Well anglers. I am on the down hill side of my 10th offseason as a fly fishing guide. Its gone by really quick. This offseason saw some of the highest caliber shenanigans I have ever experienced. Florida ended up being a somewhat dismal adventure. Got through it all and I have a new boat…although…we are a little meh about it all. 

I have also moved to Michigan. Which has been pretty easy. Kristen and I are on track with our plans for the summer and we are making a lot of progress. She is doing most of the work. I am prepping for my guide season. Michigan is cold, there is a little snow, and most of the fishing is closed or its frozen. So its been a lot of sitting around. Being bored, resting. Got sick, that was fun. Holidays were painless and easy. Got to travel which I enjoy. 

But the countdown to trout has begun. I am only a few weeks away from hopping on a plane back to Washington. I will be there until May. I will be making a drive back to grab my skiff in April and swap boat trailers with Kristen. We have boats, vehicles, and an RV stashed all over the country now. I am excited to head back to the Yakima. Getting far away and seeing new places did help me miss it a bit. Not much…but a bit. 

Its been just over 2 months since I have touched a fish. Which is on par for the offseason. I hate fishing in the cold. The cabin fever is setting in hard. Days are filled with boredom. I am getting flies tied but I have been taking my time. With the 2024 season almost fully booked on the Yakima I am enjoying just taking my time with work. 

The Yakima is frozen right now. As we get into February I expect things to start getting a little trouty. The forecasts are calling for a warmer and less precip season. Snow pack levels are above 80% so now we just wait to see how long the snow holds on through the spring. Skwallas are going to start waking up from the substrate and stage for their migration towards the bank for hatching. We saw stoneflies the first week of March last year. It was still cold, we had some snow and rain, but the fishing last spring and the previous was really good. Conditions are looking really favorable for the start of the trout season. 

I am looking forward to getting back to camp life. I am bummed Kristen and I will not be working the spring together but we have all summer and will both be back for the Fall Season on the Yakima. The season filled up really quick. I thank all my clients for that. With only 30 days left open for the Yak I am pretty stoked to have most of the season booked before we even get started. 

The next few weeks are when I start to switch gears. I have flies to tie for orders and for guiding. I have homework for each clients that is coming out. I start prepping the body as I don’t get a chance to row the boat very much before having to start work. Getting gear organized and shipped back west, lining up all the business stuff for the start of the year. The general pre season stuff that has become second nature to me now. This has been one of the quicker and easier offseasons once we got out of Florida. 

So now I just wait. Countdown the days to when I have the river back under me. The pull of the river on the oars. The sounds of familiar birds, boats, and people. A trout rising, the sound of fly line in the air, the take, the bend on the rod, and that all to awesome and wonderful feeling of a fish on the end of fly…tis the season anglers. We are almost there!

See ya riverside,

Tamarack

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Published by tamaracksguideservice

I have been fishing the Yakima River and its surrounding tributaries, creeks, and lakes for 10 years. I have been tying flies specific to this river for 10 years as well. I have guided not only the river but also many of the hiking and mountaineering trails in the area and fished some of the more remote lakes and streams. I love to fish the Yakima River and have been running my driftboat here for 5 years. I guide a little differently than the other services here and have a slightly different philosophy on guided fishing trips. Its all about the experience, and while I can't promise there will always be cooperative trout, there will always be good times. I learned from some of the greatest anglers the Yakima has both on the water and at the vise and I guide to share and pass on that knowledge and expertise so others can enjoy this river as much as I do. I love to teach people to fish, I love to teach people how to read the river, and I love showing people the beauty and art of fly fishing. My service is a bit cheaper but that is because I have no shop taking a percentage. I use a lot of my own fly designs and patterns that no other guide has and have spent the past 10 years fine tuning my tying and patterns specific to this river. I have flies, leaders, tippets, and fly rods and reels, and always welcome anglers to bring their own gear. If you need waders and boots I can arrange for a rental. I support my local fly shop for my trips as well as it is important to me that our local shops stay open. When you take a trip with me it all about fishing and the experiences that happen along the river. I love getting my clients to have great moments with our trout here. Ask me all the questions you can, I want to teach as much as you want to learn. Whether you are an experienced angler or brand new to the sport I love sharing this river with people. I guide the Yakima River and many other secret waters in the area. When you give me a call I will ask you lots of questions as I want to make sure you have the best experience possible while chasing the trout we have here. Whether its a guided river float or a hike and fish, or a walk and wade to the secret places, I can help make your fly fishing experience memorable and fun. Give me a call today and lets set up a time to go fishing.

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