Happy 4th of July Update

Here's a happy early 4th of July to you and all of you and your families. The sun is finally shining on a regular basis and it appears that summer is beginning to roll along. As for the fishing, the rivers have started to mellow out and fishing has become a little more consistent then it had been the last month or so.

Locally, the Cedar and South Fork Snoqualmie have been the front runners. Both are clear and flowing at a reasonable clip and dropping steadily. Folks have been doing well nymphing for the most part, but some dry fly action is to be had. As for the Cedar, main hatches include but are not limited to Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, and PED's. On the South Fork, there are a few mayflies, yellow sallies, but caddis is the predominant hatch through the summer.

The Yakima had a minor push of water a few days ago, but has since dropped very hard and is in great shape. Hatches are Goldens, PMD's, Yellow Mays, Caddis, and look for Summer Stones to be starting up very soon. Dry fly activity has been pretty consistent as of late. Big and bushy such as the Chubby Chernobyl in gold, pink, red, and purple color schemes have been a great dry to throw in the heavy flow. They also hold a dropper very nicely. Glommers, Larimers Golden, Amy's Ant, Tantrum, among others have been worthy as well. Droppers should include Silvey's Pupa, Lightning bugs(pearl, gold), Princes(Holo, King, Formerly known as), Crackback PMD's, CDC Pheasant Tails, Petrified Pupa, among others. Nymphing has been good as well, Pat's Stones in various color schemes in #8-10 followed by any of the above nymphs have been productive. Bring along some caddis and PMD dries and emergers in case you find some rising fish. PMD activity will come mid-day and look for caddis activity near dusk(by dusk we mean the last hour before dark).

Steelhead-wise, the Sky and Snoqualmie are worth a shot. There are fish, it is up to you to find them. Put in the necessary time with your fly in the water and you will find them. Winter-style tactics still apply; sink tips and larger profile flies such as Loop Leeches, Hoh-Bo Spey, and Fish Tacos. Keep taking your water temps though, we will start to creep up on the magic floating line temperature pretty quick as runoff subsides and hot weather continues. We just got a huge shipment of awesome Idylwild summer patterns, they are the best commercial tied summer-run patterns we have seen. Come check 'em out.

For all you Alaska-goers, come swing by as we have a good selection of King flies such as Jumbo Critters, Guide Intruders, and Foxee Prawns. The Jumbo Critter in Chartreuse and Blue is a must have, as is the Guide Intruder in Chartreuse/Black. We're fully stocked with tons of awesome Simms t-shirts as well, they have really put out some cool designs and artwork on their shirts this year and let's face it, you can always use another t-shirt. The trout bins are stocked with the latest and greatest dry flies and nymphs, come stock up for what is shaping up to be a great summer and fall.

That's all for today, all of us at the shop wish you and your families a Happy and Safe Independence Day. We'll be back open for business on the 5th.
-JW

Long-Winded Update 6-18

Wow, I've been slacking big time on writing this, I apologize. Hopefully this entry will be filled with all kinds of good info to make up for it. The last entry I left you with saying I'd have a summer steelhead report, and fortunately I have 2. One a little better than the other.

We ran down to the Klickitat for a couple days, the water was really high but fishable when we got there, but the first night a little rainstorm rolled through and got all the feeder creeks dumping mud, leaving us with maybe a foot of visability. We gave it a shot anyways and all we had to show for it was one fish hooked for all of a couple headshakes and gone. It wasn't all a waste, it was good to be back on this awesome river and we checked out the different channels, the trees that have been washed out or relocated, and it's a fun river to row at 3500 cfs. We woke day 2 to find the river in the same shape as the day previous, so we packed up and headed back to Eburg. The Yakima was beyond gone, and the only fishable water around was a Yak tributary around Cle Elum(take a stab at that one), so we dumped our boat in and floated the bottom end and out into the Yak, and found plenty of willing cutties and bows, including a couple really nice ones around the 17-18" mark(pictured below). It was a fun float, and was nice to make a decent day of fishing out of nothing.

Now for the better report, we went down a few days ago to our favorite Grays Harbor area river in search of some early summer fish. A few guys have been fishing it, but certainly not even close to the pressure this river gets in the winter. Reports were a fish being caught here and there. The cool thing about this river is it is damn controlled, so it was clear(really clear for that matter) and nice and low. They dump about a quarter to half of the average flow of the winter time in the summer and fall, the lowest I've fished it in winter was 1300 cfs with the average being about 2000, and on this day the river would be at 500. It was pretty neat to see the little winter slots and traveling water that were completely out of water, and with the water being so clear we were able to spot all kinds of cool structure within the deeper pools and runs that will definately come in handy in the winter seasons to come.

As we had predicted on the way down, the fish were either holed up in the bigger tanks, nosed up in riffles and broken water, or tucked up in hard traveling water that provided some cover, though we did roll over one in a glass tailout of pea gravel with no structure or cover in 2 feet of water in the middle of a bright sunny day(wtf was he/she thinking?). Also, longer casts out front and away from the boat with the bobber rigs is also important in these conditions. We found some fish though, got a few to the net and a few got away prematurely. They were all chrome as can be and fought really well, most jumping a few times and peeling off some great runs that their wild bretheren would be proud of, though we did land one wild one. Due to the nature of this river at these flows and the length of float required, we bobber fish mostly. There are a few nice pieces of swing water in the float, but hucking bobbers is a great way to cover all the little slots and buckets under the trees that these fish hold in. Couple shots below.

If something like above interests you, come down and talk to me or give me a call at the shop. I'd be happy to share some info with you or take you fishing down there, it's a really fun way to spend a nice summer day and will only improve as the summer moves along. On a good note, the Yakima is now back in shape and rockin' and rollin' at typical summertime flows. The catching has been pretty good the last few days, think Golden Stones, lots o' caddis, and PMD's and Drakes on the right days. Get after it, the fish haven't seen much in the way of flies the last month or so so you can get to pounding on 'em pretty good.

I'll be holed up in the shop for the next several days, so there won't be any reports from me. It's up to you guys to go make a report and then come tell me so I can fish vicariously through you! Anyways, until next time and thanks for reading as always.

-JW

Opening Day!

Well, it is finally here. The first official day for fishing the local moving water. However, many know that it isn't always easy, as generally we find ourselves fighting high water and snow runoff. This year is no exception. For the most part, the rivers are fairly high and off color, but that is not to say they aren't fishable. Especially if you are after some early summer steelhead, get out there and swing a fly in the high, milky, muddy water. You would be really suprised to find how well their eye sight adjusts and how much more grabby they can be. Step in up to your knees, and if you can see your feet, start fishing. As for tactics, you will be fishing winter style with sink tips and bigger flies like Fish Tacos, MOAL Leeches, Pick Yer Pockets, etc.

The Sky definately has some fish spread throughout, the Skagit is always fun as you can put a spankin' on the dollies and also fish for steelhead, and I certainly would consider giving the Snoqualmie a shot. Yes, I know, they stopped planting smolt 2 years ago, therefore there will be no Snoqualmie hatchery origin fish, but who says that fish always go up the correct river? There have been a few Skykomish fish known to poke their heads up in the Sno, particularly in the early season....

As for the Cedar, our little urban trout stream, it is running a little high at the moment but I am guessing it is pretty clean. Wading can be tricky, but the early bird usually gets the worm, the worm being large trout in this instance. Pack some sculpins, stoneflies, worms, some lead and a bobber and get to work. Just be careful wading.

As for lakes, they are fishing about par for the course. Mostly good reports from all local lakes as well as Eastside desert lakes. The saltwater is certainly worth your time, a nice misty morning with the sun coming up over the horizon and not many people around is good for the soul.

That's all I got, the summer season has officially begun. No restrictions on where you can fish and where you can't (unless you are the two guys who got ticketed for poaching at Reiter Pond yesterday with 4 dead fish on the bank). So we'll say hardly any restrictions just to be fair to those two dudes. Have at it, be safe, and as always we'll be around to help with gear, flies, and point you in the right direction. I will have the first official summer steelhead report of the season next week, stay tuned.
-JW

Memorial Day Update

Overall, the Yak is coming back into shape throughout. The upper river around Cle Elum is in good shape, but runnning a little high. The Farmlands is still a little murky and pretty high, but definately fishable. The canyon is still a little too dirty and high. So, my recomendation would be to stick to the Cle Elum area for now. We did the Farmlands yesterday, and overall we worked really hard but had a decent day, hooking around 12-15 fish and getting a few less than that in the boat. Again, we urge you to be very cautious floating the river. At these flows, it is a lot of work and there are some very dangerous spots. The East Cle Elum launch is tricky with a lot of water, you have to be on your toes to get over into the creek mouth. A few folks have misjudged it and been taken downstream past the takeout, and theres no getting back up. In the Farmlands, there is a major bloackage at the weir a mile above Irene Rinehart. You can portage to the right over the rocks or through the bushes, but its a pain in the ass. There is also a very tight spot 4-5 miles belove Irene that you have to row, no portage option. Please be careful, with these flows it is very dangerous and unless you are really good on the oars, hold off until the water drops some more and settles. Overall though, the river is coming back and we should be into full summertime fishing mode in the next week or two.
-JW

Bass Attack

Sorry about the lack of posting lately. Brett had been down in Belize for a week or so and I've been really tied up watching NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs amongst many other fine television programs. I will tell you one thing, it has definately not been because I've been fishing. I did manage to make it over to Lenice with a few buddies for a couple of days last week, and we found some pretty decent success. Nothing over the top, but pretty consistent fishing and nice sunny weather. The method of operandi was chironomids anywhere from 1-20 feet under a bobber. Leeches, damsels, and calibaetis nymphs trolled and stripped slowly caught fish as well. The highlight of the two days was a 3 or 4 hour period back in the islands where we were able to pick off a number of fish on either hatching midge patterns or calibaetis emergers/adults/floating nymphs. I will say that it appeared to me that chironomids are still the name of the game. If you are heading over, go prepared with a load of chironomids including a variety of smaller #16-#22 in black, rust, and most certainly olive. Our best bug day 1 was black #20 and day 2 was #16, 18 olive. Word on the street was a few guys did pretty well on bloodworms as well.

Overall, reports have been quite good from all of the desert lakes. Local lakes have been solid as well. Aside from trout, many of our lakes have began fishing quite well for bass. Head Guide Chris Senyohl has been putting his time in on a bunch of local lakes and doing quite well. Below is evidence of just that.If your interested in switching things up a bit and perhaps learning a bit about how to catch largemouth and smallmouth bass on the fly, give us a shout and book a trip with Chris. You will have a great time, learn a ton, and catch some fish. With not much else going on right now, it's the perfect time to learn about some of our other fisheries. Now is primetime so jump on it before it's too late.

Oh, and as for the Yak, the lower is still a mess but the upper is fishable but moving pretty fast. Wading is pretty much out, floating is really the only good option at the moment. So if you must, go fish the upper. Otherwise, stick to the lakes and such for another little while.

-JW

Going, Going, Gone....

The Yak is gone for the time being. It hung on until Saturday when this rainstorm worked its way over the hill and dumped from Cle Elum to E-burg. The last week or so the fishing had been solid. For the most part we were restricted to the upper river, mainly above the Teanaway, which has been the main proponent of keeping the lower river a little out of wack. The Cle Elum area has been a busy place for guide traffic over the last week, but the fishing was pretty solid. Even the upper canyon below the Teanaway had fished OK. Expect the upper river to come back considerably faster than the lower. This morning the graph peaked and has began to drop at Cle Elum to just under 4K, we'll see if that is temporary or not. We may sneak in a day or two before full summer runoff.

For me, it's a great time to get everything organized and get the summer stuff ready to go. When the river comes back, we will likely be well into a couple different kinds of caddis, pmd's, goldens, early summer stones, the tail end of salmon flies, drakes on the upper, and probably some others I'm forgetting. For now, we'll be stuck on the lakes but fortunately they are fishing quite well. Lenice or similar is the destination for Thursday-Friday, we'll let you know how it goes. Couple from the other day below.

-JW

Another Day in Paradise

Spent the day on the upper river with CJ. One of those wierd days, had a front moving through, which may or may not have affected the bite, but the bite was definately off. Snow you ask? Yes, it sprinkled a little snow for a few minutes. There were a few bugs around, some March Browns, some BWO's, Midges, and a few Skwalas. We looked down in the raft to find a big female skwala that was a true #8 and bordering on a #6, odd for this time of year. Usually they're tapering off and the ones you see are #10 and #12. Sometimes when the bite's off, you just gotta keep fishing the water. Fish it, then fish it some more. Though the bite wasn't stellar we wound up finding around a dozen solid 14-18" fish that wanted to eat. Best bugs were Pats Bl/Br #6, Purple Holo Prince #16, and Flashback PT #12. From the sounds of it, the fishing throughout the river has been a little off the last few days. The water conditions are perfect and the weather has been fine, it's just been a little funky. You just have to keep plugging away, fish the water hard, and stick to your guns. It'll pay off in the end. You could just accept the fact that the bite is off, fish half-assed, and go home unsatisfied. Or you can work hard, fish hard, and wind up turning a bad day into a decent or even good day, the choice is always yours. That's my 2 cents for the day. 

Brett just touched down in Belize at some point in the last 24 hours for a week of fun in the sun. I'm expecting a report with a some photos of giant Tarpon and Permit in the next couple days, we'll see.  

Thanks for reading, till the next one

-JW

Yakima 5-2

Well just as it seemed the weather was about to turn, we got hit with another day of mostly cold, windy, and rainy weather. Got to sneak out for a day of goofing off with buddies Josh and Lex. We fished Bristol to Green Bridge, known also as the "Thorp Wind Tunnel". Lucky for us, the wind wasn't much more than a constant 5 mph with some rain mixed in, though it got a little gusty at times. Nymphing was pretty good, though a little sluggish in the AM. We saw a few BWO's and Midges, but nothing worth writing home about. Had it not been for the constant light wind, it would have been a great day for BWO's or March Browns: dark, cloudy, and rainy. Most productive flies for us were Pat's #4-8 black and black/brown. We got a few on some different smaller nymphs as well, such as the Anato-May #14, Flashback PT #16, King Prince #14, and Red Brassie #18, but 90% of the fish were on the Pat's. The water was 39 degrees at Bristol and warmed to around 42 mid-day near the homestead, still cold stuff dumping in at the Teanaway. Reports were good from the weekend, the river fished pretty decent throughout. Saturday was a little tough for some, as the bite was a little lean paired with some strong winds, but most folks did some good on Friday and Sunday. Here's a few from the day, we'll be back at it Thursday and Friday with a report to follow.
Thanks for reading,

-JW

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

Billy Pate

For those who know of the legendary angler Billy Pate you'll be saddend to know he passed away. He had been in a nursing home of late suffering from Alzheimers. Billy Pate was a famous and pioneering saltwater angler who held numerous world records. This is certainly a huge loss to the fishing world and he will not soon be forgotten.-BW

Squidro

So the next wave of steelhead flies is here. Synthetics are becoming more and more popular in all aspects of fly tying not only for the many color combos, but for their durability and versatility. Check out the video of Scott Howell's new fly, which is a rubber legged knock off of his Signature Intruder. The purists may roll their eyes, but I think it's a neat idea. Cheaper, more durable, quicker to tie, and flat out fishy. Anyhow, check out the video below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6mh9i7l3rw

-JW

Happy Easter Update

Sorry for the lack of updates the last two weeks, I found myself having a slight lack of motivation paired with some computer issues, hence no reports. I've also misplaced my camera cord, therefore no pictures on this report either. Once I find it I'll post a pile of 'em. On the last report, I left off saying I was headed to the Missouri for a couple days with young Ricky. We did exactly that, and were able to spend 3 days fishing, encountering wind, rain, snow, hail, sun, and all of the above. Typical spring Montana weather I suppose. The fishing was very good, as it usually is on the Mo. You can pretty much catch 'em at will under the bobber, and the streamer fishing was decent for us as well. Typical tailwater stuff; sowbugs, czech nymphs, midges, bwo's, and some other flashy pink stuff got it done for us. We dedicated the majority of our time to streamer fishing, and dredging the bottom slowly on a type 6 tip yielded some good results, 10-15 eats a day. Top dog was the Skiddish Smolt, followed by the JJ special, Electric Sculpin, Urchin, small Home Invaders, and of course Sculpzilla. Big props to the guys and gals at Headhunters Fly Shop, they have a great little shop and will give you the straight scoop with what's going on. For any Missouri river needs, definately give those guys a call, they will go out of their way to help make your trip a success.

Now back to reality, the Yakima is very high but is fishing quite well. If you know the river well, you will get 'em(no suprise that this category is mostly guides). Many have given it a go over the last week and have found it tough. No doubt it is tough, the river is very big. Wade fishing is pretty tough right now, even on the upper river. Your typical spots will have a ridiculous amount of water going through them. Think outside the box, pick your spots wisely, and focus on finding the softer water with direct current flow. You can eliminate 85 percent of the water right now. Let the water tell you where to fish, and focus your efforts there. Think about exploring some side channels, too. The bugs haven't changed much, stones and worms have been the most productive. Other bugs of note are King Prince #14, Holo Prince #14, Psycho Prince(purple) #14, Anato May #12, Lightning Bug #14 and #18, Rockworms #14, CJ(chartreuse) #14, CJ(red) #16, and a few other I am probably forgetting. Streamers have been hit and miss. There are March Browns, BWO's, Skwala's, and a few caddis on the river.

Also a head's up for those of you who float the river, there is a major blockage right above the weir a mile or so above Irene Rinehart Park. It is not passable, and the portage is very tough and a little dangerous. We would not recommend floating this stretch. The take out at East Cle Elum is also very tough right now. Unless you are a very experienced on the oars, I would hold off until the flows drop a little.

On a high note, lakes around the state seem to be fishing quite well. Pass, Lone, Rattlesnake, Alice, Beaver, Lenice, Lenore, Dry Falls, Nunally, Merry, and the list goes on an on. The fishing has been consistently good all around. Chironomids lead the way, followed by trolling buggers and leeches. Damsels, Dragons, and Calibaetis are next on the menu.

We have had some very good reports from Puget Sound as well for Sea Run Cutts and Resident Coho. Brett has had a couple good mornings at some beaches right in Seattle, however good reports have come in from beaches all around the sound.

Chris just wound down his season on the OP. All in all, it sounds like it was a little wetter than usual, but the fish numbers were excellent. He got fish everyday, and had some great days thrown in the mix. It sounded like the swinging was pretty good this year as well, probably due to the higher than normal flows on the rivers. He's now back to guiding over here on the Yak, Puget Sound, lakes, among other places.

Happy Easter to you and your families from all of us here at Creekside! Thanks for reading,
-JW

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

Montana Stream Access Law Preserved

You may or may not know but Huey Lewis (of The News) and other large scale landowners have been leveling attacks on Montana's Stream Access Law that designates all river corridors as public property. The point of most recent contention rests along Mitchell Slough in the Bitterroot Valley. The issue however, applies across the state and now another precedent has been set as HB309 the potential revision of the law that would have restricted angler access to many rivers was defeated in the Senate yesterday. A host of anglers in Montana and elsewhere sounded the alarm and anglers from far and wide wrote, called and showed up to express their opposition. Awesome! -BW

Read more about it here: http://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_73c66d67-ba62-5175-9af0-68c8f84771d0.html

Snotel

This graph lists the snow water equivalent in the mountains for this year. This gives you an assessment of the snowpack and Overall looks like we're in pretty good shape for water. I can't post the graph now here on the blog for some reason. HTML error or something? I don't know. Anyway, check it here. -BW

Yakima update: The water has been up and down and mostly brownish the last week. And cold too. Right when the Skwala dryfly fishing kicked off we had a delay of game due to inclimate weather and now the water temps are back down sub 40 degrees. The good news is she's leveled out and now dropping and clearing. So the weekend it should be well worth your attention. The dryfly game will be back next week in force. Look for about 42 degrees. The nymphing will pick back up no matter what. Rubberlegs in black, brown/tan, brown/black and olive. San Juan Worms all across the board for a dropper. Not much mayfly activity yet though the BWO's should be moving soon. Below are a two photos from a couple weeks ago, I don't know why Josh is so happy touching me but they're a couple of nice fish at least. Get to it! -BW

Dry Fly Time!

Well folks, it appears as though the time has finally come. SKWALA TIME ON THE YAK! Ok, before you get too excited there are a couple of catches. Some of our lousy weather has managed its way over to the eastside over the last few days, causing the river to rise and dirty a little bit, especially below Wilson Creek. Where will our early skwala dry fly fishing likely take place? Yes that's correct, primarily below Wilson Creek and down in the canyon. Water temps are primed, there are some bugs, and the trout are trying to look up, however it seems to us that the last few days of off color water has prevented the dry fly fishing from taking off. Can you still get 'em on a dry in dirty water? You certainly can. Will you crush 'em? Maybe, maybe not. 

So if you have been chomping at the bit for some early season dry fly fishing, well it is the time. Are the conditions as perfect as we would like? Not really for throwing the dry. If you like to nymph, then it's great. If you like to do both, that's even better. Just remember, go out with an open mind, maybe have a nymph rig as well as a dry fly rod. If your really into it, maybe a 3rd rod rigged with a streamer. Maybe nymph your spots and prospect with a dry on the go. Maybe even run a worm under your big foamy homebrew skwala, especially when fishing those skinny banks that your nymph rig always seems to hang up in.  When the conditions are less then ideal, remember to slow it down, fish smart, fish methodically, and if you aren't getting 'em, switch it up. "It" could mean a lot of things: bugs, weight, depth, water type, and the list goes on and on, but the bottom line is that the fish didn't go anywhere. Switch it up. 

Well that's our 2 cents for the day. We had a lot of folks by the shop this week headed out to the Yak this weekend. We hope you got 'em. If you didn't, maybe reading this will have you better prepared for your next outing. We'll keep you posted as conditions change.

Remember, we're running our March Madness Skwala Specials. $300 for a full day of fishing. The same as any other guide trip except you bring your own lunch. This means flies, shuttle, tippet, equipment, and your guides wisdom are included. These trips will run through the end of the month. Call us at the shop for more info.

-JW

OP and Yak Reports

So Brett made it back from the coast just before everything blew out. He bounced around on the Bogey, Hoh, and Clearwater. The weather held in, and the rivers were in great shape. Five solid days of guiding, fish hooked on the swing, fish hooked on the nymph, what more can you ask for?

As for me, I was out on Sunday with Jamie and John on the Yakima. We fished in the farmlands section, and it was perfect day around 50 degrees and barely a breath of wind. No skwala dry action to speak of yet. We didn't throw the dry on the go, though we did throw it at a couple of midge eaters to no avail. The fish are still on the stone and worm program, however they were starting to come off the worms a bit and more towards the stone. Water temps were fluctuating between 38 and 42 degrees, which is prime for the skwala nymph to become more active. There was a decent midge hatch mid-day as well. Any day now the bugs will be hatching and we'll be throwing the dry, it's just a matter of a couple warm nights to get it going. I heard a rumor of some decent dry fly activity yesterday afternoon in the canyon, so who knows, maybe it's started already, ya never know until you get out there and give it a shot. Below is John with a couple of solid yakima trout. Thanks guys for a fun day.

Bugs:

Pats Stone #10, #12

Twenty Incher #8. #10

Mercer's Skwala #10

John's Skwala #10

Worms #10, #14

WD40 Olive, Black #18

Brassie Red #18, #20

-JW

We're in the Middle of It

So as the title indicates, we're in the middle of it. Reports from the Forks area streams have been very good. The Hoh, Bogey, Sol Duc, Calawah, Queets, among others have fish throughout. Brett is over guiding in Forks for the next few days, so hopefully he'll give me up to date reports through the weekend. Our head guide Chris will be there as well. The Grays Harbor area rivers have been producing quite well too. Swinging or nymphing, the fish are there and there is plenty of fun to be had. After all that is the point right? To have fun? For me it is.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of fishing with a good buddy Andrew on a Grays Harbor area river. We've spent many days fishing together over the last few years, but the last 6 months or so have found it difficult to get out. He's a very good angler, and was rewarded on this day by hooking a good number of fish. We had a blast despite the snow, hail, rain, and 30 mph gusts blowing through. It felt like Montana in March, the weather changing every 20 minutes. Here are a couple from the day.

-JW

The Mostly Highs

WDFW just released 2011 salmon forecasts and despite the overall state of the Puget Sound being poor there are more highs than lows. It's a Humpy year folks and we're looking at another solid performance. They're calling for 6 million returning to the Sound so there'll be plenty to go around. The Chinook forecast is slightly stronger and the coho forecast is just shy of a million. The fishing can't be much weaker than last year so I'll be looking forward to that. The ever pathetic Sockeye fishery looks so-so but not enough for a fishery.

The Columbia Chinook forecast looks good too and though no numbers have been released that is an indicator of steelhead returns too so pray for another good year in the Columbia/Snake Basin, we've been spoiled lately.

Don't worry friends good weather and SPRING! is almost back and this should just get you more revved up to fish now! Read more below. -BW

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

March 1, 2011

Contact: Pat Pattillo, (360) 902-2705

Strong runs of Columbia River chinook,
Puget Sound coho and pink salmon projected

OLYMPIA - Fishing prospects look bright this year for chinook in Washington’s ocean waters and the Columbia River, according to preseason salmon forecasts released today at a public meeting in Olympia.

Opportunities for anglers also look good in Puget Sound, where coho and pink salmon runs are expected to be strong this year.

Forecasts for chinook, coho, sockeye, pink and chum salmon mark the starting point for developing 2011 salmon-fishing seasons in Puget Sound, the Columbia River and Washington coastal areas. The forecasts were developed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and treaty Indian tribes.

Fishery managers have scheduled a series of public meetings over the next few weeks to discuss potential fishing opportunities before finalizing seasons in mid-April.

A meeting schedule, salmon forecasts and information about the salmon season-setting process are available on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/northfalcon/ .

Phil Anderson, WDFW director, said department staff will work closely with tribal co-managers and constituents to develop fisheries that meet conservation objectives and provide fishing opportunities on abundant runs of wild and hatchery fish.

"We will continue to design fishing seasons that not only meet conservation goals for salmon, but also minimize impacts to other species," said Anderson. "It is important that we take into account the entire ecosystem when managing our fisheries."

Anderson noted that state budget reductions are also a factor in designing fisheries that can be managed effectively with a reduced staff. State general-fund support for WDFW was reduced by 30 percent in the current budget and is expected to drop even further over the next two years.

As in past years, salmon-fishing prospects in 2011 vary by area:

• Columbia River: About 760,000 fall chinook are expected to return to the Columbia River this season. That’s about 112,000 more chinook than last year’s return and would constitute the fifth largest run since 1948, said Cindy LeFleur, Columbia River policy coordinator for WDFW.
  More than half of the chinook forecast - about 398,000 salmon - is expected to be "upriver brights" headed to the Hanford Reach area and the Snake River. That would be the second largest run of upriver brights since 1964, when fishery managers began keeping records, said LeFleur.
  "This should be a good year for upriver brights, which provide some of the best in-river fishing opportunities for anglers," LeFleur said.
  While the chinook run is expected to be up, the forecast of 362,500 Columbia River coho is similar to last year’s projection.
  
• Washington’s ocean waters: Anglers can expect an ocean fishery for chinook and coho salmon this summer similar to that in 2010, said Doug Milward, ocean salmon fishery manager for WDFW.

"Last year, fishing was good for chinook and fair for coho," said Milward. "The number of salmon available for this summer’s ocean fishery is expected to be similar to last year, so anglers should see another good year of fishing."

Nearly 250,000 hatchery chinook are expected to return this year to the lower Columbia River. Those salmon, known as "tules," traditionally have been the backbone of the recreational ocean chinook fishery. The 362,500 coho salmon bound for the Columbia River also account for a significant portion of the ocean catch.

• Puget Sound: Coho and pink salmon returns to Puget Sound are expected to be strong this year. About 980,000 coho are forecast to return to Puget Sound streams, about 367,000 more fish than last year’s forecast.

In addition, nearly 6 million pink salmon are expected to return to Puget Sound this year. That forecast is 3 million salmon below 2009’s record return but still an abundant run, said Steve Thiesfeld, Puget Sound salmon manager for WDFW. Most pink salmon return to Washington’s waters only in odd-numbered years.

"This is shaping up to be a really good year in Puget Sound for both coho and pink salmon," said Thiesfeld, who noted that an additional 17 million pink salmon are forecast to return to Canada’s Fraser River this year. "A portion of those Fraser River fish will make their way through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands boosting opportunities for Washington anglers."

Summer/fall chinook salmon returns to Puget Sound are expected to total about 243,000 fish, slightly higher than last year’s projection of 226,000. Most chinook fisheries in Puget Sound likely will be similar to last year, said Thiesfeld. However, fishing opportunities in the Green (Duwamish) River and Elliott Bay could be limited by a low forecast of wild chinook, he said.

Thiesfeld said a Lake Washington sockeye fishery is unlikely this year. The sockeye forecast is about 34,600, well below the minimum return of 350,000 sockeye needed to consider opening a recreational fishery in the lake.

State, tribal and federal fishery managers will meet March 5-10 in Vancouver, Wash., with the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) to develop options for this year’s commercial and recreational ocean chinook and coho salmon fisheries. The PFMC establishes fishing seasons in ocean waters three to 200 miles off the Pacific coast.

Additional public meetings have been scheduled in March to discuss regional fishery issues. Input from these regional discussions will be considered as the season-setting process moves into the "North of Falcon" and PFMC meetings, which will determine the final 2011 salmon seasons.

The PFMC is expected to adopt final ocean fishing seasons and harvest levels at its April 9-14 meeting in San Mateo, Calif. The 2011 salmon fisheries package for Washington’s inside waters will be completed by the state and tribal co-managers during the PFMC’s April meeting.

All Kinds of Updates and Yak Report

Just a few updates of some of the events going on here at Creekside.

-Spey Lines with Rio and Sage rep George Cook on Wednesday, February 23rd. George is kind enough to make an appearance every spring to help sort out all of the confusion surrounding spey lines. Skagit, scandi, switch, running lines, tips, and all things spey will be explained. And even if you know it all, come on down for a night that is always entertaining and full of humor.

-Introduction to Fly Fishing Classes with Dan Lemaich. This class is always a huge hit, and Dan does it only twice a year at a private lake on Camano Island. It is a one day class on Sunday, March 20th from 9AM to 3PM. He starts from square one and goes through equipment, knots, flies, casting, and hopefully by the end of the day you will be catching fish. Cost is $125.

-Introduction to Fly Tying with Brett Wedeking. Upcoming dates are March 15, 16, 17 from 6:30PM to 8:30PM. All materials are supplied, and you will leave with a good understanding of all of the basic tools and techniques required to start tying flies. You will tie a wooly bugger, elk hair caddis, parachute adams, pheasant tail, and hares ear. Cost is $80. We have a couple spots left for this class, but will be scheduling some more dates for April.

-Isaak's Ranch Private Lakes. We have our dates for this spring at Isaak's, anad they're starting to fill up quick. April 15th and 16th are full, but the 17th is wide open and May 13th has 3 spots left. If you haven't been before, just ask someone who has. It is one of the best trophy trout destinations in the northwest with trout averaging 20-22" and ranging all the way up to 30". There are two lakes, and both have profound hatches. Early dates will see primarily chironomid hatches but stripping leeches and buggers is productive as well. The May date should see some calibaetis action, mostly subsurface, but the chance of catching them on dries is certainly a possibility. Scuds, damsels, dragonflies, and more round out the action. Below are a couple of photos from last spring, the left being an average 22" lower lake fish and to the right a nice 27". Give us a call if fish like these might interest you.

Yakima Update 2-17: The fishing has remained strong with nymphs and streamers. The recent cold weather has cooled the water off a bit, ranging anywhere from 35-40 degrees on any given day. The fish are still in winter water, and seem to be pretty podded up on soft insides and slower walking speed water. When you find one, there are usually more. Look for a few warm nights to get the skwalas going. The nymphs are definately moving around a bit, but nothing much to speak of yet on the surface. Same bugs as the last report except bring some midges, especially on the upper river. Below is a nice upper river rainbow on a warm sunny day last week. 

We are offering our "March Madness" trips on the Yakima. Like the name suggests, these trips will run through the end of March. Included is a full day float for 1 or 2 anglers, flies, equipment, your guide, and all of his wisdom. You will bring your own lunch. Cost is $300. Split that between you and a buddy and you're talkin' $150 bucks a piece for a full day guided trip. Take advantage of great early spring fishing on the Yakima, it truly is the best time of the year to catch the larger fish of the river, and not to mention the Skwala dry fishing is right around the corner. Give us a call at the shop to book your trip!

Yakima 2-8

The Yak is fishing quite well at the moment. Water temps are ranging from 38-42 degrees at the moment, and the nymph and streamer bite has been very good. We saw our first two skwala adults of the year in the Farmlands section, and had a couple of trout eat our thingamabobbers, and oddly enough they were the hot pink ones. We threw a dry for a short while, but failed to rise any trout.

Above, a nice healthy bow that fell to a Sculpin that may or may not have been dead drifted... Fish like these are very typical of spring fishing on the Yakima. Remember, water temps are still cold, so adjust your style of fishing and the type of water you fish accordingly. 

We're just a short while away from what should be a great spring Skwala season. As soon as the water temps bump another couple degrees and flows drop, trout on dry flies should be going on. In the meantime, nymphing should continue to produce, especially with the higher than normal flows for this time of year.

We'll be back on the water tomorrow with another report to follow.

Best Bugs:

Pats Stone (variety of colors) #8-12

San Juan Worms (Red, Pink, Wine) #10, #16

Sculpzilla (Olive, Natural, White) #2, #6

Weir's Sculpin #4

FB Pheasant Tail #18, #20

WD-40 #18, 20

-JW

Winter Steelhead

So hopefully this will be the first post of many in 2011 that gives you, the reader, a look into the fishing expeditions of the staff and guides here at Creekside. We are always out fishing, whether it be for Steelhead, the Yakima for Trout, or a Puget Sound Beach for Sea-Run Cutts. We'll try to update this weekly, giving the most up to date conditions, flies, and techniques used. So here goes the first of '11.

Since all of our local Puget Sound rivers are now closed to Steelhead fishing, our options are limited to either the Olympic Peninsula's coastal rivers or the Columbia tributaries east of the mountains. All complaining aside, we are fortunate to be just a few hours drive away from Forks, where numerous rivers within a 50 mile radius harbor some of the best runs of native Winter Steelhead in the lower 48.

A buddy and I had a couple days off during this last week, so we packed the truck and boat and headed west. We had a few good days of weather, so all of the rivers were in great shape, and reports from a variety of sources told us that there were plenty of native fish throughout all of the systems.

We floated a couple of rivers over 3 days, and found plenty of fish. The water temperatures ranged from 37-39 degrees, and the weather varied from bright, sunny, and 50 degrees to an outright downpour, which is to be expected in this part of the state. Here are a few pictures of some fish we were able to put our hands on.

Pardon the cheesy grip and grin shots, we'll try for some more well-rounded photos in the next entry, but after all we've never claimed to be professional photographers.

This is the time of year all steelheaders look forward to. Battling high, cold water and ever changing weather conditions in search of these fish can be tough, but sometimes it all comes together and the results are well worth it. If your new to the game, get in touch with us. Our head guide Chris Senyohl has guided these rivers for 15+ years, and knows them as well as anyone in the northwest. He guides strictly on the Forks area rivers from February through mid April. We also have a few other trusted guides we can put you in touch with.

Until the next report, thanks for reading

-JW

More Evidence Farmed Fish Harm Wild Fish

Check out this Wild fish Conservancy video produced up on Vancouver Island. The evidence all over the globe, including here in Puget Sound, is mounting that net pens and farmed fish are a major culprit in the decline of anadromous fish populations. Boooo net pens. B

Winston

We have a limited amount of new Winstons, the Passport, GVX, BIIX Spey, BIIIX. They are cranking them out of the factory as fast as they can so if you want one get it soon because no one knows when more will be available as they are very popular. Come down and cast one and fall in love. B