River Flow: 1,400 at Umtanum
Water Temp: 52-54
Trending: Settled and fishing is spectacular.
Water Clarity: 3 feet in the Lower Canyon.
Hatches Upcoming and Current:
- Salmon Flies (Big fish eating them in the canyon)
- Caddis nymphs and dries
- Stonefly Nymphs
- Mouse Jig
- Jiggy Fry
- #10 - #6 Stonefly Nymphs (stoneflies live 2-4 years, so any color/size is typically good)
-
Sculpin and Various Streamers #6 - #8
- Mayfly Nymphs (dark colors #16-#18)
- Caddis Pupae #14 #16 (dark colors, fish 'em on the bottom)
The river settled and is amazing with fish gorging on nymphs and dries. Salmon flies are as thick as we have seen them in the Lower Canyon and will soon make their annual appearance in the sections above Ellensburg as things heat up. These jumbo sized stonefly nymphs live in the fastest water, so working the edges with a big black/brown #6 Stonefly Nymph is a good bet. If the water continues to drop and gets low and clear, dry flies become relevant but if the water is slightly off color the trout will prefer to hunt the migrating nymphs as they waddle their way toward the shoreline.
March Browns continue to be a clockwork hatch where 1-1:30 we see it come off and really get going. If you see rising fish, make sure you study how they are eating. If you are not seeing their heads come out of the water and are only seeing a splash, the fish are taking emergers. You will have much better action fishing a soft hackle right below the surface.
Caddis are here and will just get thicker as April rolls into May. Get ready for those 5-9pm floats. Awww yeah!
Watch the flows using the links below in the footer of the report, scrooooollll down. Lots of quick links there to help plan your trip. It's a super time to rent a fishing raft, wade fish the Canyon, or of course... book a guide!
New Raft Rental Fleet
We made a MAJOR upgrade to our raft rental fleet this year. We're proud to announce that we have Rio Craft boats with Montana Frame Co. fishing frames and these boats are setup with deluxe Sawyer oars, double pulley anchor systems, Yeti coolers, and the Madison has a sweet dry box. We rent and sell these killer boats! We make rentals easy. We drive you up, launch the boat, and you fish your way back to Red's.
Rental Information
2 Person Colorado 10.5'
3 Person Madison Raft
Vehicle Shuttle Service
We move cars, not bodies. Just choose your float, leave us a key and we will valet your rig from the launch point to take-out.
River Flow Links
Yakima River Flow Prediction Chart
While the chart is only a "prediction", it is based on historical data, weather forecasts, current weather, current snow-pack etc. You can use this to get a rough idea of how the river is going to react to predicted rainfall, run-off, etc.
Yakima River Flow Prediction Chart at Umtanum
Yakima Water Temperatures
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