Yakima River Fishing Report // Mayfly time on the Yakima River!

The past week has provided some excellent Mayfly opportunities throughout the Yakima River.  March Browns have been showing in the farmlands, while BWO's become the prevalent menu as you progress into the canyon. The river has dropped steadily and is currently in as nice of shape as we've seen so far this season.  That combined with air temperatures in the 60's for the rest of this week offer a great window to pack up your fishing gear and head East!  Our strategy has been to fish nymphs or dry/ dropper until about 1 pm, then throw Mayflies at feeders if we find them, or prospect the edges with Skwala dries.  We have seen some very nice fish lately, as the larger Rainbows are packing on calories as part of their pre spawn ritual.  While we haven't seen signs of spawning yet, it is likely not far off, and the bite typically slows down as fish circulate through the various stages of that process.  

There is not an over abundance of snow in the mountains this season, which should bode well for our Mother's Day Caddis hatch.  We haven't had a good chance to fish that event the past 3 years now due to high runoff conditions.  Given our weather pattern and snow situation this year, we are very optimistic and looking forward to being participants this season!  The Yakima River Caddis hatch is an amazing thing to experience, and we have seen it bust loose as early as the last week in April...  It's time to go fishin!