Spring Time Breeder Bow!

While the river takes its damn sweet time dropping into a fishable level I am getting lots on inquiries and questions on spring time guide trips.  I am running my Spring Time Special which is a 6 hour float for 2 anglers at $275.00.  That runs until April 15.  The spring is shaping up to be a good one with way more days to fish than the previous spring.

April on the Upper Yak…lunch…while trout sip mayflies.

The spring time is a special time here on the Yakima.  Anglers that come out for a spring time guided trip are typically gifted with large trout and big fights.  The spring is when the larger fish wake up first and get hangry…for two reasons.  They just came out of a long hibernation through the winter…and the spawn will be on their minds.  Trout don’t spawn until late April and into May here and they eat ferociously in preparation for procreation!  Plus they get all colored up in the spring and are by far at their prettiest!

Colored Up Cutties!

Spring fishing can be a challenge.  A time when weather, flows, and water temps play a very key role in how productive the river can be.  I spend my time prior to guiding in March locating fish, where they are, when they will move, and what is on the menu.  Its that time of the season where being on river everyday possible gets you that much more tuned in to what is going on under the water.  Hatches will start…BWO’s and Skwallas, then the March Browns.  And don’t forget the scuplins!

The spring fishing days are broken down into three key parts.  Searching out large fish with streamers.  This is something I will be doing a lot more of with clients this season.  I bought 2 trout spey rods and set ups for swinging streamers to big nasty trout this spring.  Trout Spey is a really fun way to get into streamer fishing and honestly makes the entire process of chucking meat to trout easier and more inviting to new anglers that want to feel the tug of aggressive predatory trout!

Bruiser Bow

Nymphing the slow water, the deep water…can produce lunker trout.  When that indicator dives a foot and moves up river six its pretty freaking sweet.  Just last week I watched a 6lbs give an angling buddy a run for his money before being landed.  It happens in the spring!  The Skwalla Stoneflies have already started moving around and I expect that hatch to be in full swing come the first and second weeks of March.  Breaking down the Skwalla hatch and nymphing prior to the big bugs coming off can be a blast!
And of course dry flies.  While dry fly fishing in the spring can be isolated to select window during the day…it can produce some of the most explosive eats of the season.  There is nothing quite like big ol rainbow trout coming completely out of the water and engulfing large skwalla dries.  And there is nothing more painstaking than watching pods of fish below riffles feed selectively on mayflies.  The time of the year when 5X and 12 foot leaders can make all the difference between landing a picky 18’er and watching refuse your fly and give you the fin.

Getting Bent on a glorious spring day!

The spring is a great time to be on the Yakima for anglers that are looking for a challenge and are after big ass trout.  The little guys don’t need to eat as much and its still cold for them…but big fish…they are awake and eager.  You can look back at my social media posts…the average size fish in the spring is 16 plus.  We just don’t get a lot of smaller guys yet. You may not catch a lot of them…but they make up for it with their quality and how much of a fight they put up.  There is nothing quite like the raw power of spring time trout.

My Spring days are starting to get booked so if chasing trout this early season in March and April strikes your fancy then get on the calendar before things are full!  Each year my business grows and I have all my clients to thank for it!  I am so looking forward to the guide season and sharing the experience of fly fishing familiar and new clients this season.  Things are starting, anglers are itching, and the guide season is already starting to get booked up.  Give me a call, send me a message, or yell at me on the river to reserve a day this spring with Tamarack’s Guide Service.

Tamarack