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Too Much Rain in Washington State

November 1, 2014

Big surprise, too much rain in the "Rain Sate" this week.  Most rivers are in pretty rough shape right now but we're on the rebound.  Today's blog post is a river update, but I mostly want to encourage you to click around and see the different resources for understanding river flow.  Some are simple gauging stations that report the flow, but they also have things like the historical average, historical maximum, minimum, and there are even some prediction charts that incorporate the expected weather and attempt to predict what the rivers will do. All of this is great info, so in addition to an update click the links below.  All of these are available through our Services and Resources page.  

River Reports

The Yakima has been one of the few streams to stay in fishable condition but it took a big bump in flow yesterday as well and wasn't looking too great by the end of the day yesterday.  Fortunately today its on the drop and by mid-day we expect the Lower Canyon to be back in good condition.

The Klickiat is high and muddy, depending on what it does today in the mountains it may or may not be back in shape by Monday.  We really need to get it back down around 1,100 cfs before it clears up.  We fished it at 1,200 cfs a few days ago before it went back up and it was marginal clarity.  We did manage to get one Steelhead and a King hooked up so, it wasn't a bust.  We feel like the mid November dates are going to fish very well because of all this rain and how it promotes fish migration.  We still have space in our Klickitat Lodge for later this month, we book trips up to November 23rd.  The Wenatchee is a monster right now, the Methow is high and likely off color. Same goes for these rivers, give them a short week to recover and they should have a ton of fish in them.  The Grande Ronde and Snake Rivers have managed to stay in good shape.  If you live in that part of the PNW this is a good bet.

Learn to read the charts and explore these links, but don't let it shut down your fishing.  Too many times we have seen folks cancel due to a small spike, or not fish because they think 4,000 cfs is too high during the summer on the Yakima River (that is normal flow for that time of year).  Rely on experience, your guide, or your appetite for adventure.  The best fishing usually happens when the flows are above normal.  


Yakima River Flows and Conditions


Yakima River Flow Prediction Chart


While the chart is only a "preditction", it is based on historical data, weather forecasts, current weather, current snow-pack etc.  You can use this to get a rough idea of how the river is going to react to predicted rainfall, run-off, etc.


Yakima Water Temperatures at Umtanum


This is a neat resource and is especially helpful in the early spring when we are anxiously awaiting the first few days of dry fly fishing! It is also very helpful in the late summer as water temperatures rise it is very strenuous on the trout.  When the water breeches the 65 degree mark we often cease fishing in the afternoons and focus our efforts in the morning hours.



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