Author: tamaracksguideservice

Post Upper River Float Update:

I didn’t get a chance to go live at the end of the day. Got a little windy and the fishing slowed and I just got a little tired.

We floated Hanson to Bristol. There is a bunch of new water to read in the upper. Side channels to pick apart, new logs and woody debris, complete restructuring of the river bottom and substrate, and a lot of new gravel bars, drops offs, and riffles.

The main stem river below the State/East Cle Elum Acces point is totally blocked by a new log jam in the S curve. So take the right side channel just below the access point a few hundred yards. It’s clear, and it’s fishy.

The water temp always plays a huge factor in the upper. It only got up to 52 for us today and that was at 6:30 at the take out. So fish were a little less interested. Bugs were also a little funky. Very sporadic, we had March Browns, Yellow Sallies, PMDs, I swear I saw 1 golden, and Caddis. We stuck it out after 5 to see if the caddis would pop but it just didn’t materialize. It tried. But that water and air temp just didn’t line up right.

All that being said, we had a great day. Both Ross and I got into several trout. I stopped counting after 12. I landed 3, and missed so many more…my reaction time is still in spring mode and these fish are at summer speeds. Ross did much better and landed a handful. Streamer fishing this morning was good for about 2 hours and we got into several fish, and so many tags. Lots of the smaller trout are out and they are super fun and a good warm up for when the big trout show up. We got into some nice fish on dries later in the day on a Royal PMX in a 10. One of my favorite attractor patterns. With how funky the hatches where we fished the fishy looking stuff and we got some lookers, some boopers, a few bippers, and some nice fat takes.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t get into a bunch o’ trout in the upper river. I’ve done 75% of my trips in the upper since coming back to guiding here and I love the upper in the summer. Just superb dry fly fishing when things align and nymphing and streamer fishing are always fun, especially when the hatches come in regularly and you can start to break them down.

Fishing was good, weather was damn near perfect, and the Yakima is finally ready for anglers.

Looking forward to the next 5 months of awesome here on the homewater! Calendar is filling! Get on it and get after it anglers!

So we finally are able to fish. Damn wind is thinking it’s gonna keep me from fishing but trout don’t feel the wind and they still gotta eat. The Yakima in the summer is just fun. It’s a tailwater so the flows are controlled, things become consistent, and the fishing follows.

I hit the river Sunday with my kids. It was still high and has dropped another 600 plus cfs since we were out. Saw bugs, but fish were still shy. There’s a couple of things anglers need to keep in mind when fishing the Yak in the summer.

Water Temp: this is literally the single most important thing on this river. I can’t stress is enough. It is the determining factor for if these trout are gonna eat, move, spawn, it sets where they will be in the water column, the types of places they will look for to hide and feed. It’s literally everything. So beginning to understand how temperature affects fish and the environment will help you produce more trout in the net on this river. These fish aren’t very active when things are below 50 degrees down there. The sweet spot for trout is 54-58. They seem to be their most normal at that temp. When we start hitting 60 plus things start to get funky and over 65 I don’t fish.

If the fishing is slow but there are bugs it’s probably the water temp. If it’s low water temp…fish aren’t interested in this river. They literally go to the bottom, find the slow water, and eat cased caddis and chill until the water temps force them to do otherwise. I’ve seen it while snorkeling.

Flows: when the flows are jacked you can’t fish. This rivers fishable capacity is about 4000cfs in the LC and 3800cfs in the upper. For the summer time fish have a bit of a battle. The higher than normal flows cause fish to hold in places they have to…not places they want to. This does two things. It’s makes our troot super cranky…and it makes them eat.

When flows are jacked fish have to make due and deal with them. Meaning they have to burn more energy to keep themselves going against the current…as the water temp warms over the summer the fish eat more because water temp directly affects trout metabolism. This means, higher flows, warmer water temps, hangrier fish. When we see water temps hit 65 we start to see fish act negatively to the river and angling. At that high flows and those warm water temps the fish are already stressed and angling for the can be lethal. Later in the summer taking a water temp in the afternoon to make sure fish aren’t getting over stressed is always a good bet. Plus warm water temps can also cause slow fishing. As anglers we are looking for that window when fish are at their most active. On a tailwater in the summer it becomes a lot easier due to the consistency and is why the Yak is so popular in the summer. My advice when things get hot…fish really early and really late and skip the mid day stuff. I’ve launched at 5am and caught plenty big ass trout before 8am and launched at 5pm and done the same before 10pm. Fishing when those water temps are moving up and falling can be those big number days your after.

Sunshine and Shade:

The Yakima gets over 200 days of sunshine. Most of which happens in the 180 days of summer we have. Trout don’t like the sun, especially on the Yak. The trout are spooky, smart, and have been playing this game for a while. Fishing when the sun is highest is not recommended. As things warm up and water temps settle fish look for two things during summer flows. Food…and cover. With the high flows every trout down there is battling for good holding and hidey spots. They get really territorial, and typically when one fish gets moved out of a place there are 3 more ready to take it. It’s why you can get fish outta the same spot in the summer if you chill and take time with them. I always say fish the water not the fish on this river. Because when you don’t see em…they are still in there.

In the summer with that sun beating down, trout look for cover and easy access to food. This works out great for fish because the higher flows push them into the bank, and the river provides them with ample sources of food while they are tucked up in there. We have caddis every night…the main food source of these trout. We have big stoneflies that mate along the bank, a vast array of terrestrial insects from beetle, ants, hoppers, and more. There is no shortage of big sustaining food along the bank, and the fish will eat opportunistic and aggressively so they can keep up with the summer time shindig that happens on the Yak. Trout out here get super picky, sometimes only moving a few inches for food. The tighter to the shade and structure, and the tighter to the bank, the better chances of hooking fish. This makes the Yakima a little easier to fish because the trout are all in one place…along the bank. When the river drops back to normal everything changes again. So get that fly tight to the bank and shade.

There is one other reason that I love the Yakima. After 12 seasons of fishing it, the Yakima can get a little stale. Looking at the same water for years. The upper Yakima helps alleviate some of that burnout by changing drastically every few seasons due to run off. Once you are into the LC the river has basically been the same since ever…save for the river reclaiming Ringer Loop into the flood plain.

The upper Yak looks like a totally different river this season. With several new trees in the river, the flows have remade the river bed, changed the sediment placement, and with the new structure in the river, it’s like a brand new river for us to play in. This means that fish will be holding and moving around in a completely new environment to them too. Which means I get to read new water this year. It creates a challenge that I knew was coming with the high water and has made this summer season out to be a new adventure for my trouty brain. When I floated with my kids Sunday I was giddy with all the new stuff I get to break down, pick apart, and figure out for the guide season. It’s why I will always guide trout here in the Yakima in the summer and autumn. It’s just too unique of a system compared to others to not to. No matter what other waters and species I guide for in the coming years; the Yakima will always be my home water, where I learned, where I became a professional, it’s still my favorite trout river after all these seasons. And when the fall hits…it starts all over because this river is totally different up here this season and I can’t wait to share it with anglers again! This is what the upper Yakima is all about!

Tamarack

Finally anglers! FINALLY. I hit the river today and yes it’s high, but damnit let’s go already! Took the kids out and we had a great little float. Rose a fish or two, saw some bugs, and enjoyed being riverside in what feels like an eternity.

My calendar is finally starting to fill up, and I’m finally getting to talk trout and have my life be enveloped by everything troot and river, fly and rod. It’s been a rough spring. It’s why next spring I’ll be fishing other water. I’ll also be fishing somewhere else this winter…but it’s summer time…and the Yakima is awesome from now until the end of October, so for the next 150 days…I’ll be here, on my beloved Yakima River chasing trout and guiding clients having a wicked time. Hope to see ya riverside this season!

Tamarack

It has been a rough spring and if you are a trout angler its not great right now.  There are only a few rivers that are not completely toasted and blown out, but our beloved Yakima is on the drop.

We have lost a lot of our snowpack, more than anywhere else in the state.  But the Yakima River is a tailwater system, and that means the flows are regulated and controlled for irrigation and salmon in the summer.  We had plenty of snow this year to get us through the hot summer months…we have just had to wait until things have settled down enough that the powers that be can ramp down the flows to more fishable levels.  It is coming…probably next weekend…sooner if the fly fishing gods deem us worthy.

The summer on the Yakima is always good.  I have some of my best dry fly fishing this time of year.  Basically we only fish dries from now until October in my boat but that is because these fish know this is a tailwater and they act accordingly.  These fish have the flows jacked up to over twice the normal flow for this river.  Its why our trout get such big shoulders, fight so hard, and have to basically eat all day long.  These trout are stuck on a treadmill that is at full incline and the speed setting cranked to 11.  They are constantly burning energy, and the water temp this season should sit right in the sweet spot all summer long.  That means trout metabolism will be at the optimal range due to the water temps sticking the low and mid 50’s.  Add the caddis, salmon flies, goldens, green drakes, terrestrials, and morning mayflies and you get a river that just doesn’t quit.

The high flows also push the trout around the system in an unnatural manner.  Because there is so much volume the water forces the fish into the banks of the river.  This makes the 1000 trout per mile in this river a little easier to target.  The closer to the bank the bigger the fish.  They tuck up tight into the small stuff, little shady spots, structure, overhangs, high grassy banks, they are all tucked up in there.  They are forced there, but its also where the food happens to be.  Terrestrials insects like ants, beetles, and grasshoppers fall in and make easy opportunistic food.  We also have caddis that do most of their business along the bank and it will be the main food source for fish throughout the summer.  The stoneflies will start to show up and fish will smack them, typically late in teh afternoon when they return to oviposit.  Mayflies in the midafternoon, drakes and browns mostly, target riffle feeders.  We also have the early morning stuff start to pick up as the air temps rise.  Stoneflies in the AM, and the PMD hatch in the upper can be pretty amazing when things get rolling.  The summer time is one of the best times to come out and enjoy the unique tailwater fishery we have here on the Yakima.

The summer calendar is already starting to fill up.  Since there hasn’t been much fishing I expect that the guide trips will be plentiful and I have already had lots of calls on when things are gonna get back into shape.  We will be rolling by June, if not hopefully, by Memorial Day Weekend.  These fish have had one hell of a break and it’s time to remind them that there are anglers out here!  Give me a call, send me an email, holler at me riverside cuz I will be out there starting this coming week!  It’s time to go fishing!  After this long spring I am just as anxious to get after it as every other angler!  It is finally here!!!

Tamarack

Let’s talk about this wonderful time of the season I like to refer to as Transition Time…or Pre Summer Funky Time.  The Yakima River is a tailwater, meaning its flow is dam controlled.  Unique with the Yakima is that during the summer months when most rivers around the west reach their lowest levels, heat up, get put under hoot owl restrictions, or just closed altogether; the Yakima…she is high and fast all summer.  And right now she is big and dirty because its hot as hell out there for early May and the snow is melting rapidly.

The Yakima runs unnaturally high in in the summer months.  The river would normally only run in the 3-5 thousand CFS range during the spring runoff before settling down and staying around 2 thousand CFS or less.  Just a much larger version of the Teanaway really…much larger.  The fishing becomes unnatural as well.  We get big flows that force fish into the bank in the lower stretches and this requires them to eat terrestrials and caddis all day long.  Think of it as if you were stuck on a treadmill all day for 3-4 months that was on the highest setting on the steepest incline.  That’s kinda what summer flows are like for trout.  They have grown accustomed to the way the water is managed, trout are incredibly adaptable.  And they do thrive here, our population numbers are right where they are supposed to be.  I also think it is why are trout are so cranky.  They get big burly and they don’t mess around.  When you take the water away they tend to settle back down in the late season.

This tailwater effect gives this river system a very interesting ecosystem that breeds a very enjoyable trout for fly fishing.  Otherwise I wouldn’t still be here.  This system gives anglers and guides an amazing summer season, 3 straight months of fishing basically.  The river may be high but the fish still gotta eat.  Summer time flows for irrigation throughout the Yakima Valley Agricultural System, give us that treadmill that forces fish to burn calories constantly and eat basically all the time.  Fishing becomes good, then consistent, then consistently good.  This spring has been a bit of a bust, we’ve had some good days, but its been mostly pretty meh, much like last spring.  We get a good spring every few seasons.  We get good summers damn near every year.  With the currents snow pack and the temperature trend, which cools back down next week, we should have a nice warm summer, but with plenty of water for the river.  Big and high, with hangry trout.

While the river is blown, I am getting ready to move my family back off grid this summer.  I am getting ready to head south as well.  I also have a fly tying material order that should finally arrive tomorrow so I can get to work on summer time bugs as the guiding is about to pick up.  Once the river simmers its shit down.  We have carpenter ants,  hoppers, beetles, salmon flies, golden stoneflies, yellow sallies, PMD’s, Drakes, Summer Stones, Caddis holy crap so much caddis, plus streamers, and the nymphs to go along with all of the above.  Summer time is wicked fun time on the Yakima and its damn near here.  After the kind lack luster spring the summer is going to be busy.  Sunshine, big water, big troots, big bugs, and good times.

We have about a week or so of this Pre Summer Funky Time right now, river looks to be out of shape until at least the 15th.  Which sucks, but is nothing new if you’ve spent enough spring watching flow charts and snow melt.  June is starting to fill up with reservations, and July is usually one of my busiest months once we get through the 4th. We are still on standby for May but as we get through the next week or so the river should get to a fishable level.  But I am ready for barefoot days in the boat, chucking big dries to slurpy durpy trout, early morning floats before the heat sets in, late evening river rambles fishing into the night and taking out in headlamps and trailer lights…ya…camping riverside on my days off, snorkeling the mountain rivers and streams.  Its almost here.. 100 plus days of sunshine and outdoor awesomeness…who’s ready?

 

Tamarack

Fishing has been pretty good this past week.  We’ve had a good window of as good as it gets spring conditions.  We shall see how long they hold but it looks like I will be sitting at the vise quite a bit this next week.  Looks like Wednesday this coming week the river is going to rise.  If it will be enough to blow out is anyone’s guess right now.  We just have to wait and see.  It is going to get really warm this coming week.  And that 107% snow pack has to go somewhere.

So when things get funky out there and it becomes to difficult to effectively guide…I effectively use my time to tie flies for when the river is back in shape.  I have always tied my own flies.  I started tying the lures before I even touched a fly rod.  As a gear fisherman I always loved lures and the different techniques and types.  So when I learned that fly fishing you got to design and tie your own and try to mimic the natural world…I was like…sign me up that shit sounds dope.  I got a kit and started reading and learning.  Before youtube videos.  I started buying materials, learning the different uses.  Took a class, learned more, experimented, practiced, got better, then started catching fish on my stuff.  When I started working the industry my tying chops really came into their own.  I started tying dozens a day.  I started selling them.  I soon realized that it is way cheaper to tie your own then buy.  So I would buy 2 or 3 of the patterns that struck my fancy and I would deconstruct one…and keep the other two for comparisons.  I got really good at tying what was in the bins and catalogues.  Even to the point where I would fill the bins with my ties.

I started teaching classes.  Fine tuning my skills through teaching, large scale tying, and experimenting with different patterns for multiple species.  I didn’t live close to the river so I would also tie bass and carp flies.  I would take notes on the flies I tied, how they held up, how they looked in the water.  I made one of those fly tanks with the water and the stream flow thing, I made it out of an old fish tank.  Tested everything in it.  Put a mirror in the bottom so I could see what the profile of the fly looked like to the fish.  Brought bugs home and put them in the tank with the flies and studied them.  I totally immersed myself in it.  Entomology is super cool when you are a big science nerd like me.  I was obsessed with tying perfect flies and perfectly mimicking naturals.  I got really good at it, have some patterns that just work, because of it.  But my mentor reminded me about the three things that trout need when it comes to a fly.  Size, Silhouette, Color.

The fly doesn’t have to perfectly match, it has to perfectly mimic.   There is a difference.  Size plays a huge role both above and below, the water changes the way things look, and trout have eyes designed to see in a liquid world…unlike ours.  Trout also see color…but not the same way we do.  And light through the water column changes the way trout see color and light which can be very important when selecting flies.  Trout don’t see bugs the way we do…their eyes are not as advanced as ours, but they see shapes and interpret minuscule things like dimples in the meniscus that we can’t, and this is handy to know when tying flies.  So I started studying the attractor patterns, how light and water affect materials.  How trout interpret their environment, raided the biology section of my college library for anything I could find on stream habitat, trout, invertebrate life, found a lot.  Also found Lafontaine and his Caddisflies book…in the Biology Section…just FYI.

My world exploded.  I really started to find my kind of sweet spot with tying.  Your flies start looking like they are yours….not like all the other ones…versions of the other ones…your versions…and they work….sometimes better.   I tie because I believe that trout eat things they don’t see on a regular basis.  I have seen so many trout refuse store bought flies…those picky trout…the ones you hear about but can’t seem to get yourself…well…that fly that everyone is throwing at them…could be the reason.  You won’t find that stuff in my box.  Sure I’ve got a few store bought…mostly because I still buy a few that strike my fancy and then tie more to look like them.  I love when clients can’t tell the difference between the two…except mine will hold up to more trout typically.

I tie for myself because I still love the sensation of tying a fly at the vise, tying the fly onto the tippet, my heart racing as it drifts over the spot where I last saw the fish rise….that moment…when you ask yourself if your fly is worthy….and the trout answers.  That feeling, to this day, whether the rod is in my hand, the hand of my clients, or my children…after 12 years of chasin’ trout….I still cannot get enough of that rush…that flutter of the heart.  The shot of adrenaline as the fish and you meet through the rod bend.  The head shake, the run, the jump, the whole time smiling inside and out with the satisfaction that something I created was the key into that world of wild trout.  Damn fly fishing is cool.  For me it all started with the flies.  The fly is the most important part, how it looks, how it drifts, how the fish interprets it all.  It is the key to the door, it is what sets fly fishing apart from all other angling forms…that fly and what is required to unlock those river secrets….mmm…ya fly fishing is really cool.

See ya out there anglers.

Tamarack

It’s here for a bit. As long as conditions hold anyway. But superb fishing today and it should continue.

Fishing was absolutely stellar today and I quit early! March Browns are hatching in the afternoon and fish are all over them. We have a few skwalla hanging around with the war,we days and BWO’s and Caddis are out and about.

I have availability for the rest of the month and the flows and weather look to hold through next week. Come get in on some amazing spring fishing on the Yakima River!

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Awww ya!

I put up a tie of the Batman Prince after getting requests for it.  Apparently its a hard fly to find in the shops.

 

So I am all for river shenanigans and getting silly on the river.  I do it all the time to relax, detox from the guide week, or just to enjoy the river without the pressure of having to guide or fish seriously.   I especially engage in this type of behavior in the summer time as I am about 100 trips in and things start to get to you.  So you spend some time riverside with buddies getting silly, catching a few fish, but mostly just dinking around.

Then there are times where the fish are feeding, selectively, and require the utmost attention, focus, and stillness of the angler.  These situations can be very intense, with large trout actively feeding just within cast reach.  The kind of trout that if you cast too much you’ll never see them again.  So you wait…you watch…you listen….and you don’t make too much noise for fear that this trout will become aware that it is being stalked and is the quarry of the attentive angler.

Yesterday we found ourselves in such a situation.  In one of my favorite runs of the upper river.  A pod of fish 4 of which were very large began feeding in response to the March Brown and BWO hatch that was sporadically coming off.   A large trout in particular, was feeding on a 30-45 second interval.  Coming up and hoovering insects by opening its mouth just under the surface and letting the mayfly drop in with a faint gulping sound and a kick of a dorsal fin before lowering back into the depths.  It was intoxicating to watch, and the fellow angler I was with and I were enjoying just watching them eat before we made our approach.

They were spooky, we had to try 3 different flies, and several different approaches.  We hooked one but not the one we were after.  Finally I was able to get a good drift and I got refused…twice.  Gave me a look…tracked the fly…but wouldn’t commit.  So we waited.  To see if they would reset and give us another shot.  Unfortunately we did not get another shot.

The type of day I described at the beginning of the blog, well we had a group come through that were having that sort of day.  And they were being silly, loud, and fishing they way they wanted to…not the way the fish were demanding.  And that is all good.  I have no issue with it…but that kind of day….does not mesh well with the type of day we were having or with the current pod of fish we were working.  As the other boat came through the run of course…our sensitive fish decided they had enough and retreated back to their hidey holes for the afternoon.  Even with bugs over head…they were aware of us and would not come back out to play.  A huge bummer, especially when others can clearly see what you are trying to do.

It happens.  I get bummed, I might blog or talk about it, but it happens and it sucks.  We found a pod of fish that required technical skill, patience, and proper angling approaches and methods and we were in the thick of it.  To have moments like that become sullied just sucks.  And I am not super upset about it…just bummed is all.  I’ll have more moments like that and I will have clients and myself catch fish during them.  It all comes down to two things.

Some of us are out there to chase fish and become a part of that world that trout live in…others are just out here to relax, cut loose, and make themselves feel good.  And that’s okay…just don’t curse in church when the others are praying.

The Yakima is in good shape this week and the March Browns, BWO’s, and some drakes are starting to hatch in the afternoon and fish are starting to look up on a regular basis.

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