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.

Slow Motion Hookup On Big Yakima Rainbow

March 21, 2016

I hope it holds out for you guys, but today was awesome fishing. It can be hard work at times, but we put it on 'em today and got paid. Here are some suggestions on flies and its likely this fishing won't last long but give it a shot and remember that all trout are special. Even putting a few in the net on dry flies is a good day.

Skwala Dry Flies:

Red's Skwalameister

Brown Wing Bitteroot Skwala (best on sunny days when you can see the fly well)

White Wing Bitteroot Skwala (best when you are having a tough time seeing your fly)

Solitude's Bullethead Swkala - Maybe the fishiest pattern, but the grey wing can be tough to see in flat light. It absolutely crushes fish though.

Longtail Skwala - Floats like a cork.

Satch Skwala - See the video on Youtube for proof.

Yeager's Olive Tantrum

Umpua's Flushfloater Skwala

I have you guys booked for April 1 Friday. Hope it holds.
Hey joe what is your best advice on how to land a big rainbow when the river is moving along,do you try and anchor or to the shore if possible,sometimes have trouble in the faster moving water.
Maxwell, are you floating solo? What kind of boat? Most guides will anchor off. If I were floating solo, I'd try and get off into a slower piece of water and land them anchored off.
Maxwell, if I am fishing on the move guiding I will usually net them on the move so that we can land them faster and not have to bring them back upriver through heavy current unnecessarily. That adds some time to the fight. If I am risk of missing a lot of good water I will anchor up, but for me personally I like to net them on the move more than half the time I would say. If you are by yourself that's different, netting fish on the move exposes you to some risk like catching an oar on the bottom and breaking a shaft or blade, or popping an oar out of the lock. Probably best to do what mark said, find a safe spot to land and anchor up. A lot of guides do anchor up, either can be fine. Just my 2 cents.