It’s July on the Yakima. The next two months will be some of the most consistent and best fishing conditions we’ve had on this river in a few seasons.
Flows are up, weather is perfect, bugs are out and fish are eating! Dries, nymphs, streamers, whatever you want to fish, there is some trout in this river that will eat it.
I’ve got availability this month but it is filling up. Give me a call and get on the calendar for some summer time fishing on the Yakima River.
Let’s Chase some Trout!
Stop…Hopper Time. We all know what that means. Super awesome fun times with dry flies, big water, and big ol’ trout. Just amazing fishing this season on the Yakima River. We have lots of water this season, and the flows just jacked up to summer time levels. The weather has been hot and that has spurred the hoppers into fruition. The forecast for the next 10 days in the upper is a high of 75 with sunshine, the lower is high of 85 with sunshine. SO….its time to book a trip and go chase some trout.
I encourage all anglers to shop around for guides, there are a lot here. I can guarantee you that our local independent guides here are the best of the best and if I’m booked, I make sure to refer clients to other independents like myself. You can book a local independent guide for way less than the outfitters, have a more personable experience, support a small business owner, and if you book with me, we can fish areas of the river that others don’t frequent. There is 70 miles of river to fish, and about 75% of anglers and guides fish the bottom 3rd of this river. Fishing the upper river in high flows, 3400 cfs today, takes a bit of skill and these fish are wicked fun in that heavy water!
Business plug out of the way, on to the next public service announcement.
The past three days I have been at home with the family enjoying the lull in tourist activity before the 4th of July weekend descends upon us. I have a different opinion of our Independence Day celebration after working in the outdoors for a bit. People get really stupid when fire, alcohol, dope, and colorful explosives are all put together. Especially when they are out in the woods away from the city and that. So, before the haters descend upon me, go out and have a good time this weekend, but be smart, just about everywhere in the county is off limits to fireworks, and fireworks are banned on all public lands, no exceptions. Enjoy our Independence, like responsible Americans…please. And pick up your trash and don’t put rock dams in the rivers. Otherwise people like me and my family, and the great volunteers with TU and other organizations have to pick up after you. Hold your friends accountable, no matter how intoxicated, and clean up your mess and respect the rivers, woods, and wild places. Because I don’t like having to go in the few days after and see the aftermath. It cuts into my fishing and snorkeling time and that’s about the only thing I get peeved about these days.
Alright, now on to more insightful things that involve trout and rivers, flies and smiles.
I have had the amazing opportunity to be on or in the river a lot this past month. It’s a special and very humbling thing to be able to do what I love everyday and support my family and live the lifestyle my wife and I love. It is the peak of the season. I have been enjoying the few days off in between runs. It has given me a chance to go explore the headwaters on my own for a day, it also allowed me to spend some time at home with my kids before they leave for a road trip to their grandparents in Idaho. Gone for two weeks while Dad and the Dog chill at home. I’ll be running trips like a mad man, tying flies, and playing this sweet new video game I got. (I pile new video games up during the season and then binge play them while the snow falls during the winter. My son starts playing them before me and gives me spoilers.) Having a few days off also gave me the chance to snorkel the Teanaway a bit more and get more in touch with what is going on under the surface.
Lets be honest, that river is fishing like crap. I hate to say it like that but its true, and I should know, I’ve been up there a lot lately, and I have been fishing it pretty regularly for several seasons. It used to be a haven for the summer time angler with no boat. Big cutties, eager for a dry, bigger flows, and less people. Sadly, last years drought, coupled with the immense amount of people traffic and irrigation usage has sucked a lot of the life out of the beloved Teanaway River. Every time I drive up the valley I see the river gasping for life. I see Mount Stuart, looming at the head of the river, angry and foreboding, as if shaming those of us below. It is not until I venture away from the pavement and away from where people congregate along the banks of the river that I find life again. There is an amazing difference in the presence of fish above the ‘No Fishing’ areas then below. The caliber of fish the higher up you go into the Closed Waters section amazes me. It is reminiscent of what the entire river used to be like. Only 6 years ago the river was so much different. And where people are no longer allowed to fish, only then does the Teanaway seem to show her true self. The only way to experience it…is with snorkel, fly rod not allowed…or needed honestly. I have no desire to fish the Teanaway River these days. I long for the days I remember, nostalgic for a time when fishing the Teanaway River was an incredible experience with absolutely astounding and amazing wild trout. Some that defied belief as to their ability to even be in the river. Wild Westslope with peculiar spots, rich hues of rose, gold, and blood orange, large and gnarly, like aquatic mountain goats venturing further and further into the intricate pools and rapids of the river. They are all but gone, a few still residing high in the river where they are only pestered by predators, the occasional dirty poacher (asshats), and people like myself…snorkeling trying to understand and learn more about them. To bring their home back.
This spring was quite the sight during runoff. The Teanaway River was a torrent of angry vengeful water, running over 6000cfs at one point. She was so heavy there was flooding in areas, she wiped out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of monitoring equipment, she reformed the stream-bed in places, pulled new logs and dead fall into her embrace, all while washing away the drought and forcing nutrients and life back into her waters. But yet again she is hit with low water, the snow melts too fast, and the water gets pulled out to quickly before it is able to reach her bigger sister the Yakima. That disconnect between the two rivers is very bad. They need each other, and whether we all want to admit it or not, we need them both more than ever.
The Teanaway is like a smaller version of the upper Yakima, like mirror images of each other, but the Yakima has dams that make her bigger. Without them the Yak would be very similar to the Teanaway and Cle Elum rivers. As we see these negative things happen to the Teanaway it is only a precursor to the problems we will face on the Yakima. Everything flows down stream, and when you lose the headwaters, the entire system falls apart. The headwaters are the heart, the brain, the most important organs of the entire watershed. Moreover, than any other thing though, the headwaters are the womb. They breed life. Without them…the system dies. Headwaters Matter. It’s what drives me to work in conservation. I do a lot of it and one day I hope to share the Teanaway with my children and grandchildren and no longer feel that nostalgia. That’s the goal, a life goal for me.
This is why you see my hog and my beardy face up in the headwaters most of the time. I have been in the LC on the Yak a bit, I try and avoid the weekends, its starting to get crowded. I encourage anglers looking for a guide trip to pick a week day. There is still opportunity to have any section of the river to yourself during the week. But part of the reason I spend so much time in the upper river is because it is my stomping grounds. I started wading up here before I bought my boat, exploring the main-stem Yak and all the tribs with a passion that is slightly subdued nowadays. I visit my favorite spots, I’m running out of new spots but I still find new and amazing things every time I am on the river. Fishing the Upper Yak reminds me of the Teanaway too. The Cutthroat are here, and they are by far my favorite fish. They are a funky trout, that can be as frustrating to trick on the fly as their wild rainbow cousins, but they also are some of the fastest fish I have ever met. Watching them in the wild with a snorkel shows that even more. They live in some very cool water, sprinting through rapids with ease. They are smaller and slimmer than a rainbow, but they are faster. They don’t have the strength and ferocity of a rainbow, but they are quick to the fly, and make reaction time a key element of tricking them. I have seen some of the biggest cutthroat of my life in this river, mostly watching them head back down to the depths after missing them on the fly because they are faster than I. My fascination for them, the how, what, and why of what makes them so unique and distinct compared to other trout envelops my trouty brain.
I had a few moments with Cutthroat on the fly this season that will stick with me forever. I have shared many of these moments with clients. That’s what its all about for me. Those moments. The tug is the drug for some, that moment of fish and angler meeting…that is what its all about for me. When wild animal and human interact. It can be even more intoxicating when snorkeling with them. Watching wild cutthroat in their natural environment just being trout…its fascinating. Tricking them with a fly is the preferred method but sometimes its unnecessary.
I am addicted to invading that world whether by fly and rod or snorkel and fins. In reality it is the world. Just a smaller version of it. Put aside the technology, the politics, religion, violence, all the noise….and there in front of you…life is there…doing what it does…passing you by. Slowing everything down with a finely timed cast, a good stroke of the oars, a fly landing perfectly, or a good long swim through a big deep pool taking in the wonder…that’s what my life is all about…that’s all I want life to ever be about. Come share it with me, unplug from it all and come plug in to all the stuff you are missing. No cords required, no charging except that of the soul, the ultimate network…come get some. Will do ya good.
Now I’m unplugging. New blog after fishing this weekend. Check the FB and website for a river report. Will have flies for sale up when I get around to it.
Oh and I’m on Gink and Gasoline in a sweet video talking about trout and stuff. Check it out here:
Tamarack
I am swinging in my hammock, the bright moon quicksilver on the river surface. The sound of the run constant, along with the crickets and the slight breeze reverberating amongst the cliff walls of the Upper Yakima River Canyon.
My clients slumber in the tent. The fire out now, I have a smoke and listen to a few of my favorite tunes while I write this blog. The fishing has been slower, I’ll admit, but we have had some memorable trout. The conversations from today have left my mind full. I have this unique opportunity and I feel very forunate to be able to share life with others over fly fishing. I have become a well rounded individual through this activity and the people I meet and share it with. My clients return to fish with me and come all the way from Texas in some cases to share time on the river with me, support my family, and learn all that fly fishing has to offer. And I’m not just talking about the trout and the skills it takes to trick them.
The conversations I have riverside and fireside are some of the only conversations that stay with me, impact me, guide me not only as an angler but also as a man. I feel this organic and primal connection to the world that trout inhabit. Our world…my world. The world without cars, or phones, or stress, or jobs, or noise. Just a rising trout, a good cast, and a smiling face, that’s what’s out here. When you get right down to it, from the surface it looks just as simple as that. A rising trout, a good cast, and a smiling face. But underneath, there is so much more. Just like the quicksilver laden river surface before me that continues to distract me from writing; there is much more going on under the surface.
Fly fishing is intricate, in so many ways. Much more than a rising trout, a good cast, and a smile. Ponder all the things that happen between all those casts at rising trout with smiles following?
There is much to this fly fishing thing. Even after 11 seasons riverside I learn more and more every time I come to the river. My skills for trout may be at their pinnacle, but there is so much more to this activity than my ability to trick and catch these wild trout.
Spending two days with clients allows so much more to develop between anglers and guide. I also cook an okay steak for dinner, have whiskey handy, and make a damn good campfire. There is much to be said about conversations over a campfire next to a river. That raw connection to the fire, the wild around, and the people you are sharing it with has meaning, gives sustinence to the mind and soul, brings balance. Not Facebook comments and Twitter posts, or Instagram feeds or text messages, turn that shit off, put that shit down, and look me in the eye when we talk, laugh and smile with me, enjoy the birds, trees, warm fire, and fish and non fish stories.
There is something special about sharing an evening on the river with others. Even as I write this I realize that right now, with 97% assurance, my clients and I are the only people on river this evening. And we’ll be the first ones on it in the morning. While every other client and guide is standing in line to grab their coffee and breakfast before hitting the river at 9am, I will have woken with the sun, had my coffee made with water from the river, drinking it with my toes in the river while I sit on the bow of my boat. We will have been fishing and enjoying the river for a good hour before everyone else. And I’ll have cast to trout in the morning before my clients wake. There is something special about sharing an evening on the river with others.
Have a good evening. I know I will.
By the way, I’m the only guide offering overnight trips currently.
Tamarack
I had two cancellations for the 18th and 19th coming up this weekend. Who wants em?!
Did I mention Drakes and Golden Stones are hatching and fish are eating them. Oh and it’s overcast all weekend. Ya…
Give me a call and let’s chase some trout!
Tamarack
River update 6/9/16:
It’s amazing! Nuff said.
The Golden’s are hatching, the PMDs are coming off like crazy in the upper, Caddis, and I saw blue wing olives today. Fish were a little slow at the start but once the day settled in they were all over dry flies. Some technical fishing, spooky trout even with the low light. All that sunshine just made them shy. As these rain storms move through and this lovely cloud cover and cooler temps stick around the fishing will only get better.
Flows are perfect and water temps are cold! Took a 52 degree reading today. Finally hit 54 around 3.
I nymphed during the first part of the day and just hammered them on PMD nymphs. Several ate the golden stone nymph too. Then I got bored so I switched to dries. They were all over it. I threw a double dry rig with a big golden up front and a small PMD trailer. Had them hit both.
If it looks fishy…there are fish in there. I found trout all over the river. They have moved into riffles and the middle of the river in some places with this low light. They are keying in on pmds and Golden’s, found some picky fish that wanted one and not the other. Should see drakes soon!
I’ve got Saturday this week still open! Who wants to throw dries and trick trout!?
Give me a call and get on the calendar. The upper is amazing right now!
Tamarack
I love tying flies. I have never found another activity that I can lose myself in like tying flies for trout. Self taught at first but then studying under a mentor for some time really helped expand my skill, technique, and creativity. Learning how different material can help create a near perfect representation…not to the angler…but to the trout. I tie flies for trout, they may not look pretty enough for the bin, but trout don’t care about that…flies look very different to trout than they do to angler.
Size, silhouette, shape, and to some extent color are the things that run through my mind before I throw feathers and thread to hook. Right now it’s Golden Stones. The skwalla rides low, is slow, and small, I tie a non foam pattern for it because those bugs are damn near sunk during the hatch. For salmon flies I tie big flies with moose main because it’s super buggy and floats like a cork. It also does a good job of making the fly look all twitchy without having to actually twitch the fly. Salmon flies are like big chinook helicopters, and when they crash in the water…they make a huge mess of themselves. They are clumsy as all hell.
Golden’s though, they dance and jump like a mayfly when they hatch, they float high, and they move a lot. I tie foam for Golden’s, use moose for a dark flat good floating wing, and throw six silly legs on there to give the fly movement. I use yellow gold foam and color it with a sharpie, and I use a larger hook gap because fish like to play with Golden’s so a wider hook gap usually helps with fish that don’t get the large fly in their mouth.
When I tie flies, all I think about is fish eating them. With every thread wrap another fish is tricked and netted and released. It’s like pre drinking before a party, warming up before the big game, or studying before a big test. Either way it’s a good way to prep before a trip.
Anyway, I’m going fishin, hope to see ya out there. This season is gonna be amazing.
Tamarack
The Teanaway River was absolutely beautiful today. The fish were spooky with the sunshine but they are in there. Be wary of where you walk…there are some spawning steelhead and large trout still in the system. I did meet our local WDFW enforcement while guiding, good to see them out and about up there. The water temps up high were 54, the Teanaway confluence with the Yakima down low was 61, so it’s a little toasty down low. Play and handle fish accordingly please.
The Yakima has settled down a bit after an increase in flow for irrigators and this awful heat wave. Air temps go back down next week and there is cloud cover and rain in the forecast for next weekend…otherwise known as perfect dry fly weather. I have openings next week and weekend but they won’t last long, give me a call and get on the calendar, the Golden’s stoneflies are just getting started, and drakes are coming to the upper river.
Tamarack
I’ve got an opening June 3rd, tomorrow. The dry fly game is amazing right now, fish are looking up and smacking Golden’s hard.
Give me a call and let’s go chase some trout.
It is time to go fishing. The dry fly game is on. Big fish are rising, and we are having some amazing days here on the Yakima River.
I would go into the details but lets just say, throw something big and golden and they are gonna eat it. The past two days we have had big numbers, big fish, and lots of fun. The weather is good, the flows are good, the water temps are good, everything is good. Lots of action, with anglers literally getting tired of catching fish. The Yakima River is showing her true colors right now and its only getting better.
I have availability in June and the hatches are just starting. We have golden stone and yellow sallie’s starting. Drakes are soon to come, and caddis are returning with the heat. We are also seeing PMD hatches shift to the morning. The stonefly dry game the past two days has been amazing between 1-4 pm. Just slaying them. The nymphs are also working all morning long. Big golden stone nymphs and a purple pheasant tail or prince has been getting it done. We have been fishing around 5-6 feet deep here in the upper. Streamers are also working.
I have had the privilege of being very busy guiding the river the past few weeks and the fishing has been damn near perfect. This season is shaping up to be a really good one. There are a lot of healthy big fish that are eager to play with anglers. We have had a lot of fish jumping, running line, playing anglers, and making for some really fun days here on the Yakima River.
I have dates open but they are filling up fast. Full Day Trips are $350.00 for 2 Anglers with Lunch. I’ve got half day rates and walk and wade rates as well. The overnight trips are ready to go, and the Teanaway River opens on the 4th of June.
Give me a call, get on the calendar, and lets go chase some trout. It is just bonkers right now.
River Update 5/22/16:
Is it April? Cause the weather sure seems to think so!
Fishing was slower today but we hit the upper upper, upriver of Cle Elum, and it was windy and rained a bunch. Was a good call though. We had the river to ourselves all day and we were able to tuck out of the wind. Fish were light lipping nymphs and we rose a few fish with dries but they all gave us the finger and refused flies no matter what we threw at em. Picky picky trout.
Apparently the lower river blew out a bit below Wilson Creek due to rain. Should calm down by Tuesday. The upper river near Cle Elum had a few more boats down it than normal today which is why I decided on upper upper river today. We need some consistency with the weather and fishing will really pic up.
We are also in transition between hatches and fish are post spawn so they are a little tuckered out. We’ve got into a lot of post spawn fish this past week and we have been extra careful with how we play them and release them. These fish gave us the best gift ever…more trout, so take care of them while they recover.
Here in the next week we will see the river come alive with hatches again. Weather is shifting back, some consistency finally, and that will bring back Caddis, we have PMDs just waiting to pop, we’ve got golden and yellow sallie stoneflies poised for awesomeness, and there are green drakes on the way! My personal favorite and I know all the good spots for them in the upper!
We also have the tribs opening June 4th. Teanaway, Cle Elum, and Cooper rivers all open. I will be guiding the Teanaway River this season. Talk about great wet wading!
Fishing is good and only getting better. I’ve still got the 26th, 27th, and 31st open in May and I have dates open in June! Give me a call and let’s go chase some trout.
Tamarack's Guide Service 