Yakima River Fly Fishing Report

March 12, 2010
Despite the semi-wintery conditions, fishing on the Yakima River remained steady this past week. The likelihood of fish on the dry fly was stronger around Ellensburg than Cle Elum. The upper Yakima River fished good with skwala stone fly nymphs, pheasant tails, and San Juan worms; while the Ellensburg stretch of the Yakima fished good with skwala adults on top. Even though fishing has been good this past week, we expect fishing to improve over the weekend with the temperatures increasing and less chance of precipitation. The river flow is perfect and the clarity is good.

March 4, 2010
The Yakima River through the Cle Elum area is slightly up and a little off color. Not to worry as it is still very fishable and catching is consistent. There have been adult skwala stoneflies on the water with the warming of the day. Even some Mayflies today. No reason not to fish this weekend.

February 22, 2010
The water temperature on the upper Yakima River is close to 40 degrees and the flow is low and clear. Despite the overwhelming amount of sunshine in Cle Elum the past few days, the air temperatures still feels cold. We have had good success on our guide trips both on the upper Yakima River and through the farmlands around Ellensburg. Nymphing has been about 100% of our fishing technique with a very simple set-up, a brown size 8 stonefly to represent a skwala nymph with a dropper. We have had fish eat a pink San Juan worm or a pearl color midge larva immitation as the dropper. When the fish become stubborn, nymphing a streamer could elicit a take. We have not seen any adult skwalas yet, but they should show within the next few weeks. Lots of midges on the surface. The general feeling is that the season is at least two weeks early.

Check out our March Yakima River Guide Service Special on the link to your right. We have availabilty during the first two weeks of the month. Fishing should be good with the predicted weather pattern of cloudy skies with mild overnight temperatures and highs in the 50's.

February 8, 2010
Now is a pretty good time to fish the Yakima River as the weather is mild and the trout are readily eating stoneflies. Lots of success this weekend with a size 8 brown stonefly fished under an indicator. The feeling is that we will have an early year with the skwala fishing ahead of the typical time by a few weeks.

Take advantage of our March special of a full day guided fly fishing trip on the Yakima for two anglers at $225 for the boat. We usually run this special during the Fly Fishing Show in Bellevue. With the show not taking place this year, just give us a call and we'll get you scheduled for what is typically one of the best fishing months of the year.

February 5, 2010
The Yakima is low and clear with hardly any snow in the area. Water temperatures are decent with lots of midge activity on the upper river. Nymphing with stone fly and small beadheads will be your best bet. Get out and fish while the weather is so mild.

November 8, 2009
The Yakima River has been fishing very well this past week. A strong blue wing olive hatch has dominated in the afternoons. From approximately 1 PM until 3 PM, expect a large number of blue wings at specific locations on the upper Yakima River. Outside of hatch times, large stonefly nymphs have been most productive. Fish might also be readily caught on a size 16 or 18 pheasant tail, copper john, or lightning bug.

The Yakima River has been receiving very little fishing pressure. The water flow is low, clear and easily waded. The weather is a little nasty at times, but that is why the blue wing olive hatch has been so strong.

We do have winter guide rates in effect. A full day guided fly fishing trip will only run $250 for two anglers.

November 2, 2009
The Yakima River has been fishing very nicely this past week. Despite a little rain, the clarity and water flows are perfect. We have been seeing blue wing olives, baetis, midges, October caddis, brown caddis and winter stones on the water. The blue wing olives have hatched about 2 PM the past two days and the trout have been feeding on the surface. Outside of the hatch times, nymphing with a large stone fly and any beadhead nymph trailer of your choice has taken fish. The larger trout have been keyed in on streamers. The streamer fishing is typically pretty good in the fall season on the Yakima and it appears that this fall is no exception. The weather is nice on the Eastside of the Cascades and we have hardly seen anyone on the Yakima this past week.

Steelhead Report
The Methow is fishing great with lots of action. This seems to be a once in a 20 or 30 year steelhead run in terms of the number of fish in the Columbia drainage. Our advice is to get it while you can because is might not come again for a long time.

The Wenatchee had been fishing very well until the rains of last week. The river bumped from about 2,000 cfs to 7,000 cfs. The flows are coming down and we expect to be fishing the Wenatchee next week.

Yakima River Clean-up is Saturday, November 7. Come help out by meeting at the fly shop in Cle Elum between 9 and 9:30 AM. We are floating the river, fishing, picking up trash and having a BBQ in the evening. We need all the volunteers we can get.

October 20, 2009
The weather is beautiful, but the hatch is sporadic. When we had stormy weather last week, the blue wing olives were on a hot streak with the hatch coming about 2 PM on a consistent basis. Now that the skies are clear and the sun is out, the BWO's are not so predictable. We are still seeing small hatches in specific locations. The October caddis are still showing up at dark. Nymphing has been most steady with size 18 pheasant tails. The water is low and clear and great for floating or wading.

The steelhead fishing on the Wenatchee and Methow is hot if you don't mind the crowds. We are typically hitting double digit fish numbers on the guide trips.

October 14, 2009
We have had a bit of stormy weather on the East side of the mountains with rain and temperatures below normal for this time of year. However, the blue wing olives and baetis didn't seem to mind the stormy weather. It's nice to see good hatches of mayflies on the Yakima once again. Hatch time tends to begin about 2 PM or 3 PM and last for 45 minutes to two hours. Immitations size 16 or 18 tends to be most productive.

The water flows are still low and ideal for wade fishing and floating from a drift boat or a raft. The water clarity is gin clear.

We have Skip Morris coming to the fly shop for a mayfly workshop from 1 to 5 PM on Saturday, October 17. Skip's mayfly workshop would be a great thing to included in a weekend fly fishing trip. You can try out his patterns on the Yakima the next day.

October 6, 2009
The weather is beautiful. The Yakima River is low and clear. And the fishing is pretty good. The Yakima River is in transitional period where the mayflies are starting to be the dominate aquatic insect. As a result, nymphing has been the most consistent method of catching trout. Most any beadhead nymph in a size 14 to 18 has been successful. Patterns that we are using on our guide trips include the copper john, the red copper john, pheasant tails, lightning bugs, and various baetis nymph patterns. We fish these small beadhead nymphs as a dropper under a large (size 6 or 4) stonefly nymph.

Dry fly fishing involves the October caddis. An orange stimulator works best early in the morning or later in the afternoon. There have been lots of October caddis buzzing the air at dark.

On the steelhead side of things, the Wenatchee and Methow rivers are open. We have been having success on both river with most activity coming early in the day.

September 21, 2009
The spectacular fall season is here. The days are warm, the nights are cool and the leafs are starting to turn. What a great time of year to spend a day on the river. The Yakima River is low and clear in the Cle Elum area. It is flowing less than 400 cfs through town.

Fall fishing on the Yakima is a time to expect the unexpected. We have been seeing large trout randomly taking a multitude of different foods on the surface this past week. We suspect the trout are taking either beetles, hoppers, summer stones, short wing stones, October caddis, crane flies, brown caddis, or the occasional mayfly. If any of these patterns are fished well, you can expect an opportunistic fish to take your fly. It's a matter of the right presentation. The presentation doesn't matter so much when fishing at dark as the October caddis have been hatching in great numbers on the upper Yakima. We have been using a big foam pattern for the October caddis and putting lots of movement on it right at dark or even a little past the time of day when you are able to see your fly. The trout tend to lose their inhibition when the October caddis are bouncing on the water in the low light.

September 14, 2009
The Yakima River is low and ideal for wade fishing. We have been catching lots of fish on the small side with a few larger (better than 17 inches) most days. The dry fly fishing has been best in the mornings and evenings when the light is low and there are shadows on the river. With the high, mid-day sun, nymphing with size 16 or smaller beadheads has been most effective. Dominate insects have included crane flies, summer stones, brown caddis and October caddis. The Yakima tends to get very active right at dark when the October caddis are bouncing on the water surface. The weather has been beautiful. Try to fish as much as you can to enjoy the perfect conditions on the Yakima River before the nasty late fall weather arrives.

August 31, 2009
The warm days with cool nights and low flows of early fall have arrived. The Yakima River is prime for fly fishing. The water is extremely clear on the upper Yakima River and the flows are becoming more and more wade friendly on the entire Yakima. The dry fly fishing continues to be good, much as it has been all summer. We are starting to see the brown caddis hatches typical of the upper Yakima along with blue wing olives and crane flies. A beige/tan or darker, size 8 stonefly profile dry fly has been working well on the surface. Subsurface, the basic set-up of a stonefly nymph with a pheasant tail or copper John about six feet from a strike indicator has caught fish this past week.

August 26, 2009
The annual flip/flop of irrigation water on the Yakima River has begun slowly. The river is gradually drawing down while the Naches River flows are increasing. This has brought some outstanding fishing the past week on the Yakima. Dry flies have been the name of the game. A good cast with a little movement on a hopper immitation typically will raise a fish. We have had success with size 8 and 10 Chernobyl style flies in tan, yellow, red and beige colors. Hatches this past week have included brown caddis, yellow sallies, crane flies, summer stones and lots of hoppers. A size 12 purple haze has also produced. It's an exciting time to fish the Yakima.

August 19, 2009
The Yakima River has been fishing great the past few days. We had a cold snap last week that made the fishing a bit tough, however we are back to a warm summer pattern and the fishing has definitely turned up a notch. We have been fishing primarily on the surface with beige hopper patterns. In the evenings, when the light is low, we will switch to a black colored surface fly. A size 14 parachute mayfly pattern, such as an Adams has also picked up fish. We haven't been forced to nymph for a few days now. It's all been on the surface.

The upper Yakima River is also seeing more caddis and mayfly hatches in the mornings and evenings. This is typical as we approach fall with cool nights and warm days. What a great time to fish!

August 8, 2009
The Yakima River continues to have consistent summer fishing. On the surface, we have been catching fish on hopper patterns that are a beige color. There are also summer stone flies and spruce moths on the water, so the beige color covers several insects the fish prey upon. The more consistent fishing has been subsurface with a size 16 or 18 pheasant tail nymph. Towards the late morning, there have been pale morning duns hatching. Although it is typical to see salmon smolts surface feeding on the pmd's, the trout will tend to take the nymph form more readily. We have been using a size six stonefly nymph with a pheasant tail dropper, a small split shot and a strike indicator about six to eight feet from the stonefly nymph.

The flows on the Yakima River are still up for irrigation, but the water is stable and clear. Drift fishing from a boat remains the best option for fishing the Yakima.

July 29, 2009
The stable summer high flows of the Yakima River have produced consistent fishing this past week. Terrestrial patterns, crane flies, summer stones, pale morning duns and yellow sallies have all taken fish on the surface. Fish have been more likely to move for a dry fly in the low light periods of the morning and evening. Nymphing with large stone flies and a bead head dropper can catch fish during the heat of the day. Size 16 and 18 pheasant tails to imitate the PMD nymphs have been best. Fishing from a boat is still the best option with the high volume of water in the Yakima River. The water is clear and the weather is great. Get out and fish!

July 13, 2009
The Yakima River flows have increased slightly this past week for irrigation purposes.  Fishing remains consistent despite the increased water volume.  The water clarity is great and water temperatures are in the lower to middle 60’s.  Fishing has been best from a boat with the increased flows.  There have been plenty of trout looking up and taking flies on the surface.  Large grasshopper type patterns fished with movement have been effective.  There have also been grey drake mayflies hatching on the upper river during the warmest part of the day.  Caddis have been coming off in the morning and evening hours on the lower river.  A few summer stoneflies have also been on the water.  Nymphing is consistent throughout the day using stonefly patterns and various net-spinning caddis pupae imitations as droppers.  Olive colored streamers fished on a slow swing have produced larger trout.

July 8, 2009
The high summer flows have arrived on the Yakima River. The water is up but clear and stable. The river is very good for wading above the confluence with the Cle Elum river. Otherwise, a boat is necessary to effectively fish. We continue to catch fish on large, terrestrial type patterns that are beige or tan. Please make sure there is movement on your fly otherwise the fish may not take it. Nymphing is good with a basic stonefly and beadhead dropper system. Pheasant tails, prince nymphs and goldenstones have all worked well. Olive colored streamer patterns are also producing in the right water types.

Please think about a half day morning "Beat the Heat" guided fishing trip with us. We start about 5 AM and end about 11 AM. It's all about dry fly fishing this time of day.

June 26, 2009
The Yakima River has seen some real good dry fly fishing this past week. The golden stones have been out on the upper river when it was warm. The weather pattern has changed two days ago and we are not seeing so many stones on the surface. Fishing remains good, however. Olive streamers, size 18 pheasant tails and tan stone fly nymphs have been consistently taking fish. Golden stones are the best bet for surface takes. The Yakima River clarity is good and the flows are starting to increase slightly. Should be a pretty good weekend to fish.

June 23, 2009
The Yakima River is low at about 2000 cfs through Cle Elum. The clarity is great. We have been seeing fish on the surface on a regular basis. Most takes have been on large hopper type patterns with some movement. The fish are being opportunistic versus feeding in a hatch type situation. Nymphing the Yakima River remains consistent with tan stonefly nymphes and small, beadhead dropper nymphs. It's unusual for the Yakima River to be so low this time of year. Take advantage of it!

June 12, 2009
The clarity on the Yakima River is very good and the flows are stable at about 3000 cfs in the Cle Elum area. Nymph fish has been decent using golden stones, prince nymphs and net spinning caddis. Tan colors are fishing the best. Some fish have been taken on the surface using drakes (size 10 Adams). Should be a nice weekend to fish.

June 9, 2009
Finally! The flows are much lower (at 3500 cfs this morning) and the clarity is good. The Yakima River is back in fishing shape despite being slightly high. Over the past four days, we have seen salmon flies, golden stones, yellow Sallies, caddis, March brown duns, blue wing olives and pale morning duns. Nymphing continues to be most productive with a size 8 tan colored stone fly nymph followed by a dropper. Successful dropper flies have included the San Juan worm in pink or red, tan caddis pupa, pheasant tails, and the Halo Prince nymph.

The small streams in the area have also opened this past weekend and are coming into shape. The Teanaway River looks good, but we have not fished it yet.

The five day weather forecast is excellent. Get out and fish.

June 5, 2009
The flows are becoming more managable and the clarity on the Yakima river is improving. I was thinking this morning that we have had high flows on the Yakima for so long that our typical summer irrigation flows are going to seem like a trickle.

We floated and fished yesterday afternoon, taking out a the Thorp bridge. We found small pockets of slow water that held fish. We even had fish surface feeding on a light hatch of March brown duns, caddis and a few flying ants.

June 2, 2009
The Yakima River flows continue to be elevated significantly from snow melt. The three reservoirs in the Cascades are at capacity and the outflow is matching the inflow from the melting snow. Wade fishing is very difficult and float fishing is not much better. Clarity is improving, particularly along the banks in areas where the current slows. The caddis have been thick in the canyon and we have been seeing caddis, goldens, salmon flies and some pmd's on the upper river. We hope the worst is behind us and that river levels will stabilize in the up coming week.

May 22, 2009
The Yakima river remains very high with poor clarity. Wish'n I was Fish'n instead of tying worms.

May 19, 2009
We continue to be in a very high water situation. The water release from all three reservoirs is significant as the outflow is attempting to equal the inflow from the snow melt. There is still a lot of snow yet to melt. We are not sure when the flows might be reduced. The clarity is very poor with less than a foot of visibility.

March 15, 2009
The upper Yakima is clear and low.  The fishing continues to be all about the skwala stonefly nymph.  We are yet to see a fish on the surface, but that might change later in the week with forecasted temperatures in the fifties.   We are catching nice size rainbows (18 inches +) throughout the day with a cream/brown colored size 10 stonefly nymph and pink San Juan worm dropper.  We include a bb size split shot to get the bugs down and place an indicator about six to eight feet up from the bugs.  It's important to get the bugs on the bottom of the river with a drag free drift.  Sometimes a fish will take on the swing at the end of the drift as long as the swing is very slow.

March 3, 2009
The river below the Teanaway confluence is becoming a snow melt greenish color.  It is definitely not brown and is very fishable.  A little color in the water is a good thing.  The flow remain prefect for fishing.  The temperatures have been warmer than last week and we are seeing more bug activity.  There were even a few fish sporadically rising to dries yesterday.  The adult skwalas have been seen on the upper river along with midges and black winter stones.  Nymphing remains most consistent using skwala nymphs and pink San Juan worms.

February 24, 2009
The river continues to be low and clear.  It is at a very good level for wading and floating despite some of the boat launches in the Cle Elum area still having snow.  The launches in the Ellensburg area are clear.  Active bugs include skwala nymphs (no adults seen yet) and some midges when the temperature is in the mid-forties.  Flies that have taken fish over the past weekend include black, size 8 wooly buggers, skwala nymphs and pink San Juan worms.  The fish tend to be found in deep, slow moving water. 

February 20, 2009
The Yakima is low and clear.  The boat launches in the Cle Elum area are starting to thaw and becoming more accessible.  Fishing and catching remains consistent using skwala nymphs, San Juan worms and streamers.  The weather has been beautiful and warm.  It's a good weekend to fish.

February 6, 2009
Fishing has been very good the past week.  The water levels are perfect for wading and floating.  Clarity is good.  The temperatures have been in the lower to mid 40's with sunny skies.  Many nice fish (16 inches and above) have been caught nymphing with San Juan worms (red or pink) and skwala nymphs. 

The river has changed significantly in certain areas due to the early January floods.  This has not seemed to effected fishing by any means.  It's also been great to have new water to fish on the good old Yakima.

December 28, 2008
The warmer temperatures have thawed the river and it is not flowing free from ice.  The water is clear and low.

December 18, 2008
It's cold, snowing and the river looks like a slushy from your corner 7/11 store.

December 10, 2008
The weather is going to get cold.  This is a little bit of a bummer as the Yakima was giving up some nice fish with the mild December weather.  We fished on Tuesday (12/9) and had a delightful day of catching lots of fish nymphing with stone fly nymphs and cream colored midge larva.  Also caught a few nice fish in the 20+ range on olive streamers.

December 4, 2008
Although our time on the water has lessened with the coming of winter, we are still doing quite well on the couple of guide trips we do every week.  Fishing was outstanding on Monday with the mild weather.  The bug of choice was the simple red copper john in a size 16.  We are seeing more and more midges on the water, so it make sense that a small blood worm type looking thing would catch fish.  Streamer fishing with olive colors has been consistent for larger trout (22 inchish range).  The flows are low and the water is crystal clear on the upper river.  Things fish better early rather than late in the day.

Our winter guide rates are at $250 per day for one or two anglers.  The trip includes all the flies, leader and tippet you can use along with a few bad jokes.

November 18, 2008
The river is back in shape.  The flows are great and the clarity it good.  Should be fishing well.  Yakima winter guide rates of $250 for two anglers are in effect with our guide service

The Methow is current fishing well with flows being a little higher and clarity being good.  Many more steelhead have entered the river system and are spread throughout.

November 14, 2008
The river is high and muddy.  It might be fishable the middle of next week.

October 28, 2008
The Yakima is fishing very well in the afternoon once the air temperature increases.  Lots of mayfly activity, particularly baetis with a small amount of blue wings mixed in.  A small parachute adams or purple haze does great.  Emergers or cripples do well with selective feeding fish.  Now is the time to dry fish with the large amount of mayfly activity.  The weather is also awesome, the water is low and clear.  Get it while you can as winter is coming. 

Our winter rates of $250 begin November 1 for the Yakima river guide service.  The price is for one or two anglers for a full day trip.

Yakima river clean up is November 15.  Volunteer, fish, have fun, free bbq to follow.

October 12, 2008
Lots of surface feeding yesterday on baetis and blue wing olives in the upper canyon.  We also saw large numbers of October caddis bouncing on the water with a few fish chasing them.  The surface feeding has not be active until about 4 PM.  Nymphing with stonefly nymphs and pheasant tails is good throughout the day.

October 7, 2008
Fall fishing is very consistent both on the surface and sub-surface.  The blue wing olive hatch is becoming stronger every day and we are seeing size 12 to size 18 bwo's.  Bugs to try include the parachute adams, royal stimulator, October caddis, crane fly and peacock madam X.  Nymphs include pheasant tail, copper john and stone fly nymphs.

The river is very friendly for wade fishing as the flow is low with plenty of beach to walk on.  Things are good on the Yakima.

It's also steelhead season on the Methow River.  Fishing has been very good and we are booking guided float trips and wade trips on the Methow.  Please call the shop at 509/674-2144 if you are interested.

We are also planning our annual Yakima River Clean-Up on Saturday, October 18.  If you want to volunteer, please call the shop or send an email.  We plan to meet at the East Cle Elum/State boat launch at 9 AM.  There will be a free bbq and slide show in the late afternoon when people get off the river.

September 19, 2008
The upper river is in its low water, fall fishing condition.  Crane flies, caddis, hoppers and most simple nymph set-ups such as copper johns and prince nymphs are working well.  Our advice - fish now.

September 1, 2008
Water levels are slowing being drawn down with flows in excellent shape currently.  Fish are eating on the surface with stimulator type patterns.  Red and gray colors are most consistent.  We have been seeing blue wing olives on the surface on the upper river.  Nymphs such as the pheasant tail and copper john have been working well.

August 19, 2008
Not much new on the Yakima.  Summer fishing continues to be very good on the surface with big dries as it has been for the past month.  We are catching fish on size 8 hopper patterns that are yellow, red, gray, purple, pink and black.  We will vary the color until we find the one that works best for any given day.  We are also fishing big mayfly patterns such as adams, purple haze and royal wulffs.  Make sure there is movement on the bug versus a dead drift.

Water Hazard - Left channel below the State (East Cle Elum) boat launch has lots of logs in it.  It is passable, but you need to be on your game.  Not for the inexperienced rower.  The right channel is easy just below the launch and is the recommend way to go.

August 5, 2008
Lots of dry fly fishing on the upper river with hopper type patterns.  Red, yellow, pink, gray have all been good colors for attacking fish.  Royal stimulators have also been productive.  We have also been fishing the canyon below Ellensburg early in the morning.  From 5:30 to 10:30 AM has been good for fish on the surface.  Make sure there is good movement on the dry fly versus just a dead drift.

The Methow is also fishing well with flows about 700 cfs.  Big dries and some streamers have been very productive.

July 21, 2008
The summer high flows are stable and the water clarity is great.  It's difficult to wade fish with the increase in flow for irrigation, however, fishing from a drift boat or raft is very good with dry flies and nymphs close to the stream banks.  Successful dry fly set-ups include a hopper pattern in gray or pink flesh color with a mayfly nymph dropper.  Good mayfly nymphs are patterns such as a regular Copper John, red Copper John or Prince Nymph in sizes 12, 14 or 16.  As the day progresses to evening, switch to a caddis pulpa dropper such as a sparkle pulpa.  For a good nymphing set-up, a brown stonefly nymph in sizes 8 or 10 with a mayfly nymph dropper tends to work well.  Place a BB size split shot about a foot from the top fly and a strike indicator six feet up and the nymphing set-up is complete.  No known obstructions exist other than one hard left between South Cle Elum bridge and the state boat launch, the state boat launch itself, and a very sharp and hard left just below the state boat launch.  The right channel below the state boat launch is the way to go.

The Methow is fishing well with big dries.  We have some guide trips headed in that direction if anyone is interested.

July 13, 2008
The river remains stable, the clarity is awesome and the fishing has been great. Big dries have been working. Try some big chernobyl  type stuff, as well as, stimis or parachute madam X's. Yellow. Tan, and red have been working well. The hoppers are also out, so try chucking your favorite hopper pattern right off the bank and you should have some success!

July 7, 2008
The river has stabilized with summer flows.  The water is nice and clear.  Fishing has been good with some big fish caught (over 20 inches) in soft water, off shelves, and in gentle seams.  There have been caddis, drakes and yellow mayflies on the water.  Sculpin patterns have also been productive.

June 28, 2008
Looks like the irrigation water is here.  We should have a few transitional days followed by typical Yakima river summer fishing at weeks end.  Comm'on Hoppers!

June 24, 2008
The river is back in shape from the irrigation water discharge with a stable larger flow and only a slight off-color green tint to the water.  Lots of bugs around by mid morning and into the afternoon hours.  We have been seeing drakes, salmon flies, golden stones, yellow mayflies and some caddis.  We been catching trout on some basic flies such as lightning bugs, brown stonefly nymphs, PMD nymphs (size 16 yellow underneath and brown on top) and some stimulators.  The weather is forecasted to be warm by the end of the week.  Lets hope the irrigation water will not flow during the weekend.

June 16, 2008
The Yakima is fishing good right now.  The flows are low and the clarity is good.  On the upper river, we have been having salmon flies and grey drakes on the surface with feeding fish.  Lots of other bugs including yellow mayflies, golden stones, crane flies, caddis and some March browns and mahogany duns hatching in the afternoons.  The weather is great - fish now before the flows increase with irrigation water.

June 10, 2008
Despite the weather being a little weird, fishing has been very good the past few days.  The river is about perfect in terms of clarity and flow.  Lots of mayflies in the afternoon with fish feeding on the surface in certain runs.  Nymphing is consistent throughout the day.  Dry flies include adams, yellow cahills, orange and yellow stimulators.  Effective nymphs have been brown soft hackles, peacock soft hackles, green or white sparkle pupa, golden stone nymphs, copper johns, and lightning bugs.

June 5, 2008
The river flow and clarity are just about great for fishing.  Lots of mayflies coming off from mid morning to evening along with crane flies and some caddis.  Nymphing is good with things such as copper johns and dries are good with the mayflies of hatch.

May 31, 2008
The water clarity is much better at about 3 feet.  Water flows are very nice.  Guided the upper river yesterday.  Lots of mayflies (March browns, yellow mays), caddis in the late afternoon and crane flies (small yellow and large brown).  The only surface activity were smolts on the caddis.  The fish we caught yesterday were on golden stonefly nymphs and the always delicious San Juan worm.  We needed to have the nymphs right on the bottom.

May 26, 2008
Fished the upper river yesterday.  A few nice bows and cuts were caught.  Clarity is about 12 inches.  Lots of mayflies hatching in the afternoon with only salmon smolts feeding on the surface.  All fish caught on big stonefly nymphs (size 4) or the San Juan worm.  Flows are okay for wading on the upper river.  Please be careful as it's difficult to see things in the water when wading due to poor clarity.

May 24, 2008
The Yakima flows are much improved and are look good for fishing.  The clarity is about 12 inches or better on the upper river with more of a olive color to the water versus chocolate.  We have canceled most of our guide trips this past week due to water conditions so I'm not completely certain of the fishing.  I've got to think it might be fishing okay given the trout have been swimming in the muddy water for over a week.  We will fish this afternoon and report back tomorrow.

May 16, 2008
The river is high and muddy.  Maybe late next week.  The basin lakes are fishing well and we also have a private local pond with lunkers if you're interested. 

A quick plug on our guide service.  We have several more days of availability on the Clark Fork in Montana during June.  We are hoping to hit the magic window between high water and summer heat when no wrong can take place.  We are also scheduling the Methow this year for trout fishing in the summer.  It's pretty awesome using big terrestrial dries in July and August.  Give the shop a call or send us an email.  Thanks - Jim

May 11, 2008
The river above the Teanaway river is in good shape in regards to clarity and flow.  Below the Teanaway is better every day.  Lots of different insects are available to trout.  These include March brown duns, blue wing olives, Mother's day caddis, golden stones and salmon flies.  We have only been catching fish on the surface with the March browns.  Nymphing has been good with large, stoneflies representing the salmon fly nymphs that are migrating out of the depths.  Peacock softhackles have been good when the caddis are coming out as not a lot of surface feeding seems to happen during the Mother's day caddis hatch on the upper river.  The feeding happens a little under the surface.

April 30, 2008
The teanaway is once again coming back into shape after a minor blowout.  We've really lucked out this year so far with only a few minor water quality issues, just when we think its going to get warm over here, it starts snowing again.  The upper river is looking great, your still going to have to work hard to find rising fish, but the nymph game has been steady and productive.  golden stone nymphs, caddis rock worms, march browns, bwo's are all standard dining fare for our resident trout.  Seeing lots of caddis larvae, the caddis madness should commence soon.  Skwala's are on the decline, but we thank them once again for making us grin from ear to ear.  Come by the YRFF booth at the FFF conclave in E-burg on Saturday and say hi. 

 April 25, 2008
Lots of March brown duns on the upper river sometime between 1 PM and 2:30 PM.  Lots of fun.  They are a little on the lazy side eating immergers versus the duns on the surface.  Also look for the bwo's mixed in with the Marchies and as the hatch is coming to an end.  Jim

April 23, 2008
 The Teanaway is back in shape, the upper river is perfect.  However, the weather has been anything but, daily snow showers all this past week are getting old, real old.  The fishing has been average, not bad, not great, just average.  But hey, the upper river is about quality, not quantity.  March browns, bwo's, and even a few skwala's are still on the menu.  With this cold weather, the surface feeders are very sporadic, an angler must cover lots of water and be in the right place at the right time.  Nymphing will be your best option, and never forget to throw a streamer if the mood strikes you.  It can only get better, right?  Caddis are coming, pmd's and more stoneflies are on the way.  Pray all that snow on the pass doesn't ruin your plans, if it gets too warm too fast, were gonna start crying and wonder what went wrong.  So get your behind over here, dress warm, get creative, get ur done!  YT

April 14, 2008
Well, the river below the Teanaway has become high and muddy.  Above the Teanaway is up slightly and a little off-color but clarity is generally good.  We are seeing a few very nice bows and cutts both on the surface and subsurface.  The skwalas are still on the water, particularly after 2 PM.  Sporadic blue wing olives and March brown duns appear about 1 PM.  Streamer fishing throughout the day is consistent with sculpin patterns fished on the dead drift or a slow, non-rhythmic retrieval.

April 2, 2008
In the spring, there is usually a couple of windows when a fly fisher can do no wrong.  One of these windows is currently open on the Yakima River.   The air temperature is in the upper 50's with water temperatures in the lower 40's.  The water is clear and flows are perfect.  Strong hatches of blue wing olives, March brown dun are occurring in the early afternoon.  The skwala stonefly adults are on the water surface in the late afternoon into the evening hours.  The predicted weather pattern is most likely going to hold off the snow melt for a few more weeks, so now is the time to fish the Yakima, particularly if dry fly fishing is desired.

March 28, 2008
Spring fishing continues to be good despite the snow we are having today.  Typical bugs that have been showing up in the afternoon include skwalas, March brown duns and we had a good hatch of blue wing olive this past week.  It is not uncommon to have feeding fish on the surface once the air temperature has increased at about 2 PM.  The river flow is perfect and clarity remains great.

March 19, 2008
The March Brown Duns showed up yesterday in the Cle Elum area.  We did not see any feeding fish on the browns, however.  Water temperatures are still about 40 degrees.  Seeing lots of skwalas in the afternoon along with black winter stones and midges.  Fish are being caught on the surface with skwala patterns.  Nymphing is consistent with pheasant tails and skwala (yellow and brown) stone nymphs.  Caught several nice (18 inch plus) rainbows on a black string leech fish very slow.  Water is low and clear.  We expect continued great water conditions over the next week with the cool overnight temperatures and mild days.

March 12, 2008
Fishing remains consistent on the upper river and in the canyon.  Fish can be taken on the surface in the afternoon and nymphing is steady in the morning.  Bugs are skwala adults and nymphs, black winter stones about size 16, and midge emergers and adults.  Some of the black winter stones have a touch of red on the underbody.  A black chronomid with a red head fishes pretty well for the midge emergers.  Water levels are good with no run-off issues.  Water temperature around Cle Elum are about 40 degrees.

March 10, 2008
The river above the Teanaway remains low and clear with a water temperature of about 40 degrees.  The Teanaway river is dumping very cold water that is a green snow melt color.  We have been seeing feeding fish on the surface in the late afternoons when the air temperature has risen.  Fish have been caught on skwala adults and midge patterns.  Fishing is moderately productive by nymphing throughout the day with skwala nymphs or midge emergers.  When fishing the upper river, one can expect several hard earned, but very large rainbows. 

March 4, 2008
Fairly good day of fishing yesterday in the canyon and on the section through Cle Elum.  Water clarity is a steelhead green from local snow melt.  Flows are great for wading and floating.  Water temps are about 40 degrees.  Lots of surface takes on skwala stones in the canyon.  Nymphing with pheasant tails on the upper river caught a few large slabs of rainbow.  I think some of that good spring fishing is upon us.  The water should remain in good shape with the predicted weather pattern of cold nights and mild days over the next thus week minimizing snow melt.

February 26, 2008
Water levels and clarity remain great.  Water temperature is in the upper 30's and 40 degrees at best.  Lots of midges on the surface along with an occasional funky, orange caddis that comes off this time of year.  I'm yet to see and adult skwala, but that doesn't mean they are not in existence with the warm weather.  Had a guide trip on Monday in the farm lands.  It was a fiver day with all quality fish taken on skwala nymphs. 

We will be at the Sport Fishing show in Spokane, so please call the shop before hand to make sure someone is available to open the doors.  Thanks 509/674-2144

February 20, 2008
The Yakima river is fishing pretty good right now. Fished the lower canyon the other day and caught plenty of fish. Keys to cold water fishing is hitting the insides of each bend along with any kind of choppy water 3-6 feet deep. Nymphs have been the key for us lately. Stone flies, mayfly nymphs along with a variation of different color aquatic worms have been the key. There are lots of skwala nymphs along the rocks in shallow water, so any day now we should see some good numbers of adults. Stop by the shop to see new flies and gear or see us at the Spokane fishing show Feb. 29 thru March 2nd. Tightlines! 

February 19, 2008
The Yakima river in the Cle Elum area is low and clear.  Very good for wading if you don't mind snowshoeing to get to the river.  There is about 18 inches of snow still on the ground.  The boat launches may be tough to get to without a four wheel drive. I think the Bullfrog area and Ensign Ranch area can not be accessed by anything other than a snowmobile or walking.  The snow is melting slowly with nice temperatures during the day (mid 40's) and low twenties at night.  This is a good weather pattern for preventing the river from blowing out with snow melt.  It's much more tropical past Thorp and Ellensburg.  Not much snow remaining downstream of Ellensburg.

Our last float trip was from KOA to Reinhart.  Fishing was typical for this time of year.  We did see LOTS of skwala nymphs in some shallow areas close to rocky beaches.  I think the water temp is a little too cold but improving every day.  We are almost there.

November 15, 2007
The solid hatches that we have experienced all fall have begun to dwindle with the coming of winter.  However, we are still seeing blue wing olives in the afternoon on the upper river along with baetis and some midges.  We have been finding trout feeding in unusual water such as the almost non-moving water about three feet deep next to the beach.  They are spooky and line shy.  Nymphing has been most consistent with basic patterns such as pheasant tails, lightning bugs, and red copper johns.  There are still occasional October caddis bouncing on the water.  Flow are great for floating and wading and the clarity is very good.

November 7, 2007
Yakima River - Dry fly fishing continues to be exceptional along most sections of the river.  Blue wing olives predominate on the surface with some October caddis and baetis.  We should continue the pattern of very good fishing with the predicted weather of cloudy with some rain on and off until next week.  It's fishing good.

Methow and Wenatchee Rivers - The river is low but the steelhead are in the system in moderate numbers.  We expect more fish to enter from the Columbia with the forecast of rain and water levels slightly rising.  It wouldn't take much rain for the number to significantly increase.  We are catching about 2 to 3 hard earned steelhead per trip.

November 1, 2007
Fishing on the Yakima has been phenomenon with dry flies thru out mid day to dark.  Flies Such as for parachutes, cripples and thorax patterns in the 16 to 20 range to be effective once the fish begin look up around noon. Other effective methods has been October caddis with droppers, and slow, deep moving streamers. Weekend weather has been predicted to be in the upper 50's with over cast and with little to zero W.

October 24, 2007
The Yakima continues to fish well.  Water clarity is great and flows are low with cool temperatures.  These conditions are good for lots of different insects.  The mainstay have been mayflies of the blue wing olive and grey baetis type.  There are also other bugs such as brown/tan caddis and big October caddis.  And then there are some weird bugs, such as a little grey/brown horse fly looking thing that the fish are eating.  I don't know what it is once it's matched up with an imitation, the fish eat well.  Streamers are also working well.  My advice - fish now.

October 14, 2007
Dry fly fishing has been the name of the game.  About 1 PM the mayflies show and there are several different varieties.  Yesterday, we saw blue wing olives, baetis and mahagony duns.  The fish were podded-up and feeling well.  We also picked up fish throughout the day on October caddis with droppers.  We used pheasant tails and parachute adams as droppers.  The weather is great, the water is cold and fishing is good.

October 9, 2007
We've had some good catching this past weekend.  On the water we are fishing blue wing olives adults and nymphs using patterns such as pheasant tails and copper johns.  There has been pods of fishing trout on the blue wings.  The hatch usually starts about 1 PM.  Fishing the nymph version of the blue wings in the morning before the hatch has been good.  The October caddis continue to come off in the late afternoon and at dark.  Crane flies are also producing.  The weather has been outstanding with the temperature in the middle 60's, high, bright overcast.  It's a good time to fish.  Get it before winter arrives.

October 5, 2007
Fishing has been very nice.  The water temperatures are great in the middle fifties and the flows are good for wading and floating.  We have been seeing lots of fish on the surface.  The rain and cooler weather has gotten the blue wing olives going.  We have also seen baetis and a few mahogany duns.  The October caddis are still strong on the upper river.  Should be a good weekend to fish.

The Methow river opens this Saturday for steelhead and the Wenatchee river is opening the 22rd of October.  Pretty darn exciting.  We are scheduling guide trips on both rivers.  Give the shop a call at 509/674-2144 or an email.

September 30, 2007
The full moon is no longer and yesterday was a very nice day of catching and releasing.  Lots of surface takes using October caddis and crane flies.  We have seen blue wing olives the past three days with feeding fish.  The BWO's usually show about 1 PM.  Water levels are good and we are having lots of rain today, which is also a good thing.  Overall report: fishing is very good.

By the way, there has been close to 5000 steelhead over Wells dam and the Methow River should be open soon.  We are booking guide trips.  Give us a shout.  Methow River Steelhead

September 26, 2007
Fishing has been slightly off the past few days.  Don't get me wrong, fish are still being caught, it's just a little more hard work than normal.  I'm blaming the full moon.  Yesterday we found the bigger fish right in the middle of the river on the bottom in the heavy current.  Two to three split shot with a stone fly and a lightning bug found these guys.  Lots of October caddis on the water and fish feeding at dark.  Try staying out after the sun goes down and twitching size 8 or 6 Octobers on the surface.

September 23, 2007
Fishing has been very good on the upper Yakima river.  We have been catching quite a few nice rainbows and cutthroats on the surfacing using October caddis patterns.  Later in the day tends to fish better than early.  Still seeing lots of bugs on the surface such as bwo, baetis, mahogany duns, PED, crane flies and the Octobers.  It's a great time of year to fish.

September 19, 2007
Water levels are low.  Typical good fall fishing is upon us.  Lots of dry action and nymphing to be had.  Bugs on the water include blue wing olives, mahogany duns, pale evening duns, blond caddis, October caddis, and crane flies.  The fish are eating all of these bugs.

August 28, 2007
The river flows appear to be dropping about 100 cfs per 24 hours.  Rumor has it that the flows will continue to be up until the 15th of September in order for the farmers to get a fourth cutting of alfalfa.  Fishing on the surface continues to be good using hopper type patterns.  Some October caddis adults are showing in the evening hours and fish are moving for big, orange patterns.  We have warm days and cool nights.  Feels like fall fishing has begun.

August 23, 2007
Flows continue to drop.  Dry fly fishing with big attractors was better than nymphing yesterday.  Seeing more October caddis adults on the water towards the evening hours.

August 21, 2007
The river flows are beginning to lessen.  Fishing continues to be very consistent on the surface.  Terrestrials, caddis, some bwo are on the water.  We saw the first October caddis adult two days ago.  Should be a nice time to fish the Yakima.

August 13, 2007
Big surface bugs are the ticket for catching fish.  The mornings and evenings are more productive than mid-day. Red, pink, tan, purple and white are good colors.  Think about a white spruce moth along banks with heavy, high brush.  The river is fishing good.

August 10, 2007
Fishing on the surface continues to be consistent with lots of fish in the 12 to 15 inch range caught.  We are throwing big stuff and bright colors.  We are also picking up nice fish (20 plus) nymphing stones and using sculpins.  The wind has been nasty the past week but predicted to only be about 5 mph this weekend.  Should be nice weather in the middle 80's.

August 4, 2007
Yesterday was another nice day of dry fly fishing using big patterns representing terrestrials.  These patterns need to be presented close to the bank and underneath overhanging brush (it's a game of inches).  Once presented in the feed lane, the always effective twitch should initiate a strike.

August 3, 2007
Fishing yesterday continued to be good on the surface with attractor patterns.  We floated the upper canyon (East Cle Elum to Thorp) and had a very nice day on the CFO ant along with some sculpin streamer patterns.  Go fishing - the river is great right now.

August 2, 2007
Dry fly fishing continues to be good using big attractors.  The fish are most active during early morning and late evening.  Avoid the mid-day heat.  Try a sinking a grasshopper with a little split shot and twitch it under water tight against the bank.  Nymphing on the upper river is also consistent most all day, particularly in transitional water such as seams or where a shallow shelve gives way to a deep hole.  Wading is limited with the high flows and fishing is best accomplished from a boat.

July 31, 2007
Fishing on the BIG western has been steady thru out the whole river. Big dries tight on the bank and heavy tippet have been the key. Such as Big foamies, ants, beetles, bees and anything red.  Again, early morning and late evening have been the best times to be on the river.

July 27, 2007
The weather forecast for this weekend calls for high 70's to low 80's. Big dries have still been working well for us pretty much all day. However, it has been the best in the early morning and evenings. Nymphing has been giving up fish as well.

July 23, 2007
Dry fly fishing continues to be very good with big attractors (red, yellow, tan, grey).  Nymphing is also good.  It's a good time to fish and there is lots of catching going on.

July 22, 2007
The Yakima continues to fish really well both with dry flies and nymphs.  Early morning and late evening are great for dry fly fishing and nymphing is productive throughout the day.  Big attractors and caddis on the surface are the flies of choice while a stone fly nymph with a beadhead dropper is what to fish subsurface.  It's pretty easy right now, particularly fishing from a boat.

July 18, 2007
Cooler weather (finally) and some rain is predicted over the next few days.  Fishing continues to be very good both with nymphs and on the surface.  Yummy, big attractors (red, yellow) with a little dry dropper (elk hair caddis) is working good.  Summer stones are migrating from the river bottoms so stonefly nymphs (brown) with a smaller beadhead dropper is productive.  The fish are pushed into smaller water with less current.

July 16, 2007
Dry fly fishing continues to be consistent in the early morning and late evening.  Big attractors with a small caddis dropper works well.  Fish were caught throughout the day on yesterday's guide trip using a stonefly nymph and size 12 prince nymph.  The fish are very tight to the bank, off shelves and riffles.  Fishing is very good now.

July 12, 2007
Fishing has been great in the early morning and the late evening. We've been seeing summer stones, caddis, and pmds (peds in the evening). If you can only fish during the day when the temps are high, try a double nymph rig or streamers. The river is still fairly high, but the clarity still looks great.

July 6, 2007
This weekend should make for some good fishing! We are expecting slight overcast with temps in the lower to mid 80s. The fish should still be looking up for the big dries and the river should still be in good shape.

July 5, 2007
Even with the increase in flows that we've been having the river still continues to keep its clarity and is still producing fish! Big dries are the ticket: chernobles, pmx's, and stimis. When they're not eating dries try a tandem nymph rig with a stonefly and a small beadhead dropper or san juan. Streamers are another good option black, brown or olive.

June 29, 2007
The river is still in great shape. Excellent fishing yesterday on big dries! Should be the same story today. Hatches consisted of golden and summer stones, drakes, pmds, and a few caddis. Get out there!

June 28, 2007
The water has been coming up gradually over the last few days, but it hasn't been enough to effect the fishing. The dry fly action has been great the last few days and with the overcast today it should be even better! Patterns of choice have been yellow stimis, royal wulffs and trudes, or yellow sallies should get you into some fish.

June 12, 2007
The river has been fishing outstanding the past three days.  Dry flies, nymphs and streamers are all working well.  Smaller fish will take the dries while the larger fish tend to be on nymphs and streamers.  Patterns include light cahills, royal trudes, orange stimulators, big parachute adams, parachute pheasant tail, stone fly nymphs, red copper johns, lightning bugs and olive sculpins.  Flows are great, clarity is great.  Call in sick, go fish, have fun.

June 9, 2007
Water clarity and flows remain outstanding.  Lots of bug activity, particularly pmd's in the morning, bigger bwo's and some drakes in the afternoon with ped's towards evening.

June 8, 2007
Fished through the Cle Elum area on the Yakima last night.  Lots of bugs including big bwo's (size 12 or 14), pale evening duns, crane flies, caddis, golden stones, salmon flies, ants and beetles.  Caught fish on the surface with a royal PMX, light Cahill and a crane fly.  Hooked, but not landed, several bigger fish with streamers (black, articulated leech and woolhead sculpin).  Water flows are low and the clarity is great.  My suggestion is get it while you can.  Should be a nice weekend.  We still have June 26, 27 and 28 open for Montana.

June 7, 2007
The flows have taken a dramatic drop and the fishing conditions are the best they've been in weeks.  Clarity is great.  We are fishing today after several canceled trips due to poor water conditions.  Look for an updated hatch report tomorrow.

June 6, 2007
The river is on the drop with the cold front that has moved in over the past few days.  Clarity is good.  Should fish this weekend.  Montana dates available (see June 5 post).  Salmon flies are currently crazy on the Big Hole.

June 5, 2007
The Yakima continues to be blown out from regulated flows as well as rain.  On a side note, we are trying to fill a few open dates left on the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers in Montana.  The remaining dates are: June 20, 21 & 22 (guide is Scott Wilson); June 23 & 24 (guide is Jim Gallagher).  Please call Jim at the shop 509/674-2144 or cellular at 509/929-1357 for more information.

June 4, 2007
The river flow has increased 1500 cfs yesterday, making the flow 6,000 cfs through Cle Elum.  We also had rain last night that has muddied the water and rose the water above the confluence with the Cle Elum river.  I think fishing might be out for a few days despite high overcast, low 70's, awesome fishing weather.

June 3, 2007
The upper river is in the 4500 cfs range but clear.  Fishing is actually pretty good.  We've been hitting fish on the surface with golden stones, terrestrials, anything royal wulff style, caddis and big, grey mayflies.  Nymphing has also been consistent with golden stones and small, shiny things.  Fish are found tight to the bank and out of the main current off shallow shelves.

May 28, 2007
The water flows continue to be at summer levels.  Catching has been pretty decent using golden stone nymphs (size 10) along with some small, shiny nymphs.  Working streamer/sculpin patterns have been successful for larger fish.  We're keeping an eye out for salmon flies.  They typically hatch this time of year on the upper river and fishing can be excellent for a few days on the surface.

Water Hazard - East Cle Elum boat launch is a very difficult takeout during high water.  Not recommended for the inexperienced.

May 24, 2007
Water levels are stable but elevated.  Clarity is good and the river is really coming into shape.  Lots of bug activity with feeding fish.  Bugs include crane flies, pmd, bwo, march browns, goldens, salmon flies, caddis, beetles and ants.  We feel the river is fishing good now, but be prepared for everything and anything when it comes to bugs.

May 21, 2007
Water levels have increased to typical summer flows for irrigation.  We expect this to be the pattern until Labor Day and the flip-flop with the Naches river.  The clarity is improving.  Most of the volume is from the Cle Elum river.  Insect activity has included salmon fly adults and nymphs, golden stones, caddis and a sporadic variety of mayflies (March browns, bwo's, mahoganies, big yellow cahill type).  There have also been flying ants and some beetles on the water.  Most productive fish catching method recently has been a big stone fly (size 4 or 6) with a red San Juan worm.

Thanks for your patience with our delayed fishing report.  We have moved the fly shop to a new location that is across the street from our old location.  The address is 113 E 1st St in Cle Elum - directly across the street.  - Jim

May 3, 2007
(Thanks for your patience with an updated report - server issues. Jim)

Water clarity and levels are prime for fishing on the upper river.  The water temperature is still a slight issue with it being cold.  Lots of different bugs including March browns, blue wing olives, mahogany duns, baetis, mother's day caddis, golden stones and an occasional salmon fly.  The dry fly fishing, however is hit and miss.  The most consistent method has been nymphing with a stone fly and a small, shiny dropper (about size 18), 6 feet of leader to a bobber and a small piece of split shot.

April 21, 2007
Outstanding.  The Yakima river through Cle Elum and down to Thorp has been great for March brown duns, blue wing olives, baetis, some crane flies and small, lime colored caddis.  Clarity is pure and flows are perfect.

April 19, 2007
River conditions continue to remain great with good flows and clarity.  Lots of wind the past few days making casting a bit of a chore.  The forecast for the weekend is predicting some sun, some clouds and just a little wind.  The March brown duns are strong on certain sections of river starting about 1:30 PM.  The blue wing olives are becoming stronger and stronger and typically show when the Marchies are beginning to dissipate.  Nymphing in the morning is good with pheasant tails and stone fly nymphs.

April 14, 2007
Epic afternoon dry fly fishing: March Brown Duns, Blue Wing Olive, Skwala.

April 7, 2007
Fish now.  Water conditions are great, weather is overcast, skwalas and March browns are happening.

April 4, 2007
Upper river clarity is much better at a few feet and the flows are really coming into shape.  Lots of March brown duns and skwala adults on the water through Cle Elum yesterday.  Also seeing some blue wing olives.  Trout have been caught both subsurface with skwala nymphs and March brown nymphs and on the surface in the afternoon once the temperature increases.  We should have good fishing over the next week.

April 1, 2007
Clear, cold weather has produced an awesome hatch of yellow sallies, green drakes, butterflies, ants, and mother's day caddis.

March 31, 2007
Pretty good day on the water yesterday.  The trout were very active on skwala stone nymphs throughout the day and adults in the afternoon.  Finally a good day on the surface.  The San Juan worm also produced.  Water flows are holding a little under 1800 cfs and clarity is good.

March 30, 2007
River flows are much improved and clarity is moderate to good with approximately 30 inches.  There have been lots of adult skwalas on the surface in the afternoon when the air temperatures increase.  Have not seen many fish on the surface however.  There has also been pretty good numbers of blue wing olives and midges with just a sprinkling of March brown duns.  We are expecting the river to fish good this weekend with the current cooler weather pattern and bugs activity.

The following photos are of a solid 26 inch rainbow Sims Weymuller caught on a guided trip Saturday, March 24.  We have caught a handful of 25 to 26 inch rainbows on the upper Yakima in the past, but I've never seen a bow this thick at 26 on the river - Jim

March 25, 2007
We were able to get a couple three good days of fishing in before she blowout last night.  The weather forecast shows cooler, dry air over the next few days, so we are hoping flows in the Cle Elum area will drop to about 1800 cfs in order to be able to fish again.  Before yesterday's rains, we had been seeing skwala adults on the surface and taking a few fish on dries.  There have also been bwo's and some March brown duns.

March 18, 2007
The flows have come down since last weeks blowout but it continues to be above normal for this time of year.  Clarity above the Teanaway is also improve with an estimated visibility of about 18 inches.  There has been lots of skwala activity on the river.  We've been seeing adults in the early afternoon when the temperature warms.  There has also been an occasional March brown dun and blue wing olive.  The catching, however, has been difficult.  The past few days we've had good anglers working hard for just a few fish a day on our guided trips.  The fish have all been in the 19 to 22 inch range, but hard earned.  My feeling is with a little more clarity and drop in the river flow, it's going to be crazy good fishing given the current insect activity.

March 14, 2007
She's high and muddy.  Maybe lake fishing?

March 11, 2007
Recent rain has risen the upper river slightly.  The flow is still in real good shape above the Teanaway river.  The Teanaway is dumping lots of volume and dirty water.  Catching was okay yesterday.  A few nice rainbows in the 17 to 22 inch range.

March 10, 2007
The river has been fishing pretty good.  Water levels are still ideal for wading and floating.  The clarity is a slight steelhead green and becomes a darker green below the Teanaway river.  Fished above Cle Elum the other day and bumped into lots of nice rainbows using stonefly nymphs.  We had a trip in the canyon yesterday and they caught a few rainbows and lots of whitefish.  No surface activity yet, but it's coming.

March 5, 2007
We've been on the water most every day over the past week.  Flows are very good and the clarity on the upper river is crystal.  Below the Teanaway river, the water becomes more green and continues to become darker green as the river travels towards Ellensburg.  This is primarily from snow melt.  Fishing is a little on the slow side with water temperatures about 38 degrees.  They are hard earned, but we are finding very nice fish close to the bottom caught on skwala stone fly nymphs.  There are lots of midges on the water however we are yet to see any pods of feeding fish.  It's worth your time to fish now and will only become better as we get closer to spring.

February 19, 2007
Lots of rain and warmer temperatures since the 16th has brought the river flows up significantly and the water clarity down.  Hopefully the weather situation will improve and flows will return to normal.

January 20, 2007
The river is no longer slushy with warmer temperatures (low 30's) the past few days.  The weather forecast is calling for continued mild winter temperatures through the weekend so I would expect fishing to be typical for this time of year.

January 12, 2007
Have not fished this week.  The river is slushy with ice on the surface due to the cold temperatures we've been having the past few days.

January 5, 2007
Floated Sunday (New Years eve) from the South Cle Elum bridge to the State boat launch.  What a great way to end 2006, particularly when the last trout of the year caught was a 24 inch metallic colored rainbow.  The bug was a size 18 red copper john.  It was a quick float not getting started until about 1 PM.  I think we could have caught a few more if more day light was available.  The water has come up slightly in the Cle Elum area with some rain this past week and warmer temperatures.  The Teanaway river is pretty high and dumping some muddy water.  Above the Teanaway, the clarity is much better.  The past two days has brought a few inches of new snow (it is currently snowing as I write this) with temperatures in the low 30's.  I would expect fishing to be consistent, but one has to work hard.  Try small, shiny nymphs close to the bottom with no drag and a slow swing at the end of the drift.  Slowly swinging and stripping black string leeches can also produce trout in the right water.  The trout currently holding in the Cle Elum area tend to be large this time of year.

December 27, 2006
Wow!  Can't believe I've been so tardy in providing an updated report.  We've been fishing two to three times per week.  It's pretty typical winter time fishing with several nice size fish each outing.  Largest yesterday was a beautiful 23 incher with dark, metallic winter rainbow colors (of course, no camera).  Swinging black leech patterns is productive along with small size 16 to 20 nymphs.  It is important to get the nymphs to the bottom and really let the drift develop by being drag free for as long of a drift as possible.  There is lots of snow in the Cle Elum area and a beautiful winter landscape.

November 25, 2006
Water levels and clarity are good fishing has been pretty good.  Small bead head nymphs, big streamers fished slow and some surface activity with midges or baetis.  Guide trips are discounted over the winter at $230 per day.   

November 20, 2006
Water levels are looking pretty good.  The water color is improving but still green - better than brown.  We hit a few fish yesterday on a float trip using string leeches and stonefly nymphs.  There were fish feeding on midges later in the day almost at dark.  Unless we get heavy rains again, fishing should only improve. 

November 13, 2006
As most know, it's been raining.  The Yakima definitely rose significantly last week to a volume close to 14,000 cfs.  That was up a little from it's normal of about 700 cfs.  Currently the flow is down and stable  The clarity is improving and I estimate the visibility to be about two feet.  The water is more of the steelhead green versus chocolate brown.  I'm out on a trip tomorrow and will update the fishing report then.

October 25, 2006
The nights are becoming more and more on the chilled side while the daylight is becoming less and less.  Once the days warms, the bugs continue to be very active.  Lots of blue wing olives on the upper river down to Thorp.  The brown/tan caddis (size 12) and October caddis are strong.  This week has fished very similar to the last report.  I expect fishing to remain consistent until we get a good freeze.  I did snow in the cascades last night.

Please join us this Saturday for our first upper river clean-up.

October 18, 2006
Fishing remains consistent on the river.  At times it can be very technical fishing due to water clarity and depth.  There have been nice hatches once the air temperature increases after lunch.  The bugs include bwo, mahogany duns (small), small black stone flies, brown/tan caddis, and October caddis.  Over the past few days we have seen the bigger fish feeding in pods on small mayflies.  It's lots of fun if you're matched up correctly with the right bug, size and color.  There are also opportunistic fish taken on big attractors such as wulffs, simulators and black betty while moving from the boat.  The morning can be okay while nymphing.  Lightening bugs and pt's are most consistent.  I would suggest experimenting with your drift/mend technique when nymphing until you get a hook-up.  The fish will take if it is presented the way they want it - just try your drift in different ways.

October 14, 2006
Fishing this past week has been hot on the upper river.  Lots of dry fly action with royal wulffs, October caddis, brown elk hair caddis and blue wing olives.  Lightening bugs and pheasant tails have also been good throughout the day.  The typical fishing pattern has been nymphing in the morning and throwing dries once things warm up in the early afternoon.  It's necessary to put lots of action on the October caddis patterns otherwise the fish will not hit.  The water is gin clear and the river is very similar to fishing a spring creek at times.

The South Cle Elum boat ramp is still closed by the Fish and Game Department.

October 9, 2006
The beautiful fall weather continues with warm days and cool nights.  Lots of bugs around when the air temperature increases in the afternoon.  These bugs include October caddis, small brown/tan caddis, crane flies, short-wing summer stones (tan color), blue wing olives and yellow mayflies.  Yesterday was the first day that I've seen several pods of fish feeding on bwo's.  Lots of dry fly action from the boat with big orange flies imitating the October caddis.  Creating movement on the surface with the fly is much more productive than a dead drift.

*** The South Cle Elum boat launch has been closed since last week due to the number of salmon that were spawning along the beach.  Please continue to show caution when wading and not walk on the spawning beds.***

October 1, 2006
The dry fly action had been very good early in the week but cooled off over the past few days.  Might be due to an increase in water temperature and a little extra wind.  Still seeing opportunistic big takes from big fish with large attractors such as black betty, royal wulffs and October caddis.  Nymphing with stone fly nymphs and pheasant tails has been consistent.  With the water being low, it's typical to see several fish in the same area.

When wading and fishing the upper Yakima river, please be conscience of salmon and steelhead spawning redds.  Walking across a redd can create all sorts of damage to the eggs.  The spawning redds can be identified by clean, washed gravel.  The Yakima Nation has also marked the redds with ribbons along the stream side.  Please avoid wading in these areas.

September 21, 2006
Fall fishing has been very good the past few days.  Lots of action on the surface with crane flies and October caddis.  Other hatches include bwo, a cream colored drake, light and dark caddis.  Nymphing has been productive with October caddis pupa and red copper johns.

September 18, 2006 - **River Hazard**
Back on the Yakima yesterday after leading our guided fly fishing trip on the Kanektok river in Alaska since the beginning of the month.  The Kanektok was flippen awesome.  Talk about nice Leopard Rainbows on the fly rod.  What a great trip - Get signed up for next September for some of the best rainbow fishing that can be had.  We only have six spots.

Yesterday's guide trip on the Yakima was great.  We launched at a private site on the Cle Elum river and floated to the East Cle Elum launch.  No fish on the Cle Elum river but once we hit the Yakima, lots of fish on the dry fly.  Good bugs included general attractors such as the orange stimulator, peacock stimulator and parachute madam X in orange and peacock.  Bugs hatching on the water included crane flies, blond caddis, dark caddis, BWO, and mahogany duns.  We did good on a brown crane fly.  Red Copper Johns also fished well.  Water levels are low and wading is easy.  Saw lots of individual salmon but no pairs on redds.

*** There is a semi-water hazard between Hanson Ponds and the I-90 bridge.  The river is now going through a right channel with lots of hard sweepers that could bounce a boat around.  Most of the danger exist with the one person pontoon boats.  My advice is to walk your pontoon boat down the left channel that is mostly dry.***

August 31, 2006
The water levels have been coming down the past few days and should drop significantly over the next few days.  Fishing has been consistent through the upper canyon with yellow grasshoppers.  Nymphing with big stoneflies has recently been good most likely due to the drop in water levels displacing the bugs.  Lots of caddis in the evenings with small amounts of caddis first thing in the morning.  The October caddis nymphs should become active in the next week.  The good Yakima river fall fishing is just beginning.

August 10, 2006
Fished most of the week from the East Cle Elum launch to Thorp area.  Mostly dry fly action with grasshoppers and general attractors.  Good colors are red, orange and yellow.  Small stimulators, royal wulffs and Dave's hoppers have all been good.  We also have a yellow hopper/stone in the shop that has fished real well.  Most fish have been in the 12 to 14 inch range with one or two larger 19 to 20 inch fish each day.

The big tree remains across the channel below the East Cle Elum launch.

July 31, 2006 - ** River Hazard **
A very large tree has fallen a few days ago and it is blocking the entire river channel below the East Cle Elum fishing access.  Please do not attempt to float the main channel.  The alternative is a right channel just after the boat launch.  Call the shop if you need further info.

July 14, 2006
Fishing remains consistent with quite a few fish being caught in the 10 to 13 inch range.  Occasionally a much larger trout will opportunistically take a dry fly if a good shot can be made under all the overhanging canopy.  Good bugs include dry flies that are red, orange, yellow or tan.  The parachute adams in a size 8 or 10 is working well as there has been gray drakes coming off in the afternoon.  The grasshoppers are increasing in numbers and size.  I've seen completely white hoppers as well as tan and tan/neon green.  The drowned flying ant does work. 

Wading is difficult due to the high water flows.  I would suggest wade fishing above the confluence with the Cle Elum river.

We are still trying to fill our last spot for the Alaska Kanektok River trip September 7 through the 15.

July 11, 2006
Fishing is actually pretty good now.  The trend of early in the morning and late in the evening continues to be the more productive time of day.  We have been seeing lots of drakes on the upper river.  A size 10 parachute adams or adams irresistible have been good surface flies.  Gray grasshoppers and large tan/rust colored caddis have also taken nice fish on the surface.  Streamer fishing with a black wolly bugger or olive zonker has produced several large fish early in the morning (6 AM'ish).  The river flows are stable and the water is clear.  Cooper says he has been nymphing with ants and catching fish?????????????

July 1, 2006
The river is running clear and the flow is consistent.  The temperature has been in the 90's for the past week or more making mid-day fly fishing a little tough.  The morning and evenings have been fairly good.  Lots of smaller fish on the surface in the 10 to 15 inch range.  Being creative and working flies such as muddler minnows and beetles in unconventional ways such as jigging has taken the larger fish.  Hatches include yellow sallies, golden stones, drakes, crane flies, pmd, and caddis.  A general attracter dry such as a yellow stone is the most consistent dry.  Large parachute adams are also good.  We've seen small grasshopper.  These guys should be larger in the next week or so.  Because the weather pattern for the next 10 days is predicted to be warm, we suggest fishing in the mornings and evenings.

June 21, 2006
Flows have stabilized and the water clarity is very good.  The fish should be adjusted to their summer areas by now.  However, the catching has not been that good on our past two guided trips.  We've taken a few nymphing and on the surface, but it's not like it should be.  Active bugs include some golden stones, PMD's, caddis, crane flies and a salmon fly every once in a while.  There are the small, immature grass hoppers in the weeds along the river.  They should be active soon.

On a side note, we had a cancellation and now there is one available space left for our Kanektok River, Alaska trip this fall.  The dates are September 7th to the 15th.  Give Jim a call at 509/929-1357 for info.

June 16, 2006
Summer flows have arrived two days ago.  I'm always amazed initially with how much water volume is in the Yakima when the summer flows arrive.  It's business as usual however - just a slightly different approach.  We did good yesterday on a float in the Cle Elum area.  Every place we fished we had at least one or more fish on with the largest to the boat of 20 inches and fat.  We targeted soft merge lines where, channels come together and the outside edges of riffles.  Surface bugs included caddis, PMD's, a bettis looking mayfly and craneflies.  Stonefly nymphs, hare's ear and San Juans were good.  Water clarity above the Teanaway river is not an issue.  Below the Teanaway it gets more dark.  Please be careful when wading or floating as the river is swift with some debris in the current.  The right channel downstream from the East Cle Elum launch is open.  I am unsure of any water hazards in the left channel as I did not go down it yesterday.  Get out there and fish.  Don't let the higher flows stop you.

June 11, 2006
The salmon flies are still active along with drakes, some yellow mayflies and caddis have shown up (finally).  The water levels are great and clarity is perfect.  The weather for this upcoming week is suppose to be very good.  We've had lots of takes on the surface the past two days.  Most have been on salmon flies and caddis.  Nothing like a large fish moving hard for a salmon fly.  I would suggest fishing now.  (By the way - we have some availability for guide service this week.)

June 7, 2006
Salmon Flies.  The weather is nice, warm and sunny with temperatures in the 70's.  The past few days have been outstanding with large fish chasing salmon flies on the surface.  The fun usually begins about 1:30 PM and goes until about 7:00 PM.  It's best to fish on the move from a boat covering distance looking for the opportunistic large fish that will move hard and fast for salmon flies.  If you have been waiting to fish for the right conditions, GO NOW.

June 3, 2006
Floated in the Cle Elum area.  Good water clarity and flow.  Expect the unexpected with regards to bugs.  Yesterday the bug list included drakes, salmon flies, golden stones, pale evening duns, no caddis, crane flies and one blue wing olive.  In the morning, red copper johns, black hare's ears, stone fly nymphs all took fish.  The air temperature increased in about 2:00 PM and the salmon flies, cranes, and ped's became active.  The salmon flies were the most productive.

June 2, 2006
Fishing has been pretty good the past few days.  Water clarity is good and the river is low.  The cloudy/rainy weather pattern has been great.  It's been muggy and in the upper 60's to low 70's.  Lots of surface activity with caddis, golden stones, pale evening duns, and some blue wings.  I'm still seeing a very light amount of March brown about 2:00 PM.

May 25, 2006
Float from South Cle Elum to East Cle Elum in the cold and rain.  Water clarity is much better and the flow is just right for fishing.  Lots of different bugs on the surface with feeding fish in the afternoon.  Surface bugs included red quills, March brown duns, pale evening duns, blue wings, and yellow crane flies.  The crane fly produced well along with the PED.  Hooked into lots of fish with the biggest about 18 inches on a caddis pupa.  It's a cold and rainy Memorial Day weekend, but fishing should be fairly good.  We have rain jackets on sale at the fly shop.

May 24, 2006
The Teanaway is still dumping colored water, but not as much.  Above the Teanaway the water clarity is still on the murky side with more of a dark green than brown.  I estimate it to be about 30 inches.  I have not fish for the past two days (only slight withdraw experienced) but have a guide trip tomorrow.  I expect it to fish pretty well with the cooler weather pattern.  I do not think all the rain has had an impact on the water levels or clarity.

May 21, 2006
The river is slowly going down and clarity is improving.  Fished from South Cle Elum to the East access site.  We did fairly well nymphing with three nice fish to the boat and four LDRs.  Nothing on the surface.

May 20, 2006
Yep - still the same.

May 19, 2006
It's still muddy and big.

May 18, 2006
The river got bigger and more brown yesterday.  Might want to think about doing some yard work today.

May 17, 2006
With temperatures in the 90's yesterday, the river is blown.  NBC - Nothing But Chocolate.  The river being blown is too bad because the 15th was outstanding dry fly fishing with caddis and salmon flies.  Hopefully this is the big run off and things will be more regular soon.  If you are wanting to brave the high, mocha waters of the Yakima, I suggest big stone flies at the top of riffles and towards the banks.

May 14, 2006
Floated the past two days from the Cle Elum river to the Thorp bridge.  The 12th was good in the morning with caddis pupa, after that, one word, WIND.  Still saw some nice fish above the South Cle Elum bridge.  Yesterday was outstanding weather and a great day of fishing from the East Cle Elum access to the Thorp bridge.  Nymphing was very slow in the morning with a yield of only one sport fish until the air temperature increased.  It was March browns from 2:00 to 3:00 PM then it was all about the salmon fly on the top.  Good stuff despite a full moon.  The weather is suppose to be nice this upcoming week.  I expect fishing to be good.  Get out if you can.  That's all I know.

May 12, 2006
Yesterday was another good day of fishing.  Floated to the Thorp bridge amidst the nuclear winds of the upper canyon.  Bugs on the water included caddis, March browns, blue wing olives, salmon flies - and - new are the golden stones in a size 10 to 12.  Fish taken subsurface on salmon fly nymphs and caddis pupa on the swing (slow swing).  Water clear and at a very good level for fishing.  Biggest fish about 23 inches and smallest about 11 inches.

May 10, 2006
Fishing was pretty good today.  Water clarity and levels are perfect.  The Teanaway river is much cleaner.  Lots of feeding fish on March browns and caddis.  Salmon flies also seen on the surface.  Fish taken on all of the before mentioned bugs.  Also nice fish (20+) taken on big salmon fly nymphs and swinging caddis pupa.  Weather was a little windy, but you can't let that stop you.

May 9, 2006
Floated in the Cle Elum area the past two days.  Water levels and clarity have been good despite a sudden but brief release of water from Lake Cle Elum.  Very windy and cold yesterday.  It was quick, but there was some March brown action about 2:00 PM.  No other hatches seen.  The salmon fly nymphs are migrating (walking) out of the river to begin their reproduction thing.  Fish taken yesterday on big stone fly nymphs and soft hackles on the swing.

May 6, 2006
Fished below the Teanaway to the Thorp bridge.  Water levels are very fishable with clarity still on the greenish side.  Lots of caddis on the water along with March brown duns about 1:45 PM.  About a half dozen salmon flies seen and a salmon fly dry fished for about an hour with no lookers.  There is even a salmon fly on the sidewalk in front of the fly shop that someone stepped on.  Fish taken on flying ants, beetles, March browns, caddis and the guide saver.  Caddis pupa on the swing also worked.

May 5, 2006
Water levels are much better and the clarity is also much improved.  The river is no longer chocolate colored but more of a steelhead green color.  Loads of bugs on the water including the Mothers Day Caddis.  Other bugs include March brown duns, drakes, salmon flies and some blue wing olives.  It's a little bit of a weird site seeing huge numbers of caddis on the water with hardly any feeding fish.  Try caddis pupa during these times as the fish are activity feeding just below the surface.  Fishing is a lot better than it was last week.

April 29, 2006
The river is up significantly with the warm weather.  Looks like a triple shot mocha.  It's only a double shot above the Teanaway.  There are bugs all over the place with some feeding fish.  These bugs consist of caddis, March browns, blue wing olives, salmon flies, flying ants and beetles, and an occasional drake.  I think the fish might be looking at the salmon fly nymphs.  Very important to let the nymphs sink with no drag whatsoever.  The honest report - fishing is tough but fish can be caught if one works hard.  We do have lots of bugs for lake fishing in the shop.

April 15, 2006
Float in the Cle Elum area.  At about 1:30 PM the March browns came off in good numbers with no feeding fish until about 2:15 PM.  The blue wings also showed about 2:00 PM.  Several pods found feeding heavily on mostly blue wings with an occasional take on a March brown.  The feeding continued until about 7:00 PM and maybe longer but we didn't hang around due to darkness with many miles yet to travel.  Lots of fun dry fly fishing today targeting individual feeding trout.  Two 19 inch rainbows taken this way along with a 20 inch cutthroat.  Several other very good takes with failure to complete the task.  One 19 inch rainbow taken on a lightning bug.  Good bugs today were a bwo comparadun, parachute pheasant tail, and soft hackle.  The river levels are stable and the water clarity is good.

April 14, 2006
Guide trips every day this past week.  The honest truth - fishing is a little tough unless you are at the right place at the right time.  The water level rose this past week with clarity issues early in the week.  After about three days, the river leveled and the clarity improved.  The fish adjusted by moving into areas that held little amounts of water previously.  The March brown duns are continuing to gain strength.  Some days the hatch seems to be about 15 minutes, on other days it's about 45 minutes.  The usual start time is about 1:30 PM.  Sporadic blue wing olives are seen along with fish feeding on midges.  The skwala stones continue to be on the water significantly.  They are more active in the afternoon, especially when the air temperature is in the middle fifties.  The usual number of fish per day is about five to six caught and released with about the same number of LDR's (long-distance releases).  Most fish are 17 to 22 inches and are taken while dry fly fishing.  The Teanaway is still dumping dirty water in large amounts.  The Teanaway has been dirty for several weeks and the fish seem to be adjusted as some pretty nice fish have been caught on the surface.  There has always been nice fish in this section of river and they do have to eat.  The key to fishing right now is all about knowing the right place at the right time.

April 7, 2006
Guide trip from South Cle Elum to East Cle Elum access.  Lots of people on the water.  No wind today.  The March browns came out for about 40 minutes close to 2:00 PM.  Some blue wing olive activity after 2:00 PM that only lasted about 30 minutes.  Nymphing was good in the morning with stone flies.  March browns and BWO's were productive on the surface along with a couple of fish on skwalas.  About eight fish today 16 to 21 inches.  One nice cuttroat.

April 6, 2006
Water above the Teanaway is nice and clear.  The Teanaway is ugly.  Water temperatures are up slightly at about 45 degrees.  Hatches include some blue wing olives, March brown duns and skwalas.  The March browns seem to get stronger every day.  I don't see the trout feeding on the skwala as actively as they did two weeks ago.  The BWO's are sporadic and require more cloudy and rainy type weather.  Today is the third day of a sunny weather pattern, so the trout should be adjusted.  The past two days were hard work but four to eight fish were had each day.

April 2, 2006
Water levels on the upper river are definitely up with the recent rain and snow.  The clarity is not the best but still fishable.  The Teanaway river continues with its vomiting of mocha colored water in significant amounts.  If you decide to fish, think about stonefly nymphs that crawl from under their rocks in search of cleaner water along with exploring areas that now contain the increase flow with big dry flies.  Bugs on the water yesterday included BWO, midges, skwalas and I think I saw a March brown dun.  We did take a few nice fish over the past days on the Marchies.

March 28, 2006
Guided fly fishing trips every day since last report on different upper river locations.  The upper river continues to have skwala stone adults and midges.  New hatches this past week include blue wing olives and March brown duns.  The Marchie browns are only very slight in numbers.  We have been primarily taking fish on the surface with skwalas and midge clusters.  Most fish caught continue to be fairly large at 16 to 22 inches.  The Teanaway is a tan/brown color that significantly reduces the water clarity below its confluence with the Yakima.  Water levels are perfect for fishing and the water temperature is 40 to 42 degrees.

March 20, 2006
Float from S. Cle Elum to E. Cle Elum.  Significant surface fishing has arrived!  After a tough weekend of fishing with bright sun and warm weather, the clouds moved in today.  The fish were very active on the surface with the gray skies.  Lots of skwala adults on the water in the afternoon along with blue wing olives and midges.  Pods of fish were feeding on the midges and blue wings.  Sporadic big fish taken on skwala dries.  About eight fish caught and release with about the same number released via the LDR (long distance release).  Largest 23 inches and smallest about 17.  Good bugs included the peacock stimulator, H&L variant, Betty, bugmeister, and lightning bug.

March 13, 2006
Float from S. Cle Elum to E. Cle Elum.  Tough day with only one 19 inch rainbow caught on a lightning bug.  Don't know the exact reason why fishing was tough.  Suspect it was pressure from the weekend as well as the full moon.  The weather was also beautifully bright and sunny.

March 12, 2006
Float from E. Cle Elum to Bristol area.  Pulled big streamers most of the day.  Caught the largest fish of the year at 23 inches on an egg sucking scuplin.  Also the largest white fish was caught on a lightning bug that I've seen on the Yakima.  The Yakima bone fish measured 24 inches.

March 11, 2006
Float from S. Cle Elum to the E. Cle Elum fishing access.  Very nice, sunny day in the lower 50's.  Water temperatures still cold at 38 degrees.  Nymphing remains good.  Blue wings hatching about 1 PM.  Estimated 16 fish caught and released (can't remember the exact number).  No fish taken on the surface.

March 10, 2006
Float from E. Cle Elum fishing access to Bristol area.  Nicest day this month.  It only snowed once for about 15 minutes.  Fishing was outstanding with about 16 fish caught in the 17 to 21 inch range.  Nymphed most of the day with golden stones and small, shiny type flies of the lightning bug variety.

March 9, 2006
Float from S. Cle Elum to E. Cle Elum fishing access.  On and off snow showers most of the day.  Water temperatures around 39 degrees.  Thirteen fish caught and released with a few others lost.  Size range was impressive at 18 to 22 inches.  Nymphing remains consistent.  The largest fish taken on a Skwala adult.  Not as many feeders on midges as there were last week.  Blue wing olives seen about 1 PM.  Good nymphs were size 10 golden stones and size 16 to 20 lightning bugs.

March 8, 2006
The kitchen sink was tied on and given a try.  One 18 inch rainbow on a Skwala dry for the day.  Hats off to Jay and Jason for fishing hard through the all day snow storm and still having smiles and a good time.  Tomorrow is a new day.

March 7, 2006
Float from S. Cle Elum to E. Cle Elum fishing access.  Water temperature 40 to 42 degrees.  It was a bright, sunny day with wind.  Five fish touched and three released.  All released fish in the 19 to 21 inch range with one whopper right to the boat before spitting the hook.  Bugs included Lightning Bug, Black Betty and Royal Wulff.  Water remains clear and low on this section of river.  Oh, by the way, a handful of Skwala adults were on the water but only seen in one run.  The numbers should increase as the water temperature increases.

March 5, 2006
Float from South Cle Elum bridge to East Cle Elum fishing access.  Water temperature 38 degrees, overcast with snow in the morning.  Fish taken on a multitude of different patterns.  These included a size 12 double bead golden stone nymph, a 4 inch black string leech, Renegade, JJ Bugger, and Black Betty.  Surface activity on midges at specific locations.  No small tan/brown stones or Skwala stones seen.  Water clarity above the Teanaway river is good.  Things are still a little cold but it was a good day of fishing.

March 3, 2006
All day float from East Cle Elum access to Thorp bridge.  Beautiful, sunny day in the upper 40's.  Water clarity is very good above the Teanaway river.  The Teanaway is dumping green, dirty water as well as all the little snow melt streams that enter the Yakima along the way to Thorp.  Streamer fishing with black leeches and black/yellow whompus cat was good.  Largest fish was a 20 inch cutthroat.  Some surface feeders seen, but we didn't spend time with the dry flies.

March 1, 2006
Afternoon float from South Cle Elum to the East Cle Elum access.  Windy, partly cloudy day with water temperatures about 41 degrees.  Heavy rain the night before, but the Yakima above the Teanaway was nice and clear.  Slightly colored below the Teanaway.  Saw a few fish feeding on the surface.  One take on a Royal Wulff.  Midges and small speckled tan/brown stoneflies on the surface.  Two big fish lost on an olive bugger.  One 21 inches on a black leech and one 16 on olive bugger caught and released.  The new Hyde drift boat is awesome.

February 24, 2006
The Yakima became ice free on the 20th after a close to two week cold snap.  Bright, sunny day after a snow storm yesterday with water temperatures 37 to 38 degrees.  Floated from Reinhart Park to Ringer Road access.  Not many fish moving.  Morning was better than afternoon.  Black bunny leech was the most productive bug.

February 18, 2006
Consider a sport other than fly fishing on the Yakima.  The river bares a resemblance to a ice drink from your local 7-11 convenience store called a Slushy.  Maybe next week it will be in the upper 30's.

February 7, 2006
Water level in the Cle Elum area is perfect.  Clarity is good.  Partly cloudy.

February 3, 2006
Float from Gladmore to Reinhart Park.  Visibility poor and estimated at two feet.  Water level a bit high.  Rain and wind.  Two fish on black egg sucking mole leech.

March Guide Service Special
Yakima River $225
Anytime in March for 2 anglers

Skip Morris Workshop:
Tying and Fishing Flies for Trout Lakes
Cle Elum, March 27 at 1 to 5 PM

Dave Hughes & Rick Hafele Workshop: Matching Western Hatches
Cle Elum, May 15 at 1 to 5 PM

Kanektok River, Alaska
September 7, 2010

Yakima River Clean-Up
Cle Elum, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010

Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
February, 2011

Gourmet Lunch Floats
Yakima River, 2010