The transition from one season to the next is here. The river is swollen, the snow is melting, fish are spawning, trees and hillsides are green, flowers are blooming, and the warm days are here.

We say goodbye to April and hello to May. We move from spring to summer over the next month. Already, salmon flies and caddis are percolating. The insects that usher in this transition time. The river begins to double and triple in size, fishing becomes a different kind of game, and experience on this river begins to really pay off.

Our fish are getting their PHDs this season. The kind of trout that require Perfection, will Humble angler and guide, and Defeat anglers who aren’t ready for the challenge. These fish are seasoned. They are 3 to 5 years old, most of them. They’ve been caught a good number of times. Battled wicked heavy flows last season and got swol and thick. They know how to play.

Trout are already showing their prowess with persnickity eats, refusing flies, spooked by line, boats, bad casts, and just about anything else. This is because they are wise to the game, adapted to the constant stimulus of being targeting by anglers. Now they require excellence a lot of the time. Things need to be perfect and then some. It will only get more difficult as the season progresses.

This means anglers need good drifts. They need the right angles. Ready to fight fish that are heavy and in a high class for this sport. Big flows and big trout mean tough battles and top-notch fish playing skills. It’ll mean the difference between netting and losing a lot this season. It already has.

These fish are playing hard. We are really having to put the rod to them. And 5wts aren’t enough stick some of the time. The trout are big and mean playing for keeps. It’s gonna get wicked fun out here anglers.

Smaller fish are waking up, big fish are getting through the spawn, the river is talking and the fishing only gets better as things start to settle into a new rhythm as we get into May.

We get to fish into the evening chasing Caddis eats during one of the Yakima Rivers’ biggest hatches. We get salmon flies, which are a big treat for post spawning fish. We finish up March Browns mayflies and move to morning PMD hatches and late evening spinner falls.

Get ready, anglers! May and June are filling up fast, and I a. on a mission to educate, train, and drill anglers with the skill sets required to find success on this river. This kind of season is the kind of guiding I work for. The tough stuff, the kind of fishing that weeds out the weak, where experience with this fishery pays off. I teach anglers, not just put them on fish. I’m always learning and tweaking my program to best engage anglers and clients in an education based approach to fly fishing and guiding. The how, why, and what is happening while we fling flies to fish.

Come learn, find success, experience fly fishing, and a guide trip the way it is supposed to be. Get your money’s worth, and leave the river with a better understanding of fly fishing for trout and how to use the skills to find success on your own.

Dates are open anglers.

Come enjoy the sunshine, the company, and the fishing this 2023 season!

Tamarack