis, Mark, and Joe R. Time: 10:30 am - 4 pm Location: MM20 to Red's Posted by:  Joe R. Results: About 10 trout landed, 4 Ytfish. Flies: Brassie #18, Red Brassie #18, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #10 (the smaller one... much better than the big boy) Great day on the water, and thanks to everybody that fished with us today.  It is always fun to see new anglers give fly fishing a try even when it is cold out.  One of the guests in my boat today had never nymph fished once in his life, and is pretty much new to fly fishing and guess what?.... he caught the most trout!  The fishing was pretty good when you could line up a good float without the slight breeze pushing the indicator onto tension (there is a surprising amount of wind drag that occur on strike indicators).  During the winter, even the slightest amount of tension can render the fly inedible so it is critical to try and work with the wind whenever possible. Feeding line with the wind and current at the same time makes the drift much more natural, and it helps your casting too. The big fish were taken on the stonefly nymph today, but most of our fish were hooked on the Brassie.  We stuck with the basics and didn't get cute trying new patterns with the wind gusting the way it was.  We did use 3X Fluoroflex to our stonefly and the fish ate it willingly.  Normally I like 4X, but with the breeze and the tangles I decided 3X might keep us in the water more and it not only stayed tangle free but hooked fish!  Always bump your tippet size up a little when you are getting a lot of tangles or it is windy.  We did however stay with 6X to the Brassie and it paid off because that where we generated most of our hookups.  The next few days looks COLD, so come out and go upland bird hunting with us instead of fly fishing.  You don't have to be a good shot, and you don't even need a hunting license on our preserve... so what are you waiting for?  Ok ok, a special deal?  How about $399 for a guided Pheasant hunt for up to 9 Roosters?  Or, $299 for a self guided hunt?  You can split that cost as many ways as you like with a few buddies and make it very affordable.  We call it the "9 Rooster Cardio Booster", but most of our clients just call it good clean fun.  12/28/2010 Fishing conditions are looking good right on the Yakima River right now, so we will be back on the river guiding tomorrow and will post a detailed report of what we find out.  We have also been spending a lot of time hosting and guiding upland bird hunters on our preserve, so if you have a shotgun give us a call. Even if you have never bird hunted before, our friendly guide staff and quality pointing dogs will make it a productive, educational, and fun outing. Thanks to everybody that did their Christmas shopping with us and have a great new year! 12/19/2010 Anglers: Matt and John Time: 11:00 am - 4 pm Location: MM20 to Red's Posted by:  Joe R. Results: 5 trout landed, including a very heavy 17"er. Flies: Brassie #18, Red Brassie #18, Orange Pat's #10, Brown and Black Pat's #8, Lime Green Caddis Larvae, Little Green Machine #16 (red/green mayfly nymph), Olive Pat's #10, Tan Pat's #8/10, Double Beaded Matt's Stone (rougly the same as the last few reports) All fish landed on an orange Pat's... very strange.  Maybe the river bumping up and then dropping in has the fish focused on Stonefly nymphs?  Things are looking pretty good for this week - not exactly ideal but not bad either.  The river itself is in great condition and as long as you focus on the afternoons the temperature isn't going to be too bad.  Low 30's all week it looks like.  The road conditions are of more concern right now that the river, it was pretty slick in the canyon the last few days.  The upland bird hunting has been good so if you aren't in the mood for fishing then let us take you bird hunting! We host all skill, age, and experience levels.  Other exciting news - the Eastern Washington University Football team beat Villanova last week, so they will be playing for the National Championship on January 7th so try to tune in.  It will be on ESPN and they could us your support against Delaware! 12/18/2010 Give the Gift of Fly Fishing this Holiday Season! The Yakima River is back in good shape - still a touch high for winter but it is clear and ready to fish.  We are hoping to hit it hard in the next few days.  The fishing should be "ok" this weekend.  Not quite perfect conditions yet but good enough for me! 12/13/2010 Give the Gift of Fly Fishing this Holiday Season! The great fishing that Craig and Jesse had yesterday was the last "hoorah" for the Yakima for a while.  It is on a big rise and although it wasn't dirty at about 2:30 this afternoon when I left the fly shop - it certainly will be tomorrow!  Which is too bad, the weather turned great and things were looking really good.  Thanks to everybody that has made Holiday orders with us so far this season.  We appreciate all the business we can get this time of year and we look forward to helping with some more Christmas Shopping as the date approaches!  Happy Holidays everyone, we will let you know when the Yakima is ready to fish again.  Hopefully soon, it was really good this past week!  Try Rocky Ford, the reports have been great.  Primarily subsurface activity with only a few fish rising on midges but the shallow nymphing has been very productive. 12/12/2010 Give the Gift of Fly Fishing this Holiday Season! Anglers: Michael P. and Joe R. Time: 11:00 am - 4 pm Location: Red's to MM10 Posted by:  Joe R. Results: 5 trout, 1 Ytfish.... and the big one got away... of course.  Yes that is a terrible cliché but it is true in this case.  Grande.  Flies: Brassie #18, Red Brassie #18, Conehead Olive Bugger #6, Orange Pat's #10, Brown and Black Pat's #8, Lime Green Caddis Larvae, Little Green Machine #16 (red/green mayfly nymph), Olive Pat's #10, Tan Pat's #8/10, Double Beaded Matt's Stone (rougly the same as yesterday) Mega snow yesterday, it snowed nearly a foot while we were on the water and the falling snow was pretty hypnotic.  I think my eyes are still crossed from trying to watch a drifting indicator while pancake sized snowflakes fluttered to the ground.  It is either that or the aggressively spiked coffee that we were drinking. There are 4 things that were very important yesterday: 1) Do NOT get caught without a streamer rod and/or the ambition and skill to use it.  While the nymphing was so-so, we hooked some spectacular fish swinging flies.  Plus... you get to feel the grab and the fish are big. 2)  Anything less than G3 or G4 material for a wading jacket would have been uncomfortable.  I have been guiding in a Simms jacket for 10 years and I don't miss my old classic Guide Jacket one bit.  The G4 is water tight around the sleeves and is like having waders on your upper body.  Good gear was the difference between having a fun and productive day yesterday versus getting just cold enough to throw in the towel.  We fished till dark and came off the river laughin'. 3)  2 sets of gloves.  While my guest and I both wore the Simms Flex Glove all day and it performed as well as a saturated glove could, a dry set for the afternoon would have been very nice.  If you know you are going to see some rain/snow - bring an extra set or two and change them out in the afternoon. 4) PMA - What is PMA?  Oh come on now... Positive Mental Attitude.  Keep your chin up even when the chips are down.  The difference between an average day and an epic memory can be one good cast, or even a hook set for that matter.  If the fishing is slow and you start to get complacent then the fish are winning the game.  When the fishing slows, turn your game up a notch.  Cast cleaner, set faster, and stay positive.  It is amazing what PMA does for productivity.  If you ask - any guide the will tell you.  "It isn't necessarily the guy that casts the best who catches the most fish.  It is the guy that believes he will catch a fish every time he casts."   12/11/2010 Give the Gift of Fly Fishing this Holiday Season! Anglers: Matt and Joe R. Time: 11:30 am - 4 pm Location: MM20 to Umtanum Posted by:  Joe R. Results: GREAT fishing! Flies: Brassie #18, Red Brassie #18, Sculpzilla Olive, Orange Pat's #10, Brown and Black Pat's #8, Lime Green Caddis Larvae, Little Green Machine #16 (red/green mayfly nymph), Olive Pat's #10, Tan Pat's #8/10, Double Beaded Matt's Stone Awesome fishing yesterday, it was about 40 degrees and sunny in the Canyon.  We caught lots of trout with the biggest in the net topping out around 16", and several other hooked that would have been 18" +.   We changed flies a lot and found that a #18 Brassie (standard color) was the best small fly and an Olive Pat's #10 was the best "big fly".  Although not listed, the WD-40 wouldn't work (maybe the first time ever that has happened)!  Streamers were not effective and with the rain bumping the water up, the fish had migrated to the heads of the pools and were holding in traditional riffle water.  I will be on the water guiding again today and it looks like the next week is going to be great fishing!  This has been the best winter fishing so far this year I have seen in a long time.  If you are considering doing our $269 Winter Guide Trip, this would be a good time to act.  Tomorrow (Sunday), might be the best day of the week judging by the forecast. 12/10/2010 Give the Gift of Fly Fishing this Holiday Season! 12/8/2010 Anglers: Santa Claus, Steve J, Frank, and Joe R. Time: 1 pm - 4 pm Location: Red's to Lmuma Results: A few nices one for ol' Saint Nick! Flies:  Red Brassie #18, Sculpzilla Olive, Orange Pat's #10, Brown and Black Pat's #8, Lime Green Caddis Larvae, and a #20 Silver Lightning Bug We bumped into Santa Claus who was trying to sneak in a little fishing trip before the holiday blitz in a couple of weeks - he is quite an angler!  He was also asking us a lot of questions about what you folks that read the Powerhour would like for Christmas.  We said that you would be happy with a spool of tippet and that's good enough.... just kidding!  We pumped you up pretty good so I think Santa will be thinking of all you die hard readers that check this blog even though it is December!  Fishing wise, Santa and Frank hooked up 6-10 nice fish and got a few nice ones in the boat.  It was just so much fun being out there spreading the holiday spirit and hearing all the cars honk at us as they drove by waiving.  What fun!  If there is anybody on your shopping list stay tuned for a special sale that we will be having starting next week just in time for the holidays, AND we are very excited to be launching a new program for this next year called the Red's University of Fly Fishing.  It is the most comprehensive program built around teaching new anglers to fly fish that we have ever seen.  Be ready for it!  Merry Christmas! 12/4/2010 Anglers: Leif K. and Joe R. Time: 1 pm - 4 pm Location:  Lmuma to MM10 Results: A few small guys, and about 4-5 very nice sized Rainbows.  1 super-jumbo model for Leif! Flies:  Red Brassie #18, Sculpzilla Olive, Orange Pat's #10, Brown and Black Pat's #8, The weather has finally gotten stable with night time temps in the 20's and daytime temps in the low 30's which is good fishing weather!  Especially following the severe cold snap we saw over Thanksgiving which put the fish into hibernation mode.  We had success on both nymphs and streamers yesterday.  6X flourocarbon to our Brassie, 2X Flourocarbon to our Sculpin pattern.  Fish the obvious buckets and spend time every where you catch a fish, because there are likely more in that immediate area. 12/03/2010 Anglers: Shop Pro-Staffer Craig H. and a couple of his buddies had a good day yesterday, and a couple of us are heading out today.  It should be good as the weather has let up just enough to bring on the bite! 11/29/2010 Anglers: Seth, Darren, and Derek J. Time: 12 pm - 4 pm Location:  Lower Canyon Results: A few smaller fish is all, but 1 very large trout that pushed the 20" mark, and another that was a hefty 18".  HAPPY anglers. Flies:  WD-40's (olive and black), Red Brassie #18, Purple Lightning Bug #16, Sculpzilla Olive (worth fishing although yesterday it was not very productive), Orange Pat's #10, Brown and Black Pat's #8, Chartreuse Copper John #16, San Juan Worm (red and brown) Still a bit cold, but fishable.  We ran a great guide trip over the weekend and definitely worth fishing as long as you can hit a day above freezing and one where the nightime lows stay in the 20's.  Temperatures hit the single digits in Ellensburg last night but the water temperature in the Canyon peaked at 36 degrees yesterday which is pretty good.  We are a little more than a degree colder to start today, but the next few days looks ok.  The forecast is pretty plain across the board until about December 6th it looks like it will start to warm up quite a bit.  Just focus your efforts from 12 pm to 4 pm to target the warmest part of the day.  Water temperatures usually peak about 2 pm. TIPS FROM THE DAY: We had many takes, but they were extremely light.  After training the anglers to anticipate the takes, look for light takes, and perform extremely quick sets, we started getting into more and more fish.  There is a lot of "6th sense" to hooking winter fish on small flies and light takes.  The more you concentrate, and the more experience you have... the more you catch. SUMMARY:  The window for air temps was small, above freezing from 11am to 2pm maybe.  We saw the sun for the first time in a while, the scenery was amazing.  After a busy summer, the winter is one of the most peaceful times to be on the river; no crowds, good fishing, and beautiful scenery. 11/23/2010 Anglers: -- Time: -- Location:  Red's Results: -- Flies:  -- Too cold!  It looks like we are a week out from decent conditions.  We are die hard anglers, but it is supposed to be -7 degrees tonight.  That is severely cold.  Read a good Gierach book and stay indoors for a spell.  Sometimes it is ok to just dream about fly fishing. 11/20/2010 Anglers: -- Time: -- Location:  Red's Results: -- Flies:  -- The Yakima is looking good right now, but we would advise you to check with us and check the weather forecast over the next week prior to heading out.  There will be a few days that are COLD.  The water is so warm (relative to traditional levels) that we will have a few days of good fishing during the cold snap.  It seems like the trout will take every bit of opportunity they can get before shutting down for an ice up.  Focus your efforts on the afternoon hours from 1 pm - 4 pm. 11/17/2010 late pm Anglers: Brad and Joe Time: 12-3:30 pm Location:  Red's to Lmuma Posted by: Joe R. Results: About 8-10 trout landed Flies:  #6 Tan/Brown Pat's, and a #18 Red Brassie Another solid day in the canyon despite a bump up in river flows and some steady wind!  We fished yesterday too and had a great day, so our guest decided to stay overnight and run it back one more time along with some bird hunting.  Not a bad couple of days!  The fishing was good in the 'spots' - it would be wise to spend a lot of time in areas that you are confident in because it can take a while for that little bug to find the trout.  The river flow went up but it did not affect the water clarity much, and seems to have settled out.  We are making a run to the Klickitat tomorrow morning for perhaps our one last attempt at a Steelhead over 10-12 pounds for a while.  After the Klickitat closes on November 30th, we will focus on the Methow and Wenatchee Rivers as conditions allow.  Frankly though... the Yakima has fished pretty good this fall.  This might be a good winter to take up ice fishing on the Yakima.  11/14/2010 Anglers: Mark, Adam, and Joe Time: 1-4:30 pm Location:  Umtanum to Red's Posted by: Joe R. Results: Great Fishing, pretty amazing action - all trout except 1 Ytfish.  LOTS of trout landed, none over about 14" which was strange, usually we get bigger fish in the late fall.  A few of our guides reported hooking into some larger fish in the lower river between MM10 and Roza. Flies:  #10 Tan/Brown Pat's, and a #18 Chocolate WD-40 w/ a gold beadhead.  (Did not lose a single fly!  It was a perfect game!) After a lengthy dose of Steelhead fishing - it was time to tackle some trout fishing on the Yakima yesterday.  It seems like anytime we are steelhead fishing, people often ask "how can you go back to trout after this!!!?" This is usually said while a metalhead is tailwalking into our backing.  Funny how they never ask that during one of the 4 hour lulls that often accompanies a day fishing for steelhead!  Yesterday, the fishing was great.  We fished nymphs the entire time as it was producing some silly numbers of trout and the streamer rods got ignored once the carnage on nymphs began.  However, all of our fish were relatively small (still nice trout), but they topped out at about 13-14".  The key was finding a group of fish in the deeper buckets and working on the known spots.  We anchored in one spot and hooked well over a dozen trout in nearly as many casts.  We fished the same flies the entire time and used 6X Flourocarbon Plus to the dropper.  6' under a Yarn Indicator (many of us think that Yarn is an enormous advantage with small flies due to the sensitivity for light takes on small flies in cold water).  The transition from steelhead to trout is easy.  There is nothing more exciting that throwing a "bug" for trout, watching the hatches, looking for rises, and scrutinizing over a run looking for a little sliver of green water that might be holding a trophy trout.  There is a whole different skill set involved.  The thought process that goes into the fly selection, the finesse of getting the drift "just right" is the art and science and then when they eat, that is the pure fun.  No anxiety over a single missed strike, a lost fish, or a blunder at the wrong time.  You can kick back and have a great time and LEARN something without worrying about an opportunity slipping away from you as the clock ticks... you steelhead guys know what I am talking about.  Lost seconds or minutes are potentially lost opportunities so the goal is to preserve the clock, there isn't much time to let any distractions in.  Winter trout fishing is pretty easy going, it might not always fish like it did yesterday but dress warm and it is certain to be a memorable experience. 11/8/2010 Anglers: Kelly, Scott, and Steve Time: 1-5 pm Location:  Red's to Slab Posted by: Steve J. Results: Good Fishing! The great Fall of 2010 keeps marching on! We've experienced another week of sunny skies and mild weather in the Yakima canyon. The Fall colors are incredible right now, and if you haven't been out to experience it, you need to! The Big Horn sheep have been down along the river at MM 19 nearly everyday, the Bald eagles are starting to arrive, and the Yakima Rainbows have been feeding steadily in the afternoon hours. The sunny weather has not done a lot of good for the BWO dry fly hatch, although we have heard some good reports of fish eating BWO's in the Rock Garden and the lower Yak below Big Pines. Our most productive rig was a sz. 16 Prince Harry with a sz. 18 Gold Lightening Bug or sz. 18 Red Copper John underneath of it - with 2 ticks of shot. Don't get "landlocked" right now - the banks are shallow, so focus on the middle of the river ledges and slots. The 2010 Bird hunting season is also underway. We've expanded and improved our bird hunting program dramatically. Give us a call if you're ready for a great day in the field! 11/1/2010 Anglers: -- Time: 2 pm Location:  All over Central Washington Posted by: Joe R. Results: Unusually nice weather and steady fishing. What a great couple of weeks.  As most of you know that read our reports regularly this is the time of year where the angler has a lot of options.  Our mainstay is as always trout fishing on the Yakima, which has been great - most of our staff has been guiding for at least several seasons and they all seems to agree that this has been the best fall in recent memory.  Thanks again to the big snow pack of 2006-2009, and it is ramping up to a big one this year as well from the predictions.  More water = more fish.  The BWO hatches have been absent thus far in any type of abundance, water temps are still pretty warm and we will likely see the BWO's playing catch up later in November as the river cools down to what would be a typical October range.  Just as warm temps trigger the spring hatches, cold water temps trigger the fall hatches.  Streamers and nymphs have been quite productive and we are enjoying steady fishing most every afternoon.  Small flies, light tippet, smallish indicators, and a lot of patience in the "green water" will help put fish in your net. The Methow River has had catching less than typical, but still good in the way of Steelheading.  A fish, or two, or three a day for the hard working angler has been the report.  The upside is that the fishing pressure overall is way down so the angler to fish ratio isn't bad for that stream right now.  Fish lighter lines, and smaller flies than normal.  A lot of fish seem to be pooled up in the mouth, maybe a mid November rain will invite them in and we'll have a strong December up there. The Wenatchee River - slow catching on nymphs - average catching on spey swings.  What a great problem to have eh?  The big broad channel of the Wenatchee has very few distinct "seams" compared to other rivers.  The fish tend to be harder to locate with an indicator and dead drift, so think about getting into spey casting.  The fish seem to key in on a moving fly better here and are willing to pursue it.  It is a GREAT river to learn to spey cast while trying to stick a fish or two in the process. The Klickitat is fishing great and the river is seems to be holding its own in the high country despite large amounts of rain and snow.  As long as it stays cold enough we'll be in good shape.  The fish are getting a little shy, try deviating from the typical black stonefly and a bead program - lighter line, smaller flies, and maybe even a yarn glo bug is a good idea.  It is a small river and the fish learn fast! 10/19/2010 Anglers: Evan, George, and Mike C. Time: 9 am - 5:30 pm Location:  Ringer to Umtanum Flies: Chocolate WD-40 #18/20, Fall Baetis (small nymph) w/ Copper Beadhead #20, Pat's Stones (not very productive though), Purple Lightening Bug #16,18, Red Brassie #20 (great bug yesterday) Posted by: Mike Canady Results: trout ' plenty! It started off pretty slow, so be sure to have your expectations set very low for the front half of the day.  It is good to get dialed in early, and then you can unleash on them once the water hits that "magic" temp around 1 pm or so.  The fishing turned a major corner once we put a small yarn strike indicator on with 2 small nymphs and ditched the Pat's.  Using 5X and 6X flourocarbon was a wise change too, if a caster is good and doesn't tangle or hang the bottom much it is wise to us 7X even.  It will generate a few more strikes.  Shorter floats and picking your "spots" is a wise move - don't try to fish every inch of the river while floating.  In the past 2 weeks we have seen the fish began migrating and grouping up in the deeper pools. 10/12/2010 Anglers: Craig, Ryan, and Mike C. Time: 9 am - 5:30 pm Location:  Ringer to Umtanum Flies: Pat's Stone Nymph #6-12, WD-40 #18, Purple Lightening Bug #16,18 Posted by: Mike Canady Results: About 20 trout landed (8"-17") We floated the canyon and caught fish on nymphs from start to finish. Our best flies were pat's stones, purple lightening bugs, little brassies, and small olive WD 40's. This was some of the most consistent fishing we have seen since Spring. If you have been thinking about fishing the Yakima NOW is the time to do it! Good fishing mixed with nice weather and unusually light fishing pressure makes for a great day on the river. Also, look for Blue Winged Olives to start very shortly. The next cool rainy day we see will likely trigger the BWO kickoff event. 10/11/2010 Anglers: Deb, Jayne, and Joe R. Time: 10 am - 4:30 pm Location:  South Cle Elum to East Cle Elum Flies: Fall Baetis Nymph #20, WD-40 Chocolate w/ gold beadhead #18, Morrish's October Caddis Pupae, hand tied Crane Fly, Tupac Stone Tan #12, Gypsy King Tan #8, Egg patterns Posted by: Joe R. Results: 2 trout landed, about 8-10 hookups all day. Tougher fishing upriver (Ellensburg upstream) seems to be the consensus among guides.  The water is very low and clear in the upper and the fish are getting pretty tight lipped.  The salmon egg game seems to have died up there, it was pretty spectacular a few weeks ago but has finally expired.  We fished very hard and the weather change may have disrupted the bite.  The girls worked hard for it and hooked enough fish to keep us on our toes, but the Lower Canyon was calling to us during the day.  It is a little blustery today, but as soon as the barometer levels out the fish should be up and feeding on Blue Wing Olive emergers from about 1 pm - 4 pm.  A good friend fished the Farmlands yesterday and reported "typical fall fishing" a few large fish hooked with a short BWO hatch that ended before any of the fish were able to react.  Beautiful float, with AMAZING fall colors popping out everywhere.  Overall - much better fishing in the lower Canyon over the past few days (this may be in part because it is more sheltered from the Westerly winds that have been happening). 10/02/2010 Anglers: John, Ed, and Joe R. Time: 10 am - 6 pm Location:  Umtanum to Slab Flies: Fall Baetis Nymph #20, WD-40 Chocolate w/ gold beadhead #18, Morrish's October Caddis Pupae, hand tied Crane Fly, Tupac Stone Tan #12, Gypsy King Tan #8 Posted by: Joe R. Results: 10+ trout landed, mostly on nymphs (but the dry fly fishing was GREAT in the late afternoon and evening) This is the "golden month" of fishing on the Yakima River!  The fishing is great and it is fun to see all the wade fisherman and Pontoon boat rowers out here having good success in the low water - a nice change for them after a spring and summer that provided big difficult river flows for the "non drift boat" crowd.  The fishing has been sluggish until about noon and then it picks up major momentum at first on nymphs and then eventually on dry flies shortly after.  We like to focus on the big shady banks in the late afternoon and don't be afraid to twitch the fly a lot and skate it in the back eddies.  Make sure to use Flo Carbon 5-6X on your small nymphs, use a softer hookset than you might normally and small indicators are a good idea to detect the lightest strike. 9/28/2010 Anglers: Josh, Kevin, and Joe R. Time: 7 am - 4 pm Location:  Wenatchee River Flies: Nymphs and Egg Patterns Posted by: Joe R. Results: 1 for 2,  it was worth it.  Big fish fever is hard to shake! We got a young man his first Steelhead yesterday on the Wenatchee, 85 degrees and wet wading!  In late September!  Too good to be true.  There should be an exchange ratio in place here.... every steelhead landed wet wading is worth 4 when you are freezing your hind end off!  There are plenty of fish in the river, every pool we floated over was holding Steelhead it was just so bright and sunny that the bite was down.  The Methow has picked up major steam and is the best "catching" river right now.  The Wenatchee is an easy day trip from Seattle and the Klickitat is fishing solid as well.  Trout wise, the Yakima is fishing GREAT especially at dusk with Summer Stones and October Caddis.  It has been far too warm to spring the BWO hatch and the Mohogany Dun hatch but it will get here soon.  Be sure not ignore the "big bug factor" in the evening time, cover lots of water.  Mixed it with a variety of small Caddis the big orange Octobers are quite a food source.  Twitching and skating the Kingrey Pattern is the way to go here. 9/25/2010 Anglers: Jon, George, and Joe R. Time: 12:30 pm - 6 pm Location:  MM20 to Red's Flies: Tupac Stone #12 - that is all we needed! Posted by: Joe R. Results: Plenty of fish, all on dries.  Biggest fish was 16" - broke off a nice big one though. Good dry fly fishing yesterday afternoon.  Fish the banks where the water is running flush, pull out to the ledges where there is no current along the banks.  Twitch the fly, enjoy the ride, and of course... fish on!  We went DFO (dry fly only), but the bobber boats obliterated 'em.  Just so ya know - both ways are fun and effective right now. 9/23/2010 late pm Anglers: Jeff and Bo L. Time: 7 am - 6:00 pm Location:  Wenatchee River Flies:  Various swinging flies such as the Hobo Spey, Purple GP (general practitioner), Egg Sucking Leeches, Clifford, Muddlers, and Maribou Spey Flies.  Various large Stonefly and Prince Nymphs with an egg trailer as well. Posted by: Bo L. Results: 2 for 4, not bad! Congrats to shop staffer Jeff Lyman for hooking and landing his first Steelhead on a fly!  That is a great feeling.  It was a wild fish and taken on a "busman's holiday" - the guys in the shop have been fishing their brains out this past week both on the Yakima and the Wenatchee.  The rain moved a few more fish into the river and the fishing is picking up a little.  It is a great river to fish because the pressure is surprisingly light and the drive from Seattle is easy - give it a shot.  We do a 5 hour trip with lunch for $395, so give us a jingle if you are getting the hankering to some eastside steelheading without having to stay overnight anywhere.  Spey or single - its up to you and we like both.  Note, Bo and Jeff got all of their fish on the indicator setup but the river was still on a rise - now that it has settled down and cleared up the swing fishing will definitely improve. 9/22/2010 Anglers: Dave, Chad, and Bo L. Time: 9 am - 6:00 pm Location:  Bristol Flat to Thorp Bridge Flies: Kingrey October Caddis, Moorish's Deep October Caddis Pupae, Orange Parachute Stimulator, Orange Pat's (makes a decent October Pupae!), Silver Lightning Bug, Olive WD-40 with a Gold Bead #18/20 (use 6X Flo Carbon), Matt's Double Beaded Stone Nymph #8 Posted by: Bo L. Results: About 10 trout landed, a couple of great 15" Cutthroat The Lower Canyon is dropping back into shape right now (still a little colorful but improving fast) and by this afternoon it will be looking good.  The Farmlands and Upper Canyon fished well yesterday - slightly better on nymphs than dries but sometimes that is just because the tempo of the boat is better with one approach versus another.  Once you are "in the zone" on dry flies then you can do some serious damage to the trout.  Our guides have been getting a couple of fish per day on the Methow and the Wenatchee - a few more on the Klickitat but the Wenatchee especially is lonely water right now!  You will likely have it all to yourself.  Bo is fishing the Wenatchee today - exclusively swinging with a spey so it will be interesting to hear how he does.  On the Yakima - prepare for BWO's to be strong in the next 2 weeks for the best "small dry fly fishing" of the year.  It is pretty incredible. 9/20/2010 Huge spike in the flows today in the lower canyon, darn thunderstorms ballooned the river up last night! Ouch, big jump in flows. It should subside in the next 24 hours in the canyon and is still in great shape above Wilson Creek so hit the Farmlands or upper river today. 9/17/2010 Anglers: Dennis, Jeff, and Steve. Time: 9 am - 6:00 pm Location:  Umtanum to Big Pines Flies: Kingrey October Caddis, Tan Gypsy King #8/10, but mostly a sz. 10 Stone nymph with a sz. 16 or 18 Gold Lightning Bug! Posted by: Steve J. Results: LOTS of smaller fish, many 12"-15"ers, and (2) HEAVY 18"ers landed! Dennis has been fly fishing the Yakima River since the mid 70's. In fact he and his fishing partner, Dale, are pictured in one of the canyon photos in Probasco's Yakima River Journal taken years ago in the pre rock slide MM 20 area. At the end of the day yesterday, Dennis said, "This is probably the best day of fishing I've ever had on the Yakima River." Now that's quite a statement coming from a guy like Dennis! Yesterday WAS one of those special days that if you fish enough, you're going to have sooner or later. The weather was perfect with the Fall colors just starting to show, and the river is low and clear and in perfect shape. We saw deer, big horn sheep, osprey, and kingfisher's along the banks, and when we had lunch across from the big rock wall below the shop, it was just one of those moments when the light and colors are so vivid and perfect that a picture could never do the setting justice. And the fishing was steady throughout the day, with some really nice fish making it to the net. We had our best luck fishing a shallow nymph rig with a lightning bug dropper. We saw a few mayflies coming off, but nothing feeding on the surface with any consistency. The fish have definitely changed their lies from the grassy banks of the summer to the middle of the river ledges and structure. Don't get "landlocked" in your fishing efforts! The first cool cloudy day we have could be the start of the Fall match the hatch dry fly opportunities. It is a great time to spend a day on the Yakima River! Steelhead fishing on the Methow, Klickitat, and Wenatchee has been tougher (more like pre 2009!). All 3 rivers have been gin clear, which paired with sunny skies and average fish counts has made for some long hard days on the water. Last season has created some very high expectations for many anglers, and we may be back to reality this year. The difference between a tough day of Steelhead fishing and great day is one cast! The Klickitat has been crowded, but traffic on the Methow and Wenatchee has been pretty light. We've seen good etiquette between anglers, which is very positive. When people call the shop and ask about protocol, we simply recommend to ask the person who was there first, "Do you mind if...." The Fall is a great time of year to enjoy a day on the water in WA - good luck and be safe! 9/15/2010 Anglers: Bruce, Dave, and Joe R. Time: 9 am - 6:30 pm Location:  Upper Farmlands to Ringer Flies: Kingrey October Caddis, Tan Gypsy King #8/10, Peach Gladiator #10/8, Crane Fly, Big Summer Stones, Royal PMX, and a few others - Dry flies only! Posted by: Joe R. Results: Ok dry fly fishing :( The bite softened up yesterday as the weather changed, but I'll bet its back on strong by now.  2 days ago it was bonkers in the Farmlands, yesterday as the "perfect" cloud cover rolled it it didn't do anything for the bite which is weird.  The fish were most active under a blue sky a few days ago.  Sweet, nothing wrong with that right?  Look for October Caddis in the late evening and TWITCH your bug!  Skating and moving the fly is very effective.  Give it an 'arthritic' shake (some you do this naturally ha ha!) and skitter that bug around on top.  That gave us decent action in the evening hours.  Overall, it was steady from tip to tip yesterday and was best right during lunch time.  The report from the Wenatchee is the fishing was slow yesterday, better on the Methow, and "ok" on the Klickitat.  As of right now - the Methow is the place to be if you want metal on the line.  If you like dry fly fishing and plenty of it... the Yakima River it is. 9/14/2010 late pm Anglers: Bob, John, and Joe R. Time: 1 pm - 6:30 pm Location:  Irene to Ringer Flies: Tan Tupac #8, Peach Gladiator #10/8 Posted by: Joe R. Results: GREAT dry fly fishing! The fishing was very good, summer stones are abundant and the fishing was good.  We did not see any October Caddis, but Troy guided the Upper Canyon from Cle Elum to Thorp and said the October Caddis hatch was epic tonight!  The Lower Canyon seems to be kicking out the biggest fish but is slightly more "nymph" oriented. 9/14/2010 General update - a couple of the boys skated dries all day on the Methow with spey rods and boiled several fish but the fish wouldn't hook up, but so goes the life of a skater.  That is how you need to do it if you want to catch Steelhead on dries - persistence!  Other anglers throwing nymphs reported decent fishing, nothing over the top spectacular - just good old Methow Steelhead fishing.  A few hookups per day. The Wenatchee is back in perfect shape after the rain moved through and is ready to fish with spey rods and floating lines.  Just after a rain is the best time to fish the Wenatchee!!! The Klickitat was a little fussy a few days ago but has cleaned up nicely and the freshet has passed through the system. The Yakima is putting off various hatches of Mayflies, small Caddis, big October Caddis in the evenings, and Summer Stoneflies are still very active. This time of year it is wise to try a variety of small dry flies for searching the river.  A split wing Adams is a great choice because it floats well and you can search about the river effectively.  Flying ants are very good, Hoppers are still abundant, but in the evening time definitely switch over to an October Caddis.  Be sure to twitch it, skate it, and move it all over the place.  Expect the mid-day and afternoon hours to fish the best from here on out. 9/8/2010 Anglers: Tommy and Jason Time: 7 am - 2 pm Location:  Wenatchee River: Cashmere to Mouth Flies: sz. 4 articulated leeches, sz. 2 Hobo speys (purple, pink) Posted by: Tom R. Results:  3 Steelies Just wanted to say hello to every one and give an up to date report on my trip to the Wenatchee Wednesday. The morning started off great, the river looked primed and ready to roll with just a hint of green to her. But as fate would have it, that would not last. As we all know Washington State has been having it’s fair share of rain this summer and yesterday was no exception. The weather and dirty water caught up with us often and early, but not all was lost. Even with adverse conditions, a buddy and myself were able entice three fish (Summer Steelhead) to a swung fly with just a little perseverance and hard work. Not bad for rising dirty water!!! The great news is, we are just only getting started this fall, and to boot almost a month earlier than last season. If any of you are wondering what all the fuzz over Steelhead is about, specifically (A Run Steelhead or Summer Steelhead) let me explain. Here in Washington State we are all very blessed with three beautiful rivers that produce incredible runs of summer steelhead Klickitat, Wenatchee, and Methow. These fish are aggressive and move at will to intercept your swung fly, as well as being more than happy to take so many of the other patterns we so often present over the course of the fall. Again it is great to be back guiding for Red’s Fly Shop this fall in pursuit of the coolest fish around (Steelhead) I look forward to seeing and fishing with everyone, last seasons guest, and our new folks for the upcoming season as well. If any one is interested in any trips we offer all of the staff here at Red’s Fly Shop is very knowledgeable and passionate about all our waters and they would be more than happy to get you pointed in the right direction of your trip of a lifetime. See you on the water!!! Tight Lines, Tom Randall Methow Report: 9/8/10; Troy and John We were one of only 3 boats that we saw on the Methow. The morning started off good with a couple of quick hookups, but then slowed down. The river is in great shape despite 2 days of rain. The river is low and clear, and the best way to cover it in these conditions is probably with a swung fly and don't be afraid to skate the dry. One of the other boats we saw was Bo and Ricky armed with spey rods and dry flies. They skated dries and boiled several fish, but couldn't get any to eat! Yakima Report: 9/9/10; Mike, Paul, and Stacy The Yakima River is back in shape after dirtying up from a torrential downpour 2 nights ago. We've been running nymphs and dryflies, and catching fish with both techniques. The flows are coming down, and the fish have begun to pull away from the banks and stack up on the ledges and seams. We are anticipating BWO's over the next couple weeks! Klickitat Report: 9/9/10; Shan, Josh, and Roc It poured rain all the way from Yakima to Goldendale this morning. For awhile we were thinking we may be turning around without putting the boat in, but the river was in absolutely perfect shape! We caught a couple of fish on egg sucking leeches and glo bugs in soft inside corners. By the end of the day, the river was beginning to show color, and we suspect it may be out tomorrow and "iffy" for the weekend. It might be a good idea to call for conditions before you commit to the drive 9/3/2010 Anglers: Rob, Ken, and Joe R. Time: 7 am - 4 pm Location:  Upper Farmlands to Ringer Flies: Tupac Stone #12, Chubby Chernobyl, Turk's Tarantula Yellow #10, Tan Tupac #8, and few other misc dry flies Posted by: Joe R. Results:  Rockin' - it was on fire today. Very good dry fly fishing the last 2 days, yesterday in the canyon was rock solid and it was smokin' this afternoon in the Farmlands.  Mid sized dry flies on lighter tippet (4X) is a good program. Nymph if you have to but the dry fly fishing over the next couple of weeks should be very very good.  Some of the best in the west actually.  With the high flow covering many of our nice trout all summer - we now get a good shot at 'em!  Make sure to get a trip down the Wenatchee or Methow River for Steelhead planned, fishing Steelhead on those river this early is something that hasn't happened in a long time. 8/27/2010 Simms is about to unveil another round of the "Wader Rebate Program"!!!!  It is available starting September 1st - On any Gore-tex Simms wader you can trade in ANY pair of old waders for an instant rebate!  All Gore-tex waders except the Headwaters will get you $50 off, and the Headwaters is eligible for $30 off.  This is a cool program - clean out your garage and get yourself some awesome new Simms waders!  Give our fly shop a call if you have any questions and you can begin placing orders anytime. 8/25/2010 Anglers: -- Time: -- Location:  Yakima, Klickitat, and wading the Naches River Flies:-- Posted by: Joe R. Results:  -- The high water on the Yakima is slowly starting to drop - the dry fly bite should be picking back up as it faded off a bit and we did a lot of nymphing (which is fine! but we love dry flies).  This is a graph from the Cle Elum Dam that feeds the majority of the high flow on the Yakima - you can see it steadily dropping.  Removing some of the "water pressure" from the banks will make it much easier for the big trout to rise to your dry fly.  It is simply less work and therefore they are more apt to attack your fly.  Look for the most consistent 6 weeks of dry fly fishing on the Yakima River to start right now.  The Klickitat has been pretty good, there was one tough day mixed in there but there were a couple that were spectacular as well.  For the outdoor enthusiast that would rather wade fish trout, go to the Naches and throw small terrestrial patterns.  One of our guides did a wading trip with clients there on Sunday and had a great day. 8/19/2010 Anglers: Greg, Art, and Joe R. Time: 9:30 am - 4 pm Location:  Bristol Flat to Thorp Flies: Parachute Ants #12, Tupac Stone #12 Black, Tan Pat's #6, Dave's Hopper, Morrish Hopper & Chubby Chernobyl, Turk's Tarantula Yellow #10, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, Moorish's WMD #6, Silver Lightning Bug #16 Posted by: Joe R. Results:  About 4 trout landed. Rough day in the upper canyon between Cle Elum to Thorp yesterday.  That wind was rough and the fish were down.  We did manage to raise enough on dries to keep us into the dry fly fishing but the bite was off due to the big pressure change.  The weather man said it would ease up to 3-4 mph wind by noon but it was more like 30-40 mph wind!  It is much calmer today and we probably should have hit the lower canyon to get out of the wind, or even the lower farmlands.  The fishing will and should gain a lot of momentum from now through mid-October so think about laying out a game plan to get on the water.  Give an old buddy a call and split a guide trip, boat rental, or even plan to wade fish if it is from September 10th or so on.  The river will drop super fast starting about Labor Day weekend.  8/18/2010 Anglers: Bob and Joe R. Time: 8:30 am - 1 pm Location:  Red's to Marhes Flies: Dave's Hopper, Morrish Hopper & Chubby Chernobyl, Turk's Tarantula Yellow #10, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, Moorish's WMD #6, Silver Lightning Bug #16 Posted by: Joe R. Results:  About 6 trout landed, our biggest fish was on a Turk's The fishing was pretty slow yesterday in the Lower Canyon, not sure what was going on because the overall trend had been good. We must have been holding our mouths wrong or something.  We only landed one fish on a dry fly, which happened to be a beautiful 17" Cuttbow - and that made it all worth while.  We turned about 4-5 other nice fish on a dry fly so I guess it wasn't 'dead' but it was definitely a bit below the norm.  If I had to guess, the bite has probably moved away from the morning and into the afternoon and evening.  These fish don't take too many naps this time of year.  8/15/2010 Anglers: Mike, John, and Joe R. Time: 9 am - 5:30 pm Location:  East Cle Elum to Diversion Flies: Dave's Hopper, Morrish Hopper & Chubby Chernobyl, Ant Patterns, Tupac Stone Black #10, Beetles, Turk's Tarantula Yellow #10 Posted by: Joe R. Results:  10+ trout landed, mostly small guys but we got a few in the 16" range.  The Lower lower canyon is still the big fish zone for some reason. This is kind of weird, 2 days ago in this section we hammered 'em on small ant patterns.  Every fish was looking for it - thinking the magic system had been found we fished it again and low and behold - not a fish eating an ant anywhere!  48 hours later, complete change in preference, which is rare for fish feeding on Terrestrial insects.  We found our best success on big dry flies, the bigger the better.  #6 hoppers and C-ants were the hot ticket - I painfully tried the ants again and again but it was to no avail.  It got to the point where the anglers were begging not to have to fish the ant again - I just couldn't believe the bite could vanish that fast but it sure did.  The hoppers are growing in abundance out here and it looks like they are taking priority over everything else. The fish were not looking for the small bug at all - AND they would not eat a dropper.  Although I didn't list it under flies for the day - we did run a couple of droppers for a few minutes but the fish just kept eating the dry so we amputated the droppers and went DFO for the remainder of the day.  Flip Flop - Water Drop is about to happen in about 2 weeks and between now and then will be by far the most consistent dry fly fishing of the year.  The fish have also started feeding during daylight hours pretty consistently too.  Small moon, light hatches, lots of hoppers = good mid day fishing. 8/13/2010 Anglers: -- Time: -- Location:  The whole Yakima System, and the Klickitat River, Naches River updates, Methow River updates, Teanaway River info, Cooper River, Cle Elum River info - LOTS of options!!! Flies: -- Posted by: Joe R. This is the time of year where the options are pretty endless in these parts.  You haven't seen it all in Central Washington, there are a lot of streams to hit! Right now there is 70+ miles of the Yakima River which is fishing great on dry flies, especially for the more experienced anglers.  New fly casters can expect to do well on nymphs while the shooters will be able to vacuum them big trout out from under the brush and sticks with hopper patterns.  The Klickitat River is fishing better than it ever has, and the clarity as it relates to glacial melt seems to be more forgiving this year than in years past for some reason.  Our guides have been seeing double digit hook-up days quite regularly - that is world class steelheading.  If you are a swing or spey angler, then 1-3 hookups a day is solid day.  Use sink tips in roughly a Type 6 density if the clarity is 3' or less - if it is more clear consider going lighter.  Our guide Bo Lybeck has been successfully swinging a large red Intruder pattern that he ties that has been dubbed "Clifford"  (it looks like a big shaggy red dog!).  The only openings left in our Steelhead Camp are for up to 6 anglers October 6,7,8 and a few spots October 29-31 so book soon if you want to experience our riverside out-camp.  We could also fit 2 anglers into the November 1-3rd slot as well. The Teanaway (one of our staff members lives on this stream) has fished better than it ever has this year.  It kicked out a fair number of larger Cutts in the 16" range early in the summer and up near the Middle Fork/North Fork Confluence the reports have been astounding.  Abundant numbers of fish in the 6-12" range that catapult themselves onto dry flies -that is a good time.  Another stream to check out, is the Upper Cle Elum River above the lake.  I don't have a recent report but have always done well on smaller fish above the lake this time of year near the Cooper River confluence around Salmon La Sac - and I have hooked several very large Bows while fishing the lowest portion of the river near the lake.  It is an easy trip, you can fish close to your car unless you decide to plunge in the Cooper River gorge between Cooper Lake and the Cle Elum River. The Upper Naches River is one of the best wade fishing streams in the Northwest, period.  Find some good water anywhere there are mountains and Pine trees in sight and you will have a great time catching wild Cutts with a few great fish mixed in.  A customer in the shop yesterday said he needed to bring a net because the fish were so beefy that every time he handled the leader releasing them they broke his tippet!  Use small terrestrial pattern - we have a killer selection of Beetle and Ant patterns that seem to be the hot ticket as of late. The trout fishing on the Methow River has been solid each time we have floated it.  The guides have been running a handful of float trips and the best dry fly fishing has been on a big orange Chernobyl's - does that sound like fun?  We would strongly encourage you to book your Methow River Guide Trips soon as this river will be open around October 1st for Steelhead and will be EPIC.  And yes, that was all caps for a good reason - totally warranted. If you are simply an outdoor enthusiast and would like to combine a great walk n' wade in some spectacular mountains on a small stream for wild cutts.  There is great fishing on the Tieton, Little Naches, and Rattlesnake Creek just about 45 minutes south of our fly shop.  These are some of the best small stream fisheries in the Northwest.  The whole Naches system abounds with Cutthroat trout  and the most important part - they are easy to fish for even the most novice anglers.  Just stop into the shop, the guys will set you up with the right strategy, location, and help you have a great trip on any of these streams. 8/9/2010 pm Anglers: Troy L., Jack & Peter Time: Twilight Highlight - 4 pm to dark Day 1, 6 am - 11 am on Day 2 Location:  Lower Canyon, Red's downstream on both floats. Flies: Lime green caddis pupae, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, #18 Silver Lightning bug, Dave's Hopper, Morrish Hopper & Chubby Chernobyl Posted by: Troy L. We started out throwing dries in the early afternoon and soon realized that the dry fly fishing wasn't going to be crazy so we decided to try the nymph rods, we had very consistent nymphing for several hours with some very nice fish willing to eat either fly.  It was about a 50/50 split between the two patterns, versus several days ago when 80% plus were on the dropper.  When that trend happens, I suggest getting rid of the stone fly nymph and using a single small nymph and a BB size split shot instead of suing the stone nymph for weight.  It is easier to cast than two flies, tangles less, and does not hang up on the bottom.  Overall, the easiest and most tangle free setup has been just using the standard stone fly and a small caddis lime green pupae or silver lightning bug under an indicator with no split shot at all. If you decide to go DFO (dries flies only), I would recommend sticking with hopper patterns tight (TIGHT) to the bank and keep changing patterns until you find the right one.  We only fished 3 patterns and they all worked equally well, but there were definitely times one fly was stronger than the other.  It was probably a result of the lighting.  It definitely made a difference, grab a variety pack and switch up frequently. Some stretches are a little slower than others so stick with it for a while before giving up! Good luck and hopper madness is about to start.  It is a little behind schedule this year so that means you have the best dry fly fishing of the year right around the corner. 8/9/2010 early am Anglers: Bill, Doug, and Joe R. Location: Irene to Bighorn Flies:  Morrish's Hopper #10, Tan Gypsy King #8, Dave's Hopper #8 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 4:30 pm - 9 pm Results: 10 trout landed, all on dry flies. I am up and at it early this morning for the morning end of a "Twilight Highlight" trip.  Coffee is a big part of this trip.  The program is to fish until just after dark on Day 1, and then get up early at the lodge and start just before daylight on Day 2.  Great fishing, beat the heat, tiring, but totally worth it.  We fished late last night through the Farmlands down to Bighorn and got some very nice fish.  The Farmlands is extremely technical in high water but the experienced casters should expect to pull some great fish of the banks.  We didn't get a lot in the Farmlands but 3 of them were exceptional.  These fish aren't seeing nearly the pressure of the Lower Canyon and some of them were catapulting themselves onto to the fly.  The Canyon was a little better though, and as we hit Ringer the action picked up.  Lots of Caddis at dusk, if we had a little more time left we definitely would have anchored up and fished to risers because they were popping up all over the river. Tip of the day:  Keep your loops tight, rod high, and make sure to STOP your rod tip on your forward cast!  That is what makes the fly turn over, cast like that and some amazing things will start to happen when you have complete control over your cast. 8/6/2010 Anglers: Jerry, Ross, and Joe R. Location: Upper Farmlands to Bighorn Flies:  Morrish's Hopper #10, Tan Gypsy King #8, Dave's Hopper #8, Black Knotty Girl (brown is online, ask for black and let us know what size in the comments if you want some)  #10/8, Brown Pat's Stone #6/8/10, Chartreuse Copper John #14, Thingamahopper #8, Prince Nymph - Beadhead #12 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 8:30 am - 5:30 am Results: 10+ trout landed, most were small - where did all the big boys go?! The Farmlands were fun yesterday with some opportunities to wade fish during the heat of the day, a nice change from being boat-bound in the Canyon this time of year.  Fishing wise, the small fish were eating hoppers well in the front half of the day and we rolled into lunch at 12:30 pm with a pretty good double of 12" fish on dry flies.  After lunch, dead.  No fish up for 30 minutes after lunch.  We switched up to a Black Pat's and a Chartreuse CJ and it was steady fishing from Irene to Bighorn all afternoon.  We stuck a few in the 14" plus range, but most of the fish were 8-13".  They fought great actually and we didn't see a single floater all day until we got below Ringer and even then we only saw a couple of tubers.  There Hoppers are out in force now and we are seeing fish starting to feed over a broader time frame.  Morning and evening are still the peak of the bite but now that there is a daytime food source (hoppers versus nocturnal stoneflies) experienced anglers are able to bring fish up to dries most of the day.  The Lower Canyon seems to reign king for larger fish, but the quality float and wade fishing opportunities in the Farmlands are worth considering for sure. 7/29/2010 pm hours (see archive reports from August Week 1 below this report for references and advice from years past - VERY useful info). Anglers: Jake, Paul, and Joe R. Location: Ringer to Red's Flies:  Bubbleback Pheasant Tail #16,  Plan B Brown #8, Tan Gypsy King #8, Chubby Chernobyl, Dave's Hopper #8, Black Knotty Girl (brown is online, ask for black and let us know what size in the comments if you want some)  #10/8, Brown Pat's Stone #6/8/10, Lime Green Caddis Pupae #16, Chartreuse Copper John #14 (hot fly yesterday, not as good today), Prince Nymph - Beadhead #12 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 6 am - 11:30 am Results: About 5-6 trout landed This morning was the slowest we have seen yet, Derek J was in the lower lower canyon (Squaw Creek to Roza and said the same thing, although they did stick a few biggies).  I fished with some young men from Texas today, and it was so cool to hear them talk about how awesome the fishing was and how amazing the Yakima River was - I couldn't even muster the words that this was 'slow' fishing.  They were loving, and that is what it is all about.  The lower canyon saw a spike in flows today while the upper river remained stable.  Not sure whey that is except that they might have stopped diverting as much water at the dam in Thorp?  Likely cause.  We had very mediocre dry fly fishing and extremely mediocre indicator nymphing so we switched up and ran a dry dropper combo and found that to be the best strategy.  I'm not sure if was exclusively in the way they handled it but for some reason it outfished an indicator rig by quite a margin.  If I get a chance I put some tips on video and will try to post it tonight sometime. Overall, the bite is now typical summer fishing.  The rally we have had going for nearly 2 weeks was simply unsustainable.  There were some days mixed in there that ruined us... in a good way. 7/29/2010 Anglers: Mike, Tomo, and Joe R. Location: Red's to Mahres Flies: Tan Gypsy King #8, Chubby Chernobyl, Dave's Hopper #8, Black Knotty Girl #6, Brown Pat's Stone #6, Lime Green Caddis Pupae #16, and last but not least... Chartreuse Copper John #14 (hot fly yesterday) Posted By: Joe R. Time: 5 am - 11:30 am Results: About 10 trout landed (but the fishing was very soft compared to what was going on a week ago - still pretty good but they are no longer jumping in the boat) The morning bite has gotten pretty soft over the past few days, and it seems as though our dry flies have worn out their welcome at the trout's breakfast table.  We did turn some nice fish but the bite has definitely slowed down.  Our best fishing was actually after the sun was on the water and it was with nymphs fished about 5' under an indicator in the deep seams.  It was actually kind of nice to have some good fishing during the daylight even though it happened to be nymphing.  One thing we did see that was really encouraging was a monster sized, and I mean MONSTER sized grasshopper floating downstream in the water and it actually clung onto our fly line.  With a few harsh mends in eventually relented its grip and floated right up along the shore where a nice trout took 3 individual swipes at it and finally got a hold of it.  That was be the equivalent mass of a Butterball Turkey floating by you and eating the whole thing!  Hoppers are an enormous source of summertime growth for these trout and it appears that they are going to pick up some steam. We only fished a hopper after the sunlight was very direct and turned 4 fish on it.  When you are fishing a hopper be prepared for the fish to swipe and swirl at it once or twice before you set the hook (yes I know, restraint is difficult in this situation - mind over matter), but for some reason the fish love to make passes at it until they drown it and then eat it just under the surface.  They do it to real hoppers and fake ones alike so it doesn't have anything to do with being hook shy, it is just their mode of operations for some reason.  7/27/2010 Anglers: Ruth, Laura, and Joe R. - Don, George, and Mike C. - again - Day 2 of a Twilight Highlight Trip (and it was goooood!) Location: Red's to Mahres Flies: Tan Gypsy King #8, Chubby Chernobyl Posted By: Joe R. Time: 5 am - 10:30 am Results: About 10 trout landed. The morning fishing is tapering off but the evenings are strong right now.  They both have their upsides and the quiet atmosphere in the early am hours combined with shots at some big fish might be enough to level the scale.  However, the evening Caddis action from 8-9 pm has been outright crazy with high numbers of fish up on Caddis. Either one is a good choice.  The water has pretty much peaked for the summer at about 4100 cfs, a very typical summer flow.  The fish still don't seem to be "under" the cutbanks yet like they often are this time of year.  As the Caddis and Stonefly hatches subside though (which have been GREAT) then they well probably spread out and move under the grass searching for hoppers.  It has been shocking how many fish are still holding in foam lines and seams quite a ways off the bank. 7/26/10 Anglers: Ruth, Laura, and Joe R. - Don, George, and Mike C. Location: Ringer to Red's Flies: Tan Gypsy King #8, CDC Caddis Emerger #16, some hand tied magic, Chubby Chernobyl, Peacock X-Caddis #16 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 4 pm - 9:20 pm Results: About 10 trout landed. The evening fishing last night was great.  We started out throwing dry flies only in the ladies boat, and had a few fish take right out of the gate at Ringer Road.  It then got a little lean until we got down to the bank opposite of Bighorn and there fish feeding on Caddis so we anchored up and targeted them with a CDC emerger.  That is where Ruth landed her first trout on a fly rod while sight casting to feeding fish.  We hooked 2 fish there.  The guys were nymphing and it seemed like every time we looked up they had a fish on so that told us that the nymph fishing was very good in the early evening hours.  They switched up and everybody ran dry flies only from about 6 pm on.  We primarily fished a big dry fly by itself but on certain banks it was worth running the trailing Caddis.  If you are a strong caster and can turn over 2 dry flies and still maintain accuracy then you definitely want that Caddis tagging along for the evening.  There was a spectacular hatch from 8-9 pm with so many rising fish you had to choose your targets wisely as the boat floated by.  The hatch was so good that is is nearly a mandatory car wash if you drive up the canyon just after dark.  Millions of caddis peppered my windshield last night going home. 7/23/10 late pm Anglers: Ty, Jeff, and Joe R. Location: Bighorn to Mahre's Flies: Dave's Hopper #6, Chubby Chernobyl, Tan Gypsy King, Tan Pat's #8, San Juan Worm #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, Double Beaded Black Biot Stonefly Nymph Posted By: Joe R. Time: 5 am - 1:30 pm Results: As good as it gets. TRUE STORY:  I thought I had seen it all.  This is a truly amazing story of something we witnessed today and I doubt has ever been seen before.  We hooked a fly in the grass, gave it a shake and unfortunately the fly breaks off and falls in the water and starts floating downstream.  By this time we are 75' downstream and we pull in towards the bank and anchor our boat in the path of the fly so that we can retrieve the fly.  I handed the net to the guy in the back of the boat so that he could reach down and scoop up the fly as it floated by.  The fly is floating downstream towards us and a fish takes a swipe at the fly about 10' upstream of the boat, the fish misses, follows again and eats the fly right next to our boat, AS THE FISH IS OPENING ITS MOUTH - the angler in the back successfully nets the fish.  The fly was hooked in the fish's mouth with no line whatsoever attached to it.  It was as though it was eating a real bug and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  This is a 100% true story, after that happened there were high 5's bear hugs and lots of shouting.  After it calmed down one of the guys asked... "have you ever seen that before?"  I said nope, and I will never seen it again. Unreal event, it may be hard to fathom what I have described here so just imagine the timing that had to have taken place to net that fish as it was rising to a fly along side our boat.  Try netting a rising fish during a hatch - that is the equivalent of what we did. The fishing was great today on both dry flies earlier in the morning and nymphs during the heat of the day.  The water coming up this week has fueled the bite and the fishing the last several days has been spectacular.  It should hold up through the weekend, but truthfully it can't sustain this much longer and it will come back to normal.  It is amazing what sparks hunger in fish, the water rising has really helped the bite and their hunger level definitely took a spike when the water started coming up.  Let us know what you think about the reports page, is this useful or do you have any good ideas for us? info@redsflyshop.com 7/22/10 Anglers: Mike B. and Joe R. Location: Red's to Mahre's Flies: Chubby Chernobyl, Tan Gypsy King, ThingamaPeacock Strike Indicator/Dry Fly, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, Dave's Hopper (same flies, different day) Posted By: Joe R. Time: 7 am - 1 pm Results: About 8-10 trout landed. The river is rolling and so are the fish.  Big flows and big bows dominate the Yakima right now.  The dry fly fishing in the late evening and early morning hours is very very good and the trout are feeding well mid day on dry dropper and nymphs under indicators.  The fish are out in the seams (shockingly), normally they would be way up under the cutbanks this time of year.  Fish your big attractors more like a may fly right now and remember the mantra... "the foam is home"!  We are also going to new format on our reports page.  After a BS session, and yes that means exactly what you think it means.  Brainstorm session. We came up with an original idea for our fishing reports. Below you will find reports from the upcoming week, from the last few years.  It is our best way of "predicting your fishing future"!  We will also be plugging in videos from last year too to help you prepare for your upcoming trips. 7/19/10 ThingamaPeacock Strike Indicator/Dry Fly, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, Dave's Hopper Posted By: Joe R. Time: 7 am - 1 pm Results: Great fishing! It's on and so are the Naches and all the small creeks too.  What to do?  Don't even think about mowing the lawn this week, in fact, just completely write off all ambitions about doing any and all types of landscaping.  The only pruning you should be doing is when your backcast gets caught in a tree.  Get your rod, get your dry fly box, and get moving!  Dry flies in low light, nymphs in the sun.  If you want to fish some great small streams, give us an email or a call and we'll give you some great advice. 7/18/10 Anglers:  Matt, Nat, and Joe R. Location: Naches River Flies: Orange Para Stimulator #10, Black Flying Ant #10, Pat's #10, Orange PMX #10, and other various small terrestrials. Posted By: Joe R. Time: 11 am - 7 pm Results: 10+ trout landed, 7 -16" about half Cutts, half Bows. The Naches River is in great floating shape right now and should remain at a high enough volume for the next few weeks to have a good float trip.  There is very little (if any) public boat access on the river so plan to wade fish (which is a great way to go), or use our guide staff to float you down the river in a raft and fish on the go.  The fish were very willing to take smaller dry flies and less apt to eat the big sizes in the #6-#8 range.  The Yakima River continues to be steady and it is just an all around great time to be fishin'! 7/16/10 - General Update & Small Stream Information & Clinic Info. It is all fishing good!  We have been doing very well on the Yakima, and we have been fishing the Naches River, Teanaway River (fishing VERY well), and some other small mountain streams over the past 2 days. Due to a stubborn snow pack and rainy June, the small waters have just now dropped into perfect shape.  There is a window of opportunity over the next few weeks to fish them in their prime before the heat slows them down. We offer guided trips on these little waters or just good advice if you prefer to DIY (do it yourself).  We are also hosting a great course on Sunday specializing in teaching you how, where, and when to fish small water on the east side of the Cascades.  It is only $59 so give us a call and sign up.  Email joe@redsflyshop.com for more information. 7/15/10 - Naches Report Posted by: Troy L. The last couple weeks we've been fishing the Naches River which is about 45 minutes south of our fly shop.  It is nice to get away from the Yakima once and awhile and float a virtually untouched technical white water river, that's full of hungry cutthroat.  We call it getting away, but truthfully it is right in our own backyard but it just feels like the Rocky Mountains. The Naches is a great river to throw dry flies all day and catch small cutts with some larger fish mixed in. I think its one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever floated in Washington State (recently back from a multi-river trip in Montana), and in my opinion is one of the most unique rivers I have ever fished. Expect to get splashed by 5 feet of rolling white water while throwing huge bright orange and red Chernobyl Ants. If you get a chance to take a float with us, I think it might change your thinking of what really defines great fly fishing in the Pacific Northwest.  Later in the summer when the water gets low it makes a great wading trip, right now it is still pretty high for wade fishing so consider hiring a good oarsman. 7/15/10 Anglers:  Guy, Jay, and Steve Location: MM 19 to Big Pines Yakima River Flies: sz. 8, 10 Pat's Stone (Brown, Tan) sz. 14, 16 Lightning Bug (Pearl, Silver, Purple), sz. 14 Hare's Ear, sz. 16 CDC PT Posted By: Steve J. Time: 9 am - 5 pm Results: 12+ trout landed (8"-17") and a few Whitefish The Yakima River continues to run at below average flow levels for the summer, and fishing remains consistent.  We utilized a shallow nymph rig throughout the day, running only 2.5'-3' from indicator to top fly.  The majority of the fish we caught were on the smaller trailer flies, but a couple of 16"ers took the Stonefly nymph.  The best window for dry fly opportunities is the early AM or evening timeframe.  There are good numbers of Caddis hatching and the Summer Stones are active.  Focus your nymphing efforts in the faster moving more oxygenated water. 7/14/10 Anglers: Ted, Jess, and Joe R. Location: Irene to MM20 Yakima River Flies: Chubby Chernobyl, Tan Gypsy King, ThingamaPeacock Strike Indicator/Dry Fly, Anato May Hare's Ear #12, Chart. Copper John #16, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, CDC Prince #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, Stone Tan/Brown, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9 am - 6 pm Results: About 10 trout landed We fished hard yesterday and got a new angler into a good casting stroke by day's end and got more than enough fish to fly to keep him pumped up and ready to come back for more.  The Farmlands was slow fishing early in the day but once the water warmed up (surprisingly cold yesterday) the fish fed well on nymphs.  Look for obscure mid-river bars and ledges that aren't the traditional inside corners that get hammered by the masses.  High sticking the little spots and edges was not nearly as productive for us as lining up a nice long drift down the gravel bars and open runs.  The dry fly fishing was fairly poor in the Farmlands especially for the less experienced angler, but once we hit the Canyon it opened up and we had good dry fly fishing from Ringer to MM20.  The cloud cover always helps and my guess is that dry fly fishing in the Canyon was pretty good all day yesterday. I didn't hear back from any of the other guys but my hunch is they did well on dries.  There are a lot of Caddis in the evening right now and it seems like the afternoon/evenings might be the best time to hit the water. 7/11/10 Anglers: Connor, Erik, and Bob Location: MM20 - Red's Yakima River Flies: Chubby Chernobyl, Tan Gypsy King, and a few hand tied dry flies of similar effect. Posted By: Connor H. Time: 5 am - 8:30 am Results: Good Fishing! We decided to do a "prework" float this morning before the shop opened so I rounded up a couple of guys staying at the lodge.  The fishing was good on dry flies and the fish tended to be in the seams out away from the shore rather than tight to the bank, likely because there was a fair number of Caddis both emerging and laying eggs (meaning there are probably a lot of spent Caddis too)  The spent Caddis won't be seen unless you stair at the water straight down for a little bit because they have no profile, the wings are limp and the bug is soggy.  A Parachute Adams works good for this if you see them feeding.  Overall, good fishing and we worked the shady zones pretty hard and found fish holding right under the heavy bushes where there was extra shade present. 7/10/10 - early am Looks like we might have a little cloud cover today... that usually means really good fishing since there hasn't been a hint of cloud cover the last several days.  Consider staying with dry flies and really working them hard before switching out to a nymph if you are on the water today.  Good luck! 7/9/10 Anglers: Keith, Nick, and Joe R. Location: Red's to Mahres Yakima River Flies: Chubby Chernobyl, Tan Gypsy King, a #18 Peacock X-Caddis Posted By: Joe R. Time: 6 am - 11 am Results: About 9-10 trout landed. We beat the heat and started early today - good dry fly fishing in the Lower Canyon right now!  Tomorrow looks like it should be great and will fish mid-day and the evening should be smokin' hot based on the number of Caddis that we saw on the water that hatched last night.  From now through August is the best time for dry fly fishing on the Yakima, just do it! WATER FLOW NOTES AND TIPS:  Look for the Farmlands esp. Irene to Ringer to fish very well the next few days as the water dropped a bit.  It seems like anytime there is big summer flow, and the volume takes a dip the Farmlands light up.  The heavy water in and against the tree lined banks will have softened up a little bit giving the trout a little better look at your bugs as they go zipping past.  There are lots of summer stoneflies hatching in the Canyon, but the Farmlands hasn't been seeing nearly the number of Stoneflies so think about using an indicator and a #6 Stone nymph most of the day. 7/8/10 late pm Anglers: Jon, Jeff, Luke, Joe R. and Derek Jordan Location: Ringer to Slab Yakima River Flies: Chubby Chernobyl, Tan Gypsy King, and a few hand tied dry flies of similar effect.  Pat's Stone #8 Brown/Black, Purple LB #14, K-Stone Black #8, K-Stone Gold #6, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Red Winged Thing #8, VD's Caddis Pupae #16 Posted By: Joe R. and Derek J. Time: 9 am - 7 pm Results: 10+ trout landed The dry fly fishing right off the bat yielded a few takes but the big fish were not looking early.  Mid day was productive nymphing in "spots" - finding the right ledges and drops is important as the Canyon has changed a lot over the past year and a half since the big flood of January 2009.  It is amazing to see the gravel constantly changing places and maturing down there.  Fishing was decent even through the near 100 degree heat, and the late afternoon/early evening dry fly fishing was productive for experienced casters.  The late evening is great fishing right now too, as the Caddis hatch is going full boar for the last hour - 2 hours of daylight.  All the way around, good fishing. Watch the flow charts for the next boost of water.  Naches Report - Our guides have been having GREAT fishing on the Naches on dry flies and this prime time if you have ever wanted to float one of the best "small" rivers in the Pacific Northwest.  It is fishing well for Cutts in the 10-14" range (good numbers) with a few that will push the 18" mark once in a while.  It is a good white water ride mixed with some fun trout fishing! 7/7/10 Anglers: Eric, Tim, and Joe R. Location: MM20 to Slab Yakima River Flies: Plan B Brown, CDC Bubbleback PT #16 (brown wing), Gypsy King Black #6, Black K Stone #10, Sculpzilla. Posted By: Joe R. Time: 5:20 am - 2:30 pm Results: 10+ trout landed Fresh off the water, with some good info for y'all.  Dry fly fishing this morning early was pretty good but it only lasted about 1.5 hours which may not warrant getting out of bed in the wee hours (unless of course you are a die hard dry fly guy or just LOVE the mornings).  The fish were taking well in the seems and only peeled off the bank when the current was pushing tight to the shoreline.  There were quite a few fish eating Caddis and I think a Caddis trailer would have been a good idea but we stuck it out with a big dry.  In hindsight, the Caddis would have put up bigger numbers and likely extended the bite window for us.  We hit the cycle by catching fish on nymphs, dry flies, and streamers today.  All were productive at different times.  The dry fly fishing right off the bat was good, that slowed down and we threw streamers against the bank... that worked too, then that slowed down and we switched up to nymphing... waaalaaa! that worked on the first cast.  The plan worked out smooth today and switching strategy versus flies was a good call by the offensive coordinator because when one technique died, it died fast, and when we switched it was ON fire right off the bat.  WATER WATCH - Note that the river is on the rise, but isn't going to do anything too crazy.  There is a release that started yesterday and they bumped flow up again today and hopefully they will stop with that. If so, we are golden.  If it goes up another 500 cfs after today we have cause for concern but I think the Canyon can handle the flow.  The upper river and the farmlands always seem to get hit the hardest because the gradient is faster.  The Lower Canyon is more mild and the flow seems to even out better in the broad channel down there. 7/6/10 late pm The dry fly fishing is gaining some MAJOR momentum with water temperatures finally climbing to historic summer levels and the Stonefly hatch is going great.  The hot flies seem to be the Gypsy King family, in tan, peach, brown or black and the Plan B has been hot in low light because the wing is so easy to see and the foam body has a clean profile for after hours fishing.  The hot weather is really fueling the bite as of right now, but we will need to keep an eye out for releases from the reservoirs.  Hopefully they apply some finesse to the release and we won't get plugged up with mud.  Hoppers still haven't started to show but flying ants and stoneflies with Caddis hatches every night are getting us by just fine!  Updates everyday for the next few days, so stay tuned! 6/28/10 Anglers: Bob and Joe R. Location: Red's to Roza Yakima River Flies: Tan Pat's Stone, Anato May Peacock #16, Red's Super Duper Summer Stonefly Posted By: Joe R. Time: 10 am - 6 pm Results: 10+ Trout Landed, one fish 18" and most of the others were 9-13" We did something amazing yesterday.  Fished all day and did not lose a single fly in the trees or on the bottom!  Only one fly was lost and that was on big hot rainbow that broke us off on 3X tippet.  What is more amazing that that?  Not one single tangle.  Zero, zilch, nada, nill, nothing.  That is smooth fishing and literally the only knot that the guide tied all day was was when the fish broke us off and we needed a new piece of tippet material.  Other than that, a single dry fly graced our line the entire day.  It didn't even get soggy because the angler took good care of it and made false casts at the right moments.  That is the textbook definition of line control.  To fish all day without losing a single fly deserves praise. We fished dry flies almost exclusively and the fishing was pretty good.  Every 5-10 minutes we would turn a fish and about every 30-45 minutes it would be a nice big one.  Fish tight to the bank whenever there is current pushing flush to the shore.  If the seems veer out.... then bring the fly out.  Just follow the flow.  Summer Stones are active, good luck! 6/28/10 - late late pm Not quite as good today, exact details to follow  Dry fly fishing was a C+ and the nymphing for smaller fish was productive during the mid day hours.  The big boys were hiding well today.  Our biggest to hand was 14" with only a few lunkers hooked.  A system blew in (litterally) in the afternoon and I think it stomped the fishing because it was hot, cloudy, and the Canyon is in perfect shape.  Oh well, everyday isn't a whackfest.  Good thing too, if it were the river would be packed!  We didn't see more than one other boat all day.  How cool is that?  The river to ourselves.  We'll take it.  Great time had by all, let's go get 'em tomorrow. 6/28/10 Anglers: Linda, Robbie, Ro, Terry, Leif K., and Mike C. Location: Ringer to Marhes Yakima River Flies: Red Winged Thing #8, Pat's Stones (various), Anato May Peacock #16, Rd's Super Duper Summer Stonefly #8, Gypsy King Tan #8 Posted By: Mike C. Time: 10 am - 7:30 pm Results: 10+ Trout Landed (after this weekend, it felt like 100)! The nymph fishing was decent all day, but at 4 pm we went dry fly only and turned a fair number of fish and landed some big ones on dry flies.  The dry fly fishing is here finally and we are super happy!  The Lower Canyon is fishing good again. 6/27/10 3:30 pm Back in action, look at the graph below to see a fishy drop and leveling effect at Umtanum.  If you see this trend on rivers in the future, the river is likely going to be fishing pretty well.  We have guides out right now and haven't gotten a verbal report yet but one thing is for sure -  we finally got through the mud ball that was dropped on us from above Friday and we are getting back at it.  The Canyon will be the place to be for a while.  It seems to handle the initial "summer volume" a little better than the other stretches.  The Farmlands and Upper River are flowing awfully fast, and it will take some time for the gravel to settle and create a relaxed pattern for the river.  The currents will go from "boiling and mushrooming" to a steadier flow as the summer goes on. 6/25/10 - 6 pm Ouch, we got hit with another burst of water late yesterday and it put out the whole system from the Cle Elum River confluence downstream. We did some creek fishing in some of the local tributaries instead and that went well, and Leif got a few fish guiding down in the Lower Canyon but it was in rough shape.  As of 5:30 pm, the Farmlands looked good enough to fish but we can't claim it will be good fishing.  The good news is that the Canyon has leveled off and should green up within 24 hours and provide some type of opportunity to catch fish.  All in all, conditions have been very favorable this year so we can't complain about a few rough days.  At least its not raining.  I had better go check the forecast... it might start now that I said that.  There are only 3 rules in the guide boat, NO Bananas, no mentioning a lack of wind (aka the "W"), and NO saying "at least it isn't raining".  Guides have been know to receive a wedgy followed by a charlie horse for saying those things.  If you do say that, and it does start blowing or raining - take a careful look at the fly your guide tied on because it might not be the right one!  We hope to see you this weekend, muddy water and all.  Just go have some fun and let the bite be what it is. 6/24/10 - 4 pm Good news, the Lower Canyon is looking better and should fish ok tomorrow!  We were a bit nervous and cancelled our Canyon trips today and ran a few upriver but tomorrow we are good to go.  In fact, some guys were floating by near MM19 today and we saw them hook and fight a nice fish - good job guys in the high side Clack! Also, the Summer Stonefly hatch has started get those dry fly rods ready - this next should be turning on! 6/24/10 Anglers: Adam, Rob, Patrick, Shan, Mike, and Joe Location: Ensign to Cle Elum Yakima River Flies: Red Winged Thing #8, VD's Caddis Pupae #16, Black Chernobyl Ants, Green Drake Cripple, Pat's Stones, Sculpzilla, Anato May Peacock #12 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 10 am - 7:30 pm Results: About 10 trout landed per boat We knew it was coming any time, but it hit us a little by surprise anyway.  The Lower Canyon fished great on Tuesday, and it was gone, bye bye, sianara, see ya later, OUT of here, and ugly yesterday morning.  We looked at the gauging stations and quickly found that the "operators above" started a release out of the Cle Elum River and the deluge of water had the Lower Canyon completely blown and was making a mess of things throughout the whole system, except for the upper Yakima above the Cle Elum River confluence.  So we changed out boats and hitched up some rafts and made the drive back towards Easton and did Ensign to Cle Elum.  The fishing was good, but I think that there will be a lot of pressure up there over the next few days and the weather was perfect which helps immensely up there in the clear water and compact runs.  Warm temperatures combined with a dark rainy thunder storm is a super-fishy combination.  There are a series of log jams that require some SERIOUS lifting below Bullfrog Road, we had the luxury of 6 guys to portage the rafts which was a good thing. There is one serious log across the river blocking the river between Ensign and Bullfrog - that can be dealt with if you have a good boat full of guys with strong backs.  2 anglers alone would have a heck of a time getting their boat over it. As for the future of the river over the next 24-72 hours, it will be back in fishable shape by Friday but most likely pretty tough fishing until some of the particulate and litter settles out.  The plan will likely be for the water level to rise steadily over the next week or so and bring the river up to about 4000 cfs (typical summer flow).  It is possible that the fishing will be a little rough for the next couple of days, but we have also seen it where the fish go bonkers and feed heavily on all the nymphs that are being knocked loose by the increased flow. I still remember a period in 2002 that they suddenly raised the river to 5,000 cfs this time of year and we all thought that the fishing would be rough, but a Black K Stone and a Zug Bug in the L.C. put up 40 fish days for a week!  Not saying that will happen here, but it has happened before and you never know.  It depends a lot more on the attitude of the fish than the attitude of the river, and the attitude of the angler has even more to do with it!  Take it head on and fish hard because you can't afford not to give it 110 percent - especially when the conditions are adverse.  Sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised on what you can accomplish.  Good luck out there! 6/21/2010 Great fishing this weekend, and the Father's Day event was a hit.  Some highlights from the weekend.... fishing so good that Steve J., Troy, and some of the guys kept floating and fishing in the "Thailand like rain" even after they were done guiding for the day.  The entire Picard family learns to Double Haul at the BBQ event.  Gary Thompson wins an expensive bottle of adult beverage from Joe R. in a casting competition on the lawn in front of the lodge.  Fishing so good, that Leif's anglers went out on Friday, and were back for another trip within 48 hours! Fishing wise, the whole staff reported great fishing this weekend.  Shan was guiding by the in front of the lodge while we were giving casting lessons and landed 2 fish and hooked 3 just in the time they were floating by!  The dry fly fishing has picked up some steam, but a lot of anglers are taking advantage of some seriously hungry fish that are ravaging the nymph population subsurface.  The streamer fishing has also been good, so if you prefer to feel the tug rather than watch the indicator feel free to heave some streamers .  A floating line works find for that right now, just make sure your fly is heavily weighted.  A tan Sculpzilla (not yet available online, so just phone us if you want a few dropped in the mail) has been the best streamer pattern.  Bo predicts "nothing under 20" on that fly" .... maybe that is not entirely true, but even if you still get a few little 16"ers that is good fishing and we love the idea!  For fly suggestions, take a look at the last several reports.  We have no profound advice today that will break the game for you - and be sure to link up and look at the pictures of the flies too.  That is a great way to help prepare yourself for either buying in the shop, or tying flies on the bench.  6/18/2010 very late pm Anglers: Robert, Michelle, and Joe Location: Ringer to Red's Yakima River Flies: CDC Prince #18 (HOTTTT fly) Pat's Stone #8 Brown/Black, Purple LB #14, K-Stone Black #8, K-Stone Gold #6, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Red Winged Thing #8, VD's Caddis Pupae #16, Gary's PT #16 (w/ Bronze Bead - best fly of the day), Prince Harry #12  Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9 am - 6 pm Results: 10+++ trout landed Good dry fly fishing on big dry flies for a while today, but the nymphing was too silly to pass up.  Great fishing had by all the guides.  I wasn't able to catch up with anyone else that was fishin, but the wise guys did great today and were all pretty pumped up about the size of some of the fish too.  Steve J. said they pretty much spanked 'em in the canyon as well.  Reports from the Farmlands have been positive, but guys aren't reporting as many heavy fish as we are seeing in the L.C. If you are in the area, come out to the lodge tomorrow (Saturday, probably "today" in your present tense, but then again - maybe you are a junkie and needed a hit of good solid fishing info before you hit the sack and head out tomorrow.... or today I mean),   The event will be a fun BBQ/fly fishing get together.  $20 will get you some casting lessons, drift boat rowing lessons, and a tummy full of good food.  We'll be there crackin' jokes, casting rods, and tying flies.  See you at the lodge!  Fishing tips:  A single small nymph with a chunk of BB shot 3-4' feet under a yarn indicator worked great for me.  Not sure exactly what the other guys were doing but it worked for them too, just go with this type of setup or whatever you have confidence in.  Bare in mind that we did have good dry fly fishing with big Stimulator type flies, so you don't have to married to a nymph... but it wouldn't hurt either if you catch my drift. 6/16/2010 Anglers: Bill and Joe Location: Irene Rhinehart Park to Ringer Road Yakima River Flies: Pat's Stone #8 Brown/Black, Purple LB #14, K-Stone Black #8, K-Stone Gold #6, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Red Winged Thing #8, VD's Caddis Pupae #16, Gary's PT #16 (w/ Bronze Bead - best fly of the day), Prince Harry #12  Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9 am - 5 pm Results: 10+++ trout landed The most valuable part of this report is that a Chernobyl Ant tight to the salad is not working at all, we threw it enough again yesterday to know for sure.  The nymph fishing on the other hand.... oh my gosh.  It has been good the last few days. 6/15/2010 Anglers: Bill and Joe Location: Red's to Roza Yakima River Flies: Black Conehead 20 incher #6, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Gypsy King - Peach #6, VD's Caddis Pupae #16, and some other various hand tied big dry flies. Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9 am - 5 pm Results: 10+++ trout landed The most valuable part of this report is that a Chernobyl Ant tight to the salad is not working at all, we threw it enough again yesterday to know for sure.  The nymph fishing on the other hand.... oh my gosh.  It has been good the last few days.  The river is in prime shape, and the trout population (at least in the Canyon) is the best we have seen it in a long time if not ever.  Maybe it was the high water the last several years, or maybe the handling of big fish has gotten more responsible, more gentle, and the releases have been faster (this is very important).  Either way, it is a great thing to see the Canyon so healthy. A nymph setup about 5' deep fished in the heavier seems was great yesterday.  A dry dropper was not effective, the fish seem to be grouped up in the big seams.  Use some shot, lose some flies, and catch some trout.  Snagging bottom every now and then behind the boulders has been better than the suspension nymphing.  Which probably explains why the dry dropper fishing has been nill - compared to a week ago when it was quite good.  We are also seeing a lot of stonefly shucks that appear to be Summer Stones - which means the evening big dry fly fishing should turn on within about 2 weeks. 6/14/2010 Anglers: Bill and Joe Location: MM20 to Red's Flies: Black Conehead 20 incher #6, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Gypsy King - Peach #6, VD's Caddis Pupae #16 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 5 pm - 9:25 pm Results: About 10 trout landed We fished into the dark of night hoping to get some great "early summer" dry fly fishing, but the fish were not too interested in the big dry fly.  We got a few teeners on dries, and a few others using a dry dropper setup which was fun because you can pick fish out from under the brush with that set up - whereas an indicator rig is too hard to control against the bank.  There was not much of a Caddis hatch, but the fish were thumping nymphs so we finished up smiling.  Overall, good fishing.  We nymphed all the way up until dark and it was quite good.  Most of the fish ate a #16.  Back to fishing civilized hours today. 6/12/2010 Anglers: Matt, Natasha, and Joe Location: MM20 to MM10 Flies: Gold Lightning Bug (hot fly.... again), Double Beaded 20"er Stonefly Nymph - w/ Rubber Legs #10, Black Conehead 20 incher #6, Purple Lightning Bug #16, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Biot Sparkle Stone #16, Gypsy King - Peach #6 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 10 am - 6 pm Results: 10+ trout landed We have been asking ourselves, "where were all these fish in the spring?" We thought that the fishing was good this spring, but there just seems to be more fish in the river now. The bite will probably flat line at some point soon (it rarely continues like this for more than a week), but just work hard and try to break the river up into smaller pieces as you read it at this volume.  The fish are starting to creep towards the shoreline a little more each day and with sunny weather inbound they will be seeking the shadows.  The nymphing was great yesterday, so after catching a handful of nice fish we threw dry flies tight to the grass but to no avail.  That program is coming soon though.  As the evening shade made its way onto the water there were some fish feeding on emerging Caddis so keep your eyes peeled for risers in the evening. 6/11/2010 Anglers: Guy, Jim, and Steve Location: Red's to Mahre's Flies: Gold Lightning Bug (hot fly), Pearl Lightening Bug sz. 14, 16, CDC Prince sz. 14, 16, FB Hare's Ear sz. 12, 14, Pat's Stone sz. 8 Posted By: Steve J. Time: 10 am - 6 pm Results: 10+ trout landed The past couple days have fished very well. The larger trout are keying heavily on sub surface food, but there are a lot of smaller fish eating dries along the grassy banks. The entire river is in great shape right now, and the weather forecast through the weekend looks great with sunshine and 80 degree temps. We did have our best fishing yesterday when the clouds were overhead, but no one was complaining about the sunshine! With flows bumping up over the past week, the fish have pushed in a little tighter to the banks. Don't be afraid to challenge the brush - even with the shallow nymph rig! 6/11/2010 Anglers: Joe and Rich Location: MM 20 to MM 10 Flies: Gold Lightning Bug (hot fly), Knotty Girl Stone sz. 8 - 2 flies all day! Posted By: Joe R. Time: 10 am - 6 pm Results: 10+ trout landed The fishing in the canyon was off the hook today - unbelievable! 6/08/2010 Anglers: Rich and Joe R. Location: Irene to Ringer Flies: Gold Lightning Bug (hottest fly),  Anato May Hare's Ear #12, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, Stone Tan/Brown (partially amputated) #6, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Sculpzilla Olive #4, Biot Sparkle Stone #16 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 10 am - 7:30 pm Hunger level: 5 out of 10 Results: 10+ trout landed The fishing was reeeeaalllly slow in the morning.  Probably the leanest bite that I have seen this year, in fact, the fish had to have been moving out of the way of the flies.  The bite came around though and started to get cranking about 4 pm and then it went automatic for us and we hooked multiple fish in every slot.  The big fish were simply not taking very well, and Leif fished the Farmlands 2 days ago and just gave me the same report.  Ample numbers, mostly 9-13".  Nice solid little trout though, and if you like wade fishing it is a nice volume for it because most of the braids have enough water to hold fish.  We personally did not find many fish in the channels though yesterday.  I think that is because they need a little more time to acclimate to the higher flows before migrating in.  PMD's are the primary hatch and there are a few other big yellow Mayflies out there as well.  A Gold Lightning Bug seems to be the hot ticket right now. 6/06/2010 Anglers: Guy, Girl, and Joe R. Location: East Cle Elum to Thorp Bridge Flies: ThingamaPeacock Strike Indicator/Dry Fly, Anato May Hare's Ear #12, Chart. Copper John #16, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, CDC Prince #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8, Stone Tan/Brown (partially amputated) #6, Red Winged Thing #8, Orange Parachute Stimulator #6, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 am - 5:30 pm Hunger level: 7 out of 10 Results: 10+ trout landed The bite was very active on nymphs and the Teanaway dropping back into great shape means that the time is right to get back into the lower canyon.  Focus on small flies, the PMD and mixture of Caddis are enough to feed them right now.  We hooked fish on most flies that we ran yesterday, if we lost a bug... time to try a different one or a different strategy.  We nymphed, threw dries, and dry droppers.  By far, the dry dropper was our favorite technique due to the ease and fun of casting a dry combined with the productivity of a nymph.  The ThingamaPeacock bug is really cool, and works awesome.  We smacked a few fish using it as a dry but it was mostly an indicator for us.  Sometimes it is fun to experiment and see if it is you, or the bug catching the fish.  90% of the time it is you, so keep working on your casting during your down time.  Most of the fish were 9-13", nice wild little river trout.  Nothing wrong with that.  We expect that the Lower Canyon should be kicking out some big fish soon now that it is back in shape.  6/5/2010 late pm Fished up river today, East Cle Elum to Thorp - details on bugs and patterns to follow in the morning. Most importantly the Lower Canyon is back in good shape so it is time to head down river again! Yes. Great fishing today, but the big fish bite in the L.C. is the best - or it least it seems that way as an average over the past few weeks.  Lots of small to mid sized fish today with a few larger Cutts thrown in to spice it up.  A few fish up on big Golden Stone dries, a few on PMD's, and lots on nymphs.  This next week should be rockin'!  6/5/2010 It looks like the Lower Canyon will be back in shape by today, it didn't get quite as dirty as it did the last time it rained like this, the tributaries must have been flushed a little cleaner by now.  The Farmlands is quite clear this morning, and the Canyon isn't far behind.  Watch for PMD's - tis the season! 6/4/2010 Anglers: Jerry, Steve, and Joe R. Location: South Cle Elum to East Cle Elum Flies: Bloody Mary #16, Tilt Wing PMD #16, Sculpzilla - Olive #4, Biot Sparkle Stone #16, Pat's Stone Tan/Brown (partially amputated) #6, Red Winged Thing #8, Orange Parachute Stimulator #6, Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear #16 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9 am - 5:30 pm Hunger level: 6 out of 10 Tip of the Day:  Pick your style and stick with it, don't switch between big dries, small dries, nymphs, streamers, and dry droppers too frequently. Results: 10+ Trout landed. We switched between big dries, small dries, nymphs, streamers, and dry droppers too frequently!  There was a great PMD hatch combined with a few other various mayflies yesterday that brought the fish up to the surface in a frenzy.  They were tough to get though, most were eating emergers under the surface in heavy current lines which are the toughest to imitate.  Given the choice, always go for the fish in the smaller seam-lines. We hooked a few really nice fish on Salmon Fly patterns, but overall the big dry fly fishing was slow.  We did VERY well on a dry dropper setup during the hatch, there was about 45 minutes that you could catch 9-12" fish 'at will' on a dropper. Overall, great fishing but unfortunately this morning we are suffering from a storm that seems to have snuck over from the westside, you guessed it, a rainstorm.  Too many of those lately!  The Yakima was dropping into great shape and now this?  We'll see if it goes anywhere.  For now, plan for fishable conditions in the canyon, phone the shop for an up to the minute report.  Also, it is a good idea to check Facebook.  Sometimes we'll post there from on the river. 6/3/2010 - late pm  - Great fishing upriver above the Teanaway on dries and nymphs, more info to follow.  The river is dropping back into SUPREME shape!  It will be great by Saturday easy.  In fact, tomorrow the Lower Canyon will be in prime form.  We have great availability for guides this weekend, it would be a good time to get a rower! 6/3/2010 early am - Teanaway down is in rough shape this morning!  Portions will be back in great shape by the weekend, rain in the mountains are pushing through and it shouldn't take long. Fishing over the weekend was incredible, it seems like these are the most enjoyable reports to post, but the kind of numbers and size the guides in the Lower Canyon had left them in a state of euphoria and delirium.  I worked the shop so I was forced to listen to the aftermath of the carniage.  Steve Joyce in particular, and I heard him quote this, that "2 days in a row were the best 2 'big fish' days he has ever had on the Yakima.  He has spent a lot of time fishing that Lower Canyon since he moved there in 2002, that should give you an idea of what the fishing is like right now!  They taped several fish at 19"+ and lost one that ran 100 yards into their backing while they were netting a fish that went 18 plus.  There wasn't a freestone river in the country that could have competed with the Yakima on Monday.  They fished nymphs all day because it was such a slugfest, but we did talk to some very experienced anglers that fished tan CDC type emergers and said they put 30 fish in the boat on dries, and quite a few were 16"+  The fishing is great for a couple of reasons, - the spawn is done and the big fish are hungry.  Handle the trout with extra care (they didn't take any pictures), Steve said a few of the fish had pretty serious rub marks in their tails.  That combined with low flows because they operators at the reservoir systems haven't opened the gates yet.  Hopefully with the cool weather and the massive amount of rain we have had there won't be a major release until at least mid to late June.  We have seen it a few times that they haven't released till the third week, it depends a lot on the weather in the lower valley. 5/29/2010 Anglers: Adam, Stefanie, and Joe R. Location: Bristol Flat to Thorp Bridge Flies: Sculpzilla - Olive #4, Biot Sparkle Stone #16 (hot fly), Pat's Stone Black/Brown #10, Black Parachute Chernobyl Ant #10 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 11 am - 5:30 pm Hunger level: 6 out of 10 Results: 10+ Trout landed. We decided to brave the wind and float the "Thorp Wind Tunnel" yesterday and it was worth the effort.  We fished dries hard in the first half of the day with no takes, threw on a nymph and went to town.  In the big wind and fast water it is important to get the boat set up right and the casting angles downstream into the slot before the boat gets there.  Otherwise the wind will just knock down mends that are both crosscurrent and crosswind.  Angle down except for the high-stick spots, be patient, wait for the boat to pull up alongside, dig in with the oars, and high-stick the eddies and boulders hard.  Lessons of the day - choose your battles wisely.  Don't try to fish every inch of the river when it is gusting big.  Hyperfocus on the good water, then give yourself a breather... find the next buttery piece of water and repeat the exercise.  If you are scheduling guided trips with us and would like to fish the upper portions of the Yakima, or any section in particular to learn it, simply let us know in advance and your guide will be happy to meet you in Cle Elum or Ellensburg at one of the local coffee shops.  Yesterday, Steve Joyce fished dry flies only and fished till dark in the Lower Canyon.  He said they landed a fair amount of fish, most were small but they were on dries and he pulled of a DFO trip.  You definitely couldn't have done that upriver, nothing was up on dries yesterday, but the upside was that the fish were good sized.  We hope you are having a good weekend, and it looks like summer will be here soon. lt feels more like March than May in Ellensburg today.  5/28/2010 Anglers: Tyler, Jim, and Joe R. Location: Irene to MM20 (we do run shuttles in the Farmlands, just download this waiver to leave in your car and phone in your shuttle with payment and/or details.)  Download Red's Shuttle Form: Acrobat PDF or Word DOC The Irene to Ringer float is pretty much wide open with no blind channels to float down right now.  Just look ahead and be smart.   Flies: Sculpzilla - Olive #4, Knotty Girl #8, Double Beaded Peacock Stone w/ Orange Legs #10, Purple LB #16, Green LB #16 (hot), EHC Peacock #14, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, Tan Parachute X-Caddis #16 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 11 am - 6:30 pm Hunger level: 6 out of 10 Results: 10+ Trout landed. The Farmlands fished well yesterday on nymphs, the Canyon better on dries. With the water dropping the bite was on early in the day but slowed down during lunch only to pick back up again about 3 pm - 6 pm.  The Streamer fishing was pretty good on the Sculpzilla pattern, we also hit some nice fish on Caddis, but I will be quite honest in saying the dry fly fishing is not beginner friendly right now.  The fish seem to be pretty sporadic on dries until dusk.  The seams are tricky with a lot of current lines to choose from at 3000 cfs.  This means that the caster must be highly selective upon which seams he/she chooses to fish and land the fly.  Not to mention, small dry flies are apt to sink in heavy currents and don't take the "punch" of a harsh mend.  Delicate casts that are very accurate seem to be essential.  Maybe that will change and it will go back to the free-for-all Royal Fork type feeding action we were seeing a couple of weeks ago.  Focus on breaking the river up into small pieces if you are dry fly fishing and remember that the smaller seams you choose to fish and land that dry fly the better chance you have of bringing up a fish while blind casting.  It is rare to catch canvassing the big seams with a small dry (unless you are seeing them rise frequently).  Typically rises in big water are sporadic, whereas a rise in a small seam is more predictable.  Focus your eyes on finding "a" fish and get that anchor down or move on foot into good position to make a few careful drifts over that one spot.  We landed 5-6 trout on dry flies yesterday afternoon and almost every one of them we saw feed first, in fact, I think the anglers caught every nice fish we set up on.  They made great casts.  The river should hold out nicely over the weekend unless we get another monsoon.  Of course it is Memorial Day so if you are camping it will probably rain on you. 5/26/2010 late pm Heavy rains this morning have made the Lower Canyon pretty dirty, but it will be back by mid-day Friday if not sooner.  It was a short heavy blast and the river was LOW to begin with so the dilution from the ditches put it out in a hurry. If you are out here tomorrow consider going above the Teanaway, or just drive down to the lower river and have a look. If there is more than 12" of vis then it should be back up and fishing by the afternoon.  Steve Joyce said that the big fish were feeding in the muddy water today and they stuck some piggies, not a lot, but big heavy fish though. The hatch is still rippin'!  Your chance to fish Caddis on dry flies has never been better.  Mike Canady fished till dark night before last and WHACKED 'em.  CDC Caddis Emerger chasing an EHC was the hot ticket. 5/26/2010 Anglers: Diane, Kerri, and Joe R. Location: MM20 to Red's   Flies: EHC Peacock #14, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 11 am - 4:30 pm Hunger level: 6 out of 10 Results: 2 Trout landed. Ah.. the joys of beginning fly fishing.  Naturally there are both experienced anglers and beginners alike that read this report and I genuinely hope that the experienced anglers can still remember what it was like their first couple attempts at catching fish with a fly rod.  It wasn't exactly Brad Pitt casting was it?  Nope, there were tangles, snapped off flies, sloppy casts, an occasional good cast, and some new types of casts that have yet to named.  That is the ugly truth.  Beginning fly fishing isn't always pretty but something amazing happens during all this chaos.  As I was fearing for my life each time a fly or rod was swung dangerously close to my face I noticed something special on the face of each angler... a smile.  In the beginning, no matter how bad you are casting or few of fish you catch it is still fun.  Learning to fly cast is simply fun, with or without fish.  Furthermore, it seams like those that are learning to fly fish and focus on enjoying the essence of fly casting are the ones that make it in this sport.  Catching is easy to love, casting takes a person that is willing to dedicate themselves to learning the art.  Eventually, the catching will take care of itself as the skill sets build. I got to watch a 60 year old woman that has wanted nothing more than to learn to fly fish her entire life finally get to start fulfilling that dream.   It seemed there was always something in the way.  Finally she got to do it.  We fished hard, lost flies, got tangled, laughed about it, moved on, and finally caught a couple of very nice trout.  Her first trout, her only trout.  The last one was on an Elk Hair Caddis which we meticulously sight casted at a nice rising trout just above our takeout at Red's.  All the hard work of learning to cast, mend, and strategically place the fly in current paid off.  The feeling of satisfaction and pride was gleaming off of her from ear to ear.  That is what fly fishing is all about.  I have seen a lot of beginning anglers leave my boat with more fish but I don't believe any one of them was more proud than Diane was.  I sincerely hope that you can find people in your life to take fly fishing and teach them.  As guides, we get to do it everyday.  Teach them to cast first, then they will be begging to fish.  It isn't easy, you will get frustrated, but it is likely that somebody did it for you!  If you know somebody that is interested in fly fishing and just doesn't know how to get started, or you would rather use your precious time off to fish instead of untangle (who can blame you, we get paid to do it) get them in a fly casting class to start.  It is a great way to get going on fly fishing.  Our Introduction to Fly Fishing course is perfect.  Bug wise, the epic volume of Caddis continues to roll on in the Lower Canyon.  The weather today is a little damp which will keep the flights down until their wings dry.  The fishing on the sunny days is starting to get very good at around 5 pm till dark. We saw LOTS of rising fish on both Caddis and PMD's in the afternoon but it takes a good caster to place the flies in the tiny seams that most of these fish are holding in.  Nymph wise, the trend over the past week has been that nearly all the fish caught have been on small dropper flies with very few reacting to a Stonefly Nymph.  Just a trend, I won't bother with any hypothesis.  Ok, I can't help it.  Although there are Golden Stones the MDC and the PMD are just flat out overwhelming right now.  The trout's radar is set on small. 5/22/2010 This calls for celebration, the graph above is as fishy as it gets and the entire Yakima River system is in GREAT shape.  Best conditions we have had in a week.  The dry fly fishing should be back on this afternoon, in fact, Steve Joyce pulled into the Ringer access yesterday afternoon to check the water clarity and was shocked to see it running green yesterday and there were trout feeding on dry flies right then and there.  Things are looking good in the Canyon again and the fish should be willing after a 5 day rest period.  The extended forecast suggests that we should be fishing steady for the rest of May, so get your trips planned with confidence for a shot at some of our best dry fly fishing.  Golden Stones, PMD's, various Caddis, Yellow Sally's, Fly Ants, and lots of other bugs will be very active over the next couple of weeks. - Also, there is a small fly fishing fair at the Waterbrook Winery in Walla Walla today that we will be at, so if anybody is in that part of the state stop by.  It is right Highway 12 west of town, you can't miss it. 5/20/2010 We were all set to be fishing the Lower River until the Forest Gump style rain entered the valley.  It came in sideways.  The Teanaway was back in shape and starting to become pretty clear until the deluge hit.  Oh well, minor setback in a very accommodating spring thus far.  Before the weekend is over we will be green down here again.  The Yakima River above the Teanaway (in Cle Elum) is fishing steady and in great shape for either wading or floating. 5/18/2010 late pm Short report, fished the upper river above the Teanaway today and it fished pretty good.  Everybody caught fish including a few nice ones. The Teanaway was gnarly this morning and the river was completely out from the Teanaway downstream.  By 6 pm, the Tway was looking pretty good, in fact, I would say the Tway downstream was fishable if only by a small margin.  By tomorrow, the Thorp run should be fishing, and the Farmlands perhaps.  The Lower Canyon will still be in rough shape in the morning but will see some clearing in the afternoon hours.  The Caddis hatch will be relatively light over the next few days anyway.  Bring nymphs and a good lunch.  Look for the L.C. to fish on Thursday again. 5/17/2010 late pm Anglers: Jim, Griffin, and Joe R. Location: Bighorn to Umtantum   Flies: EHC Peacock #14, Tilt Wing Dun PMD #16 (elk hair based PMD... delicious),  Morrish's WMD Dark Stone #8/6, Morrish's WMD Golden Stone #8/6, Knotty Girl Stone #8, Anato May Hare's Ear #16, Chart. Copper John #16, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, CDC Prince #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 12 pm - 6 pm Hunger level: 3 out of 10 Results: About 5 trout per landed. The Lower Canyon was pretty muddy today, in fact, everything from the Teanaway down was in pretty rough shape.  I opted to fish the Canyon despite the poor clarity.  An epic hatch and not a single other boat on the river helps offset the yucky color.  Although the bite wasn't half of what it was the last few days we made a good day of it and threw dry flies at a few nice rising trout.  They were IN the sticks though and it was pretty tough to get at 'em. We finally had to wave the white flag and call it a truce with only 3-4 casualties to the fly box.  If you see some little tiny white crosses hanging in the willows above Umtanum that is where we buried 4 EHC's trying for an 18"er that looked like it morphed into a beaver.  I swear it had to be getting bark in its mouth every time it took a Caddis off the sticks.  The LC will be muddy for a few days, still fishable but aesthetically a little off.  Rowing ability pays huge dividends right now and the advantage of a guide in these conditions is huge.  For the average boat owner it is very tough to find fish right now, so consider giving it some time to clear up if that is an option. If not, take it head on and have no fear!  The worst thing that can happen is you don't catch fish, but at least you are fishing and ANY day of fly fishing is a good day?  Question of the day... is fly fishing one word or is flyfishing 2 words?  I think it should be one word and nominated as a Proper Noun along with Red'sFlyShop in the new Webster's.  Fishonandwewilltrytopostareporttomorrow.  5/17/2010 (fished 5/16 on this report) Anglers: Troy, John & Karen Float: Umtanum to Big Pines Posted by: Troy Flies: Pats stone sz. 10 & 8, Pearl Lightning Bug sz. 12 & 14, Silver Lightning Bug sz. 12 & 14, Black and Red Copper Johns sz. 14. Hunger level: 6 out of 10 5 -6 fish landed with 4 over 17" As we launched the boat at Umtanum campground yesterday there was a thick haze of caddis flying around, so thick in fact that you almost needed your Buff to cover your mouth to keep the caddis from coming in! Floating in a hatch like this is every fly fisherman's dream. As we pushed away from the boat launch we noticed very few trout rising to the billions of caddis laying eggs on the water, so we decided to set up a shallow nymph rig. Our best set up throughout the day was, 3 feet between indicator and the first bug followed with a lightning bug or a copper john, with one piece of .2 g Dinzmore split shot right above the first bug. The last couple of days on the river have been fairly good, with some very large fish caught, but some reports have shown some people struggling in the canyon. The biggest key to hooking trout in the canyon is having the person in the rowers seat working their tails off! Really focus on the outer portions of the seams coming off of rock piles and walls and don't be afraid to cut over to the inside corner and row a few laps. This has been really helpful the last couple of days. Props to Karen and John who before yesterday had practically never casted a fly rod before, they landed some absolute dandies! Just take your time and have good confidence in the bugs your using and really focus on the foam pockets in deep swirling back eddies. 5/16/2010 late pm Anglers: Many, but not compared to some other great trout waters across the west. Results:  Some anglers reported slow fishing, while some of us crushed 'em.  Find a system that works for you and fish your brains out. It might not be easy.  This could mean high sticking hard behind turbulent boulders, along rock walls, and fish the heavy water with tough-to-get drifts.  It might mean staying out till pitch dark and having to pick ONE out of 25 fish rising to cast at and work because there are so many Caddis.  Or, the fish might be so tight in the sticks that you have to go through 1/2 dozen Caddis to get 'em.  Or, maybe it will come easy to you and you'll stumble into some pods of rising trout on Caddis that haven't been touched and you can use an EHC on 3X and hammer 'em, this has happened to more than a few guys coming through the shop over the past few days.  Whatever the case may be, even good fishing can be challenging but our guides have been wrecking 'em the past few days and hopefully this hatch cycle will continue despite the cloud cover.  Generally Caddis are happy to hatch on the clearest days (unlike Mayflies) and we'll see the trends continue!  One of our guides had 3-4 doubles of fish that went 18"+!  That is is Missouri River like.  We don't see that very often, but every once in a great while.... we do.  Fish on, the river is in prime shape. 5/13/2010 late pm Anglers: Jon, Patrece, and Joe R. Location: Bighorn to Red's Flies: (should have had this one!!! darn it, this bug is a parachute elk hair Caddis with a Peacock body that floats like a cork, fishes awesome and is easy to see) Hogan's Last Call Caddis #16, Tan Parachute X-Caddis #16 (worked great, but the peacock body on the Hogan's is thin and just seems to get 'em!) Posted By: Joe R. Time: 12:30 am - 8 pm Hunger level: 7.5 out of 10 Results: About 10 trout landed, all on dries. The dry fly fishing came on hot this afternoon from 5 pm - 8 pm, prior to that it was pretty slow.  We committed to fish dry flies all day and it paid off, find a fish, get the drift, hook the fish, and land the fish.  Ok, so it didn't go quite like that every time but we had literally hundreds of casts at rising fish this evening with LOTS of takes.  My hunch tells me that it will start a little earlier tomorrow.  Great casting pays huge dividends right now.  Lots of fish are away from the bank in harsh currents.  Keeping the fly buoyant and drag free is key, also, sharp casters seem to always be able to see their fly because it lands exactly where they want it to.  If you are having trouble tracking your bug, try stopping your rod tip crisp to get tight and accurate leader turnover. 5/12/2010 late pm Anglers: Steve, Guy, Jan, Kathy, Steve J. and Joe R. Location: Umtanum to Mahre's Flies: Hogan's Last Call Caddis #16, Tan Parachute X-Caddis #16, Morrish's WMD Dark Stone #8/6, Morrish's WMD Golden Stone #8/6, Knotty Girl Stone #8, Anato May Hare's Ear #16, Chart. Copper John #16, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, CDC Prince #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 am - 6:30 pm Hunger level: 3 out of 10 Results: About 7 trout per boat, overall... pretty slow fishing. GREAT hatch today, but the fish obviously had some different ideas on what to do about it.  Maybe they thought the river was being taken over by Caddis and went to hide somewhere else, because they sure were not feeding on the surface very well!  We did manage to scrounge up 3 to the boat on dries, and about 8-9 good takes but relative to what kind of fishing this hatch can produce it was tough duty.  Likely the last hour of daylight is rockin' - that has been the norm as of late.  It's not always the case though, the fish we landed on dries were at about 10-11 am and rose willingly.  Then it shut down, and probably didn't start back up till dusk.  It will be absurd over the weekend, hopefully the fish will float to the top and gobble bugs during banker's hours for us.  The strange thing is, we fished till 6:30 and didn't see it start.  It has got to be isolated almost solely to the last hour and a half or so.  We'll see what happens tomorrow, we'll have guides out both early and late. 5/11/2010 Packing the boat for a big trip today right now.  Rod's, flies, camera, Caddis, and oh yea... waders.  Won't need those much longer.  Can't wait for summer when it is simply shorts and and sandals door to river.  On of our guides, Shan, has a personal "no wader" policy after May 1st that he invoked years ago.  It is pretty funny to watch him stand in the cold water and pretend he enjoys it.  Just watch the vein in his temple swell up and you will notice he squirms around a lot too and then finds an excuse to get back in the boat right away.  Bring your waders, but it will be 80 degrees this weekend and the Caddis hatch will EXPLODE over the weekend.  If you are on the water these next few days in the Lower Canyon it will likely be the biggest hatch you will ever see.  Hopefully the trout are hungry! 5/11/2010 We got this email from a customer, it pretty much sums up the hatch yesterday. "Thanks for the tip on starting later in the day on Saturday.  Fishing was slow most of the float but the Miracle Mile delivered as promised.  Our friend from Germany hooked some very nice fish on a double Caddis dry rig.  He had trouble keeping them on but did put a solid 18-19" fish in the net.  It made his trip.  He is already talking about visiting again.  The caddis hatch was fairly strong but short.  Funny thing was the fish weren't keyed on the hatch but once it ended they started taking our imitations." Erik We also got this email as well, this is a cool story!  He went lake fishing with Gary Thompson from our fly shop, and used an ol' classic. "My father taught me how to fly fish before I was 10.  He fished with a bamboo 4 piece 8 foot rod that was my grandfather’s.  When my father passed away I went through old family photos and found one of my grandmother in 1932 with that very same bamboo rod in Petersburg Alaska where my father was raised.  I kept the rod and  still have kept it in its orginal case.  I was been taped together by my father with black electrical tape and it is in a fragile condition.  I took the rod with me when we went fishing at the private lake.  I was on a pontoon boat and started casting with that rod.  I caught a 12” trout and continued to fish with it.  I changed flys and then started casting again and caught a huge trout (Gary has photos).  I was very concerned that the rod would snap!  It was my dream to catch one more big trout with the rod and then take it in to have it reconditioned and then retire it to a wall mount with photos of my grandmother with rod and then with me catching a big trout using the same rod.  The rod is 86 years old and it still caught a big one!" 5/09/2010 late pm The MDC Hatch blew its top today and began spewing Caddis by the tens of thousands.  Fitting, as if on cue it erupted ON Mother's Day.  The hatch got heavy in the afternoon hours and it was really strange, the Farmlands was very slow and tough fishing as reported by Troy.  He said the fish were literally moving out of the way of the fly, while the reports from the Canyon were positive.  We have seen this before.  This hatch is complex and just because the food is available doesn't mean they are hungry. Take your pick on the section of river, its a roll of the dice anyway.  You never can be sure what the trout will be thinking, but I know what you are thinking.  You had better get a few dozen Caddis, a doctor's note, a tank of gas, a sausage McMuffin, a Triple Venti, and hit the road!  This hatch is the biggest, baddest, and it is the Mother (no pun intended) of all hatches across the Pacific Northwest. We can't promise each day will produce great dry fly fishing, but there will be a few that EVERY fish in the river will be looking for dries.  For the best look at good dry fly fishing, fish till dusk.  Sometimes the fish will be getting 90% of their required caloric intake in a matter of just a couple hours.  When it is tough during the day, you can almost bank on the evening being great on dries.  Good Luck, and cross your fingers for a good barometer and sky to make them rise to the dry! 5/07/2010 Anglers: Barry, Bruce, and Joe R. Location: Ringer to Red's Flies: Gold Lightning Bug on a Scud Hook #16, Morrish's WMD Dark Stone #8/6, Morrish's WMD Golden Stone #8/6, Knotty Girl Stone #8, Anato May Hare's Ear #16, Gold Copper John #16, Gold Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, CDC Prince #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 am - 5 pm Hunger level: 6 out of 10 Results: 10 trout landed, 16" was our big fish of the day. Great nymph fishing before the storm rolled in yesterday, it POURED in the Lower Canyon.  Apparently in Ellensburg it was nice the whole time while in the LC it dumped rain and hale.  The storm nestled itself on top of Umtanum Ridge and the skies opened up.  The fishing was great in the sunshine, convenient for us, and then when the storm and pressure change came in it shut down over a period of just about 10 minutes and went stone cold.  Then, the rain, it was Forest Gump rain for about an hour and then the fish started eating dry flies.  The drifts were really tough to get in the wind and hale but there was an ample number of trout up feeding on the surface so the game was fun.  Good casting skills pay dividends in those situations.  The ability to lay out a strong 30-40 foot cast accurately though the wind practically requires that you know how to Double Haul.  Take the time to learn that and it will increase your accuracy in those types of situations immensely, and when your accuracy increases.... your fish count increases.  A great caster yesterday could have rocked 'em on dries for a couple of hours straight, but it was nearly impossible without a strong cast.  The fish were popping up all over in random seems meaning you had to jump short to long, long to short and do so at a moment's notice all the while fighting a blustery head wind.   Another tip, ever had trouble seeing a #16 dry fly in flat light?  Of course, but did you blame the fly or your eye sight.  Something that you may not realize when it comes to fishing small dry flies is that accurate casters can almost always see their fly because it lands almost exactly where they expect it to land.  If your cast is errant, of course you can't see your fly because you don't know where to look.  Learn to set that fly down "spot on" and you will start to see it better, and catch more fish!  More importantly, on dry flies too. 5/06/2010 Snowfall in the northern end of the Ellensburg zip code yesterday, man oh man it is cold.  The good thing is the river is clear as can be for May and we are about to have our Mother's Day Hatch BLOW UP in the next 10 days or so.  You haven't missed anything yet, except big wind and some rough fishing.  It is almost show-time right now and although it is cold I am getting a good vibe from the river already.  The cold weather is almost making me feel like it is Steelhead season, and in honor of that thought I figured I would spur any readers that fish Steelhead with us on the Klickitat at our riverside camp, the Methow, or Wenatchee into booking soon because the phone is ringing like mad right now and it would be wise to get your fall trips planned soon, just fair warning!  The Methow and Wenatchee will both open for Steelhead this fall as fisheries managers see fit to do so.  There is stamp, or permit, that you need to buy if you are going to fish Columbia River Tributary streams.  This money that is generated from this is intended to help fund the monitoring efforts on the Met and Wenatchee fisheries.    Try and set a couple of days aside now, because if 2010 is even half of what 2009 was it will be stellar (and it looks like if the Chinook run heading back is any indication of the steelhead... holy cow). 5/03/2010 Anglers: Steve J, Joe R, and a bunch of great new guests! Location: Irene to Ringer Flies: Morrish's WMD Dark Stone #8/6, Morrish's WMD Golden Stone #8/6, Knotty Girl Stone #8, Anato May Hare's Ear #16, Chart. Copper John #16, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, CDC Prince #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8 (pretty much the same routine) Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 am - 5 pm Hunger level: 3 out of 10 Results: About 6 trout landed in our boat with one very nice one in the 16-17" range. Fishing reports seem easier to write when the weather is nice, the fishing is great, and there is some big fish to brag about - but this has been a rough week!  Big wind everyday, gusts to 50 mph yesterday and a soft bite.  Truthfully though it didn't seem to matter, we fished with some great guys.  I'm not sure how we could have had a more fun day.  They made no excuses for the wind, lack of a bite, cold weather, or anything else.  Just a great can do attitude which goes a long ways. We wound up hooking some nice fish and a good attitude was a more valuable asset than a strong fly cast (which they possessed both of, and that is the most deadly combination).  Tips from yesterday, same as a few reports ago.  Pick your battles wisely.  Don't just try crusing downstream casting at every little spot.  Use very focused effort.  That can mean wading, attempting to anchor, or just high energy rowing for small bits of time to maximize the potential of one key spot and then.... breathe for a minute, choose your next battle and man up for the next bucket.  You can't hit all the spots but if you can fish a few of them really well that is much better than fishing all of them poorly.  Just my 2 bits worth.  Fly wise - almost every single fish was on a small nymph again.  Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16 was the best bug by far.  The Mother's Day Hatch looks like it isn't going to break free on any particular day.  The high temperature over the next 2 weeks is predicted at 70 degrees which is pretty much average. If that changes, and there is a day that is predicted to jump up to 80 or so unexpectedly then that will likely be "THE" day.  Unlike Mayflies, Caddis hatches are usually the biggest on warm, sunny, clear days with no cloud cover. They react to a spike in water temperature usually. Kelting Steelhead story - This is very cool and testament to good things happening on the Yakima.  In all the years I have been fishing the Yakima (12 1/2 to be exact), I have never seen a single Steelhead that has died enroot back to the ocean.  Why is this? Because there simply wasn't very many. Yesterday on a soft inside corner we had a Steelhead holding a few feet away from our boat that was in rough shape.  It had the "cheese head" effect of a Salmon and was on its last legs... or fins for that matter.  It wasn't going to make it.  It was spawned out and waiting for death to set in.  It was about a 9 pound wild fish and it had a heck of a journey.  The Steelhead in the upper tributaries of the Columbia, i.e. the Methow, Wenatchee, Yakima, essentially have the life cycle of a Salmon with one spawning cycle.  It is simply too far for them to make it back with any regularity.  Few, if any, ever make multiple trips back up to spawn versus coastal Steelhead which sometimes have only a few miles separating them from the ocean at time of spawning.  To finally see a Steelhead like this, combined with the fact we are hooking more than ever while trout fishing is a great sign.  They are coming back which is a pretty inspirational concept in the presence of adversity and historical decimation.  Keep in mind that these are nearly all wild Steelhead that are regenerating their population from what was at one time nearly a lost population.  After witnessing the pure number of Steelhead caught this year it is tough not to be inspired and admire the steadfast dedication of fisheries biologists and managers that have stuck with the "wild steelhead" only idea on this river.  It seems as though if this trend continues we will be witnessing a pretty special thing over the next decade on the Yakima. 4/30/2010 late pm Anglers: Art, Bruce and Joe Location: Irene to MM20 Flies: Morrish's WMD Dark Stone #8/6, Morrish's WMD Golden Stone #8/6, Knotty Girl Stone #8, Anato May Hare's Ear #16, Chart. Copper John #16, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, CDC Prince #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8 (pretty much the same routine as the day before) Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 am - 5 pm Hunger level: 6.5 out of 10 Results: 10+ trout landed, and a few very nice ones in the 16-17" range. Gust timing was the key today, figuring out just the right time to shoot our cast out before a blast of cool Cascade air knocked it back is a fine art.  That and trying to keep the boat lined up, slowed down, and under control.  Hug your guide for handling the boat well in this wind, I think my wingspan grew an inch today.  The last few days have been rough, but truthfully today's bite was good.  VERY hard work though, but almost every time the drift was there - fish on.  The beautiful thing - we did not see a single angler today. Not one, zip, zilch.  That is pretty cool.  You can head out for a great float on a Blue Ribbon stream in the 21st century and still have it to yourself.  That is the inner beauty of the Yakima, we love it because it is a challenging stream and won't ever get over run by the crowds.  My guests today fish the Madison a lot and it is not uncommon to see 50 guide boats a day!  For a guy that has guided trout on almost nothing but the Yakima that seems absurd.  Think about that next time you cringe because there is a mere 5 boats at Ringer!  We truly have it great on the Yak, the angler to fish tio is just perfect.  Today we fished a litany of flies, but almost every single one was on a Pearl LB#16. Buy plenty, we snapped a lot off in the trees and on the bottom today and could have used a1 deeper box.  The Stone nymph game is dried up, or at least it was today. Try a Bitch Creek, the Montana boys I fished with today said that bug hammers 'em in MT when they get picky on the Pats. Most of the Salmon Flies have made their way safely to the bank and once things calm down and continue clearing up start looking for a big attractor dry to produce on the surface.  We need it to warm up a bit though, the Salmon flies I have seen on the water haven't been laying eggs yet. Goldens should be coming very soon (a few have shown up, but now many), and the Caddis are only making a light appearance.  There were a few tardy March Browns today but overall the hatches were very light. 4/28/2010 It has been pretty rough the last couple days, with the big wind and the bite being off. The anglers though are sticking with it and having a good time and the mantra that keeps us all goin' is - "any day of fly fi6shing is a good day!" Do short floats and isolate small pieces of water when the wind is bad.  It is wise to take it one single fish at a time and not cruise downstream with your rod set on fully automatic burst. 4/27/2010 Anglers: Tom, Gary, and Joe R. Location: Red's to Slab Flies: Morrish's WMD Dark Stone #8/6, Morrish's WMD Golden Stone #8/6, Knotty Girl Stone #8, Anato May Hare's Ear #16, Chart. Copper John #16, Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, CDC Prince #16, Matt's Double Beaded Stone #8 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 11 am - 5 pm Hunger level: 2.5 out of 10 Results: 5-6 trout landed, and that was good considering the bite was off. It is always amazing how much different the trout look at conditions than fisherman do!  We crushed 'em on Saturday in muddy water and now that it cleared up the bite slowed.  It was likely the high pressure system that moved in and brought some intense wind but overall the water was in good shape and we got a lot of good drifts in.  The fish seemed to be moving out of the way of our flies though!  We did stick a few nice ones on the Morrish Stone and any day of fly fishing is a good day.  Hopefully the bite will turnaround in the next couple of days.  This time of year has such potential to be great that you have to fish everyday to find out.  The Grannoms Caddis are all sealed up in their shucks meaning they are in the process of metamorphosis for the big Mother's Day Hatch which is right around the corner.    4/26/2010 The whole system is in great shape and fishing solid.  Also, BIG NEWS - Bighorn Boat Launch is back open and the guys maintaining it appear to be doing a great job.  $5 to launch, not bad eh?  We'll pay that any day of the week if it will open up a little more access. 4/25/2010 Anglers: Travis, Adam, and Joe R. Location: Ringer to Umtanum Bridge Flies: Knotty Girl Stone #8, Anato May Hare's Ear #16 (Same 2 Flies All Day!!!) Posted By: Joe R. Time: 10:30 - 5:30 pm Hunger level: 6.5 out of 10 Results: 10+ trout landed, several 16"+, first Pike Minow of the year, and Zero Yfish. We decided to go for it in the Canyon today despite off colored water and it was well worth the gamble.  The trout were on the take and we fished the same 2 flies all day and hooked about 50/50 on each fly.  The Knotty Girl Stone ROCKS by the way.  It is nice to have rival for the Pat's to compete against finally.  We also have a new Moorish Stone on the way in that is that one of the guides had been hiding from us.  The whole river is back in fishable condition.  I would not say that the fishing was "easy" at all today, which it never is but having spent the last 4 seasons guiding in the spring at 3,000 cfs to as much as 7000+ cfs the flows today seem weak in comparison.  There are a lot of tricks to fishing slightly high off colored water and 2006-2009 definitely polished some of those for all of us.  Don't feel bad if you had a tough day, just remember what you learned and try some different approaches next time out in these conditions.  I should award Silver Stars to our guests today that fished really hard start to finish. They started as novice anglers and left with some great skills on casting, line handling, reading water, and entomology.... guests for a day now they are fly anglers for life.  Some tips for slightly high water with some color in it:  Try fishing to specific fish - rather than runs or holes.  Find a spot that you KNOW there is a fish there and set up one great drift to cover it.  Don't spend too much time in deep water because most of the trout will be on the weak/shallow edges.  Fish your nymphs slightly off the bottom, there is a lot of food suspended.  On inside corners, strategically work from inside out and then deepen up your indicator afterwards to work the bottom and get dirty.  There 1`was a decent Caddis hatch today around noon that is beginning to hint that the Mother's Day Caddis hatch might be a little earlier than planned.  Look for it to spring open by the end of the month.  It will likely peak the first week of May prior to Mother's Day (don't hold us to it though!).  4/24/2010 - 6:30 pm The Lower Canyon fished good from Ringer to Umtanum, more to come after dinner. 4/21/2010 - 8:30 pm It looks like we are back in for tomorrow.  At 5 pm in Ellensburg the river had 12-18" of visibility which is good enough for us.  The Canyon had not seen the response in drop that the Farmlands did but by tomorrow it should be looking good at least by the afternoon. Steve J. guided the upper river yesterday had a decent day but we are looking forward to the Canyon and the Mother's Day Caddis Hatch! (which is right around the corner).  Salmon flies are spread throughout the river but unless there is a good hatch don't expect to search with dries for at least a few days.  Stick to Stones, San Juans, Lime Green Caddis, and Prince nymphs in the size 14 range (Caddis that will be exploding in about a week or two).  Our plans are to guide the Canyon tomorrow if there is 18" plus visibility because by the afternoon it will have improved and as the trout begin to see the river clear up they usually get aggressive.  If it is less than about 18" then we'll hit the Farmlands or Upper Canyon to get above Wilson, Manastash, Swauk, Taneum, and some others that resemble something more like irrigation canals.  The Teanaway is much less of an issue than it was, it should fish ok below there tomorrow and will clear from the top down as the day goes on.  We witnessed dropping and clearing in person today in the Canyon. 4/21/2010 10:30 pm We are likely out of shape from the top down due to the monsoon.  It is possible that the Yakima above the Teanaway will hold its clarity through tomorrow but the odds are slim.  Look for Saturday to be the prime part of the drop and gooood fishin!  Below you will see 2 graphs, the first is the Yakima River at Cle Elum.  This is a hard rise, but is still only up a total of 500 cfs over the last day which the river can usually handle at this volume.  It depends a little bit one which drainages got hit the hardest with rain.  Some creeks get ugly fast, while others will filter the water pretty well.  The next graph is a forecast for the Yakima River at Umtanum.  It shows us leveling out late Friday, which means the river on Friday and Saturday should be fishing great.  Especially Saturday.  Also, keep in mind that this graph is at Umtanum too, the fish in the Farmlands and Upper River will feel the water pressure decrease before it hits the canyon.  The abnormal currents that accompany a rise in water are the worst, these should subside upriver early on Friday.  This is just a guess, but if you are planning to fish I think you are in fine shape!  Bring a few San Juans just in case.  Also, check this out.  This link is reposted because it probably will get lost below the graphs.   http://www.redsflyfishing.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=15114 4/21/2010 It is pouring and blowing like crazy, check this out.  Use this on a rainy day.  http://www.redsflyfishing.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=15114 4/20/2010 Anglers: Pete, Ty, and Joe R. Location: South Cle Elum to Bristol Flat Flies: Prince Harry #12, Abdomen Beaded PT #12, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, organic (hand tied) Stonefly Nymphs, Black K Stone #6, San Juan Worms (used from Teanaway downstream), Split Wing Adams Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9 am - 5 pm Results: 10+ trout landed, a couple of BIG fish as well. In honor of the Teanaway's digestive difficulties resulting from this last stint of hot weather, we decided to fish above the influx of muddy water at the junction and had great fishing with few other boats.  My hunch is that there will be a lot of pressure up there as the week goes on and the Teanaway stays high, however, we had equally good fishing from the Teanaway downstream yesterday (although it is higher today), it isn't bad.  There is still 18"+ visibility in the Canyon and if you are willing and able - there are fish to be caught.  You will probably find us guiding the upper Yakima, but if you don't mind using a San Juan worm it is likely you will have the Lower Canyon almost to yourself for a change.  It should come back into shape by Thursday for sure and remember that a dropping river is a fishy river!  Tips yesterday - stealth was key.  Quiet casts, longer casts, quiet oar strokes, and a looooooowwww profile helped a lot.  One good cast is worth more than 100 crappy ones. 4/19/2010 Anglers: None yet - early a.m. still Location: trouble at the Teanaway! Flies: -- Posted By: Joe R. Time: 6 am Results: Take a good look at the river today before you put your boat in, the Teanaway is gaining some momentum this morning and from appearances it likely has the river down below in rough shape. (haven't seen the river this morning, but may post on Facebook once I do).  This might be our first "mini blowout" of the year.  It shouldn't last long and frankly the fish could use a little freshet to mix things up, push the smolt out, and give the anglers a chance at some big fish when this thing settles down.  The river in the canyon is still "low" in comparison to a typical year so who knows... maybe it will fish great.   A dropping river is always fishy so look for it to stabilize and then start kicking out plenty of fish. 4/14/2010 Anglers: Steve J., Tim, and Joe R. Location: KOA to Irene Flies: Brown CDC PT #12/14, Pats Stone Flies sz.10, Split Wing Adams #12, Tan Sculpzilla #4, Gary's w/ Bronze Bead PT #14, Prince Nymph w/ CDC #18 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 2:30 - 5 pm Hunger level: 5 out of 10 Results: About 4-5 trout landed, some others gave us the slip.  The freshet released by the controllers above has moved through, and the fishing is steady and we stuck several fish on dries during our short float yesterday.  The weekend looks good, and we still have some room in the Advanced Fly Casting Course hosted at the lodge tomorrow at 10 am.  You can register online, call the shop, or just show up with rod in hand!  It is a GREAT course to go through and it runs for about 4 hours will allow you plenty of fishing in the afternoon.  Plan for Baetis, Midge, and small Caddis in the Lower Canyon, pack some March Browns for the Farmlands and the upper half of the lower canyon.  If you plan to float the farmlands, we run shuttles up there too.  Just make sure to you call in and fill out the waiver.   Download Red's Shuttle Form: Acrobat PDF or Word DOC   4/15/2010 Anglers: Travis, Jeff, and Joe R. Location: Umtanum Bridge to Red's Flies: Pearl Lightning Bug #16/14 (should have tried 18 with all the small Caddis hatching), San Juan Power Worm Brown/Red #14, Brown CDC PT #12/14, Peacock Double Beaded Stone #10, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, Pats Stone Flies sz.10, Gary's w/ Bronze Bead PT #14, Purple Lightning Bug #14/16, WD-40 Black #20, Chartreuse Copper John #16 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 - 5:30 pm Hunger level: 6.5 out of 10 Results: 10+ trout landed, a few 16"+, all on nymphs. The powers that be spiked the flows yesterday to spur the migration of juvenile Chinook and Coho migrating downstream along with kelting Steelhead. After being on the river today and realizing that there was recently a release of hatchery Chinook we hypothesized this idea, and last night it was confirmed when I read a great email from a Yakima River Basin Fish Biologist enlightening us on this fact.  He gave us some great information.  Due to the moderate snow pack and lack of natural runoff, managers are using storage release to aid migration.  Increased flow helps expedite the migration, but it also allows for managers at Roza dam to better manage flow gates and allow for juveniles to migrate through the dam  on the surface without harm.  We are fortunate to have such a well educated group of fisheries bios and managers on this river.  With the increased number of Chinook, Coho, and Steelhead returning to the Yakima each year it appears that they are doing the right things. The nymphing was great yesterday but we didn't see the stellar dry fly fishing like we did 2 days ago.  That was primarily due to the lack of cloud cover, but it might have also been to slightly increased flows which often kicks loose a large amount of subsurface material and keep the trout fat and happy down deep.  The March Brown hatch was light, there were some BWO's (which are usually slow on sunny days), GREAT Midge hatch, and there were actually quite a few small Caddis in the #16/18 range.  Something we didn't try and should have, was a CDC Prince #18 or some type of #18 Hare's Ear.  A Prince Harry makes a great Caddis pupae.  It has a flash back and the white biot looks like wings trying to pop out of the pupal skin.  In the afternoon we found that the #20 Black WD-40 was the best dropper.  Once the Mayflies were done the fish turned to Midge.  4/14/2010 Anglers: Ted, Jeff, and Joe R. Location: Irene to MM20 Flies: Brown CDC PT #12/14, Peacock Double Beaded Stone #10, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, Pats Stone Flies sz.10, Gary's w/ Bronze Bead PT #14, Purple Lightning Bug #14/16, Split Wing Adams #12, Squirmy Skwala Nymph #10 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 - 5:30 pm Hunger level: 8 out of 10 Results: 10+ trout landed, a few very nice ones - but great numbers of 10-12" fish! Fishiest day of the year so far!  Who knows what this week will bring though, last week it was snowing! It was very good fishing yesterday with lots of fish to the boat.  I am in a huge hurry to get the boat loaded, lunch packed, and head to the river, but I wanted to get this report posted with some advice on flies. Good luck and check out the video for more incite! 4/12/2010 WOW!! This is quite a story, a 9 year old angler fly fishing for his 1st time ever lands a HATCHERY Steelhead on the Yakima ( a non-river-of-origin fish)!  Not only did he get it, but it was his first cast ever, after just a few minutes of instruction from the guide! He fought and landed it like a pro thanks to Red's guide Mike Canady and some great coaching! 4/11/2010 In case you are still wondering. That is just a small Clack in the pic below, although Bo and Troy would contend that it their massive masculine builds.  The Rendezvous this weekend was spectacular and thanks so much to everybody that came by.  Congrats to Ricky, Richard, Patti, and everybody else that participated in the casting competition.  Everybody did so great and it is fun to watch people enjoy and improve their fly casting abilities.  The fly cast is the heartbeat of this sport - it is what makes it so enjoyable, without it.... you would be gear fishin' and it just isn't the same thing!  Thanks also to all the industry reps, Dick Sagara, Eric Neufield, Gary Sandstrom, Jon Stenerson, and of course - thanks to everybody on the Red's/CRR staff that truly make events like this worth doing!  You guys are great.  Congrats to Bo Lybeck that won a new set of Simms G4 Pro Waders, you may recall he has the oldest most torn up waders we have ever seen.  We shot a video of it.  We plan to shoot another and title "Extreme Wader Makeover"!  Thanks to everybody in the Drift Boat Class you did a great job and it sounded like Gary Thompson helped the lake class submit a ton of fish during the Stillwater clinic, so good job on the lake out there folks.  We plan to post more pictures from the event later in the week.  Regarding fishing, good hatches today and the water is in PRIME shape.  Expect the fishing to hold a strong bite for the next week or two.  See you on the river! 4/10/2010 Location: Red's and the Lodge Results:  LOTS of fun, info, and an all around great time celebrating and learning more about the sport of fly fishing. Either these guys are HUGE, or that is a really small Clack.  Which is it?  Come to the Rendezvous today and find out! 4/9/2010 Anglers: Nicholas, Keith, and Joe R. Location: Red's to Slab Flies: Pearl Lightning Bug #14/16, Black K-Stone #6, Brown CDC PT #12/14, Peacock Double Beaded Stone #10, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, Pats Stone Flies sz. 8 & 6, San Juan Worm - Pearl Red, Gary's w/ Bronze Bead PT #14 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 - 5:00 pm Hunger level: 3 out of 10 Results: 4 trout landed, all of which were the first 4 trout ever landed on a fly by this father/son combo! NOTE:  The Rendezvous is Saturday, it will be a blast.  Here are few reasons to go.  1) The NCAA tourney is over, so now you need to find something else to do 2) There is a chance for you to leave with FREE stuff from Red's.  3) You will get to watch some of the very best fly casters in the northwest duke it out at 4 pm.  4)  It's basically free.  5)  You can get your buddy that is a terrible rower in one of the drift boat classes.  6)  It is mostly indoors.  7)  You can ask our guides about a free 20 minute guided trip (which is sweet - upper Red's to lower Red's 8)  Beer is at 3:30 pm  9)  LOTS of free info from the guides 10)  Lasagna dinner  11)  Let us tune up your cast  12) Spey curious?  There is a good clinic!  12) Watch the guides tie their favorite patterns  13)  Cast in the non-pro division of the casting competition and see how you do!f "Any day spent fly fishing is a good day", this was yesterday's mantra as we battled against big wind, cold water, and picky trout.  In the face of adverse conditions though we battled ahead and fished through 40 mph winds, with bigger gusts and fought to get the wind in our favor.  Sometimes that meant setting the boat up to fish slots on the left or the right depending on the direction of the wind.  It also meant skipping a lot of marginal water and focusing on just getting a few good floats through the prime water.  The guests yesterday had big hearts and did great considering it was their first time fly fishing.... ever. They had never cast a fly rod once.  We spent the better part of the morning time just learning the concept of a drag free drift, various mends, casts, line handling, entomology, and more.  It is really cool to see a 14 year old kid leave pumped up about fly fishing when he can't feel his hands and the wind is howling!  That is the true measure of a fisherman.  As a guide, we can measure somebody up in a hurry; "Are they in love with the struggle, or do they let it get them down?"  If they relish the challenge, then they will most certainly go onto be great anglers someday, Yesterday,... if you didn't love every aspect of the game it would have been easy to give up.  You have to enjoy the cast, a new style of mend, a new way of feeding line, a new type of roll cast, seeing a new insect, or whatever.  These should be the things that keep you going through the tough times.  When the chips are down, the bite is slow, and tangles begin to happen more frequently just remember that it is the battle that makes this sport great and not the catch (which never hurts, we catch as many as we possibly can), but making yourself better and learning to enjoy the process will take you a long ways in attempting to master this sport.  Most anglers would have given up yesterday, but Nicholas and Keith fished it hard  and loved every second of it.  I admire anybody else that fished through the storm yesterday, my hats off to you.  No pun intended, as my hat did fly off at least once during the gale force winds. 4/7/2010 Anglers: Bo L. and Joe R. Location: Irene to Ringer Flies: Brown CDC PT #12/14, Peacock Double Beaded Stone #10, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, Pats Stone Flies sz. 8 & 6, San Juan Worm - Pearl Red, Hand tied Skwala Dries, Split Wing Adams #12, Gary's w/ Bronze Bead PT #14, Pheasant Tail Cripple #12 Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:30 - 4:00 pm Hunger level: 7 out of 10 Results: 10+ trout landed, all 15" and under - but VERY solid little trout.  We're happy to catch the little guys! We did a wade fishing special today and got out of the boat a lot to hit some "obscure water" that we have been leaving behind while guiding.  We casted over logs, under logs, through the trees..... into the trees and even wound up with a few trout when our flies weren't hanging helplessly in the brush.  I think our fly loss today was equal to that of the startup volume for a small sporting goods store.  Be sure to try and find unpressured water.  Each time we found a fresh riffle or a subtle drop it was fish on, but the primo runs tended to be pretty sterile.  Low clear water helps wise up the fish in a hurry.  The March Brown hatch was light but there were fish on the surface and we did stick a few on dry flies but there wasn't a lot of consistency to it.  We are still looking for that big hatch that makes your knees shake as you watch EVERY fish in the river simultaneously coming to the surface for Mayflies.  It happens about 10 times a year, but we are still waiting for the first.  A warm rainy day can do it on March Browns, and then look for it to happen again during the Mother's Day Caddis hatch.  Be sure to come out to the Rendezvous this weekend and say hi.  Even if you are just going to stop in for an hour or so while hitting the river.  At 4 pm is when the casting competition finals occur and the beer gets tapped. 4/5/2010 Anglers: Troy Greg & Jared Location: South Cle Elum to East Cle Elum Flies: Pats Stone Flies sz. 8 & 6, Pearl Lightning bug sz. 16, Holographic Prince Nymph sz. 14 & 16, CDC Pheasant tail sz. 14 &16 & Troy's Skwala stone sz. 12, San Juan Worm - Pearl Red Posted By: Troy L. Time: 9:30 - 6:00 pm Hunger level: 6 out of 10 Results: 6 Trout landed, 2 over 18". Fishing started out slow in the morning and progressed steadily as the day went on. We encountered an awesome March Brown and Blue Winged Olive hatch at 2:12 pm that would make anyone's day. As soon as we noticed the abundance of March Browns landing on the water we switched our dropper nymph to a Pheasant Tail (the one we used has a bead build into the Thorax rather than on the head, and is tied on a Scud Hook and capped with red thread) and the games began. Although the fish were not feeding a lot on top we were able to convince some hungry fish in slow back eddy water to come up and enjoy a tasty lookin' Skawla dry.  Have confidence in your nymph set up and don't be afraid to switch up bugs time to time because you never know when that big trout is going to be on the end of your line after passing up the initial offering.  The Upper River requires some persistence so don't get impatient up there.  We fished all day to land 6 trout and would consider that a success, in the Lower Canyon our catch numbers would have been a lot higher but combining gin clear water with fish over 18' is a good rush! 4/3/2010 Anglers: Dennis, Zach, Ben, and Steve Location: Lmuma to Roza Flies: Black and Brown Pat's #8's/10's, Prince Harry #12, Lightening Bugs 12-16, sz. 16, 18 WD-40   Layering: Wool socks, Cloudveil Run Don't Walk Pants, Under Armour Top, Cloudveil Flat Creek Jacket, Simms G4 Dry Coat, and the Simms G4 Waders with Muck boots! Posted By: Steve J. Time: 9:30 - 6:00 pm Results: GREAT fishing. The weather in the Lower Canyon was much nicer than what was forecasted, with periods of calm, and lots of sunshine! The nymph fishing was productive from start to finish, and we would have thrown dries except for the stiff upriver wind that tormented us from lunchtime on. There were ALOT of BWO's on the water around 2:00 pm, and some nice fish eating them sporadically, but the wind just didn't give us any opportunity to target feeders. The fish are in great shape right now, and this Spring snowburst that the mountains are receiving is making the summertime outlook better by the day. Low water years are great for Spring fishing, but take their toll if the summertime flows can't run high enough to keep water temps low. We spent a lot of time out of the boat wading today. A notable key to our success was to run more split shot (not deeper, just more shot). This gets your flies tight under the indicator quicker, which makes the indicator more responsive. If a fish puts the fly in its' mouth, the indicator is going to move. If there's slack, that leaves enough of a delay that the fish can spit the fly with little or no indicator movement. REMINDER: Your fishing licenses expired on April 1 - get your new one NOW! The fly shop will be closed tomorrow. Happy Easter to you and your families!  4/2/2010 Anglers: Ed, Terry, Mike, Bryan, Joe R. and Mike C. Location: Farmlands Flies: Black and Brown Pat's #8's/10's, Double Beaded Peacock Stone #10, Double Beaded Hare's Ear Stone #10, 20"er w/ Black Cone #8, #16 Powerworm, Mayfly Soft Hackle #16, Gary's Pt #16 w/ Bronze Bead, Prince Harry #12, WD 40 Olive #16, Trout Bead - 4 mm Pink   Layering: Wool socks, Simms Fleece Guide Pants, Waderwick, T-shirt, Hooded Sweatshirt, Buff, Insulated Vest, Windstopper or Shell recommended most of the day (snow is in the forecast, yee ha!). Posted By: Joe R. and Mike C. Time: 9:00 - 6:00 pm Results: 10+ trout, 10+ ytfish - per boat - GREAT fishing. Although the dry fly game wasn't present yesterday in the Farmlands, we'll take nymph fishing like that any day of the week!  The dry fly fishing has been better in the Lower Canyon (I didn't post a report but it was great on Wednesday afternoon), but if you don't mind strike indicator fishing all day long and want to roll the dice on getting into some rising fish during the March Brown hatch - the Farmlands is a great place to be.  The Pontoon boat fisherman we talked too reported a stellar afternoon as well - swinging wet flies!  That is class act gentleman's fishing right there, swung flies on a tight line.  More of us should be trying that during hatch time.  Tip of the day, unique ledges and boat angles seemed to be the key.  Posting up on the "same ol" spots wasn't all that productive for us so try and get creative in order to find some unpressured fish.  Be advised that we do run shuttles from Irene to Ringer so give us a buzz and we'll get your truck moved down if you want to float that stretch.  Otherwise, see you in the Canyon this weekend!  3/31/2010 Anglers: Mike E. and Joe R. Location: Thorp to Diversion Flies: Black and Brown Pat's, and a #16 Powerworm   Layering: Wool socks, Simms Fleece Guide Pants, Waderwick, T-shirt, Hooded Sweatshirt, Buff, Insulated Vest (gloves were almost necessary in the early hours). Posted By: Joe R. Time: 9:00 - 2:00 pm Results: 4 trout, several Ytfish to hand.  1 big boy! It went something like this... freezing fog in the valley, drove up into a beautiful sunny sky in Thorp, had a great patch of sunny weather and then at 1 pm - a major hale storm!  After that, a beautiful day again.  Gotta love springtime on the Yakima.  Fishing yesterday was pretty good considering the angler didn't have a ton of experience but still managed to land a trophy trout.  The March Brown hatch didn't show but there was a decent BWO hatch as we took out that may have triggered a rise.  Shan and Derek J. fished the lower canyon and reported a mild BWO hatch with not a lot of rising fish.  We need a stable cloudy day to bring the both the bugs and the fish to life.  They had a few fish up on Skwala dries but it didn't sound like anything spectacular.  The river is on a rise right now but we think that it will stay fishable, and the increased volume should spread the fish out a little bit and might actually be a good thing for us.  Keep an eye on the graph, if it continues to rise in Cle Elum all day we might have trouble.  If it levels off - that means good fishing.  A good tip from yesterday was to work nice and slow and then once you locate a fish or two stay on that spot for a while. 3/29/2010 Anglers: Fred, Eric, Craig, Shan, and Leif Location: 19 to Roza Flies: RCJ #18, Anato May Peacock #16, Anato May Hare's Ear #14, Pheasant Tail Flashback CDC #14, Double Beaded Peacock Stone #8, Olive Winged Thing #10, Organic Skwala   Layering: Windstopper Soft Shell, Hooded Sweatshirt, guide shirt, T-shirt, fleece pants, wool socks, plan on bringing a rain shell every day, you never know what you are going to get.  The guys upriver got poured on yesterday! Posted By: Leif K. Time: 10:00 - 6:00 pm Results: About 10 trout landed. The nymphing was average in the morning and the dry fly fishing turned on about 2 when the cloud cover rolled in, a typical trigger for a good Mayfly hatch. The dry fly fishing was pretty good with some really nice fish hitting Skwalas and sporadic risers to the BWO's especially in the flat water.  We had to contend with some wind in the afternoon but if a guy sticks with the dries all day they could do pretty well if they are an experienced caster. My best pattern for us was a hand tied foam/dubbed Skwala pattern with no hackle, it seemed to outfish everything else in the box. 3/27/2010 Anglers: Steve, Roger, and Floyd Location: Red's to Roza Flies: sz. 8, 10 MT Fltwing Skwala, sz. 8,10 Winged Thing, sz. 10, 12 Para Skwala, sz. 12 Split Wing March Brown, sz. 18 BWO, BWO Emerger   Layering: G4 Guide Jacket, Hooded Sweatshirt, guide shirt, T-shirt, fleece pants, wool socks, plan peel the shell jacket off around noon. Posted By: Steve J. Time: 11:00 - 8:00 pm Results: 6-8 Rainbows landed, that many more eats The wind that was forecast did arrive, and made things challenging for several hours in the afternoon in what has been our most productive dry fly window. We did see a pretty good pod of fish eating on the surface at one point, which should get more consistent over the next couple of weeks. The first cloudy day we get is going to be amazing. We hooked some very nice trout on Skwala dry flies. Bringing them to the net is not easy, especially with the shape these fish are in right now. They are chunky and strong, and very difficult to move them in a heavy down river current. We are definitely at a point where it is important to show the fish a different fly. There are now fish out there that could tell you who tied a particular pattern, and they are much less likley to be fooled on the "same old fly". Don't be afraid to size down, especially if fish seem to be bumping or splashing the fly and not putting it in their mouth. Although we stayed on top all day yesterday, the nymphing has been steady, with March Browns now becoming a player. We have some new Skwala dry fly and nymph patterns in the shop; and Gary's favorite, the purple lightening bug nymph, has attracted some interest over the past few days. We still have a couple spots open in the Ea WA Lakes clinic on April 11th with Gary Thompson. It's offers a great chance to "get the lay of the land" for the Eastern WA lake fishery. I'll now be heading down the canyon behind the marathon runners with my drift boat in tow. I'll keep an eye on the rear view mirror to make sure none of them climb on board! 3/22/2010 Anglers: Mike C. and Chris, Mike C. and Steve Location: Various stretches, a couple of days worth of info. Flies: Typical fare, Mike C. did mention that the smaller more natural dry flies like Stimulator types (less chernobylish) patterns were better. Nothing fancy on the nymph drill, pat's and lightning bugs.   Layering: G4 Guide Jacket, Sweatshirt, guide shirt, T-shirt, fleece pants, wool socks, plan peel the shell jacket off around noon. Time: -- Results: Good conditions, cool nights are keeping the runoff nill. Hunger Level: -- From the "no BS" texting thumbs of Red's guide Mike Canady... brief but informative and to the point. Ringer to Umtanum, tons of Ytfish on Nymphs and a big Rainbow, slabby 18" edition. Dry fly fishing was... ok at best. Nothing special though. Fished Red's to Mahre's the next day, much better dry fly fishing - 15 nice fish to the fly and most of the got hooked. Several BIG trout these past few days, check out the pics! Luck of the Irish... I think not! Skill of the Irish maybe. Mike. 3/20/2010 Anglers: -- Location: -- Flies: Get your Baetis ready...   Layering: Sweatshirt, guide shirt, T-shirt, fleece pants, wool socks, with only a light fleece jacket required for part of the day. Time: 3 pm Results: Good conditions, forcast is friendly too. Hunger Level: -- It looks like the onset of the Baetis hatch is in the forecast for the next couple of days, but be aware that it is sometimes hard to predict. Baetis, aka Blue Winged Olives, aka BWO, like most other Mayflies, prefer to hatch on cloudy days. Tomorrow looks like it will be dark and cloudy, plus the overnight low is only predicted to get down to 37 which gives the daytime warmup a jumpstart on getting that water heated up. When it comes to BWO's, you will want to have some sort of action plan in place before the hatch even kicks off. It will likely happen about 1-2 pm and will come on strong. Have a 9' 6X leader ready that is clean and new so that it will set your fly down soft. Preferably, you have a hatch rod ready to roll with this leader on it, just get it all set up in the morning ready for a quick-draw. 1) Hatch Rods should be an 8'6" 3 weight or 4 weight, 9' rods are great too but most people tend to be slightly more accurate with 8'6" rods at practical fishing distances. The lighter line sets down more softly, it is more limber (manages tough seams better), and you will spook less fish. The properties of the fly itself yield a better overall drift than your 5 or 6 weight because smaller/lighter line is easier to mend. Plain and simple light lines outfish heavy ones. Plus the soft action of the rod tip does a great job of protecting 6X tippet. All this, plus if you carry your hatch rod there won't be any startup and breakdown time switching from Skwalas or Nymphs back and forth from a BWO. There are lots of times that a hatch rod come out for just one or two casts, we stick the feeding fish, and the rod goes back in the holster. 2) Starter Bugs - defined as the first fly that you cast to a feeding fish, or search with, at the onset of a hatch. This fly goes on your set up before the hatch even starts and is 'river ready'. It should float good, be easy to see, and even turn some fish. There are a handful of good patterns that come to mind. A variety of parachutes, especially if you can find some good ones with a Hi-Vis Orange Post, will work as a starting bug. The key is they have to float good so they don't get swamped by your first fish or just a series of drifts. The idea is that this fly keeps you moving efficiently and fishing, instead of tying on fresh/dry flies or reaching for your dry shake every 10 casts. Our guides play a lot of various Baetis but the go-to seems to be the Split Wing Parachute. It is darn tough to beat. It has 2 calf hair posts (Wulff style) that make it float great and it is easy to see. The body has a flashy rib over the olive dubbing so it makes a good attractor. It gets 'em, and it floats good. However, there are times that the Starter Bug just won't trick 'em... enter the "kill bug". 3) We call it the "kill bug", because the idea is that the fly is so good, the fish you are shooting at is well scouted and isolated in a specific seam, and therefore... it allows the angler a one shot kill. Of course it doesn't always work like that this, but you get the point. These flies are the "naturals". Top picks are Quigley Cripples, BWO Sprout Emergers, CDC Emergers, and last but not least... one you probably aren't expecting. An old school Thorax Hackled Dun. The Thorax Dun is just an old classic fly, but it by far looks the most natural out of all the patterns. It is great for flat water situations, and part of the reason it is so deadly is because it looks very real no matter how it lands on the water or what angle it is viewed from. 4) Perspectives and Efficiency - of course, some of you are wondering... "why not fish the Kill Bug right off the bat if it is so natural and effective?" Frankly, fishing big rivers is a whole lot more about presentation, presentation, and efficiency of that presentation. The more you make and the better they are... the more fish to the boat. Don't play the small fly until you have to. If fly fishing were run like Bass Tournaments (which guiding sometimes is), we would have 8 rods rigged with a variety of patterns and during a Baetis hatch, it would be all Split Wing until a quality fish doesn't eat it... then we grab the rod with the Quigley and hit 'em with that. One shot one = one fish or something to that effect. Success on big water is often (not always) all about how fast you can cover the water, and that means being able to see your fly and keep it afloat at all times. Seeing your fly means constant feed back on your drifts, meaning you know if the drift was bad. You can have the best fly in the world, but as you park yourself on a feeder you have to be able to identify "drag spots" (defined as a portion of the drift that no matter what you do there is drag", a visible fly shows you these... you figure out how to fix it (move your boat, walk upstream, add tippet, reach cast, etc.) once fixed, put the Kill bug on and go to it. Use the visible fly to learn what is wrong with the drift, then switch it up. By using both styles of patterns to their advantage and maximizing your river time with a hatch rod (or at least nominate a rod in the boat as the "community" hatch rod), you will flat out catch more fish. Use these strategies next time out and it might mean a few more bends in the rod, and these are good bends because it will be on dry flies.... the reason we got into this sport in the first place! Be ready for a fish to show its head this week, good luck, thanks for the support, and straight casts to all! 3/19/2010 Anglers: Bill, Doug, and Joe Location: East Cle Elum to Thorp Flies: Nymphs in the morning:  CDC PT w/ Copper bead #16, hand tied Skwalas (nymphs and dries), #10 Olive Pat's, Little Green  Machine #16    Layering: Sweatshirt, guide shirt, T-shirt, fleece pants, wool socks, with only a light fleece jacket required for part of the day. Time: 10:30 am - 6:30 pm Results: About 10-12 trout landed, all very nice fish primarily Cutts. Hunger Level: 4 out of 10 A guide's dream.  We stop for lunch, and I literally had a sandwich in one hand and a 16" trout in the other.  Then, a few minutes after the guys crack open a bottle of wine a deer comes out and feeds along the bank and gets a drink as though my cronies just released it for aesthetic effect.  If there was going to be a children's book about the perfect day on the river I think that would be it. I can see it now..... "and then little Joey reached down and unhooked the trout only after taking a huge bite of his club sandwich." The Upper Canyon, East to Thorp, fished good for us but was very technical and we had to cover massive tracts of water fast to get the results we wanted.  Good casting was paramount and hitting every seam that popped up on the first shot with a clean drift was key to our success.  We had a great day, while some others got skunked.  The Hunger Level registered only a 4 out of 10, but if you like serenity, low pressure, big fish, and a challenge the ask of the upper canyon.  Newer anglers, best if you stick to the Lower Canyon right now.  There were adult Skwalas on the river along with some BWO's but we couldn't sustain any kind of strong rally.  The water is very low and the fish were isolated to the edges of the best holes, rather than spread evenly out along the duration of the float. It is also important to stress the importance of learning to fly cast well.  As the hatch progresses it will require better drifts, more accurate casts, and the ability to cover a great number of seams fast.  Picture this, Angler A hits a main-line seam with a fast accurate cast way down stream on a sharp angle.  Fishes it a few seconds, the boat is approaching the hole and in the next 3 shots he hits 3 different seams with no more than 1 false cast the entire time (with good line speed so that the boat doesn't float out of position between shots).  Angler B, has to wait until the boat is 20 feet from the main-line seam and has to take 3 attempts and by the time he/she gets it the boat is floating by out of position and has no shot at the other interior seams closer to the bank.  We see it every day.  Scenario B is all to common an part of the learning process, but as guides we analyze it and that is why we have some of the best fly casters around on our guide staff.  Being able to cover water fast(moving the fly about the river in multiple seam lines with no false casting) allows an angler to fish 3-4 times the amount of water and it all starts with learning to cast well and shoot line accurately at longer distance.  Learn to double haul, learn to shoot line, and learn to build tight controlled loops.  It directly reflects your body-count on the river. Plus, casting is fun. If you find pure joy in fly casting you will become a great angler some day.  Practice makes perfect and you will even love fishing on the slow days because you can work on the cast. 3/17/2010 Anglers: Mark, Jim, Garth, John, Steve, and Joe Location: Irene to MM20 Flies: DFO for Joe, Steve ran nymphs in the a.m. (much better than dries early on) and DFO after lunch.  Skwalameister #10 (a small parachute Skwala w/ 6 small rubber legs and a biot tail).    Layering: Guide Shirt and a Vest most of the day, followed by Windstopper in the afternoon.  Fleece pants and wool socks under the waders. Time: 9:30 am - 6:30 pm Results: About 10 trout per boat, the very formal big fish contest was won with a 16"er that broke a long and dramatic stalemate of dualing 15"ers.  In fact, now that I think about it.  It was still a tie, each boat got a 16"er in the evening.  Everybody is a winner at Red's. Hunger Level: 6 out of 10, (but it made the other days prior feel like a 7.5) We encountered two distinctly different types of Skwalas yesterday.... the upriver Skwala and the downriver Skwala.  You can tell the difference based on the insects' behavior on the water.  The downriver Skwala will float along with minimal movement and typically floats helplessly down the fishy seams for long periods of time until it gets eaten by a hungry trout.  The upriver moves fast along the surface blatantly dragging behind the boat after 6 six useless mends it is usually recasted...... upstream!  Please tell me you got that joke.  It is true though, Skwalas need to be fished with precision and the hard downstream angle from the boat promotes a great float and it keeps your tippet clear of the take, many of the rises are soft and you get a MUCH better eat-to-hook up ratio.  It also requires a lot of skill to move the fly about the river fast and effectively.  In these water conditions, an angler must be able to read his own water and take the fly from the main seams with short casts to long casts to bankward seams with one quick shot and the switch it all back as the seams pop up close to the boat again.  Also, since the water is in the mid 40's (relatively cold), the trout are fairly isolated to distinct lines and usually won't follow outside of a seam.  The smaller the seam, the more isolated you have that fish.  The trout love to dominate their own little seam too so that there is no competition.  Being able to read all of these lines and move the fly about fast and cover many of them (one fast accurate cast per seam), is king.  It shouldn't take more than one cast, if it does, you probably won't get that fish anyway.  It is amazing what a difference it makes when an angler can lay down long quiet shots spot on.  With other Stonefly hatches, it isn't nearly as critical because the water is usually up and the trout are holding in choppy noisy water already and are pretty tolerant.  In quiet water, frog water practically, the trout will be very unwilling to tolerate noise.  We can't stress enough how important it is to practice your casting and learn to shoot tight loops fast and accurate.  Long distance practice helps immensely with this because long casts are only achieved by good loop control.  It will serve you well come game-time if you put a little time in at the practice range.  Expert guides still practice every time a rod and a line come out of the tube, so should you.  Go out on your lawn, if you don't have a lawn go to the park.  Especially if you want to be a good dry fly fisherman.  Nymph fishing doesn't require a whole lot of grace from the caster, flop it, mend it, set it!  Good luck out there, the dry fly fishing is going to hold steady for a while.  Slow to start, switch to dries at lunchtime. 3/15/2010 Anglers: -- Location: -- It is a beautiful thing when your wading boots don't dry out for weeks at a time. 3/14/2010 Anglers: Oly, Alex, Carmen, and Joe Location: Ringer to Umtanum Flies: Dries ALL Day! We fished Organic (our term for hand tied) Skwalas, Yarn Wing Skwala #8, Peacock PMX (it has hackle tied into the body for a wiggly effect) #10   Layering: Windstopper over a sweatshirt in the morning, guide shirts in the afternoon sun, reverting back to Windstopper in the afternoon hours. Bring a good shell, the spring wind out here can have a painful bite to it. Time: 10:30 am - 5 pm Results: Good dry fly fishing for the anglers that can move the fly around and hit lots of seams efficiently, it can be a challenge for anglers that don't drive a good loop. 8 nice trout for our experienced angler (sneaking in drifts as the 6 year old in the boat dominated both the water and the air space with some wild but enthusiastic casts), a few grabs for the novice. Hunger Level: 6 out of 10, (ditto from last time) we would make it higher but it can be tough. It would be easy for anglers "less than dialed in" to have a tough day. If you didn't do well yesterday, don't feel bad for a second. That is just fishing and Skwala hatches can be tough... but sometimes it is as easy as leaving your backcast in the water too long! The Skwala hatch is rolling on, and good fishing is the consensus. Some guys had it tough yesterday, but don't feel bad if you were one of them. This river is rarely easy. When we were able to get our "ringer" lined up some seams yesterday we pretty much crushed 'em. We only threw dries, the nymph anglers had a hay-day I'm sure. However, the last thing we want to be accused of is hyping a report, so please come out with realistic expectations and plan on working hard for your fish. The trout get very pressure sensitive on the Skwala hatch in hurry. Their lips get sore fast and it doesn't take them long to realize that a #8 Bitteroot equals DANGER! Tie some unique flies, and pack some small guys in the #12 range to use as your plan B if a big fly isn't working or you spot some stubborn rising trout. BWO's are starting to make an appearance so get your #16 Quigleys and your Comparaduns ready. Anything with CDC is usually a good "kill bug" to use when the others fail, but the trout remain on a steady feeding pattern. Just keep in mind that you can't fish it, if you can't see it! That is the downside of CDC. Keep working hard out there, and take care of the big fish this year. We have nearly stopped taking pics of fish so that we can keep them in the water and maybe it has helped. Big fish seem to be more present in the Canyon this year than the past few. Low clear water is great for fishing in the short term, but the trout take the brunt of our hooks a little more often. Handle with care, and just like you guys we are trying very hard to do our part and be easy on the fish. If the fish never leaves the water it has a lot better shot at getting back to eating... and growing... and getting big. We all like big. ALSO, a guide had his Loomis Streamdance GLX 9' 5 weight rod w/ a Lamson Litespeed and a Sharkskin line get dropped out of his boat yesterday and wasn't recovered. :( OUCH! That is a $1000 set up. It was near Mile Marker 21. I can only imagine the prank emails that could get started out of this, so please don't torment us. If you find it bring it in for a reward paid out in good fishing Karma and Shuttles. 3/12/2010 Anglers: Bo, Derek, and Joe - Connor and Mike Location: MM20 to Red's Flies: Bitterroots #10/12, Organic Skwalas, Pat's, Pearl Lightening Bug   Layering:  Windstopper fo' sur. Time: 10:30 am - 5 pm Results: Great dry fly fishing in the late afternoon, slow to start, good nymphing early.  10+ trout to hand. Hunger Level: 6 out of 10, we would make it higher and although we landed a lot on dries it was pretty technical casting and drifts.  Yesterday was the best spring dry fly fishing we have seen in years. This was the first day of good dry fly fishing for us.  Thursday was pretty good too, but the anglers included a first time fly caster so it was tough to get a good read on the day.  They worked hard though and managed about 15 nice trout to the fly and landed a couple.  Yesterday it was cold, windy, and technical casting to generate eats but it was stellar if you had good fly control.  We saw about 50 Skwalas on the water, most laying eggs.  This hatch should be strong through the weekend but expect to work hard and be persistent as this is not an easy hatch for the novice.  For the experienced angler, it is like picking ripe apples.... just reach out and grab it!  We are also starting to see a few BWO's as well so keep that in mind when you find picky trout. 3/9/2010 late pm Anglers: Jim, Tom, and Joe Location: Red's to Roza Flies: Hand tied Skwala nymphs in the morning, hand tied dries in the afternoon.  A few "tester" swings with sink tips and streamers to see if they are chasing in the morning. Layering:  Windstopper, stocking cap, gloves, long johns would have been smart. Time: 10:30 am - 6 pm Results: We got a beat down from the girl, it just wasn't there on dries BUT we did land a Steelhead and that doesn't happen every day.  7 nice trout landed, 1 Steelhead, and a handful of Ytfish. Hunger Level: 3 out of 10, pretty rough. What a weird day.  It was nice in the morning and then got super cold with a wind in the afternoon.  The fish were doscile and did not move much for the fly.  We ran a single nymph rig working Skwalas and that was kind of slow, hooked a few on droppers once we threw that on.  Got a Steelhead, then landed 4 nice trout on dries.  So, it turned out good now that it is in text.  For how hard we fished and efficiently we covered the water it was pretty slow.  Regarding the Skwala hatch it is still early, the dry fly fishing will improve over the next 3 weeks.  Look for a trend of warm nights, and fairly warm days.  Part of the guide gang fished a busman's holiday behind us today (thank goodness they were behind), Mike, Leif, and Derek landed 15-20 fish and another Steelhead! (weird?).  That is just crazy, we don't see very many of these on the Yakima.  We release them fast so the pictures are kind of crappy, but hey, it is still a Steelhead on the Yak.  Fish of a lifetime for most of us and a heck of an honor to behold.  Overall, we were happy to get 4 landed on dries, if you see that girl and her 3 weight throw a rock at them. 3/9/2010 Anglers: -- Location: Not sure yet, gotta listen to what the water has to say once I get there. Flies: Hand tied Skwala nymphs in the morning, hand tied dries in the afternoon.  A few "tester" swings with sink tips and streamers to see if they are chasing in the morning. Layering:  Windstopper is a must have, and a Buff to keep the wind out of my ears.  I think I'll leave the gloves behind today. Time: 6:30 am now, meeting 2 anglers at 10 am, trout hooked up by 10:30 am?... knock on wood, but that is the plan.  I have a couple of "starter slots" in mind that can drag down the skunk flag early. Results: We had better get 15+ trout to the dry, or I will be heckled to death by another guide (and his girl, which is in fact worse!).  Her picture is above, if you see her - do not fish behind.  Hearing that she moved 15 and landed several should motivate all of us to get on the water and get it done. Hunger Level: --? t.b.a. The boat is loaded, rods on hood rack, flies are tied, kit bag is dialed in, coffee is brewing, lunch is packed but food feels like more of a formality. This time of year is an exciting time to hit the river.  After a long winter of waiting it is time to make the most out of your days on the water and this morning I am especially pumped up and prepared.  For all of us this should mean tying bugs, buying bugs, polishing the fly cast, ordering the right rods and reels, getting new fly lines, buying good tapered leaders, Flourocarbon Tippet, and getting some waders that don't leak (it is amazing how nice a new set of waders feels).  The quality of your pregame is often what determines the mood during postgame, plus it is fun. I never get bored tightening up my fly gear. Getting geared up right just feels good. Once that prep work is out of the way, it is time to put that meticulous preparation to work for you on the river.  That is about to happen in a few hours.  Guiding and hard core angling feels a lot like being a competitive athlete on the brink of a big game.  As you piece that fine fly rod together it isn't unusual for it to stimulate a few goosebumps knowing that you are nearing kick off.  Time to see what you can do other water. Did I bring the right flies? Is my cast strong? Did I choose the right section, and do I have a slot routine dialed in?  Right now I am mentally reviewing my own playbook, and if all the right moves are made at the right time, on the right pieces of water, it will all come together for us. This might mean knowing when and where to nymph, and/or when switch it up to dries or streamers.  Just like an offensive coordinator it is your job to move efficiently out there.  Later today we will have 5-6 rods in the boat rigged with dries, nymphs, and streamers so that we can make the right moves at the right time.  Time is precious and your pregame routine might make the difference between epic and average.  Of course it can't always go perfect, hence the passion we carry for it.  It is hard, sometimes we don't catch fish and it is never easy nor predictable out there on a big wild river.  But, for the anglers that put in the prep work of casting, tying, buying the right rods, good fly lines, and have the right gear - it is a certainty that they will have a leg up on the less prepared anglers.  If you want to make the most of your time on the river, be prepared.  Now that my own gear has been checked the 3 times, it is my time to head down into the Canyon and get after it.  Kind of like coming out of the tunnel and onto the field.  Goosebumps you ask?... maybe just a few. 3/8/2010 Anglers: Connor and Trish Location: Red's to the Slab Flies: Brown Wing Bitteroot Skwala #10 Layering:  Polarfleece w/ Windstopper over long underwear worked ok in the afternoon, still bring your gloves and stocking caps as the wind can be bitter! Time: 12 - 4 pm Results: 3-4 trout landed on dry flies for Trish. Hunger Level: 7 out of 10 The Skwala fishing is warming up on dry flies!, and you haven't missed anything yet.  Plus, it looks like the hatch won't burst this next week with any one day offering a high temp.  Instead it looks like the hatch will continue to trickle off at a steady pace which is perfect, and should offer us a few weeks of opportunities using Skwalas.  Connor and Trish wend DFO, dry fly only, and moved 15 fish to their fly which we would consider good fishing.  If a girl and a 3 weight can move 15 fish, we would HOPE that you can move at least a few if you come out!   The hatch activity definitely peaks in the afternoon so plan your fishing time to put you in your favorite run about 2 pm.  Nymphs in the morning, dry flies for lunch.  No BWO's to speak of yet, in the evening there have been some sporadic risers on Midge but not enough during the day to warrant 6X and a Paramidge.  Other than fishing, we wrapped up our Sportsman's Show season this last weekend in Spokane.  It was great talking with all of you that were there and thanks for all the compliments on the Powerhour Page.  We also got the opportunity to cast A LOT of rods for hours in the casting pond and put the Sage 99 series rod through the ringer.  Leif, Bo, and Joe casted the 599-4 for hours and learned a lot about it, and it is really impressive how it prevents tailing loops.  We aren't sure how exactly they did it, but we casted the Winston BiiX, Sage 590-4 Z Axis, Sage 596-4 Z Axis, and the Sage 599-4 a lot and out of all the rods the 599-4 was nearly impossible to throw a Tailing loop (no matter how hard you pushed it at fishing distances ).  It also threw the longest distance out of all those rods, which usually a 9' rod will out cast longer ones for pure length.  It kept the loops open but powerful and didn't stretch your elbow like traditional 10' rods will.  It is the real deal and with nymphs, sinking lines, and streamers it will keep them untangled and prevent you from getting rung up in the back of the head by a Tungsten bugger.  Our overall review of it is very positive.  The only downsides are the obvious ones, longer rods are typically less accurate at short range and don't deliver flies under trees as well.  For open water, Puget Sound Cutts, weighted flies, indicators, chironomid rigs or sinking lines it would be hard to find a better rod. 3/4/2010 Anglers: -- Location: -- Flies: (bring some San Juan Worms, especially pink with beads and brown/red 2 tone), Pat's Stones (various colors #8), Home brewed Skwlalas nymphs, San Juan Worms, Bitteroot Skwlaa #10, Winged Thing Olive #10, San Juan Power Worm Brown/Red #16 Layering:  -- Time: 12:30 pm Results: The river is on the rise, but should stay fishable from Ellensburg upstream through the weekend.  Call the shop at 509.933.2300 for an up to the minute clarity report for the canyon. Hunger Level: -- The warm weather has kicked loose a light batch of runoff, nothing to be too concerned about the river needed a little boost anyway to help the fish make their way towards the shallows where the Skwalas are.  Work inside seems and try to cast from the weak side of the current line you want to hit, it can be tough to get these fish to eat fishing from the outside in (so if you are in a boat, consider wading!)  In slightly off colored water, sometimes the plain old Black K Stone with long rubber legs is your best bet, and a very bright green Caddis Larvae is easy for them to spot. The Canyon will be a little dirty for the next 24 hours but should clean up by Saturday (just a prediction!).  Skwalas are becoming abundant and the next week should mark the first week of good dry fly fishing, you are not too late as it has just begun.  Bring a few San Juan worms, this past week after the rainstorm brought the river up the trout were all over it.  Just phone the shop for clarity reports, we will be in Spokane at the Great Western Sportfishing Show and won't update until Monday again.  Thanks!  Good luck out there, the weather in Ellensburg is unbelievable.  If you live in the Spokane area we will see you at the show and Joe will be putting on a great presentation about fishing the Yakima River, and some fly tying in the booth all weekend and on stage Saturday.   3/2/2010 Anglers: Joe R., Mike, and Roger Location: Irene to Ringer Flies: Pat's Stones (various colors #8), Home brewed Skwlalas nymphs, San Juan Worms, Bitteroot Skwlaa #10, Winged Thing Olive #10, San Juan Power Worm Brown/Red #16 Layering: Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks, T-shirt, Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots, Simms Windstopper Soft Shell Jacket Time: 10:15 am - 4:30 pm Results: 3 Rainbows landed, no Ytfish Hunger Level: 4 out of 10 Fun day yesterday, we learned to cast and throw dry flies in an effort to cultivate some action on top and learn to throw a good loop.  A little time invested specifically on the topic of casting early in your career will pay enormous dividends in the long run.  If you learn to throw long, tight, and accurate loops there isn't much you can't do.  Your ability to move the fly all over the river at an efficient rate of speed and accuracy is huge.  We put a lot of emphasis on skill that yesterday and made a lot of progress.  A more Nazi-ish guide could have eaked out a few more fish to the boat with some hollering but that isn't what we were the for.  Fish counts are more interesting to add up after a few years.  As far as tips go, we did turn one nice trout on a dry fly towards the end of the day. The remainder of our hookups came to an even split between Stonefly Nymphs and San Juan Worms.  The river is back in a steady flow pattern now and should start pushing some fish towards the surface for sure in the next week or so.  Still a little early for "good" dry fly fishing. 2/28/2010 Anglers: Joe R., Ed, and Andrew Location: Irene to Ringer Flies: Sculpzilla big and small, Woolhead Sculpin w/ Tungsten Bass Weight slid onto leader, Olive/gold bugger w/ rubber legs, Pat's, San Juan Worms, Winged Thing Olive #10 (no fish on dries but we did see 2 adults almost dry fly time!!!) Layering: Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks, T-shirt, Hooded Sweatshirt, Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots, NO Jacket or rain shell required!  Hallelujah Time: 1 pm - 4:15 pm Results: 9-10 Rainbows landed, no Ytfish at all. I got to row the boat for 2 really cool guys yesterday, Ed Soczino and Andrew Bennet.  Ed is president of the Washington Fly Fishing Club and is doing some great stuff with the club and also one of the world's best competition fly casters and a heck of a fly fishing and architectural photographer (which supports a healthy fishing habit).  He routinely beats me by a healthy margin in the FFF 5 weight distance and accuracy competition for the past several years.  Watching a guy throw a 5 weight 120 feet is a truly awesome spectacle.  He'll be at the Red's Rendevous April 10th, so if that sounds like something you want to see come on out.  When he shows up we are all competing for 2nd place.  Oh yea, he pitches a heavy streamer inches from the bank pretty well too!  40 footers are chip shots when can throw tight loops at 100+ feet.  Practice your distance casting, sign up for our Advanced Fly Casting Course, and work in your down time to get better.  He practices routinely at Green Lake. Casts are perfected on the grass, utilized on the water.  The other angler, Andrew Bennett, owns Deneki Outdoors and has operations that you have likely heard of: Alaska West, Chile West, Andros South, B.C. West, among others.  If you are even thinking about planning trips to Alaska, Chile, B.C. for Steelhead, or the Bahamas call us and we'll get the process rolling for you. It is pretty cool sharing a boat with these guys who have both fished all over the world and they are still energized by a nice afternoon on the Yak when they can stick a dozen average trout.  The pure joy of hooking a fish of any sort should never old.  It speaks to a certain level of class when you are still content to politely accept a river's offering regardless of fish size, quantity, or species.  Take what you are given, and appreciate the gift because that is exactly what it is..  Make the most of it.  Yesterday was pretty muddy after all that rain.  The river didn't come up a lot but the ratio was just high enough to dirty things up, rubbery meatloaf.  We did alright regardless of the less than ideal conditions.  SHOCKINGLY, we did not hook fish on streamers although we threw them with conviction.  When you have one of the best casters in the world fishing alongside a guy that spends more time on the rivers of Chile and Alaska than anyone else I know.... it is a certainty that the job is getting done right.  However, the fish were not in the mood to chase for some reason.  Usually a spike in water volume kicks loose some Sculpin and they big fish go on the prowl.  Nymphs and San Juan Worms were the producers and you had to be in the right riffles.  We did not do well fishing along on the go, it was spot specific.  Today should be better especially in the afternoon as the river drops in right.  Here is this mornings graph, a hard drop is goooood!  Warmer water and a dropping graph = good fishing most times. 2/27/2010 Anglers: Joe, Lynn, and Jon ONE day left to take advantage of the $225 Feb Special. If you are ever thinking of taking a spontaneous guide trip, maybe plan one for tomorrow which is the last day of our special rate.  Also, the Wenatchee heated up BIG TIME yesterday with nearly double digit Steelhead hooked. The rain and dark weather finally came in and there is one day left on that river the whole season and we are guiding at only $355 per boat.  Call the shop today if you want to pull something together!  You won't regret it. Location: MM20 to Red's Flies: Red Winged Thing #10, Olive Winged Thing #10, Anato May Peacock #14, Olive Flashback Hare's Ear #16 (beadhead) The Ytfish LOVED this one.  Pat's #10 Various colors, Double Beaded Olive Stone w/ Amber Biot Legs #10, Sculpzilla big and small Layering: Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks,T-shirt, Hooded Sweatshirt, wool fingerless gloves (fleece gloves got soaked in the monsoon), Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots. Simms Windstopper Soft Shell AND Simms Windstopper Soft Shell Hoody which does not make a good rain coat, swithced it out for a Goretex Shell in the afternoon which was 2 hours too late.  The Soft Shell was so wet it had to ride home in the back of the truck, litterally. Time: 11 am - 5:15 pm Results: 6-7 Rainbows landed, plenty of Ytfish and LDRs galore. Is there a better way to start your fishing day than finding a wrinkled up, wet, dirty, old $20 bill in the foot of your waders?  Has that ever happened to you, if so, then you know the pure joy of which I am describing.  It was no doubt some long forgotten portion of a guest's tip gone MIA.  Maybe this could be a new savings plan for guides.  Just throw all your money in the foot of your waders so you don't spend it. Then after a few weeks if it isn't all torn up you can use it to buy tippet and pizza.  It would work a lot better than the current one we've been using where you just spend it as soon as you get back to Ellensburg. Fishing was pretty good yesterday, we threw dry flies a lot and had 2 very nice fish eat but didn't connect on either one.  We ran dry dropper set ups most of the day so we weren't fishing the dry fly nearly as "clean" as we would have liked as most our intent was placed up on getting fish on the trailing bug. If we had fished dries solo, certainly we would have turned a lot more fish on the surface.  We also could have caught a lot more fish if we nymphed using indicators more, but we sort of like plucking fish out of the shallows on droppers if we can.  Each time we nymphed a green slot, fish on!  Lots of Ytfish though.  Streamers were dead.  No fish to the Sculpin. The Forest Gump rain yesterday didn't deter the fishing but it might have a slight effect over the next few days if the river keeps climbing. Below is the hydrograph as of 6 am today.  It looks bad, BUT if you look at the scale on the right you will notice that the river is up only a total of 150-160 cfs right now which isn't much.  We'll see what happens over the next few days, right now it looks like good fishing!  The river needed a little boost.  There are a lot of fish in the slow shallow pockets that will be easier to present a fly to with a little more water.  One of the most difficult things while fishing Skwalas is that there are so many various speeds of current to lay your fly line across that it gets messy and the drifts are tough.  A bit more water will smooth things out and make the fishing water more uniform.      2/24/2010 Anglers: Joe, Robert, and Rich Location: Wenatchee River Flies: Blue Pat's #4, Caddis Pupae (Olive/Green/Gold) #12, Black/Brown Pat's #4, Brown K Stone #6, various Egg Patterns (small was better, from our limited experience) Layering: Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks,T-shirt, Hooded Sweatshirt, Freestone Foldover Mitts (in the wind for a while, otherwise no gloves required), Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots. Simms Windstopper Soft Shell AND Simms Windstopper Soft Shell Hoody (2 Jackets required all day!) Time: 10 am - 5:30 pm Results: 1 Wild Steelhead Landed, several Ytfish that we are counting just because the fishing was slow. It was downright cold yesterday, it barely got above 40 and the water temp started at 37.  Today is looking MUCH better with heavy cloud cover and an overnight low that barely got below freezing.  The fishing should be on today, focus on nymphing the Yakima if you are out for numbers.  Dry fly anglers, be patient and dilligent and you will get a few takes.  There is NO dry fly take on earth better than the first one after a long winter of dreaming about.  Just don't pull up too quick, it is easy to do!  On the Wenatchee, dead drifted flies rule the roost right now.  Get your trips scheduled for later this weekend if you like our guide staff, there is only a few more days for the $225 special on the Yakima, and the Wenatchee is still on sale at $355 till it closes March 1st.  2/23/2010 Anglers: Joe, Bryan, and John Location: MM19 to Umtanum Flies: Pat's of course, Double Beaded 20 Incher #10 (out fished the Pat's!  a miracle!), Red Brassie #20, Green Winged Thing #8 Layering: Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks,T-shirt, Hooded Sweatshirt, Freestone Foldover Mitts (in the wind for a while, otherwise no gloves required), Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots. Simms Windstopper Soft Shell (Jacket required all day again, it has been little colder due to a breeze the past couple of days) Time: 1:30 pm - 4:45 pm Results: About 8 trout landed, 12-17", great average size and build. A spontaneous call came in for a February Special guide trip yesterday, so we did a quick float in the afternoon and it was well worth it.  It was a gorgeous day out with not a cloud in sight but the shady zones held frost all day so it never really warmed up.  Jackets all day long.  We did throw dry flies though and saw an Adult Skwala on the water so the time is coming for some of that sweet action.  We need a spike in water temps to really set things off though.  The warmer nights that are headed are way should help.  The day time highs aren't anything impressive this next week but it looks like it will barely dip below freezing versus nightime temps in the teens like this past weekend.  We also want to congratulate Steve Joyce for winning the Central Washington Fly Casting Competition held in Yakima at the Sportsman's Show this last weekend - nice job Steve!  He won a James Henry custom built rod and reel and graciously donated it to the FFF to use in their annual banquet coming up on the first weekend in May. 2/21/2010 Anglers: Joe, Natasha, and Matt Location: Wenatchee River Flies: Blue Pat's #4, Caddis Pupae (Olive/Green/Gold) #12, Black/Brown Pat's #4, Brown K Stone #6, various Egg Patterns (if curious or planning a trip, phone the shop and they will put together an assortment and send it out ASAP) Layering: Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks,T-shirt, guide shirt, Hooded Sweatshirt, Freestone Foldover Mitts (in the shade for a while, otherwise no gloves required), Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots. Simms Windstopper Soft Shell (Jacket required all day yesterday, much colder!) Time: 9 am - 4 pm Results: 2 Wild Steelhead Landed, and some Ytfish tallied for competitive purposes. OUCH, 18 degrees last night. Beautiful afternoons usually have one tradeoff this time of year and that is frigid cold mornings and nights. Yesterday's starting water temperature was a startling 35 degrees on the Wenatchee! In case you don't speak Farenheit, that is cold cold cold. Especially since the day before it was close to 40. On the Yakima, this mornings water temp is 35.8 right now, and will likely get a little colder before it begins to warm up. That type of shock will put the fishing down be it trout, Steelhead, or whatever. That makes for tough fishing. We pulled it off on the Wenatchee though, 2 great Wild Steelhead in the net. Each angler boated a fish. When the temps take a dive a strategy change is in order. Deepen up your nymph rig for starters, skip any water that is "marginal" and focus exclusively on holding lies that you know there to be some fish. This might mean spending more time in a lesser number of holes but that shift in strategy will certainly make the difference between fish and no fish. It might have meant only 2 fish yesterday, but for those folks gripping the big tail of a Native Metalhead that is all the difference in the world!  The day before yesterday, we landed 4 Steelhead (2 per guide boat), and 2 Bull Trout were landed one of which was 8-9 pounds!  No pics unfortunately but it was a big one. In cold water, fly changes don't create much action.  However, lighter tippet and generous spacing between split shot and flies definitely will. The last 2 days on the Wenatchee, every fish has been holding in big open large pools. Therefore the fish are seeing the fly coming from a long ways out and the bite is not reactionary. They analyze it for a great period of time. The more spacing between gear and the lighter the tippet, the better it looks. Get rid of the mono, and go all Flourocarbon tippet. Also, Dinzmore Split Shot in dark green is a nice touch. It is drab colored and escapes fish radar in comparison to that shiny split shot that you bought at Fred Meyer for 89 cents with the big jaws that never work and just create tangles. Skip the Jalapeno Corn Dog in the deli case next time so you can afford Dinzmore shot. Back to the Yak, the Trout fishing hung on the afternoon yesterday, but reports showed a sloooow first half. That is just fishing, nobody said it would be easy and as long as you enjoy the journey even the slow days are a treat to be here. Fishing conditions will improve later this week, but it will take a few days for the water temperature to completely recover from the last 2 nights of arctic freeze. 2/19/2010 Anglers: Joe, Bill, and Steve Location: Red's to Mahres Flies: Skwala orinted Stonefly Nymph Patterns (Olive Pat's and a home brew of our own creation) Black K Stone #10 Olive K Stone #10, Olive Winged Thing, Sculpzilla Tan #4, Sheila's Sculpin #6, Brassie #20, Lime Green Caddis Larvae #16, Olive PT #16 (tungsten head) Layering: Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks,T-shirt, guide shirt, Hooded Sweatshirt, Freestone Foldover Mitts (in the shade for a while, otherwise no gloves required), Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots. NO jacket required from 11 am on yesterday! Time: 11 am - 5:30 pm Results: About 10 rainbows, about 10 ytfish Yesterday was about as good as it gets weather wise.  Fishing was a little slower than we hoped, but we made up for it angling skill.  As you read our reports, make sure to bare in mind that the anglers have a lot to do with the catch numbers.  Make sure to check out the Skwala video and see what action is happening.  The next few weeks will be getting better and better so you haven't missed a thing yet!  2/16/2010 Anglers: -- Location: Lower Canyon, Asc Bay, Wenatchee, and the casting pool at PNW Sportsman's Show Flies: Skwala orinted Stonefly Nymph Patterns, Midge Pupae, and on the Wenatchee Stone Nymphs, Egg Patterns, Figs, and other various Steelhead flies should do the trick if you are in the right spots. Layering: About the same as before, but it looks like a good Gore-tex Wading Jacket is in store for today! Fleece Pants, thick wool socks, long underwear top, sweatshirt, Windstopper Fleece, and gloves in the morning and evening plus a stocking cap.  Same layering deal, day after day right now. Time: 8 am Results: Great conditions from the Methow to the Yakima and everywhere in between. 7 days without Powerhour, how are you getting by?!  Spent the week in Portland for the last 7 days hosting a booth at the Pacific Northwest Sportsmans Show, and Steve was still wrapping up Week 2 in Ascension Bay.  5 Permit landed in AB again in Week 2!  Tony Robins takes the big Permit award for the week with a dandy.  Another great week, we have 3 spots open for February 28th - March 6th if you are up for some sun and some incredible flats fishing. On the Yakima, fishing continues to be good, BUT we want to keep any hype in check because this time of year a temperature swing or pressure irregularity can starve you off the river in a hurry.  We don't want you guys mad at us!  However, the guide staff all reported good fishing including a primitive text stating "big fish were hungry on Yak today".  Well put.  Maybe that in itself would make a good fishing report?  Start thinking about working up against the shallow edges, with some dry fly fishing starting to happen a significant majority of the fish should start migrating inward toward the shore and can sometimes surprise you on where they are holding, especially in the later half of the day when the air temperature is a great deal warmer than the water's temp.  The Wenatchee continues to produce, it will only be open for another 2 weeks so nail down a date soon.  With record numbers of Steelhead it would be wise to make a trip up there.  Double digit days are not abnormal.  Same on the Met.  Congratulations to Joe Rotter for winning 1st Place at the Pacific Northwest Fly Casting Competition held at the PNW Sportsmans Show in Portland this past week.  There were some great casters in the Pro Division and it was a very close contest, congrats to everyone that made it through the qualifying round and casted in the finals on Sunday including Red's guide Troy Lichtnenegger.  2/9/2010 Anglers: Mike B. (fishing solo on the Yak) Location: Lower Canyon Flies: Lightning Bugs, Stones, and a Streamer (for the contributing customer's sake we won't give you exact patterns, but he did by them all at Red's!) Layering: Fleece Pants, thick wool socks, long underwear top, sweatshirt, Windstopper Fleece, and gloves in the morning and evening plus a stocking cap.  Same layering deal, day after day right now. Time: 9 am - 5 pm Results: 10+ trout landed, 6 on one Streamer. We got a great email from a customer yesterday.  He had a great float in the Lower Canyon and used flies right out of our shop to have a great day!  It always feels good to get some positive feedback on the flies we send out the door and into the river.  Fishing on the Yakima has been quite good lately, and we are extending the existing Special to the end of February and adding a full day option for the hearty angler that would like "MORE fishing time"! Steve sent an email late last night from Ascension Bay, and was happy to announce he got another Permit!  Not to mention, about 20 Bonefish yesterday!  Sounds like goo fishing down there again this week. He said the weather was even better than in Week 1 with a lot of sun and great visibility.  Thanks for checking in, starting tomorrow the Portland Sportsman's Show is going and we will be there.  It is a great show for Fly Fisherman, so consider stopping in.  It goes from February 10th - 14th. 2/6/2010 Anglers: Joe, Larry, and Oly (Wenatchee River)  Troy and his college buddy (name? we will just call him Otis) Location: Cashmere to the mouth on the Wen. River, Irene to Ringer on the Yakima River Flies: Various Pat's Stones, WD-40's, Olive PT (tung head), Anato Mayfly in Grey (rust or hare's ear is fine), and a small Lime Green Copper John.  For the Wenatchee, Purple double beaded Stonefly, Mottled Trout Bead w/ Gamakatsu #4 trailing behind, #4 Blue Pat's Stone, #6 Black/Brown Pat's Layering: Fleece Pants, thick wool socks, long underwear top, sweatshirt, Windstopper Fleece, and gloves in the morning and evening plus a stocking cap. Same as last report, great weather.  Only had gloves on for a little while. Time: 9 am - 5 pm Results: Good fishing! Both rivers fished well. Good things are happening right now. The Yakima was dead before 1 pm yesterday, but ignited with an afternoon rally for Troy and Otis that left Troy stuttering on the cell phone describing it. He said the fish were not real bug specific (of course he made some pretty educated guesses on pattern), and the afternoon was the time to rally. We have 9 days left of the $225 Winter Special, so if you have an urge to go jump on it. Trips meet at 11 am and fish the prime afternoon and early evening hours. Also, the Wenatchee is fishing very well and will likely only be open for a couple more weeks. It doesn't get much better! Expect to nymph for numbers though, the fish this time of year are not very reactive to a swung fly. It can be done, but you would need to dedicate yourself to it with a devout heart. As long as we don't get a nasty cold spell fishing should continue at a steady pace. Pre-runoff and pre-spawn are a sweet combination.  Look for Skwalas by the end of February, we have a hunch it will come early (NO promises! but some of the hills are greening up giving us a spring vibe).  We probably just cursed the hatch.  Dang it. 2/3/2010 Anglers: Andy, and Johnny Location: KOA to Rhinehart Flies: Various Pat's Stones, Double Beaded Peacock/Biot Stone #10, Red Copper John #18, Little Green Machine #16, Olive Tung. Bead PT #16, various Streamers, San Juan Worm Brown/Red #14 Layering: Fleece Pants, thick wool socks, long underwear top, sweatshirt, Windstopper Fleece, and gloves in the morning and evening plus a stocking cap. Time: 11 am - 2 pm Results: Good fishing! The fishing was good yesterday for Johnny, and it looks like the current weather pattern should keep a decent bit alive.  Don't hope for an explosion in the fish count arena, water is still pretty cold and it is wintertime.  6 fish to the boat might be an average day for the average casters, certainly we do much better than that much of the time but our goal is to keep the "hype factor" in check.  Dream big, but accept the supreme challenge that is winter fly fishing!  2/2/2010 Anglers: -- Location: Yakima, Wenatchee, Methow Flies: -- Layering: Less than a couple of weeks ago, bring it all though, gloves, stocking caps, puffy jackets, the Malto Meal Boy look is in right now. Time: -- Results: -- The rivers are all in great shape. Although we don't have any up to the minute reports conditions are ideal, in fact, this is some of the best weather we have had this winter.  Most of the snow is gone yet the river is still in perfect shape.  Streamers and Nymphs of course, but bring a few Midge patterns just in cast.  The Wenatchee should pick up some steam as the water warms a surge of fish will charge in out of the Columbia.  2/1/2010 Anglers: Joe, Steve, Gary M, Conrad, Richard, Troy K. Location: Ascension Bay Flies: Raghead Crab, Captain Crabby, Exuma Puffs, Bonefish Scampi, Poppers, Black Death, Cockroach, and a bunch of other flies with cool names. Layering: Not much! Time: January 25th - late last night. Results: 5 Permit, LOTS of Bonefish, a few Snook (plenty of shots), Baracuda galore, Jack Crevale on occasion, lots of shots at 60-100 pound Tarpon one day (Steve hooked one in the 80-100 pound range), plenty of shots at stubborn 10-20 pound Tarpon. What a great trip, where to begin? I don't think it is possible to adequately describe in words your first Flats Fishing trip (for Joe), or your first Permit (Joe and Steve this week!:).  We'll let the photos get the story started, and we will follow up with some killer video footage and will try to reflect in text just how awesome it is prowling the flats in search of anything swims! 1/23/2010 Anglers: Joe and Gary Thompson Location: KOA to Irene Flies: San Juan Worms, Pats' (of course), Olive K Stone #10, Anato Mayfly Peacock/Black #16, Scupzilla #4 Layering: Simms Waderwick Fleece, Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks, Hooded Sweatshirt, Freestone Foldover Mitts (in the shade for a while, otherwise no gloves required), Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots.   Time: 12pm - 3:30 pm Results: 5 trout landed, about 10 others hooked. Its amazing what a few hours of fishing will do.  Dinner tastes better, comedies on TV are funnier, your kids are cuter, and work seems like a distant past.  It was a nice day on the water, sunshine and a some humor will wash away the wintertime blues pretty fast.  Overall, decent fishing.  Just because the weather got nice doesn't mean it isn't still cold still, so keep your expectations in check when it comes to the fish count.  If you love fly fishing the way we do though it doesn't matter much and you will begin to find that even the lean days are still a worthy venture.  Feeling the rod load and a solid tug on the line make the drive to the river and money spent on gear less relevant.  It is likely this will be the last report for about a week unless we get some good internet coverage in Ascension Bay Mexico, we'll see how the report writing goes after sticking a few Bonefish and Snook and then drinking some Coronas.  We apologize in advance for any grammatical errors or if we accidentally write the report in Spanish.  Adios my amigo brethren of the Powerhour.  Stay tuned. 1/23/2010 late pm Anglers: Joe and Gary Thompson Location: KOA to Irene Flies: San Juan Worms, Pats' (of course), Olive K Stone #10, Anato Mayfly Peacock/Black #16, Scupzilla #4 Layering: Simms Waderwick Fleece, Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 1 thick pair of wool socks, Hooded Sweatshirt, Freestone Foldover Mitts (in the shade for a while, otherwise no gloves required), Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots.   Time: 12pm - 3:30 pm Results: 5 trout landed, about 10 others hooked. Its amazing what a few hours of fishing will do.  Dinner tastes better, comedies on TV are funnier, your kids are cuter, and work seems like a distant past.  It was a nice day on the water, sunshine and a some humor will wash away the wintertime blues pretty fast.  Overall, decent fishing.  Just because the weather got nice doesn't mean it isn't still cold still, so keep your expectations in check when it comes to the fish count.  If you love fly fishing the way we do though it doesn't matter much and you will begin to find that even the lean days are still a worthy venture.  Feeling the rod load and a solid tug on the line make the drive to the river and money spent on gear less relevant.  It is likely this will be the last report for about a week unless we get some good internet coverage in Ascension Bay Mexico, we'll see how the report writing goes after sticking a few Bonefish and Snook and then drinking some Coronas.  We apologize in advance for any grammatical errors or if we accidentally write the report in Spanish.  Adios my amigo brethren of the Powerhour.  Stay tuned. 1/23/2010 early am Anglers: Joe Location: The Yakiam River Flies: A San Juan will make its debut in slightly off colored water today. Layering:  We'll have to wait and see, the temps have lightened up quite a bit.   Time: Heading out later today, 12pm - 3 pm Results: Wait and see. The river is coming aback into good shape. A few days of dirty water puts me into a slightly foul mood, can't imagine what it would be like if I had to wait any longer.  I know someday I'll read about somebody in Seattle going into a fit of "office rage" because not only could they not fish that weekend, but we didn't update Powerhour and they needed it to calm their nerves.  Perhaps this page helps many of you cope and prevents office violence.  I'd like to think it does, sort of a Dr .Phil's violence prevention tactic.  We are going to fish later today and shoot a video to see how the fishing is after the freshet of rain and melt muddied things up. No matter how it is, it is good enough for me.  A common answer when people ask "how is the Yakima for fly fishing", default response "good enough for me". It is sort of a litmus test for measuring an angler's spirit. If you have to have 80 degree weather and 5,000 trout per mile to love a river or fly fishing.... you might not be much of an angler. No offense intended to lovers of the Missouri or the Bighorn, as I myself could always use more fish and enjoy the sun, but is that really why we got started on this odyssey called fly fishing? The perfect cast, the rise, shooting line, feeling the rod load, wading big current, reading a hatch, tying a new fly, all of these things are part of the spirit of angling. If you love these things as much as I do, do yourself a favor and go fishing sometime soon.  Try out some new gear, try some new water, make a plan for 2010, envision some goals for yourself, and this might sound silly but it is a good exercise.  Write down a new destination, new species, or new technique.  Maybe this will help keep fly fishing fresh and new for you because it is far more than just Chicken Soup for your soul, it is Chicken Soup for your entire life.  Eat it up, it just might make you a better person.  The same type of hard work, love, dedication, and intellectual demand that is required for fly fishing is required in almost every aspect of life if you plan to be successful.  What does all this mean?  You should fishing more, and I am here to help you justify it.  Kind of like that little red guy on your right shoulder whispering to you, but I would prefer Powerhour is more like the Angel on your left.  Fishing equals mental health. In the meantime before hooking up the boat and heading through Ellensburg for the "5 minute" commute to the Yakima, it is time to start packing for Ascension Bay Mexico.  I feel sort of like a big game hunter heading to Africa.  Each piece of gear is slightly more refined and bigger than the typical trout stuff.  Big leaders, complex knots, fresh backing, big reels, 4/0 Tarpon hooks, and a slightly different clothing set to keep the evil Equator rays off our skin.  You could also equate it to being an NFL player gearing up for the Super Bowl.  You have waited all year for one shot, one opportunity to do this trip.  Just like lacing up a set of cleats, as I lace up my Flats Sneakers I can't help but feel some goose bumps creep up my back knowing that in 72 hours I'll be searching the flats for Permit, Tarpon, and Bonefish.  For me, this is truly the trip of a lifetime and my first trip to the flats and not something to be taken lightly for sure.  Each piece of gear is carefully scrutinized over and this is not the time to try and save a few bucks by going cheap.  Sage Xi3's, Z-Axis's, Ross CLA's and Big Games Reels, Abel Reels, and properly tapered and constructed leaders for Permit, Tarpon, and Cuda are key.  Dreaming of the flats, but trout in January is still plenty good enough for me today.  Stay tuned, video tonight. 1/19/2010 late pm Anglers: Doug and Joe C. Location: Wenatchee River (above Cashmere a ways) Flies: Jumbo Fig (custom tie) Layering:  UA Cold Gear top/bottoms, Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 2 pairs of wool socks, Simms G3 Guide Jacket,  2 Layer Simms Windstopper Fleece, Windstopper Foldover Mitts, stocking cap, Simms G4 Pro Waders, Simms Guide Boots. Time: 11 am - 3:30 pm Results: 2 for 2 - 2 hooked and 2 landed. What’s nice about the upper Wenatchee during January is that you basically have the river to yourself: glassy-smooth surface, gin clear water, and fresh steelhead coming up the river on a daily basis now that there is a little snow melting off. Perfect! This section of the river differs from the down-stream floats in that it’s calmer – almost serene: smooth, glassy runs separated by deep pools and bank-side troughs. For some reason, the fish this far up river have a passion for pink as was confirmed by our pink / purple “Jimbo’s Fig” flies drifted right near the bottom in “steelhead slow” water. Now we all know that steelhead are “the fish of a thousand casts,” but the two bright hens we caught apparently had not read the email: we both had fish in the within the first half hour! Being stealthy is a must in these conditions, but the pay-offs are handsome. And with more fish in the system in over 80 years, it looks like the Steelheading on the Wenatchee will continue to be hot. 1/18/2010 Anglers: -- Location: -- Flies: -- Layering: UA Cold Gear top/bottoms, Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 2 pairs of wool socks, 2 Layer Simms Windstopper Fleece, Windstopper Foldover Mitts, stocking cap, Simms G4 Pro Waders, Simms Guide Boots. Time: 2:30 pm Results: Big and Dirty The great weather and heavy rains put the river out overnight and it is big and dirty now. It is good to see a little snow melt on the hills, it is shaping up like we will have the best spring in years for fishing conditions with a moderate snow pack. The inverse of the last 4 years which has plagued us with big mud flows during our prime hatches so many times over the past half decade. In the long run, big water is good for the trout but we won't complain about nice clear flows in the spring from an angling standpoint. Clear water is MUCH more conducive to dry fly fishing which we haven't seen much of these past few springs. We will make sure to get another video up when the river gets back in shape. Also, a big thanks to everybody we saw at the Tri-Cities show this weekend - what a great show that was. Thanks for all the orders, sales, and it was good meeting so many of you. We look forward to seeing a many of our readers and customers at the Puyallup Show soon (Jan 27-31st) and we want to encourage you to give us a call if there is any gear that you want to see there in the way of rods, reels, lines, waders, bobbers, jackets, gloves, hats, flies or whatever. Give us a call and we will sure to have it even if we have to Super Special Order it for you just to look at and check out. We will make sure to have it there. Give us a call soon and you can pick it up at the show in person or give it a good demo. Especially with waders and boots, having every size and model combo at the shows is tough to do. We feel like Gypsies this time of year traveling from show to show with a trailer full of goods to pedal. You could be a part of that action, give us a call, let us know what you want and we will deliver to Puyallup and firm handshakes will come free with purchase. 1/13/2010 late pm Anglers: Ted, Johnny, and Joe Location: Irene to Ringer Flies: Black/Brown Pat's #8, Pink Scud #16, San Juan Worms (variety pack), Brassie #20, Choc. WD-40 #20/18, Lime Green Caddis Larvae, Sculpin #4 Layering: Simms Windstopper Soft Shell Hoody Jacket, UA Cold Gear top/bottoms, Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 2 pairs of wool socks, Hooded Sweatshirt, Freestone Foldover Mitts, Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots. Time: 12:30 pm - 4 pm Results: 3 fish landed, pretty tough fishing but still worth being on a great river. Fishing was surprisingly tough today, we were probably overly optimistic with the temps above freezing all day but the fishing was challenging and there were a lot of short strikes on the streamer that we couldn't convert and the nymphing was almost non-existent!  There are always going to be days like this, even in the spring, summer, or fall.  The fishing should pick up a little consistency though as the days lengthen the trout will sense some urgency and take advantage of the warmer days as winter begins to soften up.  In hindsight, we did a very long float for 3-4 hours of fishing and could have done better #wise if we had stuck to just a few "gimme" zones and worked them over.  General tips:  dress right, you will be amazed at what having the right gear will do ESPECIALLY good wading pants and wader wick type material that keep the humidity in check.  If you can stay warm without looking like the "Malto Meal Boy" you will have a good time.  There is a lot of wildlife, serenity, few people, and just enough nice trout to make the balance come together.  1/10/2010 Anglers: Cory, Bob, and Joe Location: Wenatchee River Flies: Black/Brown Pat's #8/6/4, Blue Pat's Stone #6, egg patterns, and a Big Green Caddis Pupae tied on a #12 Scud hook, Bloody Mary #14, Layering: UA Cold Gear top/bottoms, Simms Fleece Guide Pant, 2 pairs of wool socks, Hooded Sweatshirt, Simms Primaloft Insulator Jacket, Freestone Foldover Mitts, stocking cap, Simms Freestone Zippered Waders, Simms Guide Boots. Time: 10 am - 4 pm Results: 3-4 Steelhead hooked, one landed (ditto from last trip). Did you notice that the annoying auto start on the Simms video did not cue today?!  Sorry about that last week, you should just order new waders instead of patching them it is easier.  Patching is for scrubs, in fact, buy 2 sets of new waders.  Just kidding, put some duct tape on there and you are good to go. Another cold day on the Wenatchee yesterday, but we got a nice wild fish to hand and hooked several others.  Our trips up there this time of year are pretty short days making the drive to and from easy, and we don't like our guests to get hypothermia so when the hot coffee is gone we try to hit the takeout.  Layer up right and it is very comfortable.  The Wenatchee should get better and better as the water warms slightly and the days get longer a big push of fish will surge in from the Columbia and fill the river up with fish.  The Yakima is prime right now with no ice on the banks and pretty moderate temps both day and night.  Concentrate on the afternoons and try to pick 2-3 pieces of water you really like and work them thoroughly.  Change depths and flies to see what works and don't try to cover a lot of water fast, it is simply less productive unless you are sweeping streamers.  Nymphs this time of year you are always better off casting at a known quarry and doing so continually.  Fish the big buckets. 1/07/2010 Anglers: Connor and Joe Location: Wenatchee River Flies: Blue Pat's Stone #6, egg patterns, and a Big Green Caddis Pupae tied on a #12 Scud hook. Time: 11 am - 4 pm Results: 3-4 Steelhead hooked, one landed. It is tough to be two places at once, but with the warm weather (? relative) we decided to hit the Wenatchee yesterday instead of the Yakima and it felt good to hook up with some metal and warm up the fun way on the river.  It was very comfortable with highs near 40 and the fish were on the take in the later half of the day.  It does take some skill on that big clear water to get long enough floats to make it happen.  The wade fishing is tough and water temps aren't breaking 35-36.  The fish are in the long open glides rather than the pocket rocks where you can get away with a high stick or a quick float.  Plan to feed LOTS of line on the Wenatchee right now.  We have no report from the Methow, but it won't be long before it is fishing for sure.  Make sure to note our Sportsman's Show schedule above in the left column.  We would love to see all the diehard Powerhour readers there, BUT there will be no Fly Fishing Show in Bellevue this year.  So you can take your $25 for admission and parking and spend it on flies or a Red's hat instead.  Or maybe get really creative and get a haircut, a taco, and some new aftershave with $5 to spare.