YAKIMA
Currently blown out based on direct releases…. should be back in shape by Sunday.
River has been in good condition and fishing avg. to good depending on the day. the river has turned into a Caddis, Stonefly, Baitfish, Terrestrial and Salmon Spawn River. In other words, our general mayfly population is significantly less then ‘Back in the Day’. My take on this is the Salmon. While our clinging Mayflies are still abundant, our Swimming and Crawling Mayflies are significantly less. With the abundant Salmon Smolt in our river now, and the type of water the smolt like to ‘hang out’ in, it is no wonder the Swimmer and Crawler mayfly population is less prolific as they are easy prey for the smolts. Conversely, the clinging Mayflies are still reasonably prolific because the smolt cannot target a clinging Mayfly nymph.
BWO – Swimmer
PMD – Crawler
March Brown – Clinger
As we all know the Mayfly is the classic fly for trout to eat on the surface. The insect has an incomplete metamorphisis and becomes a sitting duck for trout in its emergence stage. We just don’t see the Mayfly hatches as we use to on the Yakima.
Looking at the positive side… The Salmon add a dimension of biomass to the river that was missing for quite awhile. The ‘Little Alaska’ effect from approximately Sept 10 – Oct 10 can be very fun.
Bugs Include – Salmon Flies, Golden Stones, Caddis, Carpenter Ants
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UPPER COLUMBIA
Big Water everywhere this year. When you are on the Columbia that is all relative…It is the biggest trout fishery in the world.
Bugs include…. Caddis, Baetis, Carpenter Ants, PMD’s
Water Clarity ranging from 4-6 feet depending on the day
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SMALLMOUTH BASS
As with all fishing, it isn’t always catching. We have had some avg. to goooood topwater action on the Smally’s or aka ‘Washington Snook’
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KLICKITAT
Currently on the rise and at 3560. Prior to this bump in the water level, the river was on steady drop….and was down to 2850 +/-. Tough conditions overall with not a lot of fish passage over Bonneville. Watch for those number to increase once the Columbia system levels out.
