SHADOW  – THE HAPPIEST DOG EVER

That was an amazing Blue Wing Olive season from the headwaters to Roza.  Pretty much over now with a sputter here and there. Prior and during the Craneflies were PDG as well. Overall a great season on the Yakima.

Here is the size of it now….

White Fish Spawn  #6-8MM Dirty Yellow

Skwala Stone Fly Nymphs #10-12 Pats Stone in Olive, Black and Olive, Black and Brown

Midge Larvae #18-22 Brassies, WD’s

Bait Fish patterns #4-10  Sparkle minnows, Wolly Buggers, Sculpzilla, Sheila Sculpin,  Bow River Buggers…

YAKIMA

The fishing and catching on the Yakima this fall was reminisce of the good ol’ days. The Blue Wing Olives were PDG.  The bulk of the hatch is waning.  There is still some activity but it has pretty much run its course.

What’s on the menu for the trout now?

Whitefish spawn
Stoneflies
Bait fish and forage fish – Streamers
Midges

YAKIMA

Pretty dang good fishing   …  Blue Wings are pretty much the ticket.  Both on top and under the surface.

Hot bugs include

Nymphs
#16-20 Lightning Bugs, RS2, WD40, PT’s

Dry Flies
#16-18 Royal Parachutes, Para Adams, Purple Haze, Iron Dun Soft Hackles
#18 – 20 Comparadun Sparkle Tails,  Parachute Sparkle Tail, Dark Quill,

Streamers
#4-8 Scilpzilla, Dali LLama

KLICKITAT…

Continues to produce based on numbers. While we aren’t catching a lot of fish, we have generally been rewarded daily +/- few times by some memorable fish:))

Swing tactics have been everything from in the surface to deep.   The near surface activity is most likely to slow down as temperatures cool.

A few Coho starting to show in the system.

GREAT FISHING THIS PAST MONTH…  and just continues.  The entire river is low…

HATCHES
#18 Baetis
# 16 Mahogany Duns
#10 Crane Flies
#8-10 October Caddis
#16 Tan Caddis

HOT PATTERNS
#14-18 Purple Haze
#8-10  Crane Fly
#16-18 PT’s, CDC PT , Lightning Bug, RS2’s,
#4-8 Sculpzilla, Dali LLama, Sheila Sculpin, Sparkle Minnows
#8-12 Chubby, Parachute Madam X, Stimulator in Orange, Purple

YAKIMA

Fishing has been good right through the ‘Flip Flop’  We have low and clear water.  The entire river is fishing.  Some parts of the river are very low and slightly challenging with the drift boat….The easiest solution on those spots is simply to get out and walk the boat through.

Bugs include;
#10 Craneflies
#18 Baetis
#16 Mahogany Duns
#16 Tan Caddis

UPPER COLUMBIA

The river is as low as I have ever seen it at this time of year.  Bugs include, October Caddis, #16 Red Quills,  # 16 Tan Caddis, #16 Fall Cahill

Swing, dry and nymph tactics have all worked:))

KLICKITAT

Finally the Klickitat is seeing a steady  cycle and fishing is reasonable considering the counts over Bonneville. The entire river has fish in it – Both Steelhead and Chinook.  Last year we saw minimal fish up river at this time.  On the contrary, we have fish dispersed throughout the system this year.

YAKIMA

The Yakima River is on it’s nearly dropped… The flip flop. Fishing has been good to great depending on the day. There has been some great dry fly fishing With terrestrials and crane flies. Streamers and nymphs have also been very productive. The entire river has been fishing.  

KLICKITAT

Plain and simple this one has been tough so far. The river has not been in shape enough to fish much and currently it is Willy Wonka gone wild.

Fish counts are  light and variable Over Bonneville dam. However, Klickitat usually gets a pretty good percentage of fish in comparison to other upper Columbia tributaries!

Looking forward to stable water conditions coming our way.

UPPER COLUMBIA

The fishing on the UC has been sporadic but reasonable. Swing tactics have probably been the best technique.

October Caddis are starting to show.  Tough hopper season so far.

YAKIMA

Fishing and catching has been average to good depending on the day.  We have seen some nice fish throughout the system.  Dry flies, nymphs and streamers have all produced

Bugs include
Summer Stones #4-6
Yellow Sallies #14-16
PED’s # 16
Caddis #16-18
Terrestrials

Controlled twitches with the summer Stonefly or Hopper can be enticing for the trout.

Water temps have been a bit marginal in the afternoon, especially down low in the system.  Handle with care.

Tip of the day – The Upper Canyon from State boat launch to the Diversion Dam is almost like another river, especially at this time of year.  Small terrestrials can be key…..For example – #16 Green Leaf Hoppers #16 Red and Black Ants #14-16 Black Beetles  Don’t be afraid to drown the pattern as well.

Nice trout for Westy

Forsythe Crew

KLICKITAT

Recently there has been minimal cycle due to the big heat and the river has been Willie Wonka like.    However,  the weather pattern looks favorable over the net week for a way better cycle.  Although the numbers are not great, there are definitely fish….. In fact reasonable:))