YAKIMA

The river is in spectacular condition.  We are kicking into gear for our early season hatches which include…

Blue Wings
Skwala Stone
Midges

Yesterday’s Dry fly fishing was thumbs up.  The lower Canyon is currently  more predictable for numbers of fish on the dry fly than  the river from the Farmlands and up.  That being said,  The dry fly is worthy throughout the system.

I would like to say there are some magical flies that you have to have….but that really isn’t the case.  One suggestion for the Skwala stone is if the fish start to get a little picky, make sure to utilize a rendition that is ‘skinny’ and not robust.  In addition, this time of year is cooler and therefore the stonefly is less likely to be moving around as much on the water as his/her cousin, the summer stone.   We impart a lot of movement utilizing the Summer stone.  The opposite could be said with the Skwala stone.

UPPER COLUMBIA

This river is in GREAT condition and is setting up to be at its lowest level here over the next 45 days.  Current techniques are predominantly Swinging, Retrieving as well as some nymphing.

OLYMPIC PENINSULA

Winter Steelhead fishing is not for the faint of heart.  The weather can be abrupt, action can be slow and focus is paramount;   However,  The rewards can be spectacular:)  We have been targeting the fish by either nymph or swing tactics.  We have hooked fish with 5and5 of T-8 as well as Game Changers with T-14.  Fishing the correct line to put the fly in the strike zone is critical.

GO HAWKS

YAKIMA

Drew Jansen with an absolute specimen caught on a dry skwala on the 6th of February.

Well, with the unseasonably warm weather lately, the fishing has been stellar, even some dry skwala eaters.  The weather pattern is about to change and so will the catching most likely.  The dry fly game as of recently,  will definitely be less.   Water temps will drop and slow the fishing overall. That being said,  the vortex pattern appears to be reasonably short lived.

Bugs of the season

#8-12 Pats Stone
#8-12  San Juan worms   Pink, Red, Wine, Pink and Red
#12-16 Prince, lightning Bugs
#2-10 Streamers   Sheila Sculpins, Sculpzilla, Sparkle Minnows, Bow river buggers

Check this breakdown of our current water/snow situation

OLYMPIC PENINSULA

STEVO  with a 20 pounder:))) This fish was caught using a standard floating skagit head with 10 feet of T-14 and a slightly weighted bug of 3 inches.

Working for your fish is part of the equation.  Lately we have had to work for every single one.  Appreciation is the word when it all comes together.

Skagit Lines used lately…

Gamechangers
-Floating, Intermediate, Type 3
-Floating, Intermediate

Standard Skagit Max with
T-8, T-11, T-14, T-17

Keeping your fly in the strike zone is crucial and depends on where you believe the fish are; holding or traveling? If you believe they’re holding in heavy nuggets based on the water being low and clear, then utilizing integrated lines might be a smart tactic. If you believe the fish are on the move a lot,  10 feet of T8 might be sufficient. One of the best grabs lately was on T8 and a slightly weighted fly. Unfortunately, that fish did not stay connected because the hook was wrapped around the head of the fly. Remember, as noted in the last post, removing glitches out of the equation that you’re able to control and prevent, will increase your odds on landing fish.

Well it seams that this page is not updated much by me anymore.  With  the social media platforms we are using now, this page gets forgot about….I will try to do better.  However, if you see a delinquent report here, you may find more current info on one of the following

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

Washington rivers as of recently have been pretty much blown out.  It appears that the atmospheric river pattern is pretty much over. Now we need to pray for LOTS  of snow in the mountains because as of recently, the basins are VERY light.

We have a big year planned for 2026.  Here is a highlight of what is just around the corner.

YAKIMA

Just around the corner is our Winter/Early Spring season on the Yakima. Typically the river is low and predictable.  Early season hatches include Midges, Blue Wing Olives  and Skwala stoneflies.

To learn more about the Yakima, check this out

I wrote this quite a few years ago but much of it still holds true.

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OLYMPIC PENINSULA

We are looking forward to spending time fishing for these special sea going bows.  We love to swing flies for these amazing fish but we do utilize other tactics as well.

Couple tips on swinging flies…
1)Start short.  No hero casts to start with.
2)Make sure the tip you have on is not so heavy  that you are scraping bottom but heavy enough to keep it in the strike zone.  This means you might need to change your tips out.  Or if you  are fishing with a buddy, Send the lighter tip through first and then follow up with the heavier set up.
3)Cover likely water…  heads and tails are key, especially for moving fish.  Remember, Winter Steelhead are almost always moving.
4)Play the tides with the coastal rivers.  The ensuing 4 hours after the bottom of the tide is two thumbs up. In essence you are targeting the incoming tide that is on its way to a ‘high tide’  This especially pertains to rivers that have current all the way to the ocean.

Some rivers that have long zones of no flow characteristics near the ocean  can actually be better as the tide goes from high to low…..The opposite of the above description.

Never hesitate to holler if you have any questions; wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season.
jack   509.859.2280

YAKIMA

The river is as low as we have seen it in the Fall.  Fishing is good.   A bit spotty at times,  but good overall.  The Fall salmon have been on the spawn so an egg pattern in the Upper River has been a good approach/above the Teanaway as an overall.

Craneflies have been good as well.  Not the best cranefly activity we have seen over the years, but certainly worthy.  Remember Craneflies are erratic and therefore a fly twitched and skated a bit can illicit strikes.

The swing has certainly been a good approach for those that enjoy that type of fishing.  Utilizing a variety of tips based on depth, flow and the mood of the fish can produce.

Bugs include:
#18-20 Baetis
#8-10 October Caddis
#10 Cranefly
#16 Tan Caddis
MVP’s Flies
#8 Egg sucking Sculpzilla
#10 EH Cranefly

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KLICKITAT
Fun Fall so far.  There are fish around and we have been catching them with multiple tactics.  Water is currently in great condition.  We should continue to see good activity until the river closes at the end of November.

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UPPER COLUMBIA

Longtime guests – The Puthoff  Crew

The catching on the Upper Columbia has been a bit tough this Fall.   Certainly less bugs than usual and the river flows have been quite erratic.  The river has never been a big number producer anyways.  Regardless, we have used multiple tactics including dry flies, nymphs and swing tactics.
In addition, we have not been fly fishing for the sturgeon but we have certainly caught a few of them lately for those that want a break from chasing the trout.

Nine footer.

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KVICHAK RIVER

Been a good season so far on the Kvichak for us.  Good enough that it appears we are pretty much full for next fall.  Our program is based on swinging the fly.  No nymphing, just tossing the fly with 6-7 weight 2 handers!

YAKIMA

The river is very low and we are happy to see some cooler weather.  The catching has been average lately but we should see a bit of an uptick with the upcoming weather pattern.

Current Hatches
# 10-12 Craneflies
#8-10 October Caddis
#16 Tan Caddis
#8-12 Hoppers
#6-8 Summer Stones
#18 Fall Baetis
#16 Mahogany Duns

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UPPER COLUMBIA


The river has been kinda busy with the Sturgeon season the state has created.  Catching has been a bit tough here as well.  We have been using a variety of techniques including dry flies, swinging, streamers and nymphing.  Not one technique has been ‘the best’.
Swing tactics utilizing dry lines to 20 foot 200 grain tips have all produced.

Not alot of bugs yet.  We have a sampling of October Caddis, Fall Beatis and some terrestrial.

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Kvichak / Alaska

The Kvichak is fishing good.  We have seen possibly less numbers this season with maybe a bigger average size fish.  Regardless, the season has been thumbs up so far with a little glitch here and there.  We are close to full next year and are certainly happy that this program is part of our arsenal:))  The technique here includes swinging bugs…..0 bobbers.

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KLICKITAT
   

The river definitely has a cycle.  I am sure we will see this pattern to some degree for the reminder of the fall.  The best clarity in the morning is down low. Definitely both Salmon and Steelhead in the system.  The challenge is landing them ….lol

YAKIMA

The river is currently at Fall levels and this cooling weather pattern is what was needed for sure.

Current Hatches
# 10-12 Craneflies
#8-10 October Caddis
#16 Tan Caddis
#8-12 Hoppers
#6-8 Summer Stones

Coming soon  #18 Fall Baetis  and # 16 Mahogany Duns

Hot bug —

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KLICKITAT

The river is definitely cycling – where as the best clarity is in the AM down low on the system.  Good Counts of steelhead over Bonneville.  We have not been on the river much over the past month because of the very poor quality of clarity over the last month.  The Steelhead Ranch opens up this coming Sunday and we are looking forward to a fun Fall.

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UPPER COLUMBIA

The river has been fluctuating in flows quite a bit which can makes things a bit challenging. Catching has been average overall. The recent cooler weather was certainly welcomed:))

Dry flies, streamers, swinging and bobbers have all produced.   15 feet of visibility and some nice fish around :))

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KVICHAK

The river is pretty low for this time of year and overall numbers have been a little less than usual. But on another note…. Our average size fish is PDG / Pretty dang good!!

The only thing we do on this river is swing bugs and it is worthy!!  Our first group leaves today and we have five more groups until we back out of AK.

YAKIMA

The river is definitely in Hoot owl mode.  Early morning until about noon is the best time frame. If anybody is fishing it later and into the evening ….they prolly should not.  Water temps are starting out at 63-64 in the AM and are getting to about 67-69 in the afternoon.  This is why we are self imposing a restriction.  Similar to what they do in Montana. In Montana, the state actually creates a rule for these situations.   Unfortunately the state of Washington does not.

Summer Stoneflies, Hoppers,  Ants, Caddis
Coming soon….October Caddis and Craneflies.

The river is fishing reasonably good throughout the system.   The upper Proper has been a little touchy…..However,  From the Cle Elum confluence down is certainly more predictable.

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KLICKITAT

Tough conditions recently for clarity but there are definitely good numbers over Bonneville.  In fact, the numbers are higher then predicted!

Currently we are seeing a swing ‘cycle’  in clarity ….Early in the AM below the town of Klickitat there may be a 15 inches.  By early afternoon we are seeing about 6 inches of vis.  This can change daily depending on the amount of day time and night time temperatures and wind on the glacier feeding the system. The river flow level is averaging about 810  currently, which is about 10% lower then the average for this time of year.

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UPPER COLUMBIA

We are in between prime seasons on this watershed right now.  There are definitely some fish to target, but predictability is a little variable. We are opening Black Bear lodge back up in 22 days, for what we call the late summer and fall season.  Hoppers etc…. will be the focus:))

YAKIMA

Bugs include
#10 Skwala Sones but fading
#12 – 14 March Browns  Sporadic but present
#16 – 18 Blue Wings

Coming Soon
#14 American Grannom Caddis
#6 Salmon Flies
#12 Flying Ants

The March brown hatch is a bit sporadic and being in the right place at the right time is very important .  The bright sun has not been helpful.  The trout are definitely in spawn mode as well this month.

There are a few Skwala Stones here and there but they are fading.

Water temps are ranging between 46-50 depending on time of day and stretch of river.  Mother’s day caddis is just around the corner and we should see that kick into gear at that 53 degree mark.

Hot bugs recently
#12-16 Pheasant tail variations
#6-8 Pats Stone in Black and Brown
#6-10 Sparkle Minnow
#12-16 Purple Haze, Thorax March Brown

Upper Columbia

Lake Roosevelt in very high for this time of year, which definitely affects the lower portion of the American Reach – This is the new norm on the Upper Columbia.

This time of year the predominant technique is swinging flies.  There are A Variety of patterns one can choose from….Including Wooly buggers, Sculpins, Stoneflies etc.

There is minimal dry fly activity but there are opportunities…..Typically they are eating Blue Wing Olives.

Nymphing is certainly an option and generally worthy in isolated zones utilizing tandem nymph set ups of a Stonefly and a dropper.  Droppers could include, CDC Pt’s,  Princes, Brassies…. etc….

BEEN AWHILE  since I did a  fishing report.

YAKIMA

The Yakima is in great shape!  We have Skwala adults, Blue Wings and close to March Browns as they are just around the corner.

Both the nymph and dry have been productive.  the streamer here and there as well.

We have been on all stretches and the entire river is fishing good.

Bug selection for the current season

OLYMPIC PENINSULA

As per usual, variable conditions paint the picture……We have had everything from bone chilling cold with record low flows to typical rain driven fluctuations of water volume.

Both bobber fishing and the swing have been productive for us. Tough to land the beasts, but great to find them.

Our best swinging  this season so far  has been with standard floating Skagit’s and T-11…..weighted and un-weighted depending on zone

YAKIMA

The river is LOWWW and CLEAR …. with some ice build up in the lower canyon based on the current cold weather pattern.

GOOD BUG SELECTION FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR

WINTER STEELHEAD

Definitely need some water for our Winter Steelhead rivers….. For sure there are fish around but definitely need a mixer currently.

Looks like we should see a weather pattern change starting next Thursday.  Definitely needed.