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Yakima
River Report - 'The
Truth be Told'
Charlotte with a nice Cuttie and a big smile!
Dan with a nice Rainbow and a big smile! The
following chart and report will be updated as often as we can get to the
computer. It is provided by The Evening Hatch staff which has well over
120 combined years of experience and over 8,000 drift trips in the last
20 years on the Yakima River. Covering the river from its headwaters to
Roza Dam, The Evening Hatch has an intimate knowledge of the Yakima and
we look forward to hosting you riverside for years to come. We
set the standard for excellence in guided fly fishing adventure on the
Yakima and in Washington! Water
Conditions Below - Flows, Water Temps, Hatch's
The
Weather
Blockage in the Farmlands - The
blockage between Irene and Ringer in the 'S' Curves of the Tree Farm is
navigable but not for the unexperience rower. Watch for this to become
more of an issue as the water drops Sept 3 , 2008 Ditto last report.......But add Baetis to the picture.....Gooooood fishing!!!!! Fish-on, jack _________________________________ August 28, 2008 Ditto last report.......the flip flop has started! Fish-on, jack _________________________________ August 25, 2008 Fishing remains consistent. Mixing it up is important. Just as stated in the last report, be willing to change the dry or the nymph. Mornings have slowed down. Some of these cloudy and hazy days lately have been quite good. Although we will see some more heat, Summer is definitely 'rounding the corner' into Fall. The river flows will be dropping soon. 15 days from now the Yakima in the Lower Canyon will be flowing somewhere around 1200-1500CFS and the Yakima near Cle Elum will be flowing somewhere around 500-700 CFS. Tactics and methods will definitely be different at the new levels then they are at the current levels. The 'bank' targeting will not be near as important. Targeting predominant current lines, riffles, inside corners and high bank collision zones all will come into play. Hot bug of the week - The mini CFO Ant in Yellow! The Hatch ____________________________________ August 15, 2008 A bit behind on reporting......We have been BUSY on three watersheds as of lately. The Yakima, The Klickitat and the Columbia. For reports other then the Yakima.....click here! The Yakima has been fishing good. The Summer beat goes on. Everyday has been different. Some of the mornings have been great, others ok. Same goes with the evening. The other day the dry fly fishing was good to great in the middle of the day!? Nymphing as usual can produce numbers. The quintessential stone fly/dropper combo has always been a 'go to'..... A variety of droppers is part of the game-plan. Everything from caddis nymphs to yellow may nymphs. Big dry fly fishing, although sporadic as of lately, has been good. Sometimes an inch from the bank is not close enough and other times 6 feet off the bank on a 'feed me line' is the place to be. One thing is for sure, be willing to change up the 'big bugs' shape and color; It makes a difference! The Hatch ____________________________________
The mornings have been the ticket....end of story! The Hatch
____________________________________ Fishing continues to be good ... Summer Stones and Hoppers are definitely part of the Yakima Trout's diet currently. In addition the evening Caddis and Yellow Mays have been part of the fare. If you are spending anytime in the Upper Canyon (between Cle Elum and Thorp) make sure you have your ants and beetles. Ants and beetles are great trout food throughout the river but the Upper Canyon Cutthroat really like em'.
The Hatch
July 23, 2008 Fishing has been great - end of story - see below. The Hatch July 20, 2008 The mornings and afternoons have been the best lately. The evenings have been worthy but not near as consistent. Hoppertunity has arrived.....combine that with summer stoneflies and the big bug factor has been good. Make sure you have a variety of colors, shapes and sizes in your big bug arsenal - #4-10 - Skinny and fat - black, red, yellow, peach, etc...... fish-on and waterside 365, The Hatch The summer fishing is in full swing on the Yakima. The fishing remains good to great depending on the day. Dry fly fishing has been decent to good; Nymphing in between has been the back up. Summer Stones are starting with Caddis in the evening. Watch for the early mornings and evenings to be two thumbs up over the next few weeks, Waterside, The Hatch July 8, Rockin
fishing....plain and simple! July
4, 2008 Fishing has improved over the last 48 hours. The fish have jumed back on the take after the big flow increase. The Bur of Reclamation was most likely anticipating the need for storage due to the blast of heat and the influx of water into the reservoir. Anyhow, the nymphing continues to be the game of choice; however, prior to the rise, the dry fly fishing had been decent to great depending on the day and the stretch of river. on the water..............365! The Hatch
Sorry for the delay in reports....Water is up to the typical big water year flows, and a bit higher due to some recent releases. She is actually dropping right now.. Fishing has been a bit tough lately. Watch for the stabilization factor to help out. Currently the best game plan is to nymph on the move and watch for fish on PMD's or Caddis. The adult Summer Stone should be thumbs up here in the next 30 days......that is why the stone nymph is a great angle now; trailer it with a Caddis nymph, a PMD nymph or the infamous san juan and you have a pretty good game plan. on the water..............365! The Hatch
June 23, 2008 The entire river has stabilized rather quickly from the Bur of Reclamationn releases.....certainly quicker then we anticipated. Fishing throughout the stystem was avg to good yesterday. The bugs remain the same and the chart above is descriptive of the current clarity, pattern choices and hatches... on the water..............365! The Hatch June 22, 2008 The Lower Canyon is fishing average and seems the place to be after yesterday's onslaught of water from both major reservoir sources - peace out trout, The Hatch June 21, 2008 The Bureau of Reclamation is releasing more water now from the Cle Elum reservoir and those flows are at 1200 up from 300. The flows from Easton reservoir are at 950 up from 300. The combination of those flows have put a tough twist on the current fishing. The clairity has been compromised by all the new riverside debris flushing into the system from the Cle Elum River arm. The water from the Cle Elum is bottom fed and comes out clear and cold, but until things stabilize a bit, the turbidity will be high. We will keep you posted on the Yakima arm. In the meantime, we will be on the Naches which is fishing average to great depending on the day.
___________________ June 20, 2008 Awesome PMD's as we speak in the Lower Canyon on the Yakima - Today! The Naches has also been quite good as well - In fact awesome - Strong Caddis on the Naches. Overall a great report on both arms of the Yakima System. Flows on the Yakima
have been increased from Cle Elum Reservoir. Currently the Cle Elum output
is 1000 CFs: up from 250. One thing is for certain...It is cold, clean
water. The Hatch ___________________ June 17, 2008 The river flows remain unseasonably low. The fishing continues to be average to good depending on the day. Although the winds are not near as bad as last week, they do remain a constant. The main fare continues to be the PMD and Caddis. The Western Green Drakes have been quite spotty throughout the system, including the Upper Proper where they are generally the most prominent. Nymphing as usual has been the producer for numbers... Respectfully, The Hatch ___________________ The weather man was correct. We are in for stable pressure and "no wind" to speak of; Thank you. The last 4 days have been relentless and 'face-on' wind. Watch for the shadows
and the late afternoons/evenings to be good with 'Little Yellow Mays'
be it PMD's or PED's. Also with Caddis....both spent and emerging The Hatch ___________________
The last two days have been relentless with the wind. Fishing has been tough. Mother nature calls for a stable high pressure starting manana. Should be good. Prior to the windy days our fishing had been quite good. Don't let anybody tell you different! The Hatch ___________________ June 9, 2008 Fishing is good to great on the Yakima...end of story. Same report as the last! See the Bug Chart and the 'new modified' Flow/Temp/Clarity Chart above The Hatch ___________________ June 7, 2008 Fishing is good to great on the Yakima...end of story. The Hatch ___________________ Fishing continues
to be consistent. The best dry fly fishing has been on the cloudy days
and otherwise the nymph has been the game. Overall clarity and levels
are good. Big Pines from June 1 until Sept 1 requires a day fee pass or you can purchase a yearly pass. MM 10 requires the access permit displayed given to you by the State of Washington when you purchase your fishing license. Peace out trout, The Hatch. ________________________ June 3, 2008 Fishing is good on the Yakima. Most of our trips lately have been in the Farmlands and Lower Canyon where there are strong PMD's and Caddis in specific zones. One of our best flies subsurface lately has been the #14-18 BH PT CDC sofft hackle. For the dry fly when targeting rising fish...our first choice lateley has been a # 16 Transition PMD Dun! The Hatch. ________________________ May 30, 2008 For the past 2 weeks and up until yesterday we have cancelled 90% of our boats based on conditions. However we are back on track with fish responding to the incredible amount of Caddis that the river is sporting especially in the Farmlands and Lower Canyon. Last night the evening was good fishing. The afternoon was spotty. Watch for the fish to key in on the egglaying caddis....both the ovipositing/spent caddis, and the divers. The emerergence is also a targetable stage with ESP's in the surface or nymphed. The other bug factor that is on game right now and will span over the next two months are the PMD's and PED's. Watch for Drakes to be part of the dinner plate as well over the next month. As the last report notes....we will have some up and down water factors over the next three weeks, however it looks as we are seeing 'the turn' for the better! Stats from last night - Boat 1 of 5 boats on the water Anglers : Kid Boitano
and Gunslinger Garret Seriously, the fishing is good.....the above stats are 'just for fun' HA HA. The Hatch ________________________________ May 29, 2008 The river levels and clarity have been up a down and conditions overall have been poor! It is a bit unfortunate as there have been great Caddis hatches and flights in the Farmlands and Lower Canyon. We will keep you updated as things change. In the meantime, the below paragraphs will possibly paint the picture a little clearer. Plain and simple, between now and overall flow stabilization (most likely around mid to late June) we will have some issues. Most likely there will be both good and 'not so good' fishing in the aforementioned time frame. One thing is for sure......from July 1 till' the new year should be great on the Yakima this season. Here are the dynamics for the next month.... Upper Proper - Out of Lake Easton - Generally this stretch is not the major contributor in in irragation flows - Typically the flows in this stretch are 350-450 CFS and runs with about 5 feet of visibility on average. Recently the flows topped out at 1900 CFS/Wow! and clarity at 0 inches. This was mostly in part to the Cabin Creek drainage which enters the Yakima river between Kachelus and Lake Easton. Over the next month we will see the Upper Proper fluctuate based on the aforementioned dynamics but soon it will stabilize. The Joining of The Upper Proper and the Cle Elum River - The Cle Elum River is where the mass of irrigation water comes from for the Kittitas valley and beyond. In laymans terms, the Bureau of Reclamation will hold back water in the Cle Elum Reservoir as long as the Teanaway is pumping enough natural volume from the Stuart mountain range to fill the need for irrigation. If the Teanaway does not fill the need, then the Bur. of Rec will supplement via the Cle Elum river and in the end when the Teanaway is not fullfilling any water needs to speak of, the Cle elum river will be at full volume. The Question is .... When is that going to happen? Every year is different....But you can bet that over the next month we will see some 'ups and downs' regarding flows. The pros and cons of water releases from the Cle Elum- At first the big insurgences of cold water (bottom fed) from the Cle Elum river are in essence a 'shock' to the biomass of the system including the trout. Prior to the big releases of water from the Cle Elum Reservoir the Yakima river water temps are typically ranging in the 49-55 degree zone. When those big releases come from the bottom of the Cle Elum reservoir, you can bet you bottom dollar that the water temps are going to drop significantly, hence the 'shock factor'. Being that insects are temperature sensitive, this influx of cold water throws a loop into the fishing game. Ultimately, the cold water releases are a bonus. During the heat of summer....The Yakima water temps stay cool on normal snow pack years. For more on 'About The Yakima' click here The Hatch _____________________________________ May 23, 2008 Water volumes have been consistently dropping over the past week. We continue to have a clarity issue as the color of the river has been compromised from the headwaters of the Yakima Proper at Lake Easton. In fact ,Lake Easton was brown itself due to major influxes from Cabin Creek. Lately Cabin Creek has settled a bit, Combine dirty outlows at Lake Easton with clear water from the Cle Elum river and you gain a bit of clarity. As we see it...From the Cle Elum Confluence to the Teanaway river over the next few days will probably be fishable. From the Confluence of the Teanaway downstream we will see less then desirable conditions, which are unfishable. The Hatch ____________________________________ May 16, 2008 Going, Going, Gone....for the time being. We will keep you updated as things change up. It was bound to happen. In the meantime, basin lakes are in full swing and the geneal opener for creeks and such is just around the corner (however the creeks will be tough as well). We are looking forward to a great season on the Yakima. Our July through Oct season will be awesome. The Yakima is one of the Best in the West during August. When a large amount of other rivers are in the 'Summer Duldrums' the Yakima sports cool water releases from our reservoirs (during normal snowpack years), summer Stoneflies and evening Caddis.... Stay tuned! The Hatch May 11, 2008 The Farmlands and the Upper Flatlands are the places to be. Nymphing as a general rule remains the ticket. Water fluctuations will be part of the menu over the next month #4-8 Pat's Stones
in Brown, Black, Black and Brown, Orange and Brown And of course... The Hatch ________________________________May 8, 2008 We still have Caddis in the Farmlands and Lower Canyon......We just don't have clarity. Should improve over the next few days. It is possible to find rising fish through the dirty water especially in the Lower Canyon; however every day is different. Best option on the river is the Upper Flatlands - S. Cle Elum Bridge to the State Boat Launch; Nymph your brains out with Pat's Stones, San Juans, Prince Nymphs, Lightning Bugs etc... The Hatch ________________________________May 2, 2008 We have Caddis!!!! Fish are on dries in the Farmlands! Don't hesitate......now is the time! Waterside, The Hatch ________________________________ April 24, 2008 Tough fishing yesterday
- Very Light Bug Hatch Waterside, The Hatch ________________________________ April 22, 2008 Based on mother nature's weather pattern the river has dropped and cleared. We could tell you that the fishing has been 'enfuego' but it hasn't. However there has been some good fishing over the last few days, just not continuously. The March Brown Hatch has been fairly predictable in the Farmlands and Lower Canyon happening somewhere between 1:30 - 3PM depending on the day. Average Blue Wings here and there as well as left over Skwalas. Lower
Canyon - Nymphing has been tough but if you can find the risers it has
been worthy Waterside,
respectfully, fish-on and river ramblin', _________________________________ April 15, 2008 'Most Definitely the Winter that won't quite'. Clarity has come back some throughout the system due to the aforementioned weather factor. Hatches have been decent. Predominant bugs - March Browns, Blue Wings and Skwala. We would call the fishing average as we speak! Watch for the water to keep dropping with the upcoming weather pattern.... On another note - the Upper Columbia has been Two Thumbs Up!
__________________________________ April 14, 2008 Below the Teanawy is Bye Bye for the time being...Above the Teanawy is certainly worthy. A myriad of bugs are present up there- refer to the chart above. We will keep you posted as things change.
____________________________________ April 13, 2008 The Teanaway is punching some volume and color currently. This will probably be the case for the next month and a half. The tributaries will fluctuate based on heat and snow pack for quite awhile now. Currently above the Teanaway the river clarity is good. Hatches remain avg. to good throughout the system. Zones to be in....either the Upper Flatlands or the Lower Canyon.
_____________________________________ April 7 , 2008 Here
is the Mode of Operandi For the Boat Angler... This is not a bad gameplan. Yesterdays Skwala fishing from 3pm to 6pm was quite good. The hatch was a bit light where we were but could have been strong in other locations. Remember, The hatch's will occur in isolated zones - March Browns are riffle dwellers (clingers) and Blue wings a generally boulder strewn runs (swimmers)with a bit more depth.
______________________________________ April 2 , 2008 Low
of 23 last night - predicted high of 53 today. Clear Blue Skies. Watch
for the Blue Wings to be light in the bright sun. Dry Fly action should
be good from 2pm and on. Shallow droppers are not a bad idea! ______________________________________ March 31, 2008 On a
good note, this next weeks weather
is going to be great. The tributaries and main stem have all been dropping in levels. Watch for that pattern to change just a bit over the next week. Meaning we should see a bit of a rise. Should have no effect on the fishing. Refer to the chart above for Bugs The last two days have been avg in the The Lower Canyon and Farmlands. No report from The Upper Flatlands. jack _________________________________ March 28, 2008 The Lower Canyon fished very good on the 25th.....Good Blue Wings with rising fish in isolated zones. Good Skwala action in sporadic sessions with one particular zone being quite good as fish were visibly eating multiple Skwalas. If I quoted the number of fish to the fly for the day you wouldn't believe it, so I won't. During the Blue Wing Hatch our best bugs were a #18 BWO parachute, #18 BWO Quigly, #18 Standard PT behind a #16 Parachute. Best Skwala pattern for the day....#10 Tan CFO Ant painted black. The only nymphing done was with a dropper @ 18" below the Skwala.... Biggest fish---17" for the day The Upper Farmlands did not give many fish at all, especially early. However from 2pm to 5pm the fishing with the dry was worthy bringing in a handfull of 15-19" peace out trout, jack
_________________________________ March 25, 2008 We could say that the fishing is smokin' but it isn't. However the fishing is decent with the dry fly assuming you put your time in. Just because your dry fly covered two hundred feet of bank reasonably well and nothing ate your fly doesn't mean that the dry fly is not working. Honestly, we have been catching just as many fish on the dry as we have on the nymph. There are good numbers of Skwala out and about. The biggest issue we are seeing are the 20 degree nights! Water temps are barely reaching 39-40 degrees in the Lower Canyon and Upper Flatlands. The Farmlands are showing the best water temps. We have recently seen Blue Wings as well. This is the Ticket Bug. Although the Rainbow will opportunistically eat the First Big Mac (Skwala) of the season, the Blue Wing is certainly more readily available to them. The Blue Wings are of the #16-17 size which is a perfect appetizer, main course and desert as well. waterside
__________________________________ March 18, 2008 Average fishing on the Yakima continues to be the factor.....A little bit of dry fly fishing and a little bit of nymphing, jack ________________________________________ March 14, 2008 The recent rise in the river was driven predominantly by an influx of flows from the Teanaway. In the last 24 hours the water has dropped and stabilized. Fishing has been decent with both the dry and the nymph. This weekend should prove to be on target assuming mother nature cooperates. Airtemps look decent for the next 4 days. waterside, jack _________________________________________ March 5, 2008 The river has dropped a bit and stabilized. The nymphing has been a mystery lately in the Farmlands and Lower Canyon and honestly the dry Skwala has been the best ticket especially in the Farmlands and the Lower Canyon. Recent trips have brought decent numbers of fish to the dry fly! waterside, jack _________________________________________ March 2, 2008 Well the river bumped up and colored a bit....nothing extreme. The fishing however turned. It was pretty automatic fishing until the level and color changed and then it did about a 180 on us...? No explanation for why the drastic change up. On a better note, we have seen a few adult skwalas and actually picked up a few fish on dry flies. Larry Palmer managed a couple the other day. Both of the fish attacked the dry! We will keep you updated as conditions change. waterside, jack _________________________________________ Feb 25 , 2008 Plain and simple the fishing is goooooood. Water temps are conducive for the onset of 08's insect hatches Not much dry fly fishinglately, but we are not far off. The Nymphing has been good to outstanding most of the time: A bit spotty here and there, but for the most part just plain good fishing. If you are not catching fish, change up the water you are fishing or the flies you are using as the fish are definitely eating. #8-12 Stone fly patterns, #14-18 Lightning Bugs, #8-12 San Juan Worms, #14-18 Pt Flashbacks have worked well for us. jack ________________________________________Feb 20 , 2008 Good fishing yesterday. Stats as follows
99% of our fishing was with the 'Indi-bob' and nymphs. We varied our nymph depth from 3-5 feet depending on the water depth. Plain and simple, the next 5 weeks of fishing is going to be gooood. jack ________________________________________Feb 18 , 2008 Water temps are ranging from 35-41 throughout the system. Fishing has been spotty but decent overall. Some nice fish are being caught. We had quite a few short strikes on the streamer yesterday with no fish to hand using them. All of our fish came on the nymph. Every day has been different. Today's report was significantly slower then yesterdays. There are great numbers of Skwala nymphs in about an inch of water...Just a matter of time. jack _________________________________________Feb 12 , 2008 The river raised quite a bit over the last week and seems to have stabilized currently and actually dropped a bit. Mr. Weather calls for lows in the upper 20's and highs in the upper 30's and low 40's; which is perfect for run-off. We should see some good fishing over the next week based on the parameters. Fishing lately has been good with some big fish being caught and lost ! Heard tell of an adult skwala sighting by a very reliable source the other day! I have not personally seen one, but water temps are conducive currently in the Farmlands. Any how you can bet your bottom dollar that the fishing is going to be good over the next month and a half. Watch the flows and if they are not spiking you should be good. We are inevitably going to see some fluctuation as we have alot of snow. A small raise in water should not make much difference. Nymphing stone nymphs and mayfly nymphs along with aquatic worms and caddis larvae should do the trick. Streamers are always a good option in the spring....The JJ picked up a couple the other day as well as a modified JJ. Trailing a lightning bug behind a streamer also worked. We found a small group of fish and one of us managed to get a few takes on the dry...non landed. The Pass situaton seems to be under control...NOOOIIIICCEEE. jack _______________________________________ Feb 7 , 2008 See the
Special Report in 'The
Angling Report' which The river has de-iced in most of the stretches above Umtanum and is fishing good. Water temps have warmed quite a few degrees which is always a good indication of decent fishing for this time of year. Give us a jingle to help you pick a float to do as there are still a few ice blockages as of yesterday in the Farmlands stretch. You can bet your bottom dollar that the trout are keying in on the Skwala nymph currently as we are only 3 weeks or so away from seeing the first 'Big Mac' of the season jack ________________________________________ Jan 22 , 2008 Stay home.....lots of ice. jack ________________________________________ Jan 19 , 2008 Stats for yesterday were good......Approximately16 trout hooked - 9 or so landed. Approximately 25 YT's hooked and about 10 of those landed. Not to bad for 5 hours of fishing with no one else around. Mr Weather calls for a major cold snap with temps getting down to 8 degrees at night. Now is the time to stay home and tie flies and drink a few hot chocolates or whatever. We will keep you posted as to the status of the river. fish-on jack _________________________________________Jan 16 , 2008 A Happy New year to all... We are looking forward to our 20th season calling the Yakima our 'Home Waters' The Yakima water temps are a bit cold as we speak. We are seeing a bit of ice flow in the last mile of the Lower Canyon. Fishing remains good, not great, not bad, just good winter fishing. Although some would say 'stay home and drink your hot chocolate', we would say, 'if conditions lend themselves, get waterside.' Tip of the day: Respectfully, fish-on, waterside The Hatch ____________________________________ 2007 Yakima
Fishing Reports
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