March 28th -Essential River Casts and Fishing Skills -
For intermediate anglers that want to be "river ready” with river specific
casts, mends, knots and fly setups.
April 1st - Introduction to Fly Fishing
-
A 4 day course run w/ the City of Selah Parks and Recreation. We will teach
fly fishing 7 pm -8:30 pm on April 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd.
Call 509.698.7300 to sign up!
April 10th
-
Red's Fly Fishing Rendezvous
- This event will feature live music,
food, beverages, casting competitions, clinics, demos, retail
sales, and theatre presentations.!
April 11th - How to row a Drift
Boat -sponsored in part and hosted by Clackacraft Drift Boats.
April 11th -Eastern Washington Lake
Fishing (8 am meeting time at Red's
Fly Shop - hosted on an Eastern Washington Lake RSVP by calling shop!)
April
17th
-
Advanced Fly Casting and Fishing
Techniques
- by Joe Rotter. Learn advanced fly casting. Reach casts,
distance, double haul, and some other fancy stuff.
April 29th
-
Isaak's Ranch Private Lake Fishing w/ Red's Fly Shop. $225
per rod, it is awesome!
May 1st and 2nd
- FFF Washington State Fly Fishing Fair - IN
Ellensburg!
Isaak's Ranch:
(giant rainbows... private water... they fight like fresh
Silvers!)
Red's Power Hour Fishing Report
The
Power Hour Fishing Report is brought to you exclusively by Red's.
The content of this report is not the generic "fishing has
been good in the morning, and afternoons, and later in the evenings,
too." Rather, when we go fishing, we will analyze one session and
report the day, time, location, fly, number of fish caught, species,
and size (if
we caught any). We'll also write up the method we used. Keep in mind
that the fishing report is based on a prior day's fishing and
weather conditions.
3/12/2010
- Competitive nymph fishing, hitch-hiker/rower found on Canyon Road, the
oldest set of Simms Waders we have ever seen, egg laying Skwalas and
some AWESOME
dry fly fishing!
3/10/2010
- Lunchtime Skwala, and no, a guide does not eat the Stonefly on this
video! NOTE: the shadow the Skwala makes underneath as it
struggles on the water,
it demonstrates a "shaggy" profile found on Stimulator type patterns.
It is not a "hard
line" silhouette.
3/9/2010
- We find a lost Yakima River Hatchery Steelhead, discover a plywood
biosphere,
get out fished by some girl and her 3 weight, and have a great time.
Here are a few
highlights from the week:
Shop staffer Derek Dewey showing of slab from the Lower Canyon taken
on a Skwala dry!
Nothing better than some trout fishing, a glass of wine, and watching a
deer
by the riverside. 1st Annual Red's
Rendezvous - April 10th and 11th, 2010 Clinics,
Classes, Demos, Fly Casting Competions, Food, Beer, live Music! See link
for more info, please RSVP if possible by emailing
info@redsflyshop.com
April 11th -
Drift Boat Handling Course, co sponsored by Clackacraft Drift Boats
April 11th - RFS One Day Course - Fishing the Columbia Basin Lakes,
hosted on the water at a Basin Lake to be announced.
March Skwala Special - $355
per Boat Includes
flies, leaders, lunch, drinks, vehicle shuttle service (no driving
around positioning the guide's trailer!), and 8 hours of guiding.
Book
Online!
FREE Lodging - Spring Fishing
and Lodge Special! This is
a deal so good it is silly. Right now, if you book 2 consecutive
Full Days of Guided Fishing you will get 1 Night at Canyon River Ranch
Lodge absolutely FREE!
Expires 4/30/2010, based on our regular rate of $405 per boat (cannot be
combined with March Special). Cost is based on double occupancy,
$405 per person gets you 2 Full Days of Guided Fishing and 1 Night at
Canyon River Ranch!
Fishing Menu: Choose from, 2 Full Days on the Yakima River, or 1
day on the Yakima River combined with another day fishing one of our
spring highlight waters - an Eastern Washington Lake for big trout,
Lower Yakima River Bass (last week of April), or wade fishing a small
Eastern Washington Spring Creek.
3/20/2010
Anglers: --
Location: --
Flies: Get your Baetis ready...
Layering: Sweatshirt, guide shirt, T-shirt, fleece pants, wool socks,
with only a light fleece jacket required for part of the day.
Time: 3 pm
Results: Good conditions, forcast is friendly too.
Hunger Level: --
It looks like the onset of the Baetis hatch is in the forecast for the next couple of days, but be aware that it is sometimes hard to predict. Baetis, aka Blue Winged Olives, aka BWO, like most other Mayflies, prefer to hatch on cloudy days. Tomorrow looks like it will be dark and cloudy, plus the overnight low is only predicted to get down to 37 which gives the daytime warmup a jumpstart on getting that water heated up. When it comes to BWO's, you will want to have some sort of action plan in place before the hatch even kicks off. It will likely happen about 1-2 pm and will come on strong. Have a 9' 6X leader ready that is clean and new so that it will set your fly down soft. Preferably, you have a hatch rod ready to roll with this leader on it, just get it all set up in the morning ready for a quick-draw.
1) Hatch Rods should be an 8'6" 3 weight or 4 weight, 9' rods are great too but most people tend to be slightly more accurate with 8'6" rods at practical fishing distances. The lighter line sets down more softly, it is more limber (manages tough seams better), and you will spook less fish. The properties of the fly itself yield a better overall drift than your 5 or 6 weight because smaller/lighter line is easier to mend. Plain and simple light lines outfish heavy ones. Plus the soft action of the rod tip does a great job of protecting 6X tippet. All this, plus if you carry your hatch rod there won't be any startup and breakdown time switching from Skwalas or Nymphs back and forth from a BWO. There are lots of times that a hatch rod come out for just one or two casts, we stick the feeding fish, and the rod goes back in the holster.
2) Starter Bugs - defined as the first fly that you cast to a feeding fish, or search with, at the onset of a hatch. This fly goes on your set up before the hatch even starts and is 'river ready'. It should float good, be easy to see, and even turn some fish. There are a handful of good patterns that come to mind. A variety of parachutes, especially if you can find some good ones with a Hi-Vis Orange Post, will work as a starting bug. The key is they have to float good so they don't get swamped by your first fish or just a series of drifts. The idea is that this fly keeps you moving efficiently and fishing, instead of tying on fresh/dry flies or reaching for your dry shake every 10 casts. Our guides play a lot of various Baetis but the go-to seems to be the Split Wing Parachute. It is darn tough to beat. It has 2 calf hair posts (Wulff style) that make it float great and it is easy to see. The body has a flashy rib over the olive dubbing so it makes a good attractor. It gets 'em, and it floats good. However, there are times that the Starter Bug just won't trick 'em... enter the "kill bug".
3) We call it the "kill bug", because the idea is that the fly is so good, the fish you are shooting at is well scouted and isolated in a specific seam, and therefore... it allows the angler a one shot kill. Of course it doesn't always work like that this, but you get the point. These flies are the "naturals". Top picks are Quigley Cripples, BWO Sprout Emergers, CDC Emergers, and last but not least... one you probably aren't expecting. An old school Thorax Hackled Dun. The Thorax Dun is just an old classic fly, but it by far looks the most natural out of all the patterns. It is great for flat water situations, and part of the reason it is so deadly is because it looks very real no matter how it lands on the water or what angle it is viewed from.
4) Perspectives and Efficiency - of course, some of you are wondering... "why not fish the Kill Bug right off the bat if it is so natural and effective?" Frankly, fishing big rivers is a whole lot more about presentation, presentation, and efficiency of that presentation. The more you make and the better they are... the more fish to the boat. Don't play the small fly until you have to. If fly fishing were run like Bass Tournaments (which guiding sometimes is), we would have 8 rods rigged with a variety of patterns and during a Baetis hatch, it would be all Split Wing until a quality fish doesn't eat it... then we grab the rod with the Quigley and hit 'em with that. One shot one = one fish or something to that effect. Success on big water is often (not always) all about how fast you can cover the water, and that means being able to see your fly and keep it afloat at all times. Seeing your fly means constant feed back on your drifts, meaning you know if the drift was bad. You can have the best fly in the world, but as you park yourself on a feeder you have to be able to identify "drag spots" (defined as a portion of the drift that no matter what you do there is drag", a visible fly shows you these... you figure out how to fix it (move your boat, walk upstream, add tippet, reach cast, etc.) once fixed, put the Kill bug on and go to it. Use the visible fly to learn what is wrong with the drift, then switch it up. By using both styles of patterns to their advantage and maximizing your river time with a hatch rod (or at least nominate a rod in the boat as the "community" hatch rod), you will flat out catch more fish. Use these strategies next time out and it might mean a few more bends in the rod, and these are good bends because it will be on dry flies.... the reason we got into this sport in the first place! Be ready for a fish to show its head this week, good luck, thanks for the support, and straight casts to all!
3/19/2010
Anglers: Bill, Doug, and Joe
Location: East Cle Elum to Thorp
Flies: Nymphs in the morning: CDC PT w/ Copper bead #16, hand tied
Skwalas (nymphs and dries), #10 Olive Pat's, Little Green Machine
#16
Layering: Sweatshirt, guide shirt, T-shirt, fleece pants, wool socks,
with only a light fleece jacket required for part of the day.
Time: 10:30 am - 6:30 pm
Results: About 10-12 trout landed, all very nice fish primarily Cutts.
Hunger Level: 4 out of 10
A guide's dream. We stop for lunch, and I literally had a sandwich
in one hand and a 16" trout in the other. Then, a few minutes
after the guys crack open a bottle of wine a deer comes out and feeds
along the bank and gets a drink as though my cronies just released it
for aesthetic effect. If there was going to be a children's book
about the perfect day on the river I think that would be it. I can see
it now..... "and then little Joey reached down and unhooked the trout
only after taking a huge bite of his club sandwich."
The Upper Canyon, East to Thorp, fished good for us but was very
technical and we had to cover massive tracts of water fast to get the
results we wanted. Good casting was paramount and hitting every
seam that popped up on the first shot with a clean drift was key to our
success. We had a great day, while some others got skunked.
The Hunger Level registered only a 4 out of 10, but if you like
serenity, low pressure, big fish, and a challenge the ask of the upper
canyon. Newer anglers, best if you stick to the Lower Canyon right
now. There were adult Skwalas on the river along with some BWO's
but we couldn't sustain any kind of strong rally. The water is
very low and the fish were isolated to the edges of the best holes,
rather than spread evenly out along the duration of the float.
It is also important to stress the importance of learning to fly cast
well. As the hatch progresses it will require better drifts, more
accurate casts, and the ability to cover a great number of seams fast.
Picture this, Angler A hits a main-line seam with a fast accurate cast
way down stream on a sharp angle. Fishes it a few seconds, the
boat is approaching the hole and in the next 3 shots he hits 3 different
seams with no more than 1 false cast the entire time (with good line
speed so that the boat doesn't float out of position between shots).
Angler B, has to wait until the boat is 20 feet from the main-line seam
and has to take 3 attempts and by the time he/she gets it the boat is
floating by out of position and has no shot at the other interior seams
closer to the bank. We see it every day. Scenario B is all
to common an part of the learning process, but as guides we analyze it
and that is why we have some of the best fly casters around on our guide
staff. Being able to cover water fast(moving the fly about the
river in multiple seam lines with no false casting) allows an angler to
fish 3-4 times the amount of water and it all starts with learning to
cast well and shoot line accurately at longer distance. Learn to
double haul, learn to shoot line, and learn to build tight controlled
loops. It directly reflects your body-count on the river. Plus,
casting is fun. If you find pure joy in fly casting you will become a
great angler some day. Practice makes perfect and you will even
love fishing on the slow days because you can work on the cast.
3/17/2010
Anglers: Mark, Jim, Garth, John, Steve, and Joe
Location: Irene to MM20
Flies: DFO for Joe, Steve ran nymphs in the a.m. (much better than dries
early on) and DFO after lunch. Skwalameister #10 (a small
parachute Skwala w/ 6 small rubber legs and a biot tail).
Layering: Guide Shirt and a Vest most of the day, followed by
Windstopper in the afternoon. Fleece pants and wool socks under
the waders.
Time: 9:30 am - 6:30 pm
Results: About 10 trout per boat, the very formal big fish contest was
won with a 16"er that broke a long and dramatic stalemate of dualing
15"ers. In fact, now that I think about it. It was still a
tie, each boat got a 16"er in the evening. Everybody is a winner
at Red's.
Hunger Level: 6 out of 10, (but it made the other days prior feel like a
7.5)
We encountered two distinctly different types of Skwalas yesterday....
the upriver Skwala and the downriver Skwala. You can tell the
difference based on the insects' behavior on the water. The
downriver Skwala will float along with minimal movement and typically
floats helplessly down the fishy seams for long periods of time until it
gets eaten by a hungry trout. The upriver moves fast along the
surface blatantly dragging behind the boat after 6 six useless mends it
is usually recasted...... upstream! Please tell me you got that
joke. It is true though, Skwalas need to be fished with precision
and the hard downstream angle from the boat promotes a great float and
it keeps your tippet clear of the take, many of the rises are soft and
you get a MUCH better eat-to-hook up ratio. It also requires a lot
of skill to move the fly about the river fast and effectively. In
these water conditions, an angler must be able to read his own water and
take the fly from the main seams with short casts to long casts to
bankward seams with one quick shot and the switch it all back as the
seams pop up close to the boat again. Also, since the water is in
the mid 40's (relatively cold), the trout are fairly isolated to
distinct lines and usually won't follow outside of a seam. The
smaller the seam, the more isolated you have that fish. The trout
love to dominate their own little seam too so that there is no
competition. Being able to read all of these lines and move the
fly about fast and cover many of them (one fast accurate cast per seam),
is king. It shouldn't take more than one cast, if it does, you
probably won't get that fish anyway. It is amazing what a
difference it makes when an angler can lay down long quiet shots spot
on. With other Stonefly hatches, it isn't nearly as critical
because the water is usually up and the trout are holding in choppy
noisy water already and are pretty tolerant. In quiet water, frog
water practically, the trout will be very unwilling to tolerate noise.
We can't stress enough how important it is to practice your casting and
learn to shoot tight loops fast and accurate. Long distance
practice helps immensely with this because long casts are only achieved
by good loop control. It will serve you well come game-time if you
put a little time in at the practice range. Expert guides still
practice every time a rod and a line come out of the tube, so should
you. Go out on your lawn, if you don't have a lawn go to the park.
Especially if you want to be a good dry fly fisherman. Nymph
fishing doesn't require a whole lot of grace from the caster, flop it,
mend it, set it! Good luck out there, the dry fly fishing is going
to hold steady for a while. Slow to start, switch to dries at
lunchtime.
3/15/2010
Anglers: --
Location: --
It is a beautiful thing when your wading boots don't dry out for weeks
at a time.
3/14/2010
Anglers: Oly, Alex, Carmen, and Joe
Location: Ringer to Umtanum
Flies: Dries ALL Day! We fished Organic (our term for hand tied) Skwalas, Yarn Wing Skwala #8, Peacock PMX (it has hackle tied into the body for a wiggly effect) #10
Layering: Windstopper over a sweatshirt in the morning, guide shirts in the afternoon sun, reverting back to Windstopper in the afternoon hours. Bring a good shell, the spring wind out here can have a painful bite to it.
Time: 10:30 am - 5 pm
Results: Good dry fly fishing for the anglers that can move the fly around and hit lots of seams efficiently, it can be a challenge for anglers that don't drive a good loop. 8 nice trout for our experienced angler (sneaking in drifts as the 6 year old in the boat dominated both the water and the air space with some wild but enthusiastic casts), a few grabs for the novice.
Hunger Level: 6 out of 10, (ditto from last time) we would make it higher but it can be tough. It would be easy for anglers "less than dialed in" to have a tough day. If you didn't do well yesterday, don't feel bad for a second. That is just fishing and Skwala hatches can be tough... but sometimes it is as easy as leaving your backcast in the water too long!
The Skwala hatch is rolling on, and good fishing is the consensus. Some guys had it tough yesterday, but don't feel bad if you were one of them. This river is rarely easy. When we were able to get our "ringer" lined up some seams yesterday we pretty much crushed 'em. We only threw dries, the nymph anglers had a hay-day I'm sure. However, the last thing we want to be accused of is hyping a report, so please come out with realistic expectations and plan on working hard for your fish. The trout get very pressure sensitive on the Skwala hatch in hurry. Their lips get sore fast and it doesn't take them long to realize that a #8 Bitteroot equals DANGER! Tie some unique flies, and pack some small guys in the #12 range to use as your plan B if a big fly isn't working or you spot some stubborn rising trout. BWO's are starting to make an appearance so get your #16 Quigleys and your Comparaduns ready. Anything with CDC is usually a good "kill bug" to use when the others fail, but the trout remain on a steady feeding pattern. Just keep in mind that you can't fish it, if you can't see it! That is the downside of CDC. Keep working hard out there, and take care of the big fish this year. We have nearly stopped taking pics of fish so that we can keep them in the water and maybe it has helped. Big fish seem to be more present in the Canyon this year than the past few. Low clear water is great for fishing in the short term, but the trout take the brunt of our hooks a little more often. Handle with care, and just like you guys we are trying very hard to do our part and be easy on the fish. If the fish never leaves the water it has a lot better shot at getting back to eating... and growing... and getting big. We all like big. ALSO, a guide had his Loomis Streamdance GLX 9' 5 weight rod w/ a Lamson Litespeed and a Sharkskin line get dropped out of his boat yesterday and wasn't recovered. :( OUCH! That is a $1000 set up. It was near Mile Marker 21. I can only imagine the prank emails that could get started out of this, so please don't torment us. If you find it bring it in for a reward paid out in good fishing Karma and Shuttles.
3/12/2010
Anglers: Bo, Derek, and Joe - Connor and Mike
Location: MM20 to Red's
Flies: Bitterroots #10/12, Organic Skwalas, Pat's, Pearl Lightening Bug
Layering: Windstopper fo' sur.
Time: 10:30 am - 5 pm
Results: Great dry fly fishing in the late afternoon, slow to start,
good nymphing early. 10+ trout to hand.
Hunger Level: 6 out of 10, we would make it higher and although we
landed a lot on dries it was pretty technical casting and drifts.
Yesterday was the best spring dry fly fishing we have seen in years.
This was the first day of good dry fly fishing for us. Thursday
was pretty good too, but the anglers included a first time fly caster so
it was tough to get a good read on the day. They worked hard
though and managed about 15 nice trout to the fly and landed a couple.
Yesterday it was cold, windy, and technical casting to generate eats but
it was stellar if you had good fly control. We saw about 50
Skwalas on the water, most laying eggs. This hatch should be
strong through the weekend but expect to work hard and be persistent as
this is not an easy hatch for the novice. For the experienced
angler, it is like picking ripe apples.... just reach out and grab it!
We are also starting to see a few BWO's as well so keep that in mind
when you find picky trout.
3/9/2010
late pm
Anglers: Jim, Tom, and Joe
Location: Red's to Roza
Flies: Hand tied Skwala nymphs in the morning, hand tied dries in the
afternoon. A few "tester" swings with sink tips and streamers to
see if they are chasing in the morning.
Layering: Windstopper, stocking cap, gloves, long johns would have
been smart.
Time: 10:30 am - 6 pm
Results: We got a beat down from the girl, it just wasn't there on dries
BUT we did land a Steelhead and that doesn't happen every day. 7
nice trout landed, 1 Steelhead, and a handful of Ytfish.
Hunger Level: 3 out of 10, pretty rough.
What a weird day. It was nice in the morning and then got super
cold with a wind in the afternoon. The fish were doscile and did
not move much for the fly. We ran a single nymph rig working
Skwalas and that was kind of slow, hooked a few on droppers once we
threw that on. Got a Steelhead, then landed 4 nice trout on dries.
So, it turned out good now that it is in text. For how hard we
fished and efficiently we covered the water it was pretty slow.
Regarding the Skwala hatch it is still early, the dry fly fishing will
improve over the next 3 weeks. Look for a trend of warm nights,
and fairly warm days. Part of the guide gang fished a busman's
holiday behind us today (thank goodness they were behind), Mike, Leif,
and Derek landed 15-20 fish and another Steelhead! (weird?). That
is just crazy, we don't see very many of these on the Yakima. We
release them fast so the pictures are kind of crappy, but hey, it is
still a Steelhead on the Yak. Fish of a lifetime for most of us
and a heck of an honor to behold. Overall, we were happy to get 4
landed on dries, if you see that girl and her 3 weight throw a rock at
them.
3/9/2010
Anglers: --
Location: Not sure yet, gotta listen to what the water has to say once I
get there.
Flies: Hand tied Skwala nymphs in the morning, hand tied dries in the
afternoon. A few "tester" swings with sink tips and streamers to
see if they are chasing in the morning.
Layering: Windstopper is a must have, and a Buff to keep the wind
out of my ears. I think I'll leave the gloves behind today.
Time: 6:30 am now, meeting 2 anglers at 10 am, trout hooked up by 10:30
am?... knock on wood, but that is the plan. I have a couple of
"starter slots" in mind that can drag down the skunk flag early.
Results: We had better get 15+ trout to the dry, or I will be heckled to
death by another guide (and his girl, which is in fact worse!).
Her picture is above, if you see her - do not fish behind. Hearing
that she moved 15 and landed several should motivate all of us to get on
the water and get it done.
Hunger Level: --? t.b.a.
The boat is loaded, rods on hood rack, flies are tied, kit bag is dialed
in, coffee is brewing, lunch is packed but food feels like more of a
formality. This time of year is an exciting time to hit the river.
After a long winter of waiting it is time to make the most out of your
days on the water and this morning I am especially pumped up and
prepared. For all of us this should mean tying bugs, buying bugs,
polishing the fly cast, ordering the right rods and reels, getting new
fly lines, buying good tapered leaders, Flourocarbon Tippet, and getting
some waders that don't leak (it is amazing how nice a new set of waders
feels). The quality of your pregame is often what determines the
mood during postgame, plus it is fun. I never get bored tightening up my
fly gear. Getting geared up right just feels good. Once that prep work
is out of the way, it is time to put that meticulous preparation to work
for you on the river. That is about to happen in a few hours.
Guiding and hard core angling feels a lot like being a competitive
athlete on the brink of a big game. As you piece that fine fly rod
together it isn't unusual for it to stimulate a few goosebumps knowing
that you are nearing kick off. Time to see what you can do other
water. Did I bring the right flies? Is my cast strong? Did I choose the
right section, and do I have a slot routine dialed in? Right now I
am mentally reviewing my own playbook, and if all the right moves are
made at the right time, on the right pieces of water, it will all come
together for us. This might mean knowing when and where to nymph, and/or
when switch it up to dries or streamers. Just like an offensive
coordinator it is your job to move efficiently out there. Later
today we will have 5-6 rods in the boat rigged with dries, nymphs, and
streamers so that we can make the right moves at the right time.
Time is precious and your pregame routine might make the difference
between epic and average. Of course it can't always go perfect,
hence the passion we carry for it. It is hard, sometimes we don't
catch fish and it is never easy nor predictable out there on a big wild
river. But, for the anglers that put in the prep work of casting,
tying, buying the right rods, good fly lines, and have the right gear -
it is a certainty that they will have a leg up on the less prepared
anglers. If you want to make the most of your time on the river,
be prepared. Now that my own gear has been checked the 3 times, it
is my time to head down into the Canyon and get after it. Kind of
like coming out of the tunnel and onto the field. Goosebumps you
ask?... maybe just a few.
3/8/2010
Anglers: Connor and Trish
Location: Red's to the Slab
Flies: Brown Wing Bitteroot Skwala #10
Layering: Polarfleece w/ Windstopper over long underwear worked ok
in the afternoon, still bring your gloves and stocking caps as the wind
can be bitter!
Time: 12 - 4 pm
Results: 3-4 trout landed on dry flies for Trish.
Hunger Level: 7 out of 10
The Skwala fishing is warming up on dry flies!, and you haven't missed
anything yet. Plus, it looks like the hatch won't burst this next
week with any one day offering a high temp. Instead it looks like
the hatch will continue to trickle off at a steady pace which is
perfect, and should offer us a few weeks of opportunities using Skwalas.
Connor and Trish wend DFO, dry fly only, and moved 15 fish to their fly
which we would consider good fishing. If a girl and a 3 weight can
move 15 fish, we would HOPE that you can move at least a few if you come
out! The hatch activity definitely peaks in the afternoon so
plan your fishing time to put you in your favorite run about 2 pm.
Nymphs in the morning, dry flies for lunch. No BWO's to speak of
yet, in the evening there have been some sporadic risers on Midge but
not enough during the day to warrant 6X and a Paramidge. Other
than fishing, we wrapped up our Sportsman's Show season this last
weekend in Spokane. It was great talking with all of you that were
there and thanks for all the compliments on the Powerhour Page.
We also got the opportunity to cast A LOT of rods for hours in the
casting pond and put the Sage 99 series rod through the ringer.
Leif, Bo, and Joe casted the 599-4 for hours and learned a lot about it,
and it is really impressive how it prevents tailing loops. We
aren't sure how exactly they did it, but we casted the Winston BiiX,
Sage 590-4 Z Axis, Sage 596-4 Z Axis, and the Sage 599-4 a lot and out
of all the rods the 599-4 was nearly impossible to throw a Tailing loop
(no matter how hard you pushed it at fishing distances ). It also
threw the longest distance out of all those rods, which usually a 9' rod
will out cast longer ones for pure length. It kept the loops open
but powerful and didn't stretch your elbow like traditional 10' rods
will. It is the real deal and with nymphs, sinking lines, and
streamers it will keep them untangled and prevent you from getting rung
up in the back of the head by a Tungsten bugger. Our overall
review of it is very positive. The only downsides are the obvious
ones, longer rods are typically less accurate at short range and don't
deliver flies under trees as well. For open water, Puget Sound
Cutts, weighted flies, indicators, chironomid rigs or sinking lines it
would be hard to find a better rod.
3/4/2010
Anglers: --
Location: --
Flies: (bring some San Juan Worms, especially pink with beads and
brown/red 2 tone), Pat's Stones (various colors #8), Home brewed Skwlalas nymphs, San
Juan Worms, Bitteroot Skwlaa #10, Winged Thing Olive #10, San Juan Power
Worm Brown/Red #16
Layering: --
Time: 12:30 pm
Results: The river is on the rise, but should stay fishable from
Ellensburg upstream through the weekend. Call the shop at
509.933.2300 for an up to the minute clarity report for the canyon.
Hunger Level: --
The warm weather has kicked loose a light batch of runoff, nothing to be
too concerned about the river needed a little boost anyway to help the
fish make their way towards the shallows where the Skwalas are.
Work inside seems and try to cast from the weak side of the current line
you want to hit, it can be tough to get these fish to eat fishing from
the outside in (so if you are in a boat, consider wading!) In
slightly off colored water, sometimes the plain old Black K Stone with
long rubber legs is your best bet, and a very bright green Caddis Larvae
is easy for them to spot. The Canyon will be a little dirty for the next
24 hours but should clean up by Saturday (just a prediction!).
Skwalas are becoming abundant and the next week should mark the first
week of good dry fly fishing, you are not too late as it has just begun.
Bring a few San Juan worms, this past week after the rainstorm brought
the river up the trout were all over it. Just phone the shop for
clarity reports, we will be in Spokane at the Great Western Sportfishing
Show and won't update until Monday again. Thanks! Good luck
out there, the weather in Ellensburg is unbelievable. If you live
in the Spokane area we will see you at the show and Joe will be putting
on a great presentation about fishing the Yakima River, and some fly
tying in the booth all weekend and on stage Saturday.
3/2/2010
Anglers: Joe R., Mike, and Roger
Location: Irene to Ringer
Flies: Pat's Stones (various colors #8), Home brewed Skwlalas nymphs, San
Juan Worms, Bitteroot Skwlaa #10, Winged Thing Olive #10, San Juan Power
Worm Brown/Red #16
Fun day yesterday, we learned to cast and throw dry flies in an effort
to cultivate some action on top and learn to throw a good loop. A
little time invested specifically on the topic of casting early in your
career will pay enormous dividends in the long run. If you learn
to throw long, tight, and accurate loops there isn't much you can't do.
Your ability to move the fly all over the river at an efficient rate of
speed and accuracy is huge. We put a lot of emphasis on skill that
yesterday and made a lot of progress. A more Nazi-ish guide could
have eaked out a few more fish to the boat with some hollering but that
isn't what we were the for. Fish counts are more interesting to
add up after a few years. As far as tips go, we did turn one nice
trout on a dry fly towards the end of the day. The remainder of our
hookups came to an even split between Stonefly Nymphs and San Juan
Worms. The river is back in a steady flow pattern now and should
start pushing some fish towards the surface for sure in the next week or
so. Still a little early for "good" dry fly fishing.
2/28/2010
Anglers: Joe R., Ed, and Andrew
Location: Irene to Ringer
Flies: Sculpzilla big and small, Woolhead Sculpin w/ Tungsten Bass
Weight slid onto leader, Olive/gold bugger w/ rubber legs, Pat's, San
Juan Worms, Winged Thing Olive #10 (no fish on dries but we did see 2
adults almost dry fly time!!!)
I got to row the boat for 2 really cool guys yesterday, Ed Soczino and
Andrew Bennet. Ed is president of the Washington Fly Fishing Club
and is doing some great stuff with the club and also one of the world's
best competition fly casters and a heck of a fly fishing and
architectural photographer (which supports a healthy fishing habit).
He routinely beats me by a healthy margin in the FFF 5 weight distance
and accuracy competition for the past several years. Watching a
guy throw a 5 weight 120 feet is a truly awesome spectacle. He'll
be at the Red's Rendevous April 10th, so
if that sounds like something you want to see come on out. When he
shows up we are all competing for 2nd place. Oh yea, he pitches a
heavy streamer inches from the bank pretty well too! 40 footers
are chip shots when can throw tight loops at 100+ feet. Practice
your distance casting, sign up for our Advanced Fly Casting Course, and
work in your down time to get better. He practices routinely at
Green Lake. Casts are perfected on the grass, utilized on the water.
The other angler, Andrew Bennett, owns Deneki Outdoors and has
operations that you have likely heard of: Alaska West, Chile West,
Andros South, B.C. West, among others. If you are even thinking
about planning trips to Alaska, Chile, B.C. for Steelhead, or the
Bahamas call us and we'll get the process rolling for you. It is pretty
cool sharing a boat with these guys who have both fished all over the
world and they are still energized by a nice afternoon on the Yak when
they can stick a dozen average trout. The pure joy of hooking a
fish of any sort should never old. It speaks to a certain level of
class when you are still content to politely accept a river's offering
regardless of fish size, quantity, or species. Take what you are
given, and appreciate the gift because that is exactly what it is..
Make the most of it. Yesterday was pretty muddy after all that
rain. The river didn't come up a lot but the ratio was just high
enough to dirty things up, rubbery meatloaf. We did alright
regardless of the less than ideal conditions. SHOCKINGLY, we did
not hook fish on streamers although we threw them with conviction.
When you have one of the best casters in the world fishing alongside a
guy that spends more time on the rivers of Chile and Alaska than anyone
else I know.... it is a certainty that the job is getting done right.
However, the fish were not in the mood to chase for some reason.
Usually a spike in water volume kicks loose some Sculpin and they big
fish go on the prowl. Nymphs and San Juan Worms were the producers
and you had to be in the right riffles. We did not do well fishing
along on the go, it was spot specific. Today should be better
especially in the afternoon as the river drops in right. Here is
this mornings graph, a hard drop is goooood! Warmer water and a
dropping graph = good fishing most times.
2/27/2010
Anglers: Joe, Lynn, and Jon
ONE day left to take advantage of the $225 Feb
Special. If you are ever thinking of taking a spontaneous guide trip,
maybe plan one for tomorrow which is the last day of our special rate.
Also, the Wenatchee heated up BIG TIME yesterday with nearly double
digit Steelhead hooked. The rain and dark weather finally came in and
there is one day left on that river the whole season and we are guiding
at only $355 per boat. Call the shop today if you want to pull
something together! You won't regret it.
Location: MM20 to Red's
Flies: Red Winged Thing #10, Olive Winged Thing #10, Anato May Peacock
#14, Olive Flashback Hare's Ear #16 (beadhead) The Ytfish LOVED this
one. Pat's #10 Various colors, Double Beaded Olive Stone w/ Amber
Biot Legs #10, Sculpzilla big and small
Results: 6-7 Rainbows landed, plenty of Ytfish and LDRs galore.
Is there a better way to start your fishing day than finding a wrinkled
up, wet, dirty, old $20 bill in the foot of your waders? Has that
ever happened to you, if so, then you know the pure joy of which I am
describing. It was no doubt some long forgotten portion of a
guest's tip gone MIA. Maybe this could be a new savings plan for
guides. Just throw all your money in the foot of your waders so
you don't spend it. Then after a few weeks if it isn't all torn up you
can use it to buy tippet and pizza. It would work a lot better
than the current one we've been using where you just spend it as soon as
you get back to Ellensburg. Fishing was pretty good yesterday, we threw
dry flies a lot and had 2 very nice fish eat but didn't connect on
either one. We ran dry dropper set ups most of the day so we
weren't fishing the dry fly nearly as "clean" as we would have liked as
most our intent was placed up on getting fish on the trailing bug. If we
had fished dries solo, certainly we would have turned a lot more fish on
the surface. We also could have caught a lot more fish if we
nymphed using indicators more, but we sort of like plucking fish out of
the shallows on droppers if we can. Each time we nymphed a green
slot, fish on! Lots of Ytfish though. Streamers were dead.
No fish to the Sculpin.
The Forest Gump rain yesterday didn't deter the fishing but it might
have a slight effect over the next few days if the river keeps climbing.
Below is the hydrograph as of 6 am today. It looks bad, BUT if you
look at the scale on the right you will notice that the river is up only
a total of 150-160 cfs right now which isn't much. We'll see what
happens over the next few days, right now it looks like good fishing!
The river needed a little boost. There are a lot of fish in the
slow shallow pockets that will be easier to present a fly to with a
little more water. One of the most difficult things while fishing
Skwalas is that there are so many various speeds of current to lay your
fly line across that it gets messy and the drifts are tough. A bit
more water will smooth things out and make the fishing water more
uniform.
2/24/2010
Anglers: Joe, Robert, and Rich
Location: Wenatchee River
Flies: Blue Pat's #4, Caddis Pupae (Olive/Green/Gold) #12, Black/Brown
Pat's #4, Brown K Stone #6, various Egg Patterns (small was better, from
our limited experience)
Results: 1 Wild Steelhead Landed, several Ytfish that we are counting
just because the fishing was slow.
It was downright cold yesterday, it barely got above 40 and the water
temp started at 37. Today is looking MUCH better with heavy cloud
cover and an overnight low that barely got below freezing. The
fishing should be on today, focus on nymphing the Yakima if you are out
for numbers. Dry fly anglers, be patient and dilligent and you
will get a few takes. There is NO dry fly take on earth better
than the first one after a long winter of dreaming about. Just
don't pull up too quick, it is easy to do! On the Wenatchee, dead
drifted flies rule the roost right now. Get your trips scheduled
for later this weekend if you like our guide staff, there is only a few
more days for the $225 special on the Yakima, and the Wenatchee is still
on sale at $355 till it closes March 1st.
2/23/2010
Anglers: Joe, Bryan, and John
Location: MM19 to Umtanum
Flies: Pat's of course, Double Beaded 20 Incher #10 (out fished the
Pat's! a miracle!), Red Brassie #20, Green Winged Thing #8
Results: About 8 trout landed, 12-17", great average size and build.
A spontaneous call came in for a February Special guide trip yesterday,
so we did a quick float in the afternoon and it was well worth it.
It was a gorgeous day out with not a cloud in sight but the shady zones
held frost all day so it never really warmed up. Jackets all day
long. We did throw dry flies though and saw an Adult Skwala on the
water so the time is coming for some of that sweet action. We need
a spike in water temps to really set things off though. The warmer
nights that are headed are way should help. The day time highs
aren't anything impressive this next week but it looks like it will
barely dip below freezing versus nightime temps in the teens like this
past weekend.
We also want to
congratulate Steve Joyce for winning the Central Washington Fly Casting
Competition held in Yakima at the Sportsman's Show this last weekend -
nice job Steve! He won a James Henry custom built rod and reel and
graciously donated it to the FFF to use in their annual banquet coming
up on the first weekend in May.
2/21/2010
Anglers: Joe, Natasha, and Matt
Location: Wenatchee River
Flies: Blue Pat's #4, Caddis Pupae (Olive/Green/Gold) #12, Black/Brown
Pat's #4, Brown K Stone #6, various Egg Patterns (if curious or planning
a trip, phone the shop and they will put together an assortment and send
it out ASAP)
Results: 2 Wild Steelhead Landed, and some Ytfish tallied for
competitive purposes.
OUCH, 18 degrees last night. Beautiful afternoons usually have one tradeoff this time of year and that is frigid cold mornings and nights. Yesterday's starting water temperature was a startling 35 degrees on the Wenatchee! In case you don't speak Farenheit, that is cold cold cold. Especially since the day before it was close to 40. On the Yakima, this mornings water temp is 35.8 right now, and will likely get a little colder before it begins to warm up. That type of shock will put the fishing down be it trout, Steelhead, or whatever. That makes for tough
fishing. We pulled it off on the Wenatchee though, 2 great Wild Steelhead in the net. Each angler boated a fish. When the temps take a dive a strategy change is in order. Deepen up your nymph rig for starters, skip any water that is "marginal" and focus exclusively on holding lies that you know there to be some fish. This might mean spending more time in a lesser number of holes but that shift in strategy will certainly make the difference between fish and no fish. It might have meant only 2 fish yesterday, but for those folks gripping the big tail of a Native Metalhead that is all the difference in the world!
The day before yesterday, we landed 4 Steelhead (2 per guide boat), and
2 Bull Trout were landed one of which was 8-9 pounds! No pics
unfortunately but it was a big one. In cold water, fly changes don't create much action.
However, lighter tippet and generous spacing between split shot and flies
definitely will. The last 2 days on the Wenatchee, every fish has been holding in big open large pools. Therefore the fish are seeing the fly coming from a long ways out and the bite is not reactionary. They analyze it for a great period of time. The more spacing between gear and the lighter the tippet, the better it looks. Get rid of the mono, and go all Flourocarbon tippet. Also, Dinzmore Split Shot in dark green is a nice touch. It is drab colored and escapes fish radar in comparison to that shiny split shot that you bought at Fred Meyer for 89 cents with the big jaws that never work and just create tangles. Skip the Jalapeno Corn Dog
in the deli case next time so you can afford Dinzmore shot. Back to the Yak, the Trout fishing hung on the afternoon yesterday, but reports showed a sloooow first half. That is just fishing, nobody said it would be easy and as long as you enjoy the journey even the slow days are a treat to be here. Fishing conditions will improve later this week, but it will take a few days for the water temperature to completely recover from the last 2 nights of arctic freeze.
2/19/2010
Anglers: Joe, Bill, and Steve
Location: Red's to Mahres
Flies: Skwala orinted Stonefly Nymph Patterns (Olive Pat's and a home
brew of our own creation) Black K Stone #10 Olive K Stone #10, Olive
Winged Thing, Sculpzilla Tan #4, Sheila's Sculpin #6, Brassie #20, Lime
Green Caddis Larvae #16, Olive PT #16 (tungsten head)
Yesterday was about as good as it gets weather wise. Fishing was a
little slower than we hoped, but we made up for it angling skill.
As you read our reports, make sure to bare in mind that the anglers have
a lot to do with the catch numbers. Make sure to check out the
Skwala video and see what action is happening. The next few weeks
will be getting better and better so you haven't missed a thing yet!
2/16/2010
Anglers: --
Location: Lower Canyon, Asc Bay, Wenatchee, and the casting pool at PNW
Sportsman's Show
Flies: Skwala orinted Stonefly Nymph Patterns, Midge Pupae, and on the
Wenatchee Stone Nymphs, Egg Patterns, Figs, and other various Steelhead
flies should do the trick if you are in the right spots.
Layering: About the same as before, but it looks like a good Gore-tex
Wading Jacket is in store for today! Fleece Pants, thick wool socks, long underwear top,
sweatshirt, Windstopper Fleece, and gloves in the morning and evening
plus a stocking cap. Same layering deal, day after day right now.
Time: 8 am
Results: Great conditions from the Methow to the Yakima and everywhere
in between.
7 days without Powerhour, how are you getting by?! Spent the week
in Portland for the last 7 days hosting a booth at the Pacific Northwest
Sportsmans Show, and Steve was still wrapping up Week 2 in Ascension
Bay. 5 Permit landed in AB again in Week 2! Tony Robins
takes the big Permit award for the week with a dandy. Another
great week, we have 3 spots open for February 28th - March 6th if you
are up for some sun and some incredible flats fishing.
On the Yakima, fishing continues to be good, BUT we want to keep any
hype in check because this time of year a temperature swing or pressure
irregularity can starve you off the river in a hurry. We don't
want you guys mad at us! However, the guide staff all reported
good fishing including a primitive text stating "big fish were hungry on
Yak today". Well put. Maybe that in itself would make a good
fishing report? Start thinking about working up against the
shallow edges, with some dry fly fishing starting to happen a
significant majority of the fish should start migrating inward toward
the shore and can sometimes surprise you on where they are holding,
especially in the later half of the day when the air temperature is a
great deal warmer than the water's temp. The Wenatchee continues
to produce, it will only be open for another 2 weeks so nail down a date
soon. With record numbers of Steelhead it would be wise to make a
trip up there. Double digit days are not abnormal. Same on
the Met.
Congratulations to Joe Rotter for winning 1st Place at the Pacific
Northwest Fly Casting Competition held at the PNW Sportsmans Show in
Portland this past week. There were some great casters in the Pro
Division and it was a very close contest, congrats to everyone that made
it through the qualifying round and casted in the finals on Sunday
including Red's guide Troy Lichtnenegger.
2/9/2010
Anglers: Mike B. (fishing solo on the Yak)
Location: Lower Canyon
Flies: Lightning Bugs, Stones, and a Streamer (for the contributing
customer's sake we won't give you exact patterns, but he did by them all
at Red's!)
Layering: Fleece Pants, thick wool socks, long underwear top,
sweatshirt, Windstopper Fleece, and gloves in the morning and evening
plus a stocking cap. Same layering deal, day after day right now.
Time: 9 am - 5 pm
Results: 10+ trout landed, 6 on one Streamer.
We got a great email from a customer yesterday. He had a great
float in the Lower Canyon and used flies right out of our shop to have a
great day! It always feels good to get some positive feedback on
the flies we send out the door and into the river. Fishing on the
Yakima has been quite good lately, and we are extending the existing
Special to the end of February and adding a full day option for the
hearty angler that would like "MORE fishing time"!
Steve sent an email late last night from Ascension Bay, and was happy to
announce he got another Permit! Not to mention, about 20 Bonefish
yesterday! Sounds like goo fishing down there again this week. He
said the weather was even better than in Week 1 with a lot of sun and
great visibility. Thanks for checking in, starting tomorrow the
Portland Sportsman's Show is going and we will be there. It is a
great show for Fly Fisherman, so consider stopping in. It goes
from February 10th - 14th.
2/6/2010
Anglers: Joe, Larry, and Oly (Wenatchee River)
Troy and his college buddy (name? we will just call him Otis)
Location: Cashmere to the mouth on the Wen. River, Irene to Ringer on
the Yakima River
Flies: Various Pat's Stones, WD-40's, Olive PT (tung head), Anato Mayfly
in Grey (rust or hare's ear is fine), and a small Lime Green Copper
John. For the Wenatchee, Purple double beaded Stonefly, Mottled
Trout Bead w/ Gamakatsu #4 trailing behind, #4 Blue Pat's Stone, #6
Black/Brown Pat's
Layering: Fleece Pants, thick wool socks, long underwear top,
sweatshirt, Windstopper Fleece, and gloves in the morning and evening
plus a stocking cap. Same as last report, great weather. Only had
gloves on for a little while.
Time: 9 am - 5 pm
Results: Good fishing! Both rivers fished well.
Good things are happening right now. The Yakima was dead before 1 pm yesterday, but ignited with an afternoon rally
for Troy and Otis that left Troy stuttering on the cell phone describing it. He said the fish were not real bug specific (of course he made some pretty educated guesses on pattern), and the afternoon was the time to rally. We have 9 days left of the $225 Winter Special, so if you have an urge to go jump on it. Trips meet at 11 am and fish the prime afternoon and early evening hours. Also, the Wenatchee is fishing very well and will likely only be open for a couple more weeks. It doesn't get much better! Expect to nymph for numbers though, the fish this time of year are not very reactive to a swung fly. It can be done, but you would need to dedicate yourself to it with a devout heart. As long as we don't get a nasty cold spell fishing should continue at a steady pace. Pre-runoff and pre-spawn are a sweet combination.
Look for Skwalas by the end of February, we have a hunch it will come
early (NO promises! but some of the hills are greening up giving us a
spring vibe). We probably just cursed the hatch. Dang it.
2/3/2010
Anglers: Andy, and Johnny
Location: KOA to Rhinehart
Flies: Various Pat's Stones, Double Beaded Peacock/Biot Stone #10, Red
Copper John #18, Little Green Machine #16, Olive Tung. Bead PT #16,
various Streamers, San Juan Worm Brown/Red #14
Layering: Fleece Pants, thick wool socks, long underwear top,
sweatshirt, Windstopper Fleece, and gloves in the morning and evening
plus a stocking cap.
Time: 11 am - 2 pm
Results: Good fishing!
The fishing was good yesterday for Johnny, and it looks like the current
weather pattern should keep a decent bit alive. Don't hope for an
explosion in the fish count arena, water is still pretty cold and it is
wintertime. 6 fish to the boat might be an average day for the
average casters, certainly we do much better than that much of the time
but our goal is to keep the "hype factor" in check. Dream big, but
accept the supreme challenge that is winter fly fishing!
2/2/2010
Anglers: --
Location: Yakima, Wenatchee, Methow
Flies: --
Layering: Less than a couple of weeks ago, bring it all though, gloves,
stocking caps, puffy jackets, the Malto Meal Boy look is in right now.
Time: --
Results: --
The rivers are all in great shape. Although we don't have any up to the
minute reports conditions are ideal, in fact, this is some of the best
weather we have had this winter. Most of the snow is gone yet the
river is still in perfect shape. Streamers and Nymphs of course,
but bring a few Midge patterns just in cast. The Wenatchee should
pick up some steam as the water warms a surge of fish will charge in out
of the Columbia.
2/1/2010
Anglers: Joe, Steve, Gary M, Conrad, Richard,
Troy K.
Location: Ascension Bay
Flies: Raghead Crab, Captain Crabby, Exuma Puffs, Bonefish Scampi,
Poppers, Black Death, Cockroach, and a bunch of other flies with cool
names.
Layering: Not much!
Time: January 25th - late last night.
Results: 5 Permit, LOTS of Bonefish, a few Snook (plenty of
shots), Baracuda galore, Jack Crevale on occasion, lots of shots at
60-100 pound Tarpon one day (Steve hooked one in the 80-100 pound
range), plenty of shots at stubborn 10-20 pound Tarpon.
What a great trip, where to begin? I don't think it is possible to
adequately describe in words your first Flats Fishing trip (for Joe),
or your first Permit (Joe and Steve this week!:). We'll let the
photos get the story started, and we will follow up with some killer
video footage and will try to reflect in text just how awesome it is
prowling the flats in search of anything swims!
1/23/2010
Anglers: Joe and Gary Thompson
Location: KOA to Irene
Flies: San Juan Worms, Pats' (of course), Olive K Stone #10, Anato
Mayfly Peacock/Black #16, Scupzilla #4
Its
amazing what a few hours of fishing will do. Dinner tastes better,
comedies on TV are funnier, your kids are cuter, and work seems like a
distant past. It was a nice day on the water, sunshine and a some
humor will wash away the wintertime blues pretty fast. Overall,
decent fishing. Just because the weather got nice doesn't mean it
isn't still cold still, so keep your expectations in check when it comes
to the fish count. If you love fly fishing the way we do though it
doesn't matter much and you will begin to find that even the lean days
are still a worthy venture. Feeling the rod load and a solid tug
on the line make the drive to the river and money spent on gear less
relevant. It is likely this will be the last report for about a
week unless we get some good internet coverage in Ascension Bay Mexico,
we'll see how the report writing goes after sticking a few Bonefish and
Snook and then drinking some Coronas. We apologize in advance for
any grammatical errors or if we accidentally write the report in
Spanish. Adios my amigo brethren of the Powerhour. Stay
tuned.
1/23/2010 late pm
Anglers: Joe and Gary Thompson
Location: KOA to Irene
Flies: San Juan Worms, Pats' (of course), Olive K Stone #10, Anato
Mayfly Peacock/Black #16, Scupzilla #4
Its
amazing what a few hours of fishing will do. Dinner tastes better,
comedies on TV are funnier, your kids are cuter, and work seems like a
distant past. It was a nice day on the water, sunshine and a some
humor will wash away the wintertime blues pretty fast. Overall,
decent fishing. Just because the weather got nice doesn't mean it
isn't still cold still, so keep your expectations in check when it comes
to the fish count. If you love fly fishing the way we do though it
doesn't matter much and you will begin to find that even the lean days
are still a worthy venture. Feeling the rod load and a solid tug
on the line make the drive to the river and money spent on gear less
relevant. It is likely this will be the last report for about a
week unless we get some good internet coverage in Ascension Bay Mexico,
we'll see how the report writing goes after sticking a few Bonefish and
Snook and then drinking some Coronas. We apologize in advance for
any grammatical errors or if we accidentally write the report in
Spanish. Adios my amigo brethren of the Powerhour. Stay
tuned.
1/23/2010 early am
Anglers: Joe
Location: The Yakiam River
Flies: A San Juan will make its debut in slightly off colored water
today.
Layering:
We'll have to wait and see, the temps have lightened up quite a bit.
Time: Heading out later today, 12pm - 3 pm
Results: Wait and see.
The river is coming aback into good shape. A few days of dirty water puts me into a slightly foul mood, can't imagine what it would be like if I had to wait
any longer. I know someday I'll read about somebody in Seattle
going into a fit of "office rage" because not only could they not fish
that weekend, but we didn't update Powerhour and they needed it to calm
their nerves. Perhaps this page helps many of you cope and
prevents office violence. I'd like to think it does, sort of a Dr
.Phil's violence prevention tactic. We are going to fish later today and shoot a video to see how the fishing is
after the freshet of rain and melt muddied things up. No matter how it is, it is good enough for me. A common answer when people ask "how is the Yakima for fly fishing", default response "good enough for me". It is sort of a litmus test for measuring an angler's spirit. If you have to have
80 degree weather and 5,000 trout per mile to love a river or fly fishing.... you might not be much of an angler. No offense intended to lovers of the Missouri or the Bighorn, as I myself could always use more fish
and enjoy the sun, but is that really why we got started on this odyssey called fly fishing? The perfect cast, the rise, shooting line, feeling the rod load, wading big current, reading a hatch, tying a new fly, all of these things are part of the spirit
of angling. If you love these things as much as I do, do yourself a
favor and go fishing sometime soon. Try out some new gear, try
some new water, make a plan for 2010, envision some goals for yourself,
and this might sound silly but it is a good exercise. Write down a
new destination, new species, or new technique. Maybe this will
help keep fly fishing fresh and new for you because it is far more than
just Chicken Soup for your soul, it is Chicken Soup for your entire
life. Eat it up, it just might make you a better person. The
same type of hard work, love, dedication, and intellectual demand that
is required for fly fishing is required in almost every aspect of life
if you plan to be successful. What does all this mean? You
should fishing more, and I am here to help you justify it. Kind of
like that little red guy on your right shoulder whispering to you, but I
would prefer Powerhour is more like the Angel on your left.
Fishing equals mental health.
In the meantime before hooking up the boat and heading through
Ellensburg for the "5 minute" commute to the Yakima, it is time to start
packing for Ascension Bay Mexico. I feel sort of like a big game
hunter heading to Africa. Each piece of gear is slightly more
refined and bigger than the typical trout stuff. Big leaders,
complex knots, fresh backing, big reels, 4/0 Tarpon hooks, and a
slightly different clothing set to keep the evil Equator rays off our
skin. You could also equate it to being an NFL player gearing up
for the Super Bowl. You have waited all year for one shot, one
opportunity to do this trip. Just like lacing up a set of cleats,
as I lace up my Flats Sneakers I can't help but feel some goose bumps
creep up my back knowing that in 72 hours I'll be searching the flats
for Permit, Tarpon, and Bonefish. For me, this is truly the trip
of a lifetime and my first trip to the flats and not something to be
taken lightly for sure. Each piece of gear is carefully
scrutinized over and this is not the time to try and save a few bucks by
going cheap. Sage Xi3's, Z-Axis's, Ross CLA's and Big Games Reels,
Abel Reels, and properly tapered and constructed leaders for Permit,
Tarpon, and Cuda are key. Dreaming of the flats, but trout in
January is still plenty good enough for me today. Stay tuned,
video tonight.
What’s
nice about the upper Wenatchee during January is that you basically have
the river to yourself: glassy-smooth surface, gin clear water, and fresh
steelhead coming up the river on a daily basis now that there is a
little snow melting off. Perfect! This section of the river differs from
the down-stream floats in that it’s calmer – almost serene: smooth,
glassy runs separated by deep pools and bank-side troughs.
For some reason, the fish this far up river have a passion for pink as
was confirmed by our pink / purple “Jimbo’s Fig” flies drifted right
near the bottom in “steelhead slow” water. Now we all know that
steelhead are “the fish of a thousand casts,” but the two bright hens we
caught apparently had not read the email: we both had fish in the within
the first half hour! Being stealthy is a must in these conditions, but
the pay-offs are handsome. And with more fish in the system in over 80
years, it looks like the Steelheading on the Wenatchee will continue to
be hot.
The great weather and heavy rains put the river out overnight and it is big and dirty
now. It is good to see a little snow melt on the hills, it is shaping up like we will have the best spring in years for fishing conditions with a moderate snow pack. The inverse of the last 4 years which has
plagued us with big mud flows during our prime hatches so many times over the past half decade. In the long run, big water is good for the trout but we won't complain about nice clear flows in the spring from an angling standpoint. Clear water is MUCH more
conducive to dry fly fishing which we haven't seen much of these past few springs. We will make sure to get another video up when the river gets back in shape. Also, a big thanks to everybody we saw at the Tri-Cities show this weekend - what a great show that was. Thanks for all the orders, sales, and it was good meeting so many of you. We look forward to seeing a many of our readers and customers at the Puyallup Show soon (Jan 27-31st) and we want to encourage you to give us a call if there is any gear that you want to see there in the way of rods, reels, lines,
waders, bobbers, jackets, gloves, hats, flies or whatever. Give us a call and we will sure to have it even if we have to Super Special Order it for you just to look at and check out.
We will make sure to have it there. Give us a call soon and you can pick it up at the show in person or give it a good demo. Especially with waders and boots, having every size and model combo at the shows is tough to do. We feel like Gypsies this time of year traveling from show to show with a trailer full of goods to pedal. You could be a part of that
action, give us a call, let us know what you want and we will deliver to Puyallup and
firm handshakes will come free with purchase.
1/13/2010 late pm
Anglers: Ted, Johnny, and Joe
Location: Irene to Ringer
Flies: Black/Brown Pat's #8, Pink Scud #16, San Juan Worms (variety
pack), Brassie #20, Choc. WD-40 #20/18, Lime Green Caddis Larvae,
Sculpin #4
Results: 3 fish landed, pretty tough fishing but still worth being on a
great river.
Fishing was surprisingly tough today, we were probably overly optimistic
with the temps above freezing all day but the fishing was challenging
and there were a lot of short strikes on the streamer that we couldn't
convert and the nymphing was almost non-existent! There are always
going to be days like this, even in the spring, summer, or fall.
The fishing should pick up a little consistency though as the days
lengthen the trout will sense some urgency and take advantage of the
warmer days as winter begins to soften up. In hindsight, we did a
very long float for 3-4 hours of fishing and could have done better
#wise if we had stuck to just a few "gimme" zones and worked them over.
General tips: dress right, you will be amazed at what having the
right gear will do ESPECIALLY good wading pants and wader wick type
material that keep the humidity in check. If you can stay warm
without looking like the "Malto Meal Boy" you will have a good time.
There is a lot of wildlife, serenity, few people, and just enough nice
trout to make the balance come together.
1/10/2010
Anglers: Cory, Bob, and Joe
Location: Wenatchee River
Flies: Black/Brown Pat's #8/6/4, Blue Pat's Stone #6, egg patterns, and
a Big Green Caddis Pupae tied on a #12 Scud hook, Bloody Mary #14,
Results: 3-4 Steelhead hooked, one landed (ditto from last trip).
Did you notice that the annoying auto start on the Simms video did not
cue today?! Sorry about that last week, you should just order new
waders instead of patching them it is easier. Patching is for
scrubs, in fact, buy 2 sets of new waders. Just kidding, put some
duct tape on there and you are good to go.
Another cold day on
the Wenatchee yesterday, but we got a nice wild fish to hand and hooked
several others. Our trips up there this time of year are pretty
short days making the drive to and from easy, and we don't like our
guests to get hypothermia so when the hot coffee is gone we try to hit
the takeout. Layer up right and it is very comfortable. The
Wenatchee should get better and better as the water warms slightly and
the days get longer a big push of fish will surge in from the Columbia
and fill the river up with fish. The Yakima is prime right now
with no ice on the banks and pretty moderate temps both day and night.
Concentrate on the afternoons and try to pick 2-3 pieces of water you
really like and work them thoroughly. Change depths and flies to
see what works and don't try to cover a lot of water fast, it is simply
less productive unless you are sweeping streamers. Nymphs this
time of year you are always better off casting at a known quarry and
doing so continually. Fish the big buckets.
1/07/2010
Anglers: Connor and Joe
Location: Wenatchee River
Flies: Blue Pat's Stone #6, egg patterns, and a Big Green Caddis Pupae
tied on a #12 Scud hook.
Time: 11 am - 4 pm
Results: 3-4 Steelhead hooked, one landed.
It is tough to be two places at once, but with the warm weather (?
relative) we decided to hit the Wenatchee yesterday instead of the
Yakima and it felt good to hook up with some metal and warm up the fun
way on the river. It was very comfortable with highs near 40 and
the fish were on the take in the later half of the day. It does
take some skill on that big clear water to get long enough floats to
make it happen. The wade fishing is tough and water temps aren't
breaking 35-36. The fish are in the long open glides rather than
the pocket rocks where you can get away with a high stick or a quick
float. Plan to feed LOTS of line on the Wenatchee right now.
We have no report from the Methow, but it won't be long before it is
fishing for sure. Make sure to note our Sportsman's Show schedule
above in the left column. We would love to see all the diehard
Powerhour readers there, BUT there will be no Fly Fishing Show in
Bellevue this year. So you can take your $25 for admission and
parking and spend it on flies or a Red's hat instead. Or maybe get
really creative and get a haircut, a taco, and some new aftershave with
$5 to spare.