9/29/03

Angler: Hank, Mike, and Travis

Location: Red's to Mahre's

Flies: sz. 16 Adams Split Wing, sz. 18 Gray Baetis Emerger, sz. 16 Rusty Sparkle Dun, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug, sz. 16 Orange Partridge Soft Hackle, sz. 8 Kaufmann Stone, sz. 10 Orange Bugmeister

Time: 10:30 am until 7:30 pm

Results: 8 Rainbows landed (10"-16")

We had another warm sunny day with temperatures reaching the high 80's. We spent most of the day deep nymphing or fishing a soft hackle; changing to top water tactics in the evening at about 5:00 pm. Fishing the sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug below the Kaufmann Stone in the faster moving water and seams was our favorite tactic. Keep in mind that with the lower river levels you need to keep the leader length under the indicator on your nymph rigs a little shorter, with approximately 4 feet being the norm. Even though we saw some fish feeding throughout the day, we did better on top after 5:00 pm using the sz. 16 Rusty Sparkle Dun and the sz. 18 Gray Baetis Emerger approximately 10 to 12 inches behind an adult imitation. We did see some October Caddis in the evening. However, we had enough fish coming up to the smaller bugs that we stuck with them.

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9/28/03

Angler: Andy and Hank

Location: Red's to Lmuma

Flies: sz. 8 Orange Phat Fly, sz. 16 Adams Split Wing, sz. 18 Baetis Emerger, sz. 8 Orange Marathon Bug

Time: 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm

Results: 5 Rainbows landed (10"-14")

The most productive bug we had on during this float was the sz. 18 Baetis Emerger tied 10 to 12 inches behind the Split Wing Adams. However, we still managed to bring up a few fish on the Adams. We also saw a fair number of October Caddis out and about. We tied on the October Caddis imitations (Orange Phat Fly and Orange Marathon Bug) for the last half hour of the float and saw a few decent fish on these imitations. We are still seeing warm sunny days with temperatures into the mid to high 80's. During the day nymphing is still the most productive method of fishing. Spend time working those inside corners and center of the river riffles. Pay attention to the brown to green color changes in the water. The river flows are staying fairly consistent between 1050 to 1100 cfs.

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9/25/03

Angler: Connie and Rod

Location: Ringer to Big Horn

Flies: sz. 8 Orange Phat Fly, sz. 16 BWO Split Wing, sz. 18 Baetis Emerger, sz. 8 Black Cone 20"er, sz. 20 WD-40, sz. 16 Disco Stone, sz. 16 Red Copper John, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug

Time: 12:30 pm until 6:30 pm

Results: 4 Rainbows and 2 Whitefish landed (10"-13") with several LDR's

Because we didn't see any decent active sippers (a lot of dinks), we spent most of the afternoon fishing nymphs. This stretch of river lends itself to some good nymphing riffles. We hooked from 1 to 4 fish in each riffle we fished. At least 3 of the LDR's were close enough to the boat, at one time or another, to see that they were in the 15 inch range. The most productive pattern was the sz. 20 WD-40 and we could have probably spent at least 2 hours catching fish (both white fish and rainbows) on it at the Wilson Creek riffle. The extended weather forecast looks stable with sunshine and temperatures in the high 70's to low 80's for the next week. However, it is cloudy here today and if it holds it may be some good Baetis fishing today. The river flows are hanging in there on the South side of 1100 cfs. Also, on the corner above Big Horn we switched to a sz. 8 Orange Phat Fly for an October Caddis pattern and had several decent fish come after it with no hookups.

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9/24/03

Angler: Steve, Hank, and Zane

Location: Umtanum to Red's

Flies: sz. 8 Orange Stimulator, sz. 16 BWO Split Wing, sz. 18 Baetis Emerger

Time: 4:30 pm until 5:30 pm

Results: 4 Rainbows landed (12"-13")

We spent some time casting at several pods of sippers. As with most of the pods we have seen on these bright sunny days, there were a few good fish mixed in with some juveniles. We picked up a couple fish on adult BWO patterns, but had most of our action on the grey CDC emergers. We had several big fish working in some flat, smooth water on the inside of a heavier current that we had eat a few times but weren't able to get a point in them. The extended weather forecast looks stable with sunshine and temperatures in the high 70's to low 80's for the next week. The river flows dropped another notch and are now on the South side of 1100 cfs. I saw several adult October Caddis in the porch light last night, and expect to see more as nighttime air temperatures cool.

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9/21/03

Angler: Phil, Brian, and Rod

Location: Red's to Roza

Flies: sz. 8 Orange Phat Fly, sz. 8 Orange Bugmeister, sz. 16 BWO Split Wing, sz. 18 Baetis Emerger, sz. 8 Black Cone 20"er, sz. 20 WD-40, sz. 16 Disco Stone, sz. 8 Large Prince, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug

Time: 10:30 am until 7:30 pm

Results: 5 Rainbows landed (10"-15")

Nymphing was fairly productive throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Our most productive nymph pattern was a sz. 16 Disco Stone (Chartreuse body color) fished under an indicator, and trailed behind a larger Stonefly nymph. We spent a fair amount of time out of the boat working some water with the nymphs. Dry fly fishing was slower for the bigger fish until later in the day. Most of the fish we saw feeding during the day were dinks. Once again, we saw some of our better fish later in the day on October Caddis patterns. The weather was great yesterday with sunshine and temperatures in the low 70's. River flows are low and stable at 1140 cfs, and there are places where you're going to rub a few rocks on the way down.

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9/20/03

Angler: John, Ginny, and Steve

Location: Red's to Slab

Flies: sz. 6 Para Hopper, sz. 8 Orange Bugmeister, sz. 16 BWO Split Wing, sz. 18 Baetis Emerger, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug, sz. 8 Royal PMX

Time: 10:30 am until 6:30 pm

Results: 5-6 Rainbows landed (12"-15")

Although we had our best luck with Baetis patterns, bright sunshine coupled with some significant wind made the fishing yesterday pretty difficult. Two days ago (cloudy and calm) was a great day, with a lot of better fish podded up. We did fish some October Caddis in the evening and had a few good looks. Baetis are currently great on the cloudy days, and will continue to build even on the sunny days. We have had our best luck fishing this hatch with some very sparcely profiled BWO patterns in sizes 16 to 20. We did hit one nice fish yesterday on a Hopper, so don't give up on the big bugs yet, either. The best of the Fall fishing season is ahead of us.

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9/14/03

Angler: Tony and Steve

Location: MM 19 to Red's

Flies: sz. 8 Orange Bugmeister, sz. 6 Winged Thing, sz. 8 Black Kaufman's (nymph), sz. 16 Red Copper john, sz. 18 Black Copper John

Time: 4:30 pm until 7:30 pm

Results: 3 Rainbows landed (13"-14")

Fishing has slowed down a bit the last two days mainly on dries, but also the nymphing. We landed a couple of fish and missed a few more with nymphs in some heavier pocket water. Our most effective nymph pattern has been the Black Copper John. We tried a lot of different bugs and tactics with the dry flies, but can't say that we learned anything full proof. We had a couple of better fish eat the Orange Bugmeister, but weren't able to get a hook into them. We're kind of at the "in between" stage on the Summer and Fall bugs. We did see a couple of adult October Caddis last night, but the Fall BWO's are still a ways off.

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9/11/03

Angler: Joe, Walt, and Steve

Location: Red's to Mahre's

Flies: sz. 6 Dave's Hopper, sz. 8 Kingfisher, sz. 16 Olive Split Wing, sz. 16 Grey Sparkle Dun, sz. 16 Purple Split Wing, sz. 10 Brown Stonefly

Time: 10:00 am until 7:00 pm

Results: 12-15 trout landed (12"- 16")

Fish seemed to be pretty active on the dry flies all day long; however we saw more smaller fish than we had the past few days, too. Once again we fished Hoppers through the mid afternoon window (12:30-3:00) and had some nice fish eat them. Before and after the Hoppers, we fished the smaller dries on the move and to some scattered feeders. Flows are now down to 1473 cfs and should start to stabilize a bit. These early-Fall Baetis are the most prevalent opportunity for "match the hatch" fishing at this time, although the fish have been scattered. This hatch will continue to build all the way through October. Towards the end of this month, we will see some October Caddis join the mix, too. Current water temperatures are conducive to elevated fish activity - try twitching the big dries, stripping the streamers, and swinging those soft hackles. Yesterday was the first day I put my waders on since June.

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9/9/03

Angler: Steve and Joe

Location: Red's to Roza

Flies: sz. 6 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 16 Hot Butt Caddis, sz. 16 Grey Sparkle Dun, sz. 16 Purple Split Wing, sz. 10 Brown Stonefly (dry), sz. 6 20"er (nymph), sz. 16 Red Copper John, sz. 20 WD-40 (Baetis nymph)

Time: 9:00 am until 8:00 pm

Results: 10-12 trout landed (12"- 16")

Fishing (both dries and nymphs) was slow until around 11:00 am. We had great Hopper fishing from 12:30 until 2:30, and then went to a mixed bag of nymphing and even some casting small dries to sippers. For nymphs, we caught a couple fish on both the Red Copper John and WD-40. With the smaller dries, we caught some fish that were actively feeding, and had others come up just casting to likely spots. At one point, we had a nice 16"+ fish feeding every 3-5 seconds that we casted at for at least 20 minutes. We tried every small bug we had (Caddis, Baetis, PED's, PMD's, Midge, emergers for all in different sizes,...), along with some bigger bugs; and we never did get that fish to eat a fly. He came up and looked a few times, but never opened his mouth. When that happens, I guess it boils down to one thing: presentation! This opens a whole new can of worms (don't even ask, we weren't that desperate!) - leader length, leader size, are you in the best position to get a drift, etc... That fish won the battle yesterday, but next time...Flows are down to 1634 cfs this morning, and some cooler weather (high today of 67 with clouds) has arrived. Water temperature yesterday afternoon was 62 degrees, which is a drastic improvement over what had been going on over the last month.

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9/7/03

Angler: Brian

Location: Umtanum

Flies: sz. 16 X Caddis, sz. 16 CDC Caddis Emerger, sz. 18 Para BWO, sz. 10 Brown Stonefly (dry)

Time: 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm

Results: 6 trout landed (12"- 17")

River levels took a big dip last night dropping from 2349 cfs to 2057. Opportunities for wade fishing are opening up and cooler weather is scheduled to arrive today. Dry fly fishing has been good utilizing a variety of patterns including Stimulators (sz. 10-14), Brown Stoneflies (sz. 8-10), Caddis in the afternoon and evening, and some Baetis. Don't forget the Hopper patterns - Hopper fishing can be very productive when temperatures start to cool down - those slow moving Hoppers are easy for trout to catch!

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9/4/03

Anglers: Bob, Rod, and Bob

Location: Red's to Lmuma

Flies: sz. 12 Electric Blue Stimulator, sz. 16 Yellow Sallie, sz. 16 Purple Split Wing, sz. 8 Plan B, sz. 8 Dave's Hopper

Time: 10:00 am until 6:00 pm

Results: 8 or 9 trout landed (12"- 20")

The dropping water levels are triggering all kinds of bug activity throughout the day (down to 2649 cfs this morning). Caddis, Summer Stones, Summer Baetis, and PED's were all part of the smorgasboard witnessed yesterday. Dry fly fishing was consistent most of the day with a few midafternoon lulls in the action, but good overall. We fished smaller dries until around 2:00, and then switched to some bigger bugs and Hoppers. This 20" scrapper inhaled Bob's Hopper pattern, and it wasn't the only good fish we saw yesterday!

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9/3/03

Anglers: Rick and Steve

Location: Red's to Lmuma

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Para Hopper, sz. 16 Yellow Stimulator, sz. 18 Grey Sparkle Dun

Time: 2:30 pm until 5:00 pm

Results: 7 trout landed (12"- 18")

For some reason we decided to start out with a much smaller dry fly pattern than what we had been fishing, and it proved very productive. We had fish up throughout the entire drift - some tight to the banks where it's still steep and deep, and others out a ways in spots where there is a gradual ledge. These gradual ledges will become more prevalent as the river continues to drop. The very shallow water is brown and the deeper water takes on the greenish shade - cast your fly right on the seamline where the color changes. I hit two nice fish yesterday on a sz. 18 Grey Sparkle Dun. We had seen both of those fish feed prior to hooking them, and neither of them came up for a Hopper. I switched to the Sparkle Dun and the first good drift over them brought them both up (I beleive they were keying on Summer Baetis, which there have been fair numbers of). The river is down to 2718 cfs this morning, and the highest water temperature reading of the day came in around 66.5 degrees, which is favorable. We saw several adult Summer Stones again yesterday and expect to see many more these next two weeks. Weather-wise, things are supposed to be hot through Saturday, with daytime highs in the 80-90 degree range and cooling down into the low 70's with some rain possible starting Sunday. Fall is on the way!

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9/1/03

Anglers: Rod and Mark

Location: Red's to Roza

Flies: sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator, sz. 10 King Fisher Hopper, sz. 8 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 10 Yellow Phat Fly

Time: 7:30 am until 2:00 pm

Results: 4 trout landed (10"- 13")

The early start yesterday didn't seem to offer much of an advantage. Fishing was slow until approximately 11:00 am, and then we started finding a few more fish looking up, but still somewhat sporadically. We had some quality fish come up through the Miracle Mile above the Slab, but we weren't able to connect on them. Perhaps the biggest fish of the day ate a Hopper just below the Slab. Mark had him stuck, but the trout gave a few big head thrashes and managed to spit the fly. We did see a few adult Summer Stones flying yesterday, and we expect to see many more of them as the river drops over the next 10 days. Flows this morning are down to 2842 cfs, and should continue to drop at a rate of 150-250 cfs per day.

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8/30/03

Anglers: Eric, Gene, and Steve

Location: Umtanum to Roza

Flies: sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator, sz. 10 King Fisher Hopper, sz. 8 Button Hopper, sz. 10 Phat Fly, sz. 8 Dave's Hopper, sz. 6 20"er Stone, sz. 16 Red Copper John

Time: 8:30 am until 8:00 pm

Results: 5-6 fish landed (12"- 16")

We had good activity on dry flies in the morning until 12:30, and then fishing slowed down until around 4:30 pm. We had our best luck with the Electric Blue Stimulator and yellow Phat fly in the morning, and switched to a variety of Hopper patterns for the late afternoon into the evening. We did do some nymphing during the slow period in the afternoon and picked up a couple of fish on the smaller (sz. 16) nymphs behind the Stone Fly pattern. The river is continuing to drop, dipping below 3000 cfs yesterday for the first time since June. Air temperatures are headed back up for the weekend (into the 90's again), so pay attention to water temperatures with the lower water volume.

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8/29/03

Anglers: Rod, Ed and Alan

Location: MM19 to Roza

Flies: sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 10 para Hopper, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator, sz. 10 King Fisher Hopper, sz. 8 Button Hopper, sz. 10 Phat Fly, sz. 16 Peacock Caddis

Time: 10:00 am until 8:00 pm

Results: 10 trout landed (12"- 17")

The fishing was a little slower in the morning hours compared to what we had been seeing. At times we traveled fairly long stretches of river without seeing a fish, then there would be a stretch where we would pick up two to three fish in a short period of time. The most productive time started for us at 2:00 pm until about 8:00 pm. The most consistent patterns during this time frame were the Electric Blue Stimulator and the Tan Para Hopper. Along with the bigger fly patterns, the caddis activity was also fairly consistent in the late evening. A few nice fish were caught using the X-Caddis behind one of the bigger bugs. We have seen some water level changes in the past few days, with the flow this morning reading 2972 cfs. The water temperatures that we have been seeing are ranging from 62 degrees in the morning to 67 degrees mid day.

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8/27/03

Anglers: Tyler and Spencer

Location: Red's to Slab

Flies: sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 16 CDC Caddis Emerger, sz. 10 para Hopper, sz. 8 Black Kaufman's Stone, sz. 16 Silver Lightening Bug, sz. 14 Prince Nymph

Time: 10:00 am until 12:00 pm

Results: 3 trout landed (12"- 14")

The next 10 days are going to bring some big changes to the Yakima River. We will see flow volume drop from the current level of 3155 cfs (this morning), into the 1200-1500 cfs range. Our strategy of fishing big dries - tight to the banks on the move - has not changed much in recent weeks. We have fished some various Stimulator Patterns (Marathon Bug, Electric Blue, Royal,...) in the early parts of the day and switched to Hopper patterns around 2:00 pm. Our most productive window has been the afternoon to evening time frame. Water temperatures have been favorable, not exceeding 68 degrees at any time during the past week. With the change in day length (dark is 8:30 pm these days), and flow rates - 1 mph for every 1000 cfs of flow (just floating without touching an oar) - you'll want to plan your float accordingly.

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8/23/03

Anglers: Sims, Ernie, and Steve

Location: Umtanum to Roza

Flies: sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator, sz. 12 Phat Fly, sz. 10 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 10 Marathon Bug, sz. 14 Royal Wulff

Time: 10:00 am until 6:30 pm

Results: Good dry fly fishing all day long!

I would say yesterday was one of the more consistent days of fishing big dry flies that we've seen all summer. We had fish up on a regular basis throughout the entire float - and some nicer fish in general (quite a few in the 15"-16" range). The day started out with cooler weather, cloud cover, and a light rain shower, which was a very welcome change. Water temperature remained favorable throughout the day, not going over 68 degrees. The river is down another 70 cfs this morning to 3344, and we are looking at high air temperatures in the mid 70's. There is a slight breeze blowing this morning at the shop.

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8/22/03

Anglers: Rod, Laurey, and Tina

Location: M.P. 19 to Mahres

Flies: sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 12 Phat Fly, sz. 10 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 8 Dave's Hopper, sz. 10 Feth Hopper, sz. 10 Electric Blue Stimulater, sz. 8 Orange Plan B, sz. 10 Orange Nightmare

Time: 11:30 am until 8:30 pm

Results: 4 fish landed - (3) Rainbows (10"-13"), and Tina's 18" squaw fish

We had fish looking up throughout the float. The most fish activity was still in that 5:30 to 8:30 time frame. The water temperature has stayed pretty consistent through these past few days with temperatures during this trip ranging from about 64 degrees up to about 68 degrees. It has cooled down here today with air temperatures in the mid 70's, overcast skies, and even a light rain shower this morning. It should be a good day of fishing.

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8/20/03

Anglers: Rod and Ashley

Location: Umtanum to Reds

Flies: sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 12 Phat Fly, sz. 10 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 16 Peacock Caddis, sz. 16 CDC Caddis Emerger

Time: 10:00 am until noon

Results: 3 trout landed (10"-13")

We saw more fish actively feeding on the surface this morning, than we have during the daytime in a long time. Fair numbers of Caddis were present, and we had some pretty good takes on the Hopper imitations. Water temperatures have remained within tolerable levels these past few days despite the river dropping a bit (currently 3422 cfs), and daytime high temperatures yesterday in the mid 90's. It cooled down into the low 50's overnight last night, and we started this morning with the water temperature two degrees cooler than yesterday morning (63.8 this morning). We still ask that you remain aware of temperatures in the afternoon/ evening; and we will continue to stress the importance of getting those fish in quickly and released without taking them out of the water.

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8/18/03

Anglers: Hank and Brian

Location: Big Horn to Reds

Flies: sz. 8 Kingfisher Hopper, sz. 6 Tan Para Chernobyl, sz. 8 Orange Nightmare

Time: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Results: 4 trout landed (12"-14")

The evening big -bug session picked up around 7:00 pm, with the tan flies yielding the best results. We did see some elevated Caddis activity just before dark. Water temperatures yesterday during this evening session registered at 68 degrees. The trend has been that temperatures are starting out at 7:00 in the morning around 63 degrees and rising 5-6 degrees throughout the remainder of the day. Once these temperatures have gone up, they are not starting to cool down until after midnight. It is very important to be aware of the water temperature. Trout have a much lower recovery and survival rate when water temperatures hit 70 degrees. It is best to play the fish quickly and leave them in the water, even when unhooking them.

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8/17/03

Anglers: None

Location: Reds

Flies: None

Time: 11:00 am and 5:00 pm

Results: Lower water temperatures

Cooler air temperatures, mid 80's, yesterday seemed to help reduce the higher water temperature we saw on the the 15th. We took water temperature readings twice yesterday (8/16/03) at our boat launch. The first was at approximately 11:00 am, and we got a 65 degree reading. Again at approximately 5:00 pm we took a water temperature and it was 67 degrees. We will continue to keep an eye on this and update you throughout this next week. The flow has been fairly stable about 3600 to 3700 cfs.

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8/16/03

Anglers: None

Location: Reds

Flies: None

Time: 4:00 pm

Results: Higher water temperature

This is an update on the river water temperatures that we are seeing. At approximately 4:00 pm on the afternoon of 8/15 we took a water temperature at our place. We found the temperature to be 70 degrees. Please be prepared to restrict your fishing to the times when the water temperatures are below 70 degrees. This means primarily early morning. We also had a number of fisherman report similar temperatures. We recommend voluntary closure when the temperature of the water hits 70 degrees. As identified in our August 13 Power Hour report 70 degree water is the "lethal limit."

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8/14/03

Anglers: Walt, Dan, and Steve

Location: Umtanum to Roza

Flies: sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator, sz. 6 Black Cone 20"er, sz. 16 Silver Lightning Bug, sz. 10 Para Hopper, sz. 8 Plan B

Time: 11:00 am until 8:30 pm

Results: Slower Dry Fly fishing until evening, pretty good nymph fishing

We fished dries on the move throughout the trip. Surface action was slow overall during the day, but we did catch two of the nicer fish of the trip on dries midday. Once again, anchoring up and drifting nymphs proved pretty productive with most of our action on the smaller Lightning Bug. About 5:30 pm we started having better luck getting fish up on Hoppers. Just as Dan was saying he didn't think nymph fishing was his cup of tea, his indicator took a dive and he set the hook on a "snag". He tried yanking at upstream and downstream angles, and I'd just told him to point the rod tip at the snag and pull - when all of a sudden, the snag started swimming! We got one look at the bright red side of a nice trout before the fish headed down river and came loose. Water temperature has been stable at 68 degrees. We need to keep an eye on this over the next few days as the weather forecast calls for air temperatures to hit the mid 90's.

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8/13/03

Anglers: Rod and Steve

Location: Lmuma to Slab

Flies: sz. 6 Large Prince, sz. 6 Black Cone 20"er, sz. 16 Silver Lightning Bug, sz. 14 Olive Hare's Ear

Time: 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm

Results: 4 fish landed - (3) Rainbows (13"-16"), and another big Squaw Fish

We went for an evening nymph fishing session last night and did pretty well. The Silver Lightning Bug was our best fly, and although we hooked a few fish on the move, we had our best luck anchoring on riffles. Speaking of anchoring - I donated my first anchor of the year to the River God's. When that happens, you look around and try to find someone else or something else to blame it on, but the fact of the matter is that deep down, you know when you go to drop it if the spot is safe or somewhat questionable. I'd been lucky all summer, so my comfort zone had expanded a bit. Water temperature was 68 degrees at 8:30 last night. This is pushing the "lethal limit" of 70 degrees. We all need to be aware of where this is at over these next few weeks, especially with the flows down. Get those fish in quick and back in the water!

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8/12/03

Anglers: Sean and Steve

Location: Red's to Roza

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 10 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 6 Plan B, sz. 6 Black Cone 20"er, sz. 16 Silver Lightning Bug, sz. 16 Disco Stone, sz. 14 Olive Hare's Ear

Time: 3:00 pm until 8:30 pm

Results: 12 fish landed - (2) Whitefish, (2) Squaw Fish (a 20"er!), and (8) Rainbows (12"-16")

Dry fly fishing was tougher yesterday until around 7:00 pm. We fished dries on the move throughout the drift, and stopped on a few runs and nymphed. Nymphing was productive, with all of the fish except the big Squaw Fish eating the smaller dropper nymphs (it ate the big Stonefly). We had our best dry fly action fishing the Plan B in the evening tight to the banks. Flows are down again this morning to 3664 cfs, due to some repair work being conducted on the dam. We expect things to stabilize near this level.

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8/11/03

Anglers: Rick, Tyler, and Terry

Location: Big Horn to Slab

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator, sz. 6 Black Kaufman's, sz. 16 Silver Lightning Bug, sz. 16 Prince Nymph

Time: 6:30 am until 6:00 pm

Results: Good nymph fishing

We started out fishing dry flies and had some good action on the surface until the bright sun hit the water around 8:30. At that point, we switched to nymphs and had good luck working seam lines throughout the remainder of the day. We picked fish up on both the larger Stonefly and the smaller droppers. It looks as though we're in for a little change in weather over the next couple of days, with things cooling off and some much needed rain showers in the forecast. A hint of fall is in the air.

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8/07/03

Anglers: Tony, Trevor, and Steve

Location: Red's to Lmuma

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 12 Yellow Marathon Bug, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator

Time: 9:30 am until 10:30 am

Results: (1) 13" Rainbow landed

As the saying goes, "We actually had better fishing than the results might indicate." We had fish up pretty regularly throughout the drift. Trevor stuck one nicer fish at the alfalfa pasture that put on a good aerial show prior to coming unbuttoned, and we had a fair number of other looks and bumps that didn't result in bent rods. Once again, we fished only dries this morning, but nymphing with a sz. 6 or 8 darker colored (brown/ black) stonefly nymph and a sz. 14-16 Lightning Bug or Prince nymph dropper under an indicator has been pretty effective throughout the day. The faster moving parts of the riffles with a 3'-4' depth has been the best target for nymphing. Despite another heavy rainfall last night, flows are down a bit to 4001 cfs this morning.

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8/06/03

Angler: Wind

Location: Red's

Flies: Gusts to 80+ mph accompanied by rain

Time: 7:00 pm until 7:30 pm

Results: Downed trees, branches, tents, roof, etc...

We had a world class storm move through the canyon last night. A fair amount of damage was done; however, we are very thankful that no one was injured. We are working on getting things back in order, and anticipate by tomorrow afternoon things will be back to normal except for a few less shady spots in the campground. The fishing has picked up a bit these past few days. Consistent cloud cover has made the trout a little less weary and we have had good dry fly fishing. Flows are holding at 4160 cfs, and the weather forecast calls for scattered clouds and moderate temperatures with daily highs in the 80-85 range.

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8/03/03

Angler: Jack, Tim, and Steve

Location: Ringer to Red's

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 12 Yellow Para Hopper, sz. 8 Marathon Bug, sz. 8 Electric Blue Stimulator

Time: 4:00 pm until 9:00 pm

Results: Good Dry Fly Fishing

The air temperature dropped a few degrees and the clouds moved in yesterday. We even had a brief smattering of rain overnight last night, which we are very happy about. We did a split float yesterday, fishing the morning until 11:00, and then going back out at 4:00 pm. We stuck with dries and had consistent activity on both drifts, but the afternoon session was a little better. Our best flies these past two days have been sz. 10-12 Hoppers and a few Stimulators mixed in. Basically, there are two types of banks: pocket banks and straight banks. On the pocket banks, try and land your fly in the pocket and mend it as soon as it lands. It's OK, and actually desirable to move your fly on the mend - this triggers a lot of strikes. On straight banks, the goal is to get a long, drag free drift as tight to the bank as possible. Allowing these fish to see the fly coming from 5'-10' away in this type of water is a critical element in tricking them.

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7/30/03

Angler: Tyler and Logan

Location: Umtanum to Red's

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 12 Yellow Para Hopper, sz. 12 Feth Hopper, sz. 12 King Fisher Hopper

Time: 9:00 am until 10:00 am

Results: 7 trout landed (12"-16")

Well Steve is on his last day of a 3 day trip to ALASKA. He is due home late this evening. Things were a little slower this morning as a result of yesterday's fire at Big Horn (M.P. 22). We have experienced some road closures this morning in the area of Big Horn as road crews are dealing with rocks and debris on the road. We anticipate everything being back to normal by late this afternoon. However, if you are traveling this way over the weekend you can expect to see a fire blackened hillside from Big Horn to the Rock Slides. We took advantage of this time to spend an hour on the river this morning. Fishing hopper dry fly patterns to the banks was good again this morning. River flows are fairly consistent at around 4100 cfs, and remember that there are fish on both sides of the river. Don't get yourself locked into fishing one bank all the time.

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7/26/03

Angler: Craig, Rob, and Steve

Location: Ringer to Red's

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 8 Plan B, sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 8 Black Cone 20"er, sz. 16 Lightning Bug, sz. 16 Disco Stone (Chartreuse)

Time: 6:00 am until 11:00 am

Results: 9 trout landed (10"-14")

Fishing larger Hopper and Stonefly dry patterns to the banks was pretty good until 9:00 am. Once things slowed down on the big bugs, we switched back and forth between nymphs and smaller Hoppers. We had our best results nymph-wise using a sz. 8 Stonefly and a Disco Stone dropper, targeting faster moving water. For the afternoon session, we continued downriver from our place with nymphing providing fairly consistent action through the heat of the day. We changed back to big Hoppers around 4:00 pm, and had some excitement when a big fish ate Rob's Hopper on a grassy bank. Rob stuck the fish and had him on for a few seconds before it came unbuttoned. Craig, who was in the back of the boat, got a little excited with the flurry of activity, and was halfway between making fun of Rob and trying to get his slack fly line under control, when the same big fish grabbed his Hopper! Now Craig stuck the fish and had it on for a few seconds before he fell victim to the same fate Rob did. There are a few hungry trout lurking along those grassy banks just waiting for a Hopper to drift by...

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7/24/03

Angler: Travis, Brian, and Steve

Location: MM 19 to Red's

Flies: sz. 8 Black Cone 20"er, sz. 16 Lightning Bug, sz. 12 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 12 Para Hopper Yellow

Time: 3:00 pm until 4:30 pm

Results: 6 trout landed (10"-14")

We fished nymphs for the first mile, and then switched to Hoppers. Nymph fishing yesterday was good. We picked up one fish on the Silver Lightning Bug, and the rest on the big Stonefly. We had a few fish come up on Hoppers, but with the strong wind in the afternoon, it was tough getting a good tight drift. It looks like the wind is supposed to blow again today, but as of this morning, it is still calm. Flows are up slightly to 4065 cfs, so don't forget your anchor!

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7/23/03

Angler: Steve

Location: Umtanum to Red's

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Phat Fly, sz. 12 Whiz Kid

Time: 3:30 pm until 4:30 pm

Results: 4 trout landed (12"-16")

We have had a series of 3 days in a row of 100 degree plus heat, but flows have stayed up and water temperature has remained favorable at 66 degrees. On this short float, I anchored up on the shady pockets and fished dries. A well placed cast with a good drift will yield enough action to keep things interesting with the dry flies. Nymphing has been the best on the move running a dark colored Stonefly with a Lightning Bug or Prince nymph dropper. We have had our best overall fishing during the last 30 minutes of daylight with large Stonefly dry patterns casting tight to the banks.

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7/20/03

Anglers: Patrick, Darrin, and Hank

Location: Big Horn to Red's

Flies: sz. 12 Ugyn Bug, sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 12 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 6 Orange Nightmare, sz. 16 X Caddis

Time: 6:30 pm until 9:30 pm

Results: 5 trout landed (12"-15")

The overall gameplan for dries remains drag-free drifts tight to the banks. We still haven't been seeing large quantities of fish during the afternoon, but the fish we have been getting on Hoppers and other medium sized attractors (ugyn, Whiz Kid, Stimulators, etc...) are all quality fish. The peak window yesterday was from 9:00 pm until you couldn't see your fly anymore. We fished the larger Stone Fly patterns during this window (Nightmares, big Stimulators, and other foam and rubber leg type stuff), and had some good top water action. This time is also when large numbers of Caddis started showing and fish started keying on them. We stuck with the big stuff on the move, although we could have anchored up and casted at feeders. Once this evening frenzy starts, you only have about 30-45 minutes of daylight left to fish, so choose whatever method you find to be the most enjoyable, don't waste time changing flies, and bring your "A" game!

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7/19/03

Anglers: Jeff, John, and Steve

Location: Umtanum to Roza

Flies: sz. 12 Phat Fly, sz. 10 Tan Para Hopper, sz. 12 Marathon Bug, sz. 12 Whiz Kid, sz. 8 Electric Stimulator, sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 6 Plan B

Time: 1:30 pm until 9:30 pm

Results: 6 or 7 fish landed throughout the day (10"-20")

Our most productive fishing was from 1:30 pm until 3:00 pm using Hopper patterns, and then things picked up again for the last hour of daylight. John got us off to a promising start, landing the first fish of the day at Pac Man, which turned out to be a legitimate 20"er on a Marathon Bug. From there we hit a couple more fish on Hoppers, and then we had a long dry spell until the bottom end of Lmuma. Nymphing may be a better option for the late afternoon session on these hot, bright days. The mercury hit triple digits yesterday, and today looks like more of the same. There is a slight breeze blowing this morning.

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7/16/03

Anglers: Rob, Pat, and Steve

Location: Big Horn to Mahre's

Flies: sz. 12 Whiz Kid, sz. 8 Electric Stimulator, sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Feth's Hopper, sz. 6 Plan B

Time: 11:30 am until 2:00 pm (first half)

Results: 4 or 5 fish landed during the first half of the day (10"-13")

There were a few periods where we didn't have a rise for a while, but for the most part, we had pretty decent action throughout the day on dry flies. Things picked up a bit in the afternoon around 4:30, and the evening big-bug session (7:00 until 9:00 pm) was more productive than it had been the past few days. We fished nymphs for an hour early in the afternoon, picking up a couple of fish on a Silver Lightning Bug. Despite the hot weather we've had this past week, the water temperature has remained favorable, reading 63 degrees yesterday afternoon. The fish are very active and aggressive in this temperature zone, as demonstrated by a feisty 16"er that Pat hooked near twilight. In one swift movement, the fish grabbed the big fly off the surface and continued upriver, waging an aerial campaign that would have left many an angler holding an empty rod stricken with the all too familiar dazed look of face. Is it luck or skill to keep berserk fish attached to a barbless hook? We say luck, but the more experienced you are, the luckier you get!

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7/13/03

Anglers: Tim, Jerry, and Steve

Location: Red's to Roza

Flies: sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 8 Feth's Hopper, sz. 6 Plan B

Time: 8:30 am until 2:00 pm

Results: A good morning session

The morning fishing was good until about 11:00, then everything except the recreation traffic slowed down. We fished larger Stonefly patterns in the morning and switched to small Hoppers once the sun hit the water. We did bring some fish up on Hoppers, including a nice 16"er, but there were times when we saw a lot of green grassy bank between rises. Be persistent when fishing those dries during the heat of the day. We didn't do any nymphing yesterday, but the best producing patterns have been a sz. 16 Silver Lightning Bug or a bright Green Copper John fished under a larger Tan/ Brown Stonefly nymph.

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7/12/03

Anglers: Darin, Seth, and Steve

Location: Ringer to Roza

Flies: sz. 12 Para Hopper, sz. 10 Ugyn Bug, sz. 6 Tan Nightmare, sz. 16 Hot butt Caddis, sz. 16 CDC Caddis Emergers, sz. 8 Feth's Hopper, sz. 8 Bugmeister, sz. 12 Whiz Kid

Time: 7:00 am until 9:30 pm

Results: 12 trout landed throughout the day

The early morning and particularly the late evening sessions were a bit slower than they had been the previous few days. We actually had some of our better action fishing small hoppers tight to grassy banks between 11:00 and 1:00. The evening fishing was much slower than it had been over the previous week. We did find one pod of fish feeding on Caddis at dark and picked up 3 nice fish on a Caddis Emerger. Why did the evening session slow down a bit? Maybe it's the full moon, or maybe it's the barometer, or maybe... - that's fishing!

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7/8/03

Anglers: Orin, Jack, and Rod

Location: Ringer to Slab

Flies: sz. 10 Ugyn Bug, sz. 6 Orange Nightmare, sz. 16 Hot butt Caddis, sz. 16 CDC Caddis Emergers, sz. 8 Feth's Hopper, sz. 8 Bugmeister, sz. 12 Whiz Kid

Time: 10:00 am until 8:30 pm

Results: 4 or 5 nice 14"-17" trout landed throughout the day

DFO yesterday (aka. Dry Flies Only!). We casted dries from the time we put on until we took out in the evening. We had pretty good surface activity in the morning until noon, and then things slowed down a bit until around 4:30 pm when some better fish started looking up again. Our most productive pattern of the day was the Feth Hopper or yellow Nightmare. We found most fish within 1' of the bank, and even more specifically, within about 3". The wind blew hard for most of the day yesterday, but it looks like things are going to calm down to manageable levels (10-15 mph) today and through the rest of the week. River flows are stable at 3522 cfs.

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7/6/03

Anglers: Hank, Duane, and Mark

Location: Ringer to Red's

Flies: sz. 12 Yellow Para-Hopper, sz. 10 Ugyn Bug, sz. 6 Orange Para Chernobyl, sz. 16 Hot butt Caddis, sz. 16 CDC Caddis Emergers

Time: 3:00 pm until 9:00 pm

Results: Mostly small fish until the evening - biggest fish of the day: 15"

We fished dry flies the entire float and had a fair number of looks, but mostly by smaller fish until later in the evening on the larger bugs. Our strategy has still been fishing the medium sized patterns through the middle of the day, and then switching to the larger dries (Chernobyls, Stimulators, Madame X's, etc...) and Caddis once the sun starts to go off the water around 7:00 pm. We are at the front-end of the Summer Stonefly hatch, which will last well into September. The Summer Stones are primarily nocturnal, which makes the low light periods of the day (early morning and late evening) the most productive times to fish the bigger bugs. Hoppers will become more active during the heat of the day, and ants, beetles, and bees can be effective when fished tight to the banks, as well. We have still been fishing a larger tan/ brown Stonefly with a sz. 16 Silver Lightning Bug for nymphs. There has been a lot of wind out here these past few days, which we expect to start tapering down over the next couple of weeks. Generally, mid July through August is a very pleasant time to be on the river. Flows, at 3482 cfs, are slightly below the summertime average, and the river is in good shape.

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7/3/03

Anglers: Natalie and Steve

Location: Red's to Lmuma

Flies: sz. 6 Yellow Club Sandwich

Time: 8:00 pm until 9:00 pm

Results: (1) 14" rainbow landed

Although the results don't show it, we actually had a very good evening. We had a lot of nice fish eat the fly, hooked a few of them, and lost all of them. We fished the same big fly on the move, beating the banks the entire time. Flows are up to 3282 cfs, and we saw 5 or 6 Summer Stones this morning at our launch. The Yakima is back to the typical summertime routine that we are all so fond of - don't worry if you miss one brush pocket or grass patch, just hit the next one. Daytime fishing has been a combination of nymphing (sz. 6 or 8 Stonefly with sz. 14 or 16 Lightning Bug or Pheasant Tail dropper) and dry fly fishing with sz. 10-14 terrestrial patterns (hoppers, ants, etc...) producing the best results. The weather forecast for the weekend looks favorable with calm days and highs in the low 80's.

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7/2/03

Anglers: Tyler and Logan

Location: Umtanum to Red's

Flies: sz. 8 Orange Nightmare (dry), sz. 6 Matt's Stone, sz. 8 Conehead Golden Stone, sz. 16 Silver Lightning Bug (nymphs)

Time: 8:30 am until 9:30 am

Results: 4 trout landed (12"-16")

We devoted the first good bank stretch to dry flies during this mid-morning session, and weren't able to locate any fish looking up. So, we switched tactics to nymphing, focusing on the riffle water. We caught one fish on each Stonelfy nymph and two more on the Silver Lightning Bug. We have been seeing adult Summer Stoneflies on the bank near our boat launch every for morning for the last week. The afternoon dry fly fishing seems to be picking up. Our best luck during this time period has been with medium sized dry flies (Hoppers, Ugyn, Whiz Kid in sizes 10-12). The most productive dry fly window is still the late evening (after 7:30 pm) using the big Summer Stonefly patterns. We have seen a lot of "drive byes" with the big dry flies - where the fish come up, take a look, and keep on going - be patient when this happens. A lot of times if you leave that fly on the water, those fish will come back and eat it. The past two evenings have been very windy, but it looks like things are going to settle down over the next couple of days. River flows are up a bit to 3193 cfs this morning, and things are looking good for the Holiday weekend.