The fall fishing on the Yakima has been great!   Less pressure from anglers, and cloudier skies are making for some fantastic opportunities. October Caddis are active and many have been spotted in the in the Farmlands and further up river lately. Small BWO and Cahills #18 having been popping in the Lower Canyon.  Blue Wing hatches have been heavy on cloudy days with intermittent showers.  There have been some larger mayflies here and there,  #16 in size… ‘Mahogany Duns’.  On clear days the fishing heats up in late mornings and tapers off in late afternoon.  The falling barometer lately has been good lately producing good to great mayflies.

Fish can be caught on top of course, when the fish are rising.  Searching with dry flies has been ok at best.  The dry fly game has been best when matching the hatch and the fish are up.

Nymphing has been steady to great with a myriad of patterns but typically the #18 variety with Blue Wing Olive ‘look alikes’ being some of the best.

Streamer fishing has been average to good, but watch for this to be  ‘more goooood’   as the bugs dwindle in late November.

‘Expired Sculpin’

The Klickitat’s clarity is surprisingly good – 2.5 feet!  So much for my prediction. We should not have cancelled our guests as the fishing was worthy.

The river clarity went by the wayside today due to quite a bit of rain and the recent snow melting on the mountain.  We predict it to be back in shape about Wednesday – Will keep you updated.

Fishing remains solid and predictable on the Yakima right now.  Small Mayfly nymphs in the 16-20 size range and some dry fly fishing mid and upriver makes up the game…

Best time to be on the water lately – 11AM to 4PM

Recent honorable mention

WD-40 in Olive

Great year on the UC – The below picture says it all.  While the fishing still remains worthy, we have tightened up the hatches on Black Bear lodge.  For those interested in the 2015 season….We are now scheduling for prime times;

The first being March 24-April 7!

The river is lower than normal for this time of year. Currently the flows at Pitt are 668 – usually at 725. While that doesn’t seem like a big difference, it is noticeable on a high gradient river.  It appears that there are not near the amount of salmon as predicted.  The pressure, although heavy, has lightened a bit recently.  The overall weather has been awesome with warmer than normal air temps. 

Continuing to fish good with both the swung fly and nymph.  To catch fish on the swing you must put your time in.  Just because you swing one run without a fish doesn’t mean that the swinging is not good.  Regardless, both dry line and tips have been worthy when fished.  The entire river is fishing….From top to bottom. Lots of pressure on the watershed – The most I have ever seen.

Of course, the egg pattern has been effective for the nymph.