I am in full swing now, anglers. Guide season is getting good. The river is fishing right as she should be for the spring. The weather is funky, the bugs are here, the flows are good, and the fish are eating. Some days are slow, and some days, the weather rocks us, but there are fish to be chased.

I’ve done a dozen guide days and fished another 20 or so since February. It was a slow start, and it’s still creeping in, but it’s as good as any spring could get.

This season is a push. I want to fill my calendar and get my business moving forward to more and new things. So, I am aggressive for those trips. A busy guide is 15 to 20 trips a month, and that’s what we are scheduled up for moving forward. April is almost there, May won’t be far behind with the prospect of good caddis and salmon flies this season. I’ll be gone for most of June. July and August are already starting to fill!

It’s really good to be back. I love my work. I live this life through and through. I eat, pay bills, and live off of guiding and fly fishing. And I want more. More species, different boats, bigger rods, different states, and new water, and I want to be challenged. Both as an angler and as a guide. I yearn for the challenge. The puzzle to solve with fly and rod, currents and water, food sources, and light angles, weather, and water conditions. Give me the challenge, and I will meet it. Learn it and get in tune with it. Find its rhythm.

The Yakima and I are tight. I know this water real good. I’ve been bouncing all over the place fishing it. Getting back in tune with her. Finding that vibe and riding it. I’ve come back into guiding after the offseason like I didn’t really leave. And that’s how I’ve always wanted guiding the Yakima to be. Like we are just getting back to kicking it together. I put a lot of time into learning this river and how to be a good guide. It pays off these days in ways I find surprising but always appreciate. This river will humble you, but oh, will it reward you when you put in the right energy.

It’s good to be back anglers. Really good. I’m back to myself and what I do best. I invite you to come out and fish the Yakima with me this season. I’ve been at it a while, and it’s always a good time in my boat. You will learn some things, get pretty good at fly fishing with me, and you’ll meet some amazing wild fish that live in a gorgeous place.

I’ve got March 30th open and dates in April and May.

See ya riverside anglers.

Tamarack