Fishing Reports for Central Washington and FLIES, FLIES, FLIES!

July 23, 2017

So many fish so little time.  The summer gets away from us the same way the days seem to slip away for you folks living vicariously through our photos and reports.  Many hatches and adventures have passed us all by this spring, but now we can refocus our efforts and get some adventures planned for this summer!  You aren't getting any younger haha. Many fisheries are beginning to peak right now including the Yakima River Canyon. After tumultuous spring that threw muddy water, snow, big wind, blazing sunshine, and rough fishing, the Yakima Canyon has settled down into a smooth sustained flow and the trouts' metabolism is climbing.  

For many of you that fancy wade fishing (myself included!) there are lots of smaller rivers and creeks that are coming into perfect condition. The Naches River is perfect right now!  When fishing in these smaller waters, its most common to encounter smaller trout. We call this "small ball".  The average trout might be 8-10" but they are scrappy and aggressive.  This is also perfect for young or new anglers.  Its great fun and we strongly encourage you to try it, and get the right tool for the job too. To maximize fun on small fish get a flexible lightweight rod like a Redington Butterstick.  Its the yellow rod that you'll see being used in a ton of my videos.  Its so much fun. I have the 7' 3 weight, the 370-3 and love it.

Just Learning to Fly Fish?

We teach all sorts of classes including a very informative Fly Fishing 101 and 201 series every Saturday.  On Fridays and Sundays we teach 2 Hour Fly Casting Classes in combination with optional shooting classes (many folks make this a Cast 'n Blast Combination!).  Either way, there are a couple of options for brand new anglers.  


Ready to catch your first trout?  Maybe you have a rod and some basic skills but simply need a leader to show you exactly where and how to catch your first trout. We have a really fun wade fishing trip called the Final Step fly fishing class that our staff hosts on small local streams.  Its designed to get yourself across the finish line and succeed in fly fishing!  



Here is a video of a young angler landing a DANDY trout on the Yakima River on one of our recent guided trips using the Redington Butterstick Combo.




Let Me Tell You About the Naches River



Mini Hopper Assortment





Advice for the Yakima River Canyon


Gypsy King Dry Fly... GREAT PATTERN FOR THIS HATCH!  Get both black and brown in a variety of colors. 

Gypsy King Dry Fly 


The CFO Ant is Red Hot Too!





The Yakima River Summer Stonefly hatch drives our summer dry fly fishing and is going full tilt. The mornings and evenings are fishing great on dry flies right now.  Although technical casting is required to put high numbers of fish in the net, even first time anglers are getting bites and catching a few trout as well.



In the evening in the Yakima River Canyon a mix of Caddis imitations combined with Stonefly dry flies will produce consistent results.  If you are wade fishing find a nice back eddy or a rock pile and post up there from 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm for some exciting action at feeding trout.



Use this Caddis Emerger for the fish feeding in the evenings on Caddis.  It can be tough to see so using in tandem with a more visible pattern like the one below is a great plan.  


Blooms Parachute Caddis.  Floats great, easy to see... CATCHES FISH!  I would encourage you to get a variety of sizes and colors.

Caddis Caddis Caddis!  


Did you know that Caddis are the most widely distributed aquatic insect?  There are over 800 different types of Caddis flies.  No matter where you go fly fishing you are bound to encounter a Caddis Hatch!  Be prepared with this assortment that is Red's GUIDE APPROVED!  






Good Luck Out There!

We hope these fly assortments and suggestions help bring you success out there. Please call our friendly staff at (509) 933-2300 for advice and help with any questions you might have about our various fisheries, flies, or gear.  
  1. Looking to take a co-worker ( who is 70yrs old) fly fishing around cle elum in mid September. Where would you recommend going with very easy access for him? Don't want to hike bc of his age. Is there anywhere along i-90? Thanks, Steve

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