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The Snowstorm, our snowpack, and the spring.

Well anglers, we got some snow. A good chunk. Roughly 40 inches or so in the mountains. Here in Easton near the headwaters about that much fell over three days. The pass was closed overnight one night, we got stuck up here for 2 days with intermittent power. A regular mountain snowstorm. Kristen and I had to jump on the camper roof and clean 12 plus inches of snow off…twice. Had to dig out the rigs, boats are still pretty snowed in after getting the big chunks out of both. The weather shifts tomorrow and we see above 50 degrees and rain in the forecast which means snow melt and runoff.

Reluctantly Kristen and I moved our trips around this next week. The river is still in shape this afternoon with a foot of vis or so, its on its way up starting Monday-ish. Predictions are calling for a big rise in CFS from Easton, as well as the Teanaway, by the 20th the flows should crest around 5800-6200 CFS, just about minor action stage for flooding in areas. The river should be fishable by the 23rd maybe the 22nd. Again, pretty normal for this time of year. Last season from the 20th to the 28th it did a similar thing, it was my eldest child’s spring break and the river blew the whole time she was here.

It sucks, that winter storm and now the warmer weather was a bit unexpected. It changed rapidly as it moved in. Even the locals were like…damn, been a minute since that happened. And it has. The past few Marches we haven’t seen that kind of snow. Maybe like 8 inches, not 2 to 4 feet. Normal again for this area but hasn’t happened for a bit. Spring runnoff is a regular thing even with this being a tailwater. We run into highwater events every spring. Some from the weather, others from controlled salmon pulses and purges for irrigation water.

Irrigation water is the big thing this snow helps. Before this storm we were around 38 percent snowpack in the upper areas of our river basin. Today we are chiming in at approx. 54 percent snowpack. Which is a big help. We are still in a drought and water users this summer are still hoping for more snow. I mean we all should be. Snow helps the summers for fish, farms, wildfires, and just general tension for people in the summers living in this area. Seeing snowy mountains in mid March is a welcome breath of relief looking into the rest of the season.

I have seen it snow big into April, and prior to 2015 we sometimes had decent snows into May, and June places were still consistently snow locked from access in the high country. We will get more snowpack this coming week. The rain at the lower elevations means snow up high, above 5000 ft we should see more of our snow pack develop as we enter April. I am not a meteorologist or anything, just a troutbum who has been watching weather in the watershed for 2 decades now. Always been a bit nerdy about that stuff.

The river is gonna do her thing. She will get cranky this week. Today is the calm before the rise. Fish will probably smash a little during the peak of the day. Its cold and cloudy today. Kristen already pulled one out of the Cle this afternoon, which is unaffected by the runoff right now. Then the fish will hunker down as the flows start to tick up as the temps rise, the lowland snow melts, which it already has, and the rain comes in. I am interested to see how high the river gets. It is always a crapshoot with the predictions this time of year, it is definitely going to go up, but sometimes that 6000cfs turns to 10000 really quick. Early this winter we saw the river jump up above 10000cfs, and my guess is we will see another big push of water in the next few weeks as well.

Reservoirs at the top have plenty of room for some more. Only Keechelus is at 90 percent. The others, Kachess is at 64% and Cle Elum is at 82%, which is great. Cle Elum needs to fill up. Usually the reservoirs will fill up, have to be purged, and fill up again. We hopefully and it seems likely they will fill up. 54% isn’t great but its better then where we were and gets us closer to where we would like to be. This is good news. No doom and gloom here. The system here is well managed and these fish are very hearty and healthy this spring. Some have already spawned and are just waiting for things to settle into spring rhythm so they can do their thing.

Its a later start this year. I knew we came over from Gig Harbor a bit early, ahh well, at least we got over the pass before it got all yucky. I do hate the snow.

The rescheduling this week is a bummer, for us all. We all kind of know that these things happen when it snows that much all at once here. Its just been a minute. Makes me look forward to June, with Yellow Sallies, Golden Stones, and Drakes. June and July should be really fun months this season. The reason being the snow pack will mean flows will run light through the early summer instead of mach fuck for irrigation water.

When irrigation is conservative the river is a bit more consistent during June and July. Flows are stable, then temps are able to be stable, which means fish just smash all day. June-July river temps hover around 50 to 55 which is prime time. Couple that with the wetter and cooler lead up into June and July and way more potential for June rains which means Flying Ants and Drakes, shit will be lit! Just starting to think about it gets me all hot and bothered. When there is runoff in March that usually means the June July months are gonna be a bit more fire. That’s just trout bum science.

So yes this week is gonna be a little funky. I am watching it, but its coming. So we hunker down, get the summer schedule filled, film content for socials, tie flies, try not to get cabin fever, maybe go fish the Sound, generally wallow in despair until the flows come down. No really.

So there you go anglers. That’s what is happening right now. Try not to get bogged down by the news, we will all get to fish more soon, the snow is good, we are in this together…I know…its fucken strange right now….we all get it.

See ya riverside anglers,

Tamarack

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Spring Again

Over the past several years I have grown accustomed to the changing of the seasons. Those changes may be a bit more dramatic then they used to be but I still feel the shift from winter to fall. Its there, even if there is less and less of winter each season it seems. The winter finally comes to a close and the spring comes in.

This year it is early and mild. It means we will have a really good spring. I am not worried about snow pack, or conditions come late July. We have options so that if the trout fishing on rivers becomes difficult due to conditions we can do other things. I expect a hot summer come late July and August which is par for the course. I have always focused more heavily on the fringe season for trout fishing.

The fishing has already been good the past few weeks. Good movement on streamers, better movement on warmer days. We are seeing Skwallas start to show up and the BWO hatch is also percolating. Over the next 10 days I expect to see the bugs and fish start doing the things. Flows look good and with water levels I think we will have pretty consistent flows with minimal runoff and salmon pulses this season. It is going to be a great spring weather wise as well. Cooler and wetter means less wind and more rain so overcast days.

After passing through so many winter to springs with trout on the brain I am very ready for this season. 2025 was a fucken year fosho, and 2026 is coming hot with the same kind of bullshit. I know I don’t have to elaborate. Shit is weird and yes business was and has been effected negatively. Hoping this year is better on that front. But this offseason, was rough. It was a noisy world and the offseason was anything but chill. I fished for sea runs a lot, logged a good chunk of hours in the skiff, got familiar with the sound. I didn’t steelhead, and didn’t miss much on that front. Everything got a little more expensive, and we scrapped through better than we thought but it was still tight and stressful. Getting back to work is something I have been looking forward to for a few weeks now.

Kristen and I both just miss the river. Miss the pace, the timing, the familiarity, the ease. The Yakima is the homewater. It is my backyard in a way. Big one. Been playing in and around it since I was a kid. Part of being over here in Gig Harbor this winter was to help make sure that we missed the Yak. The Yakima is different this season too. Which is always exciting. In the 20 years I have fished the Yak I have seen major changes in her from runnoff and high water. Recon floats last week showed that the upper river above the Teanaway had some big changes. 40 to 60 percent different in areas compared to last year. New gravel bars, logs moved, new shelves and drop offs, all sorts of things have changed. I also see a few more changes headed our way with trees ready to fall in this spring and things warm up. It is going to be a fun year with areas of the river getting a bit of an update.

Its nice when the river gets a little freshen up before the season. The spring guide calendar is pretty full. Kristen and I are in fill in mode now. Trying to book the last few days through May. We have a summer of lake and potentially sea run cutty fishing, as well as schools and clinic and boat rowing lessons this summer. A heavier emphasis and skill building and education during the summer months when anglers have time to learn and then apply things to their personal summer time adventures. It also allows us to have a few of our own summer adventures this year.

The Spring is here again. I am ready for it. I think a lot of us are ready for it. The ability to just check out for a while. Throw the phone in airplane mode and just fish, learn, enjoy the river and the company of fellow anglers.

We move back to Easton tomorrow. Be riverside in prep mode by Saturday. Trip dates are up for grabs.

See ya riverside anglers.

Tamarack

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Finally! It Begins!

Fuck yes anglers. The Spring season has got here. It has been an weird wet offseason here in Gig Harbor but I as well as the rest of the crew are ready to be back on the Yakima…back at home.

This offseason was mostly filled with sea run fishing, video games, adding lots of things to the business, fully integrating with Kristen on the work side of stuff, connecting with some old friends, and day dreaming about trout season. Now that its a week out I am giddy and ready.

The dates for the spring are pretty full. We have like 2 weekends left open and a handful of weekdays. The weather is going to be wet, and cooler, which means less W typically, and overcast days for good dry fly fishing. The snow pack ain’t the greatest but that is par for the Yak and less of a concern as powers that be have gotten a lot better at managing the water. The summer will be what it is. We have options for that. The Spring is gonna be good, and the late winter fishing has been pretty telling so far. Big trout already awake. Skwallas are ready to pop as soon as it warms up just a little bit. Blue Wings are getting started. Streamers moving some hungry aggressive fish. Its here anglers.

I am so stoked, Kristen and I both are. We have lots of new things this season but we really miss guiding and teaching and cannot wait to get back to it.

The news, the world, our country, everything has been a fucking rioting shit show the past year. The comfort of the river is sorely needed…for all of us I am sure. It is a place where we can heal, lose ourselves in nature, and rise above a lot of this fervent noise and just be. Ordinary lives, slow, kind of boring…save for a fish eating a fly and the chaos of fish, angler, and nature all colliding together for a few brief moments while no one is watching.

I will see you riverside anglers.

Tamarack.

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Another New Spring

This will be the 12th time I have written a passage about the upcoming spring. The start of another season. A season that I want to start more than ever. The winter was weathered with very little headache. Having a good partner to winter with helps. Kristen and I worked through the winter, and even though steelheading has been light we have spent lots of time on Puget Sound. We have also been relatively warm and had zero snow to deal with this winter being in Gig Harbor which I am very happy about.

The Spring has become my favorite time to guide and fish. Everything is fresh coming out of the winter. There is less traffic on the water. There are trophies to be chased in the spring and they are more eager. It rewards skilled anglers and new anglers get to experience things that will hook them for life. I love the spring. It is filled with crazy encounters with trout. The attitude of trout in the spring is the best in my opinion. Hungry, fresh, angry, with a touch of the spawn hysteria in them. Ya, makes for good eats and big fights.

Trout are also just their absolute selves in the spring. The water is cold and moving they way trout like, there is plentiful food, and more consistent weather and river conditions that bring comfort to a wild trout. Stability, for the spring has a lot of fluctuation and that is why I love the spring. It has a great base line for trout fishing with variables each day that keep anglers an guides on their toes while still being rewarding. The problem solving days become the really fun ones. Getting to work changing variables in real time and have fish responding to you. Its by far the most fun I have guiding as I get older.

This spring I am really looking forward to getting back to work. Last year was weird, 2026 is already starting off weirder and less normal. The off river world is a real shit show. I for one want the unplug of the river. I think we all do. The constantly being on edge and our eyes and ears constantly twitching as to what might happen next. The consistency of trout fishing is a welcome comfort that I am patiently waiting for. Even tried to get a dose of it last week on a whim but the river blew out the day we set out to fish. Ugh. Tis life. But it will start here eventually. It is coming and I am so ready. No matter how busy the season is, or how shitty things get off river…I will be fishing more this season. Whether it is guiding or on my own, days will be spent on water and not online, not worrying, not scrolling through the despair. No I will fish instead. Check out an fish. At the end of the day, if its all gonna come apart, I would rather spend it riverside.

The spring can not get here soon enough. Less than 40 days until it officially starts. The itch gets scratched by sea run chasing on the Puget Sound and swinging for steel when conditions and our schedule lines up. Always tricky the logistics of things, even when it is all you do. The comfort of the Yakima and being able to just drop in literally every day right there is another part of the river I miss over here on the West Side. When its right there next to me less than 10 minutes and all I have to do is roll out of bed slap the drift boat on the rig and go dump it in…I am more inclined to do it every day. Sea Runs and Steelhead require a bit more prep work. I want that trout river life schedule and grind again. It is time. The world being what it is makes it that much more important.

I will see ya riverside anglers.

Tamarack

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2 Months!

Oh anglers, the sweet sweet relief of the offseason coming to a close. Yes the spring is just 2 months away now. March and April are right around the corner. I for one, am very stoked. This winter has been a much smoother ride over here in Gig Harbor and the days are less cold and have zero snow for me to deal with.

Steelhead start for us this month. I go grab the raft tomorrow to lug it over the mountains so we can get over to Forks a little easier. I have select days open for it and I am watching the numbers, the flows, the weather, and the regs just in case we have anything funky. I am anxious for Steel Trips, its been a while, and I am looking forward to it.

The sound has been really fun. Gorgeous, the sunset the other night before the fog socked us in was quite spectacular from the Skiff as we came into Manchester. Seattle City Scape, Mt. Rainer, the Cascades and Olympics in full snowy view. The Ferry going by, a Tug pulling sailboat, and a few other anglers and boaters out to watch the sunset on the sound. This place is pretty neat when you look past the buildings, the cars, and all the concrete. The Seattle Metropolitan area is quite amazing when viewed from the Sound. Slowly I have fallen in love with it. Its a big old body of water and can be intimidating. But with every new hour logged on the water the more comfortable I get. I am looking forward to showing the Sound off from the boat in 2026 as a guide.

Puget Sound is the saltwater I have been looking for. It is quiet, easy to navigate, there isn’t a ton of boat traffic compared to places like Florida and Michigan. Not even close. I haven’t seen it in the summer but I was in Florida during busy time and Michigan in the summer. We shall see but I doubt the traffic in terms of boats will be anywhere close. There just ain’t as many boats in harbors and marinas as those places. The fishing is very similar to small mouth bass fishing just on a really big lake. Much like the big lakes in Michigan. The sound moves pretty crazy though. The tides make for some of most dynamic water I have been in, its not like class rapids or anything but it has its nuances and intricacies that need to be learned in order to successfully move about for fishing Sea Runs. The water near the edges that is less than 15 feet has some of the most stuff and things happening to it at any given moment of the day. There is never not something going on under water. And the fish…they are everywhere. Some days are slow, but fish are always found. The boat makes things easier for sure. Being able to get in close to fish and fish them from different and better angles than shore is a major advantage.

Sea runs remind me of Speckled Trout down south. In tight, aggressive, move fast, hit hard for their size, and they are plentiful. Sea runs are similar, and add a dash of Smallmouth attitude and you’ve got a Sea Run Cutthroat Trout. They ain’t big, but they hit big, and they get wicked cranky and fight like smallmouth, some get air, but most dive and zig zag and pull like a small mouth and steroids. Its a good time. Exploring the sound is a hoot with lots of nooks and crannies to tuck into, even some places where polling might end up working. Mud flats and areas where the tide makes things real skinny, my skiff was made for stuff like that. More and more we explore the cooler the things we find. Its been a somewhat busy winter with many days on the boat and even more building up the business for this season.

Its is shaping up to be a busy one with new waters, new offerings, a easier way to book trips online. The spring is only 2 months away! Time to start making those plans and chasing some trout in 2026 anglers!

Tamarack

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The Midway Point

Man its wet outside. I hope everyone is safe while the rivers crest and things simmer down after this crazy atmospheric river we have had. Here in Gig Harbor it has been very wet but otherwise fine. We hunkered down during it. The Yakima and the tribs got pretty angry topping out around 18 grand in cfs. Which is crazy big!

The winter offseason has been anything but. As always I am honest and up front in these bloggings on the webasphere. The stress of the current state of stuff is just kicking the shit out of small business right now. Across the board it has just kicked the shit out of us. Combined Kristen and I lost roughly $45,000 due to the state of the things. Its not just one thing to point to either. We also had a drought this year that sucked. I work in the outdoor travel industry, tourism, and its just been hit hard. Losing money sucks, and costs of things have only gone up on the day to day, so the last season was rough as we get to the midpoint of the offseason.

That being said, and all the doom and gloom aside. And let’s just not talk about the water levels last season; except I will say this…it was very dry last year, and nature swings really hard now. This is what that looks like. Moving on.

This offseason has opened up the opportunity to put some serious work into Searun Cutthroat Trout and Puget Sound, along with working towards the captains license. It’s a slow process for me. I have a healthy fear of large bodies of water and small fortunes wrapped into tiny boats. I am also overly cautious these days, I’ve had plenty of adrenaline thank you, I am here to make money and keep everything and everyone safe. Motor boats are just a whole different thing that I had zero experience with prior to this boat I have now. So this winter and my partner have helped push and drive the fishing and learning this winter.

The sound is amazing. After seeing the salt in Florida and never really enjoying it. Puget Sound is very different and much more my speed. Its slower on the sound, and quiet. I do not care for the city…like at all. Seattle is also loud. All cities are loud, but the west side metropolis area is condensed and loud. It is gorgeous though. I have seen a fare number of the large cities in the country and the West Side is very pretty. Organized a bit like Orlando Florida, but…still pretty skyline, Rainer makes a huge impact, the jagged edges of the sound dotted with houses up the ridiculous hillsides. It is a very unique and chill place. The waterways of the sound are less intimidating than Florida or even Michigan but they still are very foreign and unfamiliar to me.

As we get closer to Christmas I am switching gears to Steelhead. I haven’t guided them in a while but chasing them the past two years has slightly…I say slightly reignited that want to chase them. Clients have been asking for a while so we will see if it works out to be a regular thing. Living over on this side made it much easier to say yet to throwing some dates up for guide trips in the late winter before the spring season starts on the Yakima. I am already getting bored this winter and am ready for the season to start. Steelhead gets things rolling a bit earlier for me and alleviates some of the stress of 2025.

I do love the Olympic Peninsula, yes its wet, but damnit it quiet….no one is over there! Except for fishing. The epitome of out of the way is the real appeal of Forks and the OP in general. To be able to share that space with clients is something I have held off long enough. To be able to learn and cast; while maybe getting a grab in one of the most amazing spaces to swing a steelhead is something every angler should give a try. And to experience the OP in all its wet misty soft quiet awesomeness.

I have had the pleasure of interacting with OP steelhead on several occasions in my younger days. I am looking forward to being there with clients and helping hopefully facilitate that interaction with them. Steelheading, in my opinion is best experienced in a small group. It is better as a team sport, each encounter celebrated, each run equally distributed, flies, heads, tactics are discussed in between sets. Its a lot better than standing in the run in the suck by your lonesome freezing your tootsies off while it rains sideways or up.

The OP is a good time and a welcome respite from the dreary slow offseason. It scratches that fishing itch before the trout season comes along in mid to late March.

The move over here has been a nice change of pace. I am a bit of a homebody and hibernater in the winter months. The soggy windy days spent in the camper are broken up by days on the sound that open up a world of fishing that not many seem to be partaking in. The solitude of the sound has been surprising and very appreciated. The occasional ferry wake or fancier Yacht, maybe a fishing boat motors by, crabbers on the weekends, a sailboat or two, kayaker in the bay, its enjoyable and feels like the place is all mine.

Dates are up on on the website, Steelhead and Spring Trout. It is getting full already with no weekend left open except the first one in March. The water is crazy right now but that is good news for the spring with lots of new spaces for trout and new lines to find fish in. Hope everyone is safe during these high water events. Hope to see you riverside this season as things settle down.

Tamarack

tamaracksguideservice Fly Fishing

Gift Certificate 2026

HOLIDAY SPECIAL!!!

Purchase a $100 or $200 Gift Certficate by Dec. 20th and I will add $50 to it for Free!

Certificates can be used for lessons, flies, or any guide trip offering!

Celebrate the Holidays with the gift of fish!

#flyfishing #blackfriday #yakimariver #yakimarivercanyon #seattleflyfishing #suncadia #cleelum #guidelife #trout #christmas #pnw #hogislandboatworks #washingtonflyfishing #flyanglerlife

tamaracksguideservice Fly Fishing

Spring 2026

Anglers, I am tucked in and settled in Gig Harbor for the winter.  Its nice, way warmer, and gives plenty of fishing opportunities for sea run and steelhead being on the west side for the winter.

The work never stops and Kristen and I are in the processes of getting our captions licenses, learning the Puget Sound with a boat, and bringing the businesses together slowly. 

We have a lot happening next year, but as always I will be chasing trout on the Yak this spring. It has turned into my favorite time to fish and guide over the last few seasons.

Its still a ways off but the dates are already getting slurped up by anglers who know what the spring can be like and want first dibs on big dry fly eats from hungry post winter, pre spawn wild trout.

I am stoked.  Below are the dates left open for anglers in March and the rest of the spring. Grab em while you can. Plenty of dates open but weekends are tight and I highly recommend weekedays if you can swing them.

MARCH:

4th thru 8th

16th thru 19th

23rd, 24th, 30th, 31st.

APRIL:

1st thru 3rd, 6th thru 10th,

13th thru 17th, 19th thru 24th, 29th-30th.

MAY:

4th, 10th thru 13th, 15th thru 31st.

See ya riverside anglers.

Tamarack

tamaracksguideservice Fly Fishing

Fall is almost here!


The Fall fast approached anglers!  Its fine by fast this season. I only have a dozen or so days left open for booking for the last 70 days of the season.  We’ve got cooler temps amd rain headed our way.  Water is low but as it cools back off anglers with patience and good skills will have a fun fall.

Headhunting, streamers, getting out of the boat a lot this fall, I’m excited.
Sept. 10th thru 18th is prime for craneflies.
All of October for Caddis and BWO and streamers

September Dates Left:
4th, 7th thru 10th
15th, 17th-18th, 30th

October Dates Left:
3rd, 13th, 17th,
21st thru 23rd,
25th. 

Get after it anglers. Before it’s over!

Tamarack