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August 14, 2002
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The Yakima is running very swiftly and very clear(ly). Visibility is excellent and fish are responding very well to various terrestrial offerings. Hatches during the day are largely limited to hoppers and ants and beetles oh-my, mixed in with the sporatic caddis spawn-fest. As the sun leaves the water, however, some additional bugs are erupting in various degrees of severity; PMD's (yellow mayflies), yellow sallies (stoneflies), the caddis, and the baetis (BWO). If you are floating the river, dribble your favorite hopper or ant or terrestrial off the bank, or skip it in under the shoreline cover. This method achieves several possible results: your fly ends up in exactly the right spot, just upstream and above a large trout craving crunchy protein snacks: your fly ends up inextricably intertwined with an unbreakable vine/branch/bramble: your fly ends up falling short of your target, but a fish comes out from the undercut bank and slams it anyway, or your fly ends up lodged in the earlobe of the hapless oarsman (-woman), who ends up praising your barb-mashing abilities and moving you to the front of the boat. If you are wading, try to make the most of each cast. A two-fly rig can cover the most bases for you, and is not so un-weildy as to cause much extra time in the penalty box untying tangles. While the high water clearly doesn't favor the wading angler, one could argue that it pushes the fish up against the banks, under cover, making them relatively accessible to the shore-fisher. If you can go, be sure to stay late so as to witness the evening hatch carnage. Caddisflies, and all the other aforementioned bugs make their appearance later in the day, so you can only hope that the wind stays down and that the fish haven't all overeaten. Fly suggestions include: Dave's hopper, rainy's hoppers, stalcup's hopper, chernobyl hoppers, big-ugly-foam-anythings with rubberlegs, Madam X....just pick a few of your favorites and mix up the sizes and body colors- hoppers come in many sizes and colors- #6-12, yellow stimulators #8-14, PMD's #116, BWO #16-22, Elk Hair Caddis tan, brown, yellow...#14-16, X-Caddis #14-16, any old flashy-bead-head nymph, such as princes, hare's ears, pheasant tails, lightning bugs, copper johns, king-princes, etc., etc., etc...#12-16. You can tie the nymph off of the bend of the hook of your larger dry fly using the same knot you use to tie on the dry...just don't use heavier tippet material than you have on the leader (duh.) Now, have at it. Rocky Ford is fishing very well in the early hours of the day. Epic trico hatches in the morning are bringing the big fish up. While the annual summer algae bloom is growing, the main channel through the creek is quite clear. The water is very low. There are also light rattlesnake hatches early and late in the day. The mid-day sun makes outdoor activity prohibitive for most living creatures in the high desert plain this time of year, but the creek stays cool, and the fish keep moving around, foraging. Bring a cooler of icy water to bathe in and you'll be fine. Suggested fly patterns include tricos (tiny black mayflies) #18-24, damselflies, dragonflies, woolly buggers, BWO #16-22, brassie #16-20, copper john in red #16-20, lightning bugs #16-20, griffiths gnats #18-22, chironomid imitations from #12-22, and, of course, scuds in #16-22- rusty or olive or brown. Long leaders and fine tippets make landing fish that immediately head for the algae-bunkers nearly impossible, but it's fun to try. Be the ball. Steelhead and Sea-Run cutthroat have been trickling into our local coastal rivers over the last few weeks. The Skykomish and the Snoqualmie and the Stillaguamish have been producing a few steelhead, with the largest reported numbers of fish (and fishermen) on the Sky. All you need is a floating line, some traditional wet flies, and some love, and you too can see what your backing looks like after all this time. The cutthroat will increase in numbers over the next month or two, and are generally easy pickings. They like the slow, stagnant portions of the river, and are super aggressive to little streamers- knudsen spiders, little buggers with mixed colors, even little stimulators waked across the surface will bring the occasional strike. When the sun is high, the fish are shy- when it's low- that's when you go. The Forks of the Snoqualmie have been getting some great attention from the after-work-angling crew. Great hatches of caddisflies, little yellow stoneflies, and various midges and little baetis and what not have been happening in the late evenings. Thirty minutes before sundown, get ready for the mini-fish eruption. Sure a giant fish up there is 12 inches, but so what? What, are you some kind of Big fish snob? Don't you have a 3-weight? If you don't, have I got a rod for you. If you do, you need only to venture just to the quaint little town of Snoqualmie, or maybe slightly beyond to the great vast frontier of North Bend. Fish the Middle Fork in the shadow of the mighty Mt. Si, or across the scenic superfreeway in the South Fork. Bring your caddisflies and your attractor patterns. Don't forget little stimulators- royal or yellow in #10-14. That will work. Better yet, stop by and talk to young Brett or James about their adventures frolicking on the little forks blissfully together. Puget Sound is stalling a bit, with anglers having high expectations for the returning droves of adult coho. While the cutthroat fishing continues to improve, the silvers haven't really shown up in good numbers, yet. Late? maybe. Coming? Hope so. The beaches in general have still been pretty good, it just seems like many of the folks who generally reserve their saltwater outings for the return of the giants are accustomed to having the fish here already. South Sound reports continue to tow the line of high quality cutthroat, blackmouth and the occasional resident coho. Baitfish imitations and little poppers in shallow water can rip lips. Look for surface activity along the lines of thousands of tiny fish in a panic to escape pods of predators encircling, hunting and gathering. Cast 'N Strip. These fish are just as sun-shy, if not moreso, than their river-housed brethren, particularly in the shallow waters. Aim for extra early am or super-late pm fishing time for best results. Local Lakes have been pretty slow during mid-day, but again, early morning angling has been good with the water having the whole night to cool off. Some of the deeper lakes have managed to maintain fishable water temperatures pretty well. The higher the water temperature, the lesser the oxygen content of the water. This makes it very hard on the the fish, particularly in the upper strata of the water column, which can be dramatically warmer than the lower depths. Fish deep. If you hook fish, try to land and release them quickly, as any water much above 65 degrees is like us jogging on top of Mt. Rainier to the fish. Capiche? Be kind to your quarry. Thanks for reading. Hugh Pastoriza © 2002Creekside Angling Company All Rights
Reserved
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Creekside
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