The trout fishing in Washington is fired up!!!

YAKIMA

THERE IS A PARTIAL BLOCKAGE in the Farmlands …Please refer to the last report for images

CLARITY REPORT

UPPER PROPER  – 6 Feet
UPPER FLATLANDS – 7 FEET
UPPER CANYON – 7 to 5 FEET
FARMLANDS – 5 to 3 FEET
LOWER CANYON – 2 FEET

INSECTS AND FOOD SOURCES

PMD’s
Baetis
Caddis
Worms
Salmon Smolt
Salmon Fly Nymphs
Carpenter Ants
Golden Stones
Green Drakes

FLIES  DE JOUR

Under the surface

1. #14 PT Jig head CDC

2. #4-6 Pats Stone –  Orange and Black

3. #14 Hares Ear Soft Hackle

4. #8 Dali Llama

5. # 4-8 Sparkle Minnow

6. #10-12 San Juan

7. #12-16  Prince

8. #16 PMD Hot Spot nymph

Dry Flies

1. #12 Black Carpenter ant

2. #14 Egg laying Caddis

3. #8 Golden Stone

4. #14 Purple haze

5. #14-16 Quigley PMD

6. #14-16 Yellow Humpy

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UPPER COLUMBIA

Fishing has been all over the board but certainly worthy.  Not much dry fly action lately .  PMD’s, Baetis and Caddis are the predominant bugs.  Water clarity is at about 6 feet and the river is in great condition.

**UPDATE -The river flows have increased by 1000cfs as a direct release out of the Cle Elum .reservoir.  Clarity has remained good throughout the system. Water temps have dropped slightly.

There is a ‘Partial Blockage’ in the Farmlands

CLARITY REPORT

UPPER PROPER  – 6 Feet
UPPER FLATLANDS – 7 FEET
UPPER CANYON – 7 to 5 FEET
FARMLANDS – 5 to 3 FEET
LOWER CANYON – 2 FEET

INSECTS AND FOOD SOURCES

PMD’s
Baetis
Caddis
Worms
Salmon Smolt
Salmon Fly Nymphs
Carpenter Ants
Golden Stones
Green Drakes

FLIES  DE JOUR

Under the surface

1. #14 PT Jig head CDC

2. #4-6 Pats Stone –  Orange and Black

3. #14 Hares Ear Soft Hackle

4. #8 Dali Llama

5. # 4-8 Sparkle Minnow

6. #10-12 San Juan

7. #12-16  Prince

8. #16 PMD Hot Spot nymph

Dry Flies

1. #12 Black Carpenter ant

2. #14 Egg laying Caddis

3. #8 Golden Stone

4. #14 Purple haze

5. #14-16 Quigley PMD

6. #14-16 Yellow Humpy

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SMALLMOUTH –  THE LOWER YAKIMA

‘Enfuego’

Both subsurface and topwater tactics have been effective.  Mostly dry line  for subsurface tactics utilizing a variety of patterns

YAKIMA
The fishing has been good on the river. The river seems to be lower than normal…..Maybe this is the new normal?  No reference to politics.  Clear water above the Lower Canyon and ‘Less than clear’ down low.

CLARITY REPORT

UPPER PROPER  – 6 Feet
UPPER FLATLANDS – 7 FEET
UPPER CANYON – 7 to 5 FEET
FARMLANDS – 5 to 3 FEET
LOWER CANYON – 2 FEET

INSECTS AND FOOD SOURCES

PMD’s
Baetis
Caddis
Worms
Salmon Smolt
Salmon Fly Nymphs
Carpenter Ants
Golden Stones
Green Drakes

FLIES  DE JOUR

Under the surface

1. #14 PT Jig head CDC

2. #4-6 Pats Stone –  Orange and Black

3. #14 Hares Ear Soft Hackle

4. #8 Dali Llama

5. # 4-8 Sparkle Minnow

6. #10-12 San Juan

7. #12-16  Prince

8. #16 PMD Hot Spot nymph

Dry Flies

1. #12 Black Carpenter ant

2. #14 Egg laying Caddis

3. #8 Golden Stone

4. #14 Purple haze

5. #14-16 Quigley PMD

6. #14-16 Yellow Humpy

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UPPER COLUMBIA

Little rough lately…. minimal bug activity plus we had a major blowout.  River is back in good condition.

BUGS
Baetis
Caddis
PMD’s
Carpenter Ants

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Klickitat

Is in GREAT shape…not many steelies yet over Bonneville.  Regardless fish have been caught .  We have not been on the

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OTHER  –

Some good Smallmouth lately….Mainly a topwater approach for us; Why not!

YAKIMA
The fishing has been good on the river. Water temps have dropped because of cold water releases out of the Cle Elum reservoir.   Clarity is a bit less then the last report but still fish worthy throughout.

CLARITY REPORT

UPPER PROPER  – 4 FEET
UPPER FLATLANDS – 5 FEET
UPPER CANYON – 4 FEET
FARMLANDS – 4 TO 2 FEET
LOWER CANYON – 1.5  FEET

INSECTS AND FOOD SOURCES

PMD’s
Baetis
Caddis
Worms
Salmon Smolt
Salmon Fly Nymphs
Carpenter Ants
Golden Stones
Green Drakes

FLIES  DE JOUR

Nymphs

1. #14 PT Jig head CDC

2. #4-6 Pats Stone –  Orange and Black

3. #14 Hares Ear Soft Hackle

4. #8 Dali Llama

5. # 4-8 Sparkle Minnow

6. #10-12 San Juan

7. #12-16  Prince

8. #16 PMD trigger nymph

Dry Flies

1. #12 Black Carpenter ant

2. #14 Egg laying Caddis

3. #8 Golden Stone

4. #14 Purple haze

5. #14-16 Quigley PMD

6. #14-16 Yellow Humpy

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UPPER COLUMBIA

This one has been fishing good. Mostly subsurface with some intermittent  dry fly and soft hackle activity.

Water levels are typical for this time of year and the clarity is at 5 feet. Going to be a big water season as we can still see snow at the 4K mark in the  Kootenay  mountains.  Water temps dropped here the other day due to cold water releases as well.

BUGS
Baetis
Caddis
Carpenter Ants

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Klickitat

Is in good shape…not many steelies yet.

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OTHER  –

Some good Smallmouth and Carp fishing lately…No complaints!

CARP – Most of our Carp fishing has been sub surface….Clam patterns.  Some dry fly opportunities have offered themselves, but for the most part it has been subsurface so far.

Tip of the day – Remember if you feel them take, you are to late.

SMALLIES – Getting some good top water in on some of our favorite places.

The lower Yakima will most likely be out of shape starting tomorrow .

YAKIMA

The fishing has been fabulous on the river from top to bottom.  The river remains in great condition for this time of year

CLARITY REPORT

UPPER PROPER  – 5 FEET
UPPER FLATLANDS – 6 FEET
UPPER CANYON – 5 FEET
FARMLANDS – 5 TO 3 FEET
LOWER CANYON – 2 FEET

INSECTS AND FOOD SOURCES

March Browns are on their way out
PMD’s are on their way in:))
Baetis
Caddis
Worms
Salmon Smolt
Salmon Fly Nymphs
Carpenter Ants

FLIES  DE JOUR

Nymphs

1. #14 PT Jig head CDC

2. #4-6 Pats Stone –  Orange and Black

3. #14 Hares Ear Soft Hackle

4. #8 Dali Llama

5. # 4-8 Sparkle Minnow

6. #10-12 San Juan

7. #12-16  Prince

8. #16 PMD trigger nymph

Dry Flies

1. #14Quigley March Brown

2. #12 Black Carpenter ant

3. #14 Egg laying Caddis

4. #10 Skwala

5. #14 Purple haze

6. #14-16 Quigley PMD

7. #14-16 Yellow Humpy

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UPPER COLUMBIA

This one has been fishing good  as well depending on the day. Mostly subsurface with some intermittent  dry fly activity.

Water levels are typical for this time aof year and the clarity good….

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Klickitat

The Klickitat opens June 1 and the clarity is good currently with about an overall 3 feet of visibility.  Barring any major heat wave the river should be good for the opener.

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OTHER  –  Lots of other target fish now days….

While at The Steelhead Ranch or scheduling specifically on its own, we can  fish for Smallmouth Bass, Carp, Trout, Shad, World class Sturgeon(conventional tackle)

In addition we provide Scenic River Floats for the non-angler.

Buddies, serious angling, company off sites, family getaways – Let us know, we will make it so!

The river is in amazing shape. Some isolated dry fly fishing for sure.  Searching with the dry fly has been OK at best, but there are certainly some fish looking for March Browns and the like specifically between 1-3 pm.

Make sure to stop by the shop and pick up supplies at our ‘Covid Friendly Drive Thru’  Did I just say that?

We will most like see a bump in river flows this coming weekend  due to some warmer weather but it appears the weather will be cooling down next week  according to Mr Weather.  Barring any major heat wave the 2020 run off should be reasonable and we will most likely be able to fish through it, with a slight hick up here and there.

CLARITY REPORT

UPPER PROPER  – 5 FEET
UPPER FLATLANDS – 6 FEET
UPPER CANYON – 5 FEET
FARMLANDS – 5 TO 3 FEET
LOWER CANYON – 2 FEET

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INSECTS AND FOOD SOURCES

March Browns
Baetis
Caddis
Worms
Salmon Smolt
Salmon Fly Nymphs
Carpenter Ants

FLIES  DE JOUR

Nymphs

1. #14 PT Jig head CDC
2. #4-6 Pats Stone –  Orange and Black
3. #14 Hares Ear Soft Hackle
4. #8 Dali Llama
5. # 4-8 Sparkle Minnow
6. #10-12 San Juan
7. #12-16  Prince

Dry Flies

1. #14Quigley March Brown
2. #12 Black Carpenter ant
3. #14 Egg laying Caddis
4. #10 Skwala
5. #14 Purple haze

The river is in EXCELENT Shape

CLARITY REPORT

UPPER PROPER  – 5 FEET
UPPER FLATLANDS – 6 FEET
UPPER CANYON – 5 FEET
FARMLANDS – 5 TO 3 FEET
LOWER CANYON – 2 FEET

Refer to the last report regarding bugs / flies etc…..

Let’s get back to ‘Normal’ and currently  being referenced as the ‘New Normal’  where fluidity won’t be as simple.

If above is the case….*’Hydrotherapy’ is in order and just around the corner.

• Hydrotherapy   – The relaxation and insight gathered while waterside. Term spawned by Jay Virnoche and  part of the Guidespeak dictionary

Water levels on the Yakima have been fluctuating and up quite a bit lately with the warmer weather and some of the precipitation. Between now and stabilization (somewhere in mid to late June) the river will be up and down based on run-off and dam releases. Ther is going to be some GREAT fishing in this time frame…There is also going to be some tough fishing

Current Clarity Chart

Upper Proper   2-3 feet
Upper Flatlands   3 feet
Upper Canyon    2-3 feet
Farmlands   2-1 feet
Lower Canyon   1 foot

Yakima river hatches currently include

1. March Browns #

2. Blue Wing Olives

3. Caddis

DRIVE THRU ACCESS

We know your time is valuable. In addition, with the Covid restrictions we have opened our drive thru so those who are in a hurry and want to keep themselves isolated can pick up tackle with out leaving their vehicle.

We have protective plexiglass and a hand sanitizer station in store as well.

Just around the corner…
Mother’s Day Caddis #14
Salmon Flies #4
PMD’s # 16
Golden Stones #6
Green Drakes #10-12

HATCH CHART

REPORTS PRIOR TO CLOSURE

YAKIMA

Amazing early season for our home water. Lots of big fish with good Skwala Stoneflies, Blue Wing Olives and March Browns.   The dry fly fishing was very good on select days.

Assuming the river opens back up soon, the bugs of choice will include

March Browns
Blue Wing Olives
Caddis
Salmon Fly Nymphs
Salmon Smolt patterns

OLYMPIC PENINSULA

As things were getting shut down the Olympic Peninsula was getting a much needed freshet.   All said and done, the winter steelhead season was pretty good; just cut short. We look forward to next year…. FYI – We are currently 1/2 full for 2021

UPPER COLUMBIA

The river is in super shape and we are looking forward to our hatch season, just around the corner

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Well,  who would have thought this pandemic and the state of affairs would be the case for us in 2020.   We hope all are fairing as best can be expected.  Some great people in our communties are lending a helping hand where needed;  That is America!     ‘We are our brothers keepers’ an age old saying a good friend delights in quoting.  The humanatarian part if this debacle is refreshing.  Sure, there is some of the opposite, but I prefer to focus on what is positive.  The old cliche, ‘This too shall pass’ comes to mind at this juncture and I think we all look forward to that time.

The govener just ordered the ‘stay in place’ until May 4 and along with that all river closed to fishing.

So with that,  our shop and lodging operations have been closed since the mandate and we are hunkering down as required and needed.

I did sneak out to swing a fly on a new river. I took my pop up camper and social distanced to a place I had never been which makes my river journeys near the 200 mark.  Rivers, they are the arteries of the earth and as with most of you, I have an affinity for them.

The two days were spent on a rugged river in southern Oregon with a high air temp of 57 degrees.  Possibly the most ‘wicked’ wading I have ever done. Beautiful country. After fishing, I followed the artery to its headwaters high in the Cascade mountains where there was at least 5 feet of snow on the ground and a ‘face on’ snow blizzard.

Nothing quite like being on or near the water. Food for the soul.

Oh I forgot to mention,  I fished a black and blue muddler, a 3 inch per second sinking leader behind a 45 foot head  on the old 7136 Sage Brownie.

I tossed her at about 90 degrees across from me and then brought my tip to the downstream bank….No mends were made.   I was rewarded with 3 fish to hand and quite a few other grabs in the two days.   One particular fish I will never forget.  She was about 8 pounds, nickel bright for being 50 plus miles from the salt and she was in the air more than in the water.

#arteriesoftheearth #nomendenitis #washington #twohanders

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Amidst the current situation, the trout and steelhead are happy and fishing remains good …… probably the finest SD anyone could ask for!

YAKIMA

It was a beautiful day on the #yakiamariver, we got to practice our #socialdistancing and catch a few fish. #skwalas & #marchbrowns are working well on top in the afternoon. Mayfly and stonefly nymphs before the hatch, emergers and dries during. #openspaces #nature

UPPER COLUMBIA

Swingtime with some nymph fishing here and there.  Utilize varioussink rates based on depth, flow and mood of the fish.

Streamers…

OLYMPIC PENINSULA

Sunshine and Steelhead lately.  Lots of sunshine and a few fish:)))

Swing tactics and nymphing…..