About the Author

Joe Rotter

Joe is the "blogger in chief" here at Red's in addition to being our guide service manager and partner here at Red's. He is a father of 3 spunky children his wife Kelly can only be found fishing when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the fish are gobbling up dry flies.

In addition to being a fly fishing junkie, Joe is a hard core bowhunter, is a volunteer Hunter's Eductation Instructor, and loves riding horses with his kiddos. Joe still guides a small part of the time but spends most of his time working on web marketing, travel, and helping customers find the right tools and information for the job.

Powerhour Fishing Report // Yakima River Canyon

June 3, 2019

After a cold spring, summer has sprung. Wading in shorts and sandals is here and the feel of that fresh cold river water never felt so good! It's about time. Sun is good for the soul. The river is much lower than normal for this time of year, and is very good for wade fishing or single person Watermaster type crafts right now. Take advantage of it!

We have found the fish to be off the edges, away from the banks, and holding in the heads of the bigger pools in water moving walking speed or faster. Stay away from the sloughs and slow areas for success.

Location: Mile Marker 19 to Red's

Anglers: Joe, Tara, and Kurt

Time: 8 am - 1 pm

Catch Resuls: 10+ Trout Landed

Flies: Rainy's Jighead Flexi Stone (used as our anchor fly to get deep), Amber Prince #12, Gold Lightning Bugs #16/18, CDC PMD Emergery Dry Fly #14/16 (the 14 was easier to see)

Indicator Setup: We used a stonefly/dropper combo 4' under an indicator, but we also used a Drop Shot Nymph Setup later in the day. Both were effective, but the Drop Shot rig was better when the fish started to favor small flies mid-day.

Estimated Hunger Level: 4 out of 10 (we did very well, but the fish were not very aggressive.

Featured Tackle: Sage X 490-4, Sage MOD 490-4 - These rods were PERFECT for handling the light nymphing setups and small hooks that we were using.

yakima canyon with tara woman summer (4) A quick lift for a memory pic. No fondling the trout happening here.

its ok to use your wrist fly casting tip joe rotter Use of the wrist in casting is so misunderstood. If you want to have a great cast, learn to use your wrist liberally to articulate proper movement of the rod tip. On casts under 40' there should be ample wrist involved.

The problem is most people are simply told "don't break your wrist". They go through life being shamed for casting with their wrist. Most never fly fish again haha.

yakima canyon with tara woman summer (1)xx On suddenly hot days, try fishing riffles. The trout tend to move into the faster water in the heat of the afternoon because of the rich oxygen content, and choppy water to protect them from predators.