Yakima River Conditions and Report
River Flow: 1,079 cfs at Umtanum
Water Temp: 58-63
Trending: The drop is slowing, getting stable.
Water Clarity: 4-5' in the Canyon (clear throughout the system)
Hatches Upcoming and Current:
Yakima River Report
Cool weather has triggered a MUCH better bite and the guides are reporting good activity mid-day now that we've had much needed reprieve from the heat. We don't have any days that will get over 80 in the forecast, yahoooo! Cool weather makes the trout hungry and they are playing catchup after a period of near fasting these past several weeks. Dropping water and high temps are not a good combo.
Anglers should focus on fishing "known water" and if you are floating, favor short floats no more than about 5 miles so that you can focus on using smaller flies and more technical drifts. The "run 'n gun" doesn't work well with size 16 and 18 flies.
We're seeing evening
Caddis Hatches (not many adult
October Caddis yet... very soon), but there are Caddis in the #16 range hatching every evening and we're seeing a mix of
Mayflies in the #16-#20 range so your mayfly nymphs on light line are mid-day magic. Use 5X and even 6X to allow your small flies to wander and move naturally in current. In addition, for nymphs migrate toward smaller indicators and if you like yarn... now is the time. The Mayfly hatches are mid-day and there are a mix. Just see what's happening and
match the hatch with a dry fly when you see fish sipping. Dark cloudy days are the best for mayflies.
The
October Caddis is an evening event, even for the pupae. A good strategy is wading in the evening and using one of the pupae and letting it very gracefully swing up and out at the end of your dead drift. I've never personally done well on a spey rod, but have heard of anglers having success swinging a pupae on a slow sinking tip in the evening. Once you see the adults bouncing... (they look like giant orange moths) start fishing dry flies! These bugs are very active on the surface and moving and skating your fly can be deadly.
Women's Collective Open House
October 13th, 2024
Calling all ladies to a day just for you at Canyon River Ranch located next to Red's Fly Shop in the world-famous Yakima River Canyon. Our desire is to bring women of all ages and skill levels together through fly fishing.
Shannon and Ashtyn are kind, enthusiastic, and love seeing their friends and students learn, succeed, and build the confidence necessary to explore new waters. Join us and you'll find a couple of new friends in fly fishing!
WOMEN'S EVENT DETAILS
Naches River Fishing Report
Good wading option and be ready for the October Caddis hatch. It's prolific on the Naches! The cooler weather will push fish back into the traditional runs that are easy to read. The bottom is pretty slick, wear felt and/or studs. Naches River Guided Trips.
Flies: October Pupae, October Adults, Micro chubby's, small hoppers #10's and #12's, small stimulators, and Roza's violet tag nymphs.
Tieton River Fishing Report
Hwy 12 is open, river is high. Stay on the Naches.
Cle Elum River Fishing Report
Same report. Killer trip, but the low elevation Huckleberries are dried up. Next year. Great trip for families, couples or dry fly lovers. Consider a walk 'n wade guided trip up here right now if you want some great dry fly fishing for trout up to 13". Red's has a USFS outfitter's permit for the National Forest and it's a great little adventure. The lower Cle Elum below the lake is running pretty much max flow and providing most of the water into the Yakima system, unless you are with a guide with big shoulders it's best to stay away. The upper Cle Elum above the lake is fishing VERY well with cold water and good dry fly fishing for trout in the 6-12" range. Pretty much everything above the Davis Peak trailhead is a great spot. The further down in the canyon you're willing to hike... the more aggressive the trout!
Flies: Dry Humpers, Micro Chubbys, Ants, Caddis (dry flies are all ya should need!)
Klickitat River Steelhead Fishing Report
The river is currently cycling pretty ugly and the clarity is decent for a few hours and seems to be shifting times of day. We fished it a few times this week and caught fish both on nymphs and spey fishing once the clarity revealed our flies to the fish. Decent numbers of fish in the system. After it cools down we're looking forward to a great fall working with our lodge crew and partners down there. We only have a few spots left for lodge trips, so book soon.
Flies: Black leeches, Hoh Bo's, Dirty Hoh's, and other dark spey flies. Nymphing is the standard big black stonefly, egg sucking leech, chase it with a bead or an egg pattern.
Hilltop Lake Bass Report
Fishing is still ON. If you want to catch bass on frogs, poppers, and dragon flies this is a great time to reserve a slot. You can DIY for $150 per rod, or go with the full blown guided experience and we'll have all the flies. It's great fun, check out our YouTube video from last week where we fished frog patterns with Patrick Kilby from RIO products. Hilltop Lake Private Bass Fishing
Flies: Poppers in the low light, Dragon Flies anytime (good mid-day fly), and Rich's Ultimate Worm is good for staying up out of the weeds.
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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