Is it Spring?

It finally feels like spring. It's May 1st, and this is the first day where its warm(relatively speaking), the sun is shining, and there's even a little bit of pollen in the air. The lowland lake opener was a big success. We had a number of customers in this morning who fished our local put and take lakes, and excellent fishing was had by all. The method of operandi was trolling buggers and leeches near the surface. After stocking, the fish generally stay in the first few feet of the water column for a few days if not a week or two(yes, it's sad to say, but they still think they're in a fish tank at a hatchery that bottoms out at 3 feet). Therefore, an intermediate or floating line is generally all you need.

Haven't heard much from the folks that were headed to the Yakima this weekend, but there were plenty of them. If I had to guess, the fishing was probably pretty darn good. They finally stopped releasing water out of the resevoirs last week, and the river is down to a nice, comfortable level with good clarity. Get it while it's good because who knows how long it will last. Skwalas, BWO's, March Browns, and a few caddis are buzzing around right now. Even though we have been fooled by mother nature to think its mid-March, it is May 1st and the Mother's Day Caddis hatch is not far away. We just got some killer new caddis pupa in stock. Hogan's Petrified Pupa and Silveys Beadhead Pupa to name a couple, along with quite a few members of the Prince nymph family. Psycho Prince, CDC Prince, King Prince(my favorite for grannoms), Beadhead Prince, and the standard unbeaded are all weapons that should be in your arsenal from now throughout the entire summer.

Below is a nice one from a few days ago. As George Cook would say, "she's a fat pig". 22 inches with some serious girth, it's the biggest fish I've laid eyes on in person this year on the Yak. I'll be on the water tomorrow and will try to give a report on Tuesday.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. -Johnny