North Washington guide service

YAKIMA

The river is up over the last 5 days due to releases from the Cle Elum reservoir.

The Yakima  Clarity is as follows..

5 ft Upper Proper
6 ft Upper Flatlands
5 ft ft Upper Canyon
5-3 Farmlands
3 ft Lower Canyon

Hatches 
-Mother;s day Caddis
-Salmon Flies
-Salmon Smolt

Just around the corner
-PMD’s
-Drakes
-Golden Stones

Nymphs
Salmon Fly Nymphs
#12-16 Pheasant Tails, Super Caddis
#14 Duracel
#4-6 Sparkle Minnows
#10-12 Prince Nymphs for the active Drake nymphs
#16 Trigger nymph

Dry Flies
#4-8 Salmon Fly Adults – Chubby’s , Glommers etc…
#10-16 Parachute Adams
#12-16 X-Caddis, Egg Layers

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KLICKITAT

The Klickitat is in great shape. It is flowing at 1530CFS at Pitt which is historically lower then normal and will most likely be the case for the season.  This fact does lend itself to a good opener which is the Saturday before Memorial day …May 23!
We will be offering an early season special.

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UPPER COLUMBIA

Hatches are kicking in with Blue Wings and Mother’s day Caddis Caddis.  This time of year is cool because we usually catch a few Brookies during the early season as the one pictured above.  19 inches and heavy.

Tactics include mostly nymphing, wet fly swing

YAKIMA

We had a couple days there last week after the rain that was TOUGH.  The river bumped up in flows and the clarity decreased but the biggest culprit   was the 6 degree drop in water temp  from the release of water out of the  Cle Elum reservoir.  We are back on track now as everything has evened out.

The Yakima  Clarity is as follows..

5 ft Upper Proper
6 ft Upper Flatlands
5 ft ft Upper Canyon
5-3 Farmlands
3 ft Lower Canyon

Hatches 
-Blue Wings
-March Browns
-Salmon Flies
-Salmon Smolt

Just around the corner
-Mother’s day Caddis
-PMD’s
-Drakes

Nymphs
Salmon Fly Nymphs
#12-16 Pheasant Tails
#14 Duracel
#4-6 Sparkle Minnows
#10-12 Prince Nymphs for the active Drake nymphs
#12 Trigger nymph

Dry Flies
#4-8 Salmon Fly Adults – Chubby’s , Glommers etc…
#10-16 Parachute Adams
#10-14 Irressitable Adams
#10-14 March Brown Standard Thorax

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KLICKITAT

The Klickitat is in great shape. It is flowing at 1530CFS at Pitt which is historically lower then normal and will most likely be the case for the season.  This fact does lend itself to a good opener which is the Saturday before Memorial day …May 23!
We will be offering an early season special…..more to follow!

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UPPER COLUMBIA

Hatches are kicking in with Blue Wings and Caddis.  Both are reasonably light currently but the nymphing has been productive.  This time of year is cool because we usually catch a few Brookies during the early season as the one pictured above.  19 inches and heavy.

Sam with his first river and Yakima trout!

The Yakima  Clarity is as follows..

5 ft Upper Proper
6 ft Upper Flatlands
5 ft ft Upper Canyon
5-3 Farmlands
3 ft Lower Canyon

Hatches 
Skwala- waning
Blue Wings
March Bowns

….Just around the corner
Salmon Flies
Caddis

A lot of Salmon fly nymphs moving around currently.  A great nymph combo is a #6 salmon fly nymph (good example in the video below) with a #12-16 CDC Pheasant Tail or even a standard PT.

As far as the dry fly fishing …. A little slow lately.  Being in the right spot at 12:45 – 1:45 for some fish on March Browns is a good idea.  Also a big dry / Chubby type and a dropper.

OLD SALMON FLY NYMPH TRICK

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UPPER COLUMBIA

The upper Columbia has been pretty unpredictable recently. The flows have been a bit erratic and hatches have not been very consistent. Regardless, we have been able to pick up some nice fish as shown above!

Blue wing  olives are pretty much the ticket and we should see the Mother’s Day bloom in the next 3 weeks!

YAKIMA

The Yakima is coming back into shape.  Clarity is as follows..

3 ft Upper Proper
3-4 ft Upper Flatlands
3 ft Upper Canyon
2.5-3 ft Farmlands
2 ft Lower Canyon

We will still see some Skwalas here and there but after 40 years of fishing the river, statistically once we see a blow out during the end of the actual Skwala hatch time frame, typically the hatch becomes less important.

If I were guiding today it would be ‘ Turds and Worms’  aka
Stoneflies and San Juan Worms.  A Streamer here and there, or more,  isn.t a bad idea as well.

Hatches 
Skwala
Blue Wings
March Bowns

….Just around the corner
Salmon Flies
Caddis

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UPPER COLUMBIA

The river is in great condition. Mostly nymphing and swinging currently.  Water temps is 43 degrees.

Light and variable bugs currently.

Blue Wing Olives and Skwala….Caddis, just around the corner.

YAKIMA RIVER

Fishing has been pretty amazing so far this year.  With this warming trend the Yakima is currently WAY out of shape.

Clarity chart

1/2 foot Upper proper
1 foot Upper flatlands
1/2 foot Upper canyon
1/2 foot  Farmlands
3 inches Lower Canyon

…..more to follow

UPPER COLUMBIA

Dang good fishing on this one currently.  No problems when it comes to fluctuations.  The Columbia is a massive watershed and is fed by multiple reservoirs. Basically this means there is a large ‘ cushion ‘ above and it doesn’t really ever blow out. In fact, she is on the drop and will be at its lowest level most likely on the 21st of April.

THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA

The season closes at the end of this month. It has been a bit spotty so far this year but certainly has had some highlights.   We have caught them on the swing and with the bobber.  Fish the way you want.  It is your day:))

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