Weather and fishing on the Yakima has been awesome lately with most of our fishing being done on the surface with big dries! The small creeks have been fishing great as well, but make sure you grab a stream thermometer and keep an eye on water temps. As water gets above the low 60’s it’s time to stop fishing, the high temps mean less oxygen in the water and even though we catch and release, just fighting the fish can be enough to exhaust them to death.

Yakima River

The river is still at “summer time” flows and tough to wade, but there’s still some opportunities to wade on the upper river above the confluence of the Cle Elum River, where water has remained low. Again, please keep an eye on water temps during the day to ensure that fish are released strong and healthy, but the fishing has been great in the early mornings and evenings.

If you’re floating the river, the upper river has been fishing great! Our guides have been able to throw hoppers on the upper river all day, hitting the banks being the best tactic. Our favorite flies have been Gypsy Kings, Chubby Chernobyl’s, Hopper Dave’s, Flat Wing Stone’s and Charlie Boy Hoppers, anywhere from a size 6 to a size 12, and don’t be afraid to cast those bigger bugs!

For a dropper, any sort of pheasant tail, prince nymph, hare’s ear, copper john  or lightning bug has been the best, they really haven’t been too picky about the droppers and most of our action for big fish has been on the surface. We also recommend fishing a double dry, with a big and a small hopper, yellow sally, or PMD. A size 14 hopper can be a great way to find some really big fish during these warmer days.

If you get bored of catching fish on dries then streamers have been a great way to find some big fish right now! We haven’t found a streamer that we like best, but just something with some flash and movement has been finding a few big fish a day.

Small Creeks

All the small Yakima tributaries have been fishing great! Creeks like Taneum, Teanaway and the Upper Cle Elum have been fishing great for small trout on little dry flies. These fish tend to eat just about anything that can fit in their mouth, so we recommend small foamy bugs that will float well and are easy to skate around. Again, keep water temps in mind, and maybe take a break from fishing during the middle of the day until things start to cool off a little more.

Please note:

We are currently operating the shop with walk up, call ahead and curbside services to ensure the safety of our employees and customers, but the guide service and shuttle service are still available! Give us a call to book a trip, or to set up curbside pickup for whatever you need!

If you would like to book a trip or have any questions about fishing, feel free to give us call at (509)674-2144