So our up and down spring continues...

Well, theres not a whole lot to say besides I think were all a little sick and tired of this rain. It's officially spring, but it sure doesn't seem like it. The Yakima has been up and down, clean one day and dirty the next, but had been fishable every day until about 5 or 6 days ago. Some days we've had to work really hard for them, and some days they come a little easier. That's fishing. We've been on literally every stretch from Cle Elum to Roza over the last couple weeks before it blew out, and they were all fishing pretty well. Bobbers continue to rule, with some days bringing some good dry fly fishing. Streamer fishing, especially from the diversion up, proved effective. The typical fair, including Pats Stones, Worms in every size, shape, and color, small lightning bugs and PT's, midges, and various sculpin and zonkers have worked. As for dries, lots of patterns have worked, anything from big foam junk to realistic, low riding patterns, just depends on the day. The river is currently on the drop but still a few days out at least. 2800 cfs at Cle Elum and a little over 7000 cfs at Umtanum, cut those both in half and we'll think about fishing it again. But I imagine as soon as it comes back, BWO's and March Browns will be around. So think about tying up your Soft Hackle PT's, CDC PT's, March Brown Spiders, red and black Copper Johns, Lightning Bugs, and any of your other favorite mayfly nymphs in #12-14 for the browns and #16-18 for the BWO's. For dries, your standard March brown and BWO parachutes will work, along with some quigley style cripples and you're good to go. Just a friendly reminder, always be cautious and safe when floating the river. If you are unfamiliar with a stretch, always ask about blockages or tight spots. Even think about hiring a guide to show you a stretch and places to be careful. There are a couple of pretty tight spots on the upper river around cle elum, particularly just above and below the East Cle Elum boat launch. There are also one or two tight spots down in the farmlands. Don't hesitate to give us a call, or any shop for that matter, and ask about a particular stretch. Especially after the high water event the last week, you can guarantee some stuff has shifted around in the river, new blockages are very likely, and stretches you thought you knew can be totally different. No matter how good you are or think you are on the sticks, its always good to be prepared for what is coming. There are always a few who flip their boats, lose all their gear, and people drown on a regular basis. Don't be that guy(or gal).

Well, I'm getting out of here for the rest of the week. Sometimes the urge to leave and go fishing hits, and there's no satisfying it until you do. The Missouri is one of my all time favorite places to fish, and I try to fish it a few times a year. For those of you that have fished it, you know how good it is. For those that haven't, I highly encourage you to visit. Its just a quick hour and a half over the hill from Missoula, and being a tailwater, you can always count on stable river conditions. By no means is it peak season over there; the water is still cold, weather has been wacky, but reports are that the nymphing and streamer fishing has been avg-great depending on the day, and a little bit of midge action on the surface has made an appearance on the calmer, cloudier days. The bonus of going this time of year is it should be a lonely river, especially mid week. We should have Wi-fi, so for those of you that follow the blog, we'll try to update every night with a short report and photos of some big browns and rainbows(hopefully).

Thanks for reading

-JW