I sit fireside/riverside on a late spring afternoon. No trout will be caught today as the faint patter of rain lightly sounds throughout the dry leaves and nettles of the woods. A riffle is in front of me and a large pool just below. I watch from my resting place below a small pine tree and wonder at the trouts living under the currents.
I add some fuel to my eager and sputtering fire. The wood is damp and smells of what home is for me. It’s quiet. The rain is subsiding now. The afternoon is late and I do not yet wish to venture back to civilization.
The warmth of the smoldering wood soothes my soul…absolutley. Amazing how such a simple and primal thing calms and brings me back to some ancient peace. Much the way a cutthroat does when I share a moment with one eager enough to take my fly.
I enjoy a smoke and peruse my fly box, secretly admiring my creations and imitations. The March Browns and Green Drake dry fly patterns are my particular favorite for this time of year. I ponder the many times I have sat as I am now, and reflect on what such moments have done for me in my life. From the fires I’ve made, to the trouts I have chased. The disappointments, set backs, bullshit, and hullabaloo that had been a constant in my adult life is gone now. I have found what it means to be alive. Content and awake to the world.
A Skwalla flaps near the rivers edge. I take a moment to watch it flutter down river hoping a trout decides to make it a later afternoon snack. I grab my fly rod and sling on my satchel, grabbing a fly from my box, I make my way to the pool below me. A few casts and no takers…I’ll venture back to the car…at my leisure, taking a few casts at every fishy seam and boulder I come across.
So I hit the river a few times this week. For some guide trips and some personal time. The upper river was slow with water temps still hovering below 44 degrees. Warm sunny days are better for bugs but the fish are still in winter mode a bit so nymphing has been the most productive method. While bugs need warm air temps and some need sunshine, fish need warmer water temps to get active and we are still not seeing a lot of that in the upper river yet. We have a big set of systems rolling in off the Pacific bringing us a bunch of moisture and possibly snow up high around 5000 feet. This will be followed by warmer temps if the forecast is accurate, which means some higher water potentially later next week.
I fished the lower canyon on Friday and we had an epic day. Large fish caught, lots of rising trout, blue wing hatch that was crazy and finicky fish that were keyed into the naturals and refused flies all day long. We had several instances where fish would track flies and then hit them lightly. Lots of large trout being selective which is always fun to watch. We had several instances where fish were podded up around boulders sipping on BWO’s as they floated by. Fun to watch and fun to try and trick them. One of those days where flies are switched a lot, leaders and tippets extended, and presentations worked on, just a fun day of fishing and guiding.
The lower river is in spring mode for sure with hungry and eager fish. With the way the flows are the fish are spread out all over with some deep in the runs and some on the boulders. As the hatches get better and the temps both for air and water rise those fish will move into faster water and tuck into the boulders and seems even more making for some great fishing.
I did witness one of the largest trout ever, I was doing a double boater, we coasted by as they were playing this huge trout. Ended up being around 26 28 inches and weighing in around 5 to 6 pounds. Not steelhead just a big ass trout. Took the dry fly. Was amazing to see such a wild specimen. Get on the river if you can and call me for available dates for guided trips.
I used to buy flies like a crazy person. I love flies, I would buy a few take them home, tie some that looked identical, and go fish. It’s how I learned a lot of stuff about tying and composition. Deconstructing and recreating fly patterns is how you develop your own as a tier a lot of the time.
As I delved deeper into tying and studied more literature, trout biology, and listened to my mentors about flies, I began to buy flies less, and tie more. I found myself tying flies that seemed dull and dreary compared to the ones in the bins at the local fly shop. The more I tied with my mentor and worked on patterns and skills with him the more I understood what made a good fly.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the flies you pick from the bin is totally awesome and it’s gonna work. If you get all the other pieces of the fly fishing puzzle to fit into place that fly is gonna catch the majority of fish in the river just fine. I just found that more and more the flies that manufacturers were churning out we’re getting more colorful, flashier, larger, filled with foam, and Krystal Flash, just Lady Gaga playing Las Vegas looking patterns.
Did trout suddenly start wanting glitzy looking flies hanging out of their mouths as you fondle them trying to get a good release? No…probably not. Trout…want insects. Not flies. So why do flies seem to be looking less and less like bugs and more and more like pieces of bloody jewelry for trout to wear for pictures?
Well tying at that level is commercial and flies are easier to sell when they catch an anglers attention. Problem is, flies are for trout not anglers. Trout only care about a few things in terms of flies. The better it resembles the natural, the more productive it should be….I mean that just makes sense. Both common sense wise and in terms of biology and science. There is a science behind flies and insect imitation.
Certain materials mimic natural actions of insects such as angora goat and its ability to create a breathing undulating look even at the smallest level. Which lets face it, a trout is looking at little bugs with eyes designed to look at them under water. As a tier, it would be in my best interest, to tie flies that look as close to the natural as possible, maybe not exactly but imitating those key things that trout key in on instinctually is foremost in my mind when at the vise.
Color, shape, size, profile. All important. But what about the way Caddis create an air bubble that sparkles under water, a factor trout key in on. Well throw on some Antron and you are good to go. (By the way, Thanks LaFontaine for making Caddis fishing much more productive through your study of trout!). There are lots of things to consider and even more material to use to mimic all sorts of things that trout key in on in relation to each pattern and natural.
Patterns today, for me, seem to have lost a bit of that. Sure a bright orange stimulator with flash out the ass, and big sparkly legs is gonna catch fish, it looks right. For me though, too many times in my ten year of fishing on the river here; I watch large trouts refuse flies of the store bought nature. Finicky trout are impressive really. A quarry that strikes me two fold: as an angler and a tier. Can I tie a pattern that can trick such a fish? Because, if all the other parts click into place from cast to drift to proper tippet length, and the trout refuses, what else is there but the single most important thing you need in order to trick said trout with a fly rod in the first place?
The Fly.
Fly tying is an art, and the art for the trout chaser such as myself, is in the ability to tie effective flies that trick the most leery of trout. I have spent seasons testing flies. Searching for those finicky trout and testing my patterns. Hitting hatches with handfuls of different patterns and seeing which ones work best and developing more from there. It’s some of the most fun for me in terms of angling. Having a trout be tricked by a dry or nymph pattern I have tied is that pure moment I yearn for. Some anglers it’s the perfect cast before the hookup, some dudes it’s the big fish, others it’s the perfect Snap T, the perfect take, whatever it is it’s awesome. For me it’s tricking a wary trout with a fly no one else has. The fish that no one has caught, the fish that every one tries for, big or small, I wanna trick it with my fly. Ya man, that’s my jam.
Tying used to be a necessity as there was no where to get flies unless you knew a tier. There are troves of literature and journals on flies from all over the life of modern fly fishing. Going back and finding that many patterns that were the most effective were simple, subtle, and more natural looking. It wasn’t so much about selling flies as it was discovering what made up a good fly and why? It was about tricking fish. Guides and writers would sell flies to go fishing and fly shops would buy them until the sport got so big it required mass production of flies. A little bit of the art of tying died or kind of faded away.
For me, when I browse the bins at the fly shop I typically end up buying nothing. I just never find anything that stands out to me and I feel that the flies in the bin aren’t going to trick that persnickety trout. They will trick the other trout just fine but that’s not my mindset when angling as much. It’s less about tricking lots of fish and more about tricking those fish that stand out. The one 14 inch cutt that isn’t slashing the surface like all the others. The one sipping instead, maybe it’s been caught before, maybe it has some cool marking, maybe it’s bigger than I thought? Doesn’t matter, it’s in the zone refusing flies left and right. Let’s see if one of these patterns will trick him? That’s what goes through my mind when looking for or tying flies.
When you look for flies at the shop, look for subtle, smaller patterns. Yes a salmon fly dry is a size 6 but when you cram a bunch of foam and flash on a size 8 4X long hook so you can fit all that crap, the fly is huge to the trout. A size smaller is typically a better idea when looking for flies for the larger insects. Look for buggy flies, both nymphs and for dries, but especially nymphs. A Pats Stone will catch fish and I’ve even got big old steel on it, but for that trout hiding behind the boulder that flashes but won’t eat shit…ya smaller buggier bug, that’s gonna give you a better chance. I test myself on this every time I fish. Especially when working on patterns and fine tuning fly composition and material selection.
So, if you seem to be having trouble with fly selection and trout not taking your flies, think about what you are throwing and how it looks to the trout in comparison to the natural. If you are unsure, find a trout nerd and ask them.
Well I hit the river above and below this week. Was pretty slow both days. I did a Fat Bike Ride and Fish which was a blast. Fishing up near the Cle Elum confluence is really slow. Water temps are still dropping to 39 ish.
FatFly Trip
I floated the lower canyon from Ump to Lluma, there were a few risers but no Skwalla save for a few. The BWO were pretty good. Fish were keying in on them but it was pretty sporadic on where the risers were. I had more success on the nymph of course and the Skwalla Stonefly Trout Snack did the trick for a handful of large fat bows chilling around 7 feet in the slow stuff.
I came to the high canyon wall just below Red’s and really worked that deep area along the shelf. Fish were stacked there but they were deep. Pressure from anglers over the weekend was a big factor today and fish were down. I lost a few good fish on the nymph there. The bottom fly was a weighted BWO Nymph I tie and was doing the trick but the chunky Skwalla nymph was equally effective when fished singular.
Takes were subtle on smaller fish but forceful on the larger trout. The larger trout I did net were fat. Like obese almost, gorged on all the dry flies and nymph naturals over the past week.
I did find one very large Rainbow slashing at mayflies and the one Skwalla that passed by. I threw the Moose Hair Skwalla that I haven’t had a lot of time to test. I spooked the fish earlier and gave it some time. It started feeding again after about 5 minutes. I took that opportunity to give myself 14 inches of 5x Supple Flex Tippet. The trout had just slashed the surface again with ferocity and I laid my fly about 4 feet above. Like clockwork that fish hit it. Hard. It was a great take and a fun fish to play, jumping several times and it pulled and head shook making the heart flutter a bit.
I got a chance to use my swanky new Fishpond Nomad Net, which is awesome by the way, and I like pictures of fish better in the ghost colored nets. The fishing slowed way down after 3 but I did manage to hook a huge whitefish. Bloody thing messed up the whole hole with its display.
Not a stellar day but not a bad one either. I found that the fish needed patience and lots of casts with lighter tippet and really good drifts. They have seen a lot of pressure on the lower canyon with the past weekend so keep that in mind when making plans. The upper river is getting better everyday but keep angler pressure in mind as well. Smaller tippet, different flies, smaller flies, better presentation, and nice long drifts will get the job done though. Find off days to get out of possible and it’s so low wading for the three warm hours of the day should just be shied away from. Play around with nymphing depth also. I found fish all over the water column but big ones seemed to be deeper.
Anyway the river is getting better everyday in terms of conditions and bugs though. Lots of nymphs moving around especially in the upper. Spawn is close, fish are hungry, and the weather is supposed to be good for fishing. A little rain may be just what we need. I’ve got dates open for some pretty fun spring fishing.
Healthy wild upper river rainbow on the nymph. Keeping them wet!
It is time. I fished the upper on Tuesday and the lower on Wednesday. It wasn’t really on but fish were on the nymph pretty good in both places. A few and I mean like 2 opportunities each day for fish feeding on dries. However, the weather reports are making every angler start to swoon. Warmer overnight lows in the mid to upper 30’s and even the 40’s next week are in the forecast. The daytime temps are hitting 55 to 60 in the next 10 days! Water temps will be on the rise, water levels will be low, and fish are going to be on the move as the bugs start doing there thing. The Preseason Shakedown has begun! Get those flies tied, get all your gear together, wait anxiously for your Scott G2 repair to come back and your new Simms Wading boots to arrive, and start thinking about dry fly fishing. Because the trout are gonna start thinking about eating dries too! We also just had a full moon, the time change happens on Saturday and the days will now start to get longer and longer on our way to summer! Its FISHING SEASON PEOPLES!!!
I will be tying a bunch of dirty dries for the Skwalla and March Brown hatches that are sure to be happening simultaneously over the next few weeks. Drakes are not far behind and with this low water that we are having April could be bloody spectacular! Salmon Fly Nymphs are already starting to move and even the Golden Stonefly Nymphs that hatch at the beginning of summer are starting to wake up from their winter hiding holes. It’s a mad dash to get ready and find days to get on the water. Call in sick, take vacation, or at worst…just blow off some work. I already got my boss to schedule a day of hooky to go fish with me. Another part of the shakedown is fielding calls and emails for trips which is starting to happen. This spring is looking to be one of the better springs for fly fishing we have had.
Its also that time of year where the river comes alive not just with trout but with bugs, which is why we are all getting super stoked. I love seining the river and looking at the naturals, it gives me inspiration for new patterns, lets me know how healthy the river system is, and it helps me get into the mind of the trouts and the river. With plans to get a Phototarium which is a big plastic view box for fish and bugs, I am really hoping to delve ever deeper into the world of aquatic insects and trout. There is a large shift for keeping our wild fish wet when angling and it is a movement I fully support. A fellow guide made a great point: “Fish pics don’t sell trips, good fishing does.” Keeping these wild trout wet during handling is only going to bolster and strengthen this fishery and put more fish per mile in our river. As this season starts I encourage all anglers to keep fish wet as they handle them, take flies out while fish are in nets, try not to handle fish, take photos of fish while in the net or in a photo box, and get lots of action shots. Shots of people fighting or working fish are really cool. These fish are wild and we want more and more of them to fill our river so lets treat them as such and make this fishery better with every season!
Anyway, the river is starting to wake from her winter slumber and once again fill her waters with life…and hungry trouts.
I’m not gonna get all foofy with this one just a quick update. I’m tired and hitting the river again tomorrow and need to tie some.
The weather was sunshine but cool. The high on the river today was about 44. The water temps topped out around 42. Fishing was slow but fish were eating.
Nymphing is still the main game in the upper stretches. The skwalla stonefly nymph is working but the river gave me another opportunity today with a March Brown Hatch. Around 1 pm the mayflies starting popping. Nothing prolific but there was enough. I found two areas of feeding fish. I hooked up on the emerger pattern and one cutthroat hoovered the size 14.
The big producer today however, was my possum hares ear.
I tied it under a stonefly nymph. Hooked up 6 times with it during and after the hatch. Got 4 of them to the net. Lost a monster trout around 3:30 on it. Feisty trout outsmarted me going under the boat then running to the bank and getting enough slack to roll off.
Didn’t see a single sqwalla dry but did see nymphs. The flows are perfect, if the water temps bump up after this cold spell we will be in the thick of it. March Browns and Sqwallas, hungry trout, and eager anglers.
I’ll plug my guiding now by saying, give me a call and get on the schedule, as the weather gets even nicer and the river heats up things are going to get fun and some really great dry fly fishing is right around the corner.
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