The river has been on the drop this week and the entire river is fishable! Even though it’s a bit higher, the clarity is still great and the river isn’t too high to wade. Nymphing has been the way to go, but we have been seeing some salmon flies and caddis on the surface. Because of this, fish have been chowing down on caddis nymphs, as well as big stonefly nymphs, with a little bit if caddis dry action in the middle of the day. We have a great new selection of caddis nymphs and dries that have been finding fish, so come check them out!
Although we never tend to get much for fish eating salmon flies on the surface, we do get a lot of action with the nymphs. Not only are fish munching on salmon fly nymphs, but golden stone nymphs are also on the move so make sure you always have a wide variety of stonefly nymphs to throw throughout the day. Bigger sizes have been great, especially size 6’s in the TJ Hooker’s and Pat’s Rubberlegs.
Not only has nymphing been great, but it’s also a great time to throw some streamers. Salmon smolts are making their way back down to the Columbia and the big fish have been on notice. Anything thats white, gray, olive and flashy has been great. Fish them with a sink tip, under an indicator, or with trout spey. Don’t forget to cover as much water as possible when streamer fishing. If you stay in one place for a while and aren’t finding any fish, best bet is to try a nymph through the same run or just move on to the next one.
Flies
Nymphs
Stonefly nymphs are the go-to lately, but fish are also still eating a ton of worms, especially with the little bit of color we still have in the water. Fish them through fast riffles, inside corners, seams and structure under an indicator, only use split-shot if you need to.
1.) TJ Hooker – Black, Coffee/Black, Tan/Brown – Size 6-10
2.) Double Beaded Stone – Black, Peacock – Size 4-8
3.) Tungsten Pat’s Stone – Black, Coffee/Black, Tan/Brown – Size 6 – 12
4.) Tungstone – Black – Size 6
5.) Squirmy Worm – Pink, Red – Size 10-12
6.) Pearl Core Worm – Red – Size 8
7.) Tungsten Jigged Squirmy – Pink, Red – Size 12-14
As for smaller nymphs, our new selection of caddis nymphs have been very effective. Still fishing them under a stone, they’ve been most effective in the shallow and fast riffles and inside corners, but will also be effective fished shallow or under a dry where you see fish sticking close to the surface and eating emergers or dries.
1.) (NEW) Barbless Grannom Pupa – Size 12-14
2.) (NEW) Thrift Shop Caddis – Size 14-16
3.) (NEW) Good -n – Plenty – Olive – Size 14-16
4.)(NEW) Formerly Known as Prince – Red – Size 14-16
5.) Zug Bug – Size 12-16
6.) Peeping Caddis – Bright Green, Cream – Size 12-14
7.) Duracell – Size 12-16
8.) Frenchie Bomb – Size 16
9.) Quasimodo – Size 12 – 16
Streamers
As I mentioned before, this is a great time of year for streamers. We have a great selection of sink tip lines and leaders to help you get them down and fish them effectively. Fish them on the swing with a random strip, or fish them under an indicator with a little bit of drag in it.
1.) Zonker – Olive, White – Size 4-6
2.) Dali Llama – White, Olive/White, Black/White – Size 6
3.) Sparkle Minnow – Pearl/Gold, Olive, Sculpin – Size 8-4
4.) Baby Whitefish – Size 4
Dries
Caddis and March Browns have been the most consistent dry fly action lately, and althugh we don’t get a ton of action with salmon flies on the surface they are very helpful in presenting a caddis emerger or other small nymph to fish sitting in shallow water.
1.) Fat Freddy Salmonfly – Size 4-6
2.) Bjorn’s Kamikaze Salmonfly – Size 6
3.) Supafly Salmonfly – Size 6-8
4.) March Brown – Size 12-16
5.) March Brown Cripple – Size 14-16
6.) EC Caddis -Olive/Tan, Olive/Brown – Size 12-16
7.) X-Caddis – Olive – Size 12-16
8.) Parachute Partridge Caddis – Olive – Size 14-16
9.) Royal Elk Hair Caddis – Size 14-16
If you’re looking to wade the Yakima now is the time. In a few weeks we’ll see the water starting to rise up to its Summer levels and wading will get pretty rough. Thankfully, the small creeks and tributaries will be open to fish starting the Saturday before Memorial Day and are a great option for wading when the Yakima gets high. We have some great 3 and 4wt rods in stock, as well as some awesome euro nymphing set ups that are very effective for those small creeks.
If you’re looking to get a guide trip for this Summer, now is a great time to book your trip. We’ve been having Summer days filling up, so don’t miss your chance to throw hopper droppers in shorts and sandals. As usual, give us a call with any questions you have or if you would like to book a trip!