May 8th, 2008
 
 


The Creekside Anniversary Party Report

 

That's right, your favorite fly shop is turning 14 years old, or 2 in dog years. To celebrate and to thank all of you for the years of support we are giving something back. Starting this Saturday, May 10th we are offering you, the customer, a 20% store credit on any purchase. You may use the credit at anytime and it does not expire. Our anniversary party will be a week long! That's right, like spring break in Daytona Beach, except minus all the scantily clad women and beach volleyball.

The party will culminate on Saturday, May 17th at the Issaquah shop with a barbeque, a raffle (which you may enter at anytime that week) and plenty of other shenanigans I'm sure. There's no need to RSVP just show up, eat a hot dog and hang out. Food will be around noon and raffle winners will be announced that afternoon. You do not need to be present to win. We just have to be able to read the handwriting on your raffle ticket. Trust me (I know that's a stretch), you will want to enter the raffle we have some really cool stuff to give away. Rods, reels, flylines, sunglasses, a date with Giselle Bundchen and plenty more.

 

Other Happenings: Row,row, row your boat. Outcast Demo Day will be 10am Saturday June 14 @ Rattlesnake Lake in North Bend. Jon Covich the Outcast factory rep. will be on hand to answer questions and whatnot. So if you've been thinking about checking out a new boat/tube or your first boat/tube then come on up. This is a FREE event so feel free to come up and hang out and fish a little too.

Our next free spey session will be on at 10am Sunday May 18th at the bridge in Fall City on the Snoqualmie. Craig Uher will preside and have gear for you to oogle and fondle. Please call the Issaquah shop for more details.

We have an Intro to Fly Tying class coming up May 19th, 22nd & 23rd all 7-9pm at the Issaquah shop. Cost is $80 and all tools and materials are included.

So what about the fishing you say?

Yakima: As I sit here and contemplate the social advantages and consequences of growing a sweet handle bar moustache I can't help but compare my dilema to the Yakima. The river can't seem to make up it's mind lately. Waffling? We're not happy with uncertainty like this. We've already got the war and gas prices and the economy to worry about. We shouldn't need to worry about fishing right? If I were to write a letter to the Yakima it would start something like this, "Dear Yakima, Please just give us a shot. The caddis are coming and we really like to fish that hatch so what do ya say? Will you drop in for a week or so?" At the moment the canyon is pretty much outta shape. The Teanaway and Wilson creek are dumping in lots of color and that color is mostly brown. The forecast looks a bit cooler in the mountains so hopefully we will have a couple of feet of visibility in the canyon by the end of the weekend. Two feet is plenty of vis. for the canyon and if it drops into decent shape the Mother's Day Caddis hatch should blow up! They've been trying to pop. We've seen a few buzzing around but the river just needs to mellow out a little bit and we will have some of those blizzard hatches that happen every year. If you've never experienced an epic caddis hatch you're missing out but this could be your opportunity. When the magic happens you get thousands of fish slurping, chomping on the surface for hours at a time. You will have caddis crawling into your ears, nose and down your waders. You will find dead caddis in your pockets days later. You will not believe how many fish there are in the Yakima until you see this hatch. Sometimes it's sillier than Alec Baldwin running for office. So that said, keep an eye on the weather and water flows (which you can access through our website) and if the flows drop and weather cools a bit to shore up snowmelt you need to get in the car and step on it. The upper river has seen some rollercoaster flow over the last week too. Some of which is dam induced. They have lots of caddis up there too and on the whole it should remain clearer and a little lower than the Ellensburg area. If you want to hit it where it's in shape for sure stay above the Cle Elum river confluence and you'll be ok. Try Golf Course Road or Easton.

As for bugs this is a great time of year because there are tons of different things hatching. We already mentioned caddis of course. If you've skimmed down to here read the previous paragraph and you'll understand. Salmonflies are popping here and there. Green drakes will pop on the upper river but only in specific conditions of which I am unaware so just make sure you have a few green drakes in your box. There are a few march browns left and BWOs are always a neccessity to have. Bottom line for the next couple weeks is watch the weather and water flows and carry way too many flies with you because you never know what you'll find.

 

Steelhead: Opening day is less than a month away. If you're lonely you might want to crash Jenna Bush's wedding. Or you could check out the Cowlitz. It's open all year and they get some very early returning hatchery fish.

 

Lakes: Lake are still the highlight of Washington fishing right now. The reports from Lenice and Nunnally are still pretty much all positive and there are plenty of other lakes putting out fish too. Dry Falls, Quincy, Dusty, Lenore, Beda, Homestead, what about Omak? You make the call, I don't think you can really go wrong. The callibaetis nymphs are really becoming important as are damsel nymphs. Casting into reed stands and cattails and stripping out can be deadly with these types of flies. We haven't heard of many good callibaetis hatches yet but it's just a matter of time. Chironomids and buggers are both still great plays. I don't think those fish ever get tired of that stuff there just happens to be more on the menu later in the year which jsut makes it more interesting anyway.

Westside action is good too. Rattlesnake is still super low with plenty of stumps exposed butfishing well most of the time. The fly of choice up there is an olive or black hale bopp leech. We have tons so come in and stock up. Pass is fishing pretty well too with the cooler, cloudier days prevailing. If you go up there don't forget to take some big streamers. They like meat up there ususally. Or giant chironomids, like over an inch long. Seriously.

 

Saltwater: I think I'm more excited about beach fishing right now than the new Indiana Jones film. Considering I'm a kid of the 80's that that likes action films and gloified archeology that says a lot. The beaches are a great way to spend the day in a pretty place in relative solitude catching fish. The South Sound is fishing pretty well right now for cutts and silvers. Standard baitfish patterns apply. Olives, browns, blues, maroon all with a white belly. If you tie try something with grizzly hackle tips through the fly to imitate the parr marks of junvenille salmon. Turn them into cannibals. Pretty much anything zipping through the water will take fish though. They want to eat and sometimes don't care what it looks like. The North Sound is getting hot too and like I've said before, (unless you're new to the fishing report) it only gets better from here on out. Same patterns go for up North too. Beach of the week is Penrose Point State Park on the Key Peninsula. Penrose has a couple of points and plenty of fishy habitat. I was there this week actually and saw hundreds of giant dungeness crabs. It was crazy. They were everywhere and I was glad to be wearing wading boots. If you go bring a stripping basket so your flyline won't get chopped in half by eager pinchers.

More controversial than the JFK assassination, I'm sure most of you have heard about the proposed Pebble Mine near Bristol Bay Alaska. You've also probably heard about the environmentally disasterous potential this mine poses. Please join the fight to stop the construction of the Pebble Mine. For more info go to www.sportsmansalliance4ak.org or www.renewableresourcescoalition.org

 

So thanks for reading, if you've made it this far. Don't forget about the party. We'll see you there, or here really.

Feed Fish Flies.

Brett Wedeking and friends
Creekside Angling Company
Seattle & Issaquah, WA
Info@creeksideangling.com

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Creekside Angling Company
1180 NW Gilman Blvd
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-392-3800 (voice)

1308 4th Ave. At Rainier Square
Seattle, WA 98101
206-405-3474 (FISH)

info@creeksideangling.com

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