We’ve had some beautiful days here in Cle Elum even though things are starting to cool off. Even though its getting cooler, the bright side is that we’ve had some great October Caddis and Blue Winged Olive action on the surface. Fish have also been eating sculpins, and euro-nymphing has been very effective.
The best time of day to fish has been in the late afternoon when it’s the warmest, but there has also been some great October Caddis action right before dark. We like throwing chubby chernobyls, gypsy kings and stimulators to imitate them. Don’t forget to twitch them around, sometimes its best to just take off the dropper for the best presentation.
Flies
Dries
Big dries like the gypsy king and chubbies have been a great searching pattern, especially with a dropper. If you see fish slurping small bugs it’s best to throw the blue winged olive.
1.) Chubby Chernobyl – Peach, Golden, Royal – Size 8-10
2.) Parachute Madam X – Peacock, Royal – Size 6-12
3.) Pete’s CDC Golden – Size 12-10
4.) Gypsy King – Orange, Natural Golden, Royal – Size 6-12
4.) Gypsy King – Orange, Natural Golden, Royal – Size 6-12
5.) BWO Sparkle Dun – Size 16-18
6.) Purple Haze – Size 14-18
7.) Hi-vis BWO – Size 14-18
Nymphs
Although the dry-dropper has been our go-to set up, nymphing an October Caddis pupa with a small jig has also been very effective. We tend to keep these pretty shallow, but play with depth in every run to find the fish.
1.) Jigged Golden – Size 10
2.) Anderson’s Bird of Prey – October Caddis – Size 8-12
3.) CDC Jigged Pheasant Tail – Size 14-18
4.) Quasimodo – Size 14-18
5.) Beadhead FB Pheasant Tail – Size 14-18
6.) CDC Red Tag Jig – Size 14 – 18
7.) Spanish Bullet – Size 12-18
8.) Napoleon – Brown – Size 14-18
Streamers
This is a great time of year to bust out the trout spey and swing some smaller natural bugs. Muddlers and sculpzillas tend to be the go-to this time of year, just make sure you cover a lot of water.
1.) Sculpzilla – Tan, Olive, Black – Size 4-8
2.) Zoo Cougar – Size 4
3.) Muddler Bugger – Size 8
4.) Muddler Minnow – Size 6-10
5.) Muddler Minnow – Orange – Size 8-10
As usual, give the shop a call with any questions you might have!