KLICKITAT   The leaves have definitely been dropping here on the south flank of Mount Adams.  Fall colors, while some brilliant a week ago are less so today.  Interestingly, not only does the region have brilliant Fall colors from the Birch, Aspen, Cottonwood and Maple but it also sports a ‘pastel’ tone from the changing colors of the ‘Oregon Scrub Oak’.

Scrub Oak in pastel tones

Not to sound like a broken record but the fishing has been good. Some days better then others.  The past 2 weeks showed off some big wild fish….up to 18 pounds. I would describe the swing fishing as reliable, with some magical days.  Some days with goooood numbers, some days with ‘sweet comebacks’, some days with awesome toilet bowl skater takes. Probably don’t need to say more.

The nymphing as per usual continues to ‘rope chrome’ as some would say.

Pete with a recent colored up Buck

YAKIMA   The best of ‘Far and Fine’ on the Yakima is the late fall.  The prime time of 1-4 PM with a #18 BWO on light tippet, to rising fish, is clutch.   Can be a bit a bit tough for the newbie;  tough to see and even more tough to present the fly drifting ‘without tension’.

Classic Yakima bow from today

Aside from the far and fine tactics there still are a few fish willing to eat a # 10 October Caddis imitation, although that won’t last long.  The October Caddis is nearly done for the 2015 season. Today high water temp in the Lower Canyon was 52 degrees.  Pretty ‘Doggone’ warm for this time of year.  The upcoming weather shows a definite cool down.  Most likely our water temps will drop towards the normal 46 degree mark soon.

Streamers continue to be a worthy game. Often times the streamer doesn’t bring numbers but quality. Some of the cloudy days lately have offered up some nice trout on a retrieved streamer.

Of course the nymphing can be very good as well. #16-20 RS2 Emergers, PT’s, Lightning Bugs, etc… have been productive

Dry fly leaders should be lengthened to at least 10 feet and a 12 footer is suggested when fishing by foot.

Enjoy the Fall, it is almost over!

YAKIMA

Good to great. 10-4pm has been very reliable

Predominant bugs include;

#18 BWO  1-6 PM
#16 Tan Caddis  10 AM – 1PM
#20-22 Midges  All day
#8-10 October Caddis 4-6:30 PM

Fall colors on the Yakima – Jeremy photo

Top dry fly recently

Never hesitate to fish the soft hackle swing for the Blue Wings.  Pretty much a lost art.  Swinging for steelhead is done everyday but for some reason swinging for trout is less popular; especially during a hatch.

Tactics include;
Dry flies
Nymphs under indicators
Wet flies on the swing
Streamers retrieved.

KLICKITAT

Overall pressure has lightened recently.   Both the nymph and the swing have been productive. Clarity is at 3-3.5 feet depending on time and zone.

Joe was 2 for 3 yesterday!  Fly of choice for Joe was a Cerise and Black Super Muddler with 10 feet of T-11.   We have seen fish on dry lines and light tips recently as well.  The challenge with the SKATER is for them to actually stick, when they eat it!  2 days ago we had a fish show on a big waker and it was almost a tidal wave in  the fish’s effort to encounter the bug. Never felt or saw him/her again. CRAZY.

Salmon are close to be in the full on spawn mode and the Coho are starting to trickle in.

Joe with a sweet hen – CJ photo

THE RIVER continues to produce and as posted in earlier reports, some days are more productive then others.   Some big steelhead caught recently utilizing multiple tactics including…

-Skaters
-Dry lines with damp and weighted flies
-Sink tips
-Nymphs

River pressure continues to be high even with the Methow and hunting season opener. There are fish through out the system;  From bottom to top.

Tom Grainger and a nooiiiccee hen

Mike, Andy and Kevin with a big buck

It is hard to keep up at this time of year…

The best searcher pattern lately for the Blue Wing and Mohagany Duns is the  #16 Parachute Adams. Remarkable, isn’t it – a generic pattern that is tried and true.  Other wise the best of the Fall bugs continues to make for some great fishing.

Yakima riverside.

Rick, Getting it done!

Rick Matsen with a sweet hen from yesterday.

UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER –   Fishing has been goooood.  A myriad of techniques have been used but the dry fly has certainly been worthy.  We are hosting the boys from Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures currently and they are enjoying their stay.  We are getting close to the end of our season up there and looking forward to 2016:))

Upper Columbia Bow from today – Bryan Gregson photo.

Crazy busy for us and sorry for the delay on reports; Here we go…..

Upper Columbia has turned on to some good to great fishing.  A myriad of techniques of the usual fare have proven worthy on duping the trout. Dry flies, droppers, nymphing, swinging and stripping have been worthy tactics. Beautiful weather recently, ample wildlife and some nice trout have made for some awesome days…

Best Streamer – #6  Dali LLama
Best Dry Fly –  #12 Para Adams
Best Nymph – #10 Catch All

Mr Puthoff with a UC Bow

The Klickitat, while as busy as I have ever seen it, is still producing; some days hotter then others. The nymphing has been sporadic but good and the swing fishing has definitely been worthy.  The water is low and over the last three days, ‘Steelhead Green’, in color.  Based on the weather, it will most likely get clearer.

Swing tactics have included dry lines and medium to light tips.  Nymph tactics have included Stones and egg patterns.

Rick Matsen, ‘Getting It Done’

Fall Water – Joe Donsky

The Yakima has been ‘Lights Out Good’ with little pressure.  There are so many things to do in the Fall !  Regardless,  the best of the food sources are listed below in other recent Yakima reports….
See below for more in depth on the Yakima!

The Yakima is fishing fabulous.  Predominant food sources include the
1) Salmon spawn ( specifically in the Upper Proper and the the Upper Flatlands
2) Baetis throughout the system… the Lower Canyon has seen some good to great risefests lately
3) Cranefly adults and the opportunistic trout eating them
4) Fall Cahill

Trout are creatures of habit.  If you are fishing a dry fly in a hatch , generally the imitation needs to be ‘ drag free’. If getting a drag free drift is unattainable, then utilize the wet fly swing.

Positioning yourself according to what technique is being used,  is critical. Angler position is a very important factor of fishing. Regardless of how accomplished a caster you are and how many specialty presentation casts you can perform, positioning yourself for the water you are going to fish is a primary technique. In fact depending on which type of presentation cast is going to be used in the attempt depends on what position you take to make the cast.

If you chose to fish a wet fly swing it is imperative that you are quartering downstream.

In both dry fly and nymph fishing “getting as close to the target” as the water type and situation allows is always recommended. Positioning (Quartering up, Quartering down, Direct 90 degrees, etc….) depends on where the target is and what type of cast is going to be used.

Just some food for thought!

THE UPPER COLUMBIA catching has kicked into gear.  We had a slow start but the fishing has certainly picked up recently.

Big Upper Columbia resident bow for the Davidson party

Fall Caddis Soft Hackle by The Professor

Fall Caddis

Lot’s of wildlife out and about mostly coming down to the river for water as it is sparse up in the hills. 

This little guy or gal (bear cub) swam across the Columbia river and proceeded to lumber up towards the lodge and climbed a tree to get a better look inside our place, I guess?  Photo taken from the deck at Black Bear Lodge….

Seems apropos!

THE KLICKITAT has been average to great depending on the day.  Steelhead fishing is all relative….If we boil a fish on a skater I think it is a great day, especially if we get him to come back just subsurface – This happened just the other day.

Best skater recently – “Little Gurgler”

Best subsurface swing bugs lately – Hobo Spey

Best tip lately – 3.9 IPS sinking leader

The nymphing has been average to great.  I hate to quote numbers, but the stats can go way up with the nymphing.

Best nymphs recently –

Hot headed stone

The Bead

Jim Jr and Sr with a nice Klickitat Buck

Jack and Craig with a nice Klick buck

THE YAKIMA has been fishing goooood. A variety of techniques have proven successful including streamers, nymphing and the dry fly; The dry fly being the lightest producer in numbers for us lately.  The Salmon spawn is happening in the upper river and can produce a ‘Little Alaska’ style fishing for the next week or so.

Water temps are golden!  Remember as the fall progresses, the smaller bugs start to prevail!

Yakima hook-up

Yakima double