new blog2

NEW Blog and Fishing Report Location Hey everyone, thanks so much for following the blog here for so long.  As many of you know, historically this was the #1 Yakima River Fishing Report blog for a long time!  We took our foot off the gas over the past...

Crane Flies and Terrestrials Hopper

        View this post on Instagram                    ...

thunder thighs hopper in rainbow trout

The fishing has been fabulous.  Big swift water during the heat of summer is a unique blessing that the Yakima River posesses, and it flows like no other western river. It's at this point in the summer however that the reservoirs feeding the Yakima River begin to get lower, warm...

Summer Stonefly Patterns for the Yakima River

The river is high, swift, and giving the trout escapment and reprieve from 100+ degree heat and the peak of the summer fishing pressure.  As many of you know, the Yakima River is a "flip flop" river and as a tailwater that feeds agriculture it runs very high during the...

Joe Rotter High Stick Nymphing Watermaster Yakima Canyon

The high water flows of summer that make the Yakima River unique are here to stay. The water is up, but clear and stable.  Thank goodness we get LOTS of water during the summer, as the heat wave underway is going to be hard on fish in some of the...

Lady Fly Fishing on a Guided Yakima River Trip

The cooler weather has the river in pristine condition with low and clear flows! We are seeing Golden Stoneflies, PMD's, Caddis, and a few Salmon Flies are still kicking around. As the river drops, the trout are likely to begin looking for dry flies as many of the spring food...

Super Simple Nymph Rig Diagram Tip Topper

Before you scroll down and click the video, consider these thoughts. Your setup should be a joy to fish and cast, this rig does, and in order for you to get good at drifting and presenting a fly you need REPS.  Many reps.  Lots of casts, thousands of drifts.  An...

PMD Mayfly

The Yakima is in great shape, and looks like it is going to stay that way for the next 5-7 days. The weather looks decent, with some wind but no major rainstorms or enough heat to muddy things up. Plan your trip here with confidence this week! Changing...

Caddis Hatch Drift Boat Yakima Canyon

The hatch continues.... big emergence of Caddis over the weekend spurred by 90 degree heat actually made for some tougher dry fly fishing. We really had to hunt for very sneaky risers tight the shore in the shadows. The PMD (Pale Morning Dun) hatch has been consistent each day and...

Mother's Day Caddis Hatch Yakima Canyon

The Mother's Day Hatch blew its lid yesterday, and conditions are excellent!         View this post on Instagram        ...

Salmon Fly Hatching and Caddis Riding On Top

While we wait for the Mother's Day Caddis hatch to absolutely blow up, which should happen in the next 2 weeks the Salmon Fly Nymphs are currently migrating toward shore to hatch.  These big nymphs live in swift water and crawl out onto the shore at night, undergo a metamorphosis...

Joe Rotter Hooked Up Using TJ Hooker Fly

Last week we reviewed "What Big River Trout Actually Eat" with a video featuring crawfish, stonefly nymphs, and sculpin.  This week we want to teach you a really great way to imitate these critters that live on and near the bottom and show you a fly that can do it all...

sonic spey and hohbo steelhead snake river

I realize this is techy stuff for many of you, but I am certain that some of this information will be incredibly helpful to a few of you hoping to have a "one rod to rule them all" spey rod quiver for your Steelhead, Salmon, and Trophy Trout game.  If...

stonefly nymph deep cleaner

Trout are constantly hunting stonefly nymphs because they are big, protein packed, and available year-round in almost all western streams.  Stonefly nymphs spend 2-4 years as a nymph before migrating to the shoreline and hatching into an adult. Anglers should be well outfitted with a variety of sizes and colors...

Euro Leader Building Materials and ESN Leader

You can easily do better than a factory tied Euro Nymphing Leader. While these are a fine start as you are dipping into the sport, haha, it's easy to build a leader that is more effective and more fun to fish with.  Feel free to deviate as it makes sense...

yarndicator system new zealand strike indicator

  I have modified this rig over the years, but it's basically remained the same for the past 15.  I'll take shortcuts to shave time sometimes while I'm rigging up a client, but if I were fishing for a million bucks and need...

wading the yakima river canyon summer

With so many anglers jumping into "direct line nymphing" or Euro nymphing, also called about 10 other names, it feels like anglers are misunderstanding how strike indcators can be an advantage. Listen to this podcast and check out the video to learn more about using the right indicator, at the...

IMG_0259

Bogey (Nymph Ninja) and I got the chance to sneak out on the water before headed to work this morning. While the temps remained below freezing and we had to clear ice from the guides a handful of time we can both agree, time spent fishing is time well spent. ...

Joe Rotter Wade Fishing Late Fall November Euro Nymph

As the days get shorter, the bite window on the Yakima River shortens as well.  This works in the angler's favor! The best action of the day from now till ice-up, is between 12 pm and 4 pm. You won't miss much in the morning hours as the fish tend...

steve johnson trout spey yakima canyon wading

We are at the point in the year where covering lots of water becomes a disadvantage.  With 1400 trout per mile in the Yakima Canyon, try focusing your efforts on water that looks good and appears to hold trout because gues what; it is holding fish.  Work on being delicate...

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