The weather for the next few days is going to be pretty hard to beat, and the fishing has been great! The Yakima River through Cle Elum has remained low and clear, and below the Teanaway there’s still some color, but it’s very fishable and it’s even on the drop. There are still a few Skwala’s hanging around, and we should see March Browns starting to hatch with this warmer weather, although we haven’t seen much consistency with them yet.
As usual, nymphing has been the most effective. Stone’s, Pheasant Tails, jigged nymphs and worms have been the most consistent, and swung streamers have been picking off a few nice fish as well. Stick to riffles, seams and inside corners, and take your time to cover water and pick apart anything that looks good.
We also just got some great new products in at the shop including great new jigged patterns from Fulling Mill and Montana Fly Co. to imitate March Brown nymphs, as well as everything you need to get started with euro nymphing! Leaders, sighter tippet, tippet rings, flies, rods, reels and lines are now all in shop! Inventory has been tough this year with the companies still recovering from COVID, so get set up while you can!
We’ve been getting a lot of calls asking for the best float for this weekend, and with the water levels we’re currently seeing the best answer is to float wherever you feel most confident. Fishing has been consistent from Cle Elum all the way down the canyon, so don’t worry about one stretch being better than the other. Just remember that the stretches above Cle Elum have a few log jams, so we recommend only doing them in a small raft since they require some portages.
Flies
Dries
Although the Skwala action is slowing down, there are still a few flying around and a few fish looking up. The water temperatures are also slowly rising, so we should see some March Brown action soon. It’s always best to stay ready and have some on you just in case.
1.) Parachute Adams – Size 12-16
2.) Purple Haze – Size 12-16
3.) Western March Brown – 12-16
4.) Water Walker Skwala – Size 8-12
5.) Fat Freddy Swkala – Size 10-12
6.) Catch’s Skwala – Size 8-12
Nymphs
Stones and worms are always great this time of year, and it’s great to have a nice variety of both. Pink and reds for worms, and they haven’t been too picky about the stones. We’ve mostly been fishing the extended body and pats stones, and they haven’t been too picky about the color.
1.) Extended Body Golden – Size 8-10
2.) Tungsten Pat’s Stone – Size 6-12
3.) Pat’s Stone – Size 6-12
4.) Double Beaded Stone – Size 6-12
5.) Squirmy Worm – Size 10-12
6.) Tungsten Squirmy – Size 10-12
7.) San Juan Worm – Size 8
As far as smaller nymphs go, jigs are always our go-to throughout the year but any large pheasant tails are a great imitation of a March Brown nymph. Although it’s just a mayfly, they do get pretty large and can be imitated well in size 12-8’s.
1.) Quasimodo – Size 12-16
2.) Flashback Pheasant Tail – Size 10-14
3.) Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail Jig – Size 10
4.) CDC Jigged Pheasant Tail – Size 8-15
5.) Spring Quill – Size 14-16
6.) Red Tag Jig – Size 12-16
Streamers
Streamers have been picking off some big fish lately, especially swung with a slow strip. We have a great new selection of streamer lines in from Scientific Anglers, as well as their Sonar sink tips which are great to throw on to your single hand floating line to help get streamers a little deeper.
1.) CDC Squirrel Leech – Olive, Black – Size 8-10
2.) Sparkle Minnow – Olive, Sculpin, Pearl and Black – Size 4-8
3.) Dali Llama – White, Black/White, Olive/White, Olive/Black – Size 6
4.) “The One” Sculpin – Olive, Natural, Black – Size 4
We still have more great new products coming in to the shop, stay posted on our Instagram (@troutwater.fly.shop) to see new products as they come in to the shop. Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about the river, or if you want to book a trip. If you’re planning out your Summer days, now is a great time to get booked to ensure you get those prime dates from Summer Hopper action! Hope everyone has a great weekend on the water!