Yakima River stonefly action ready to peak, fly fishing guides say
FLY FISHING -- I'm ready to take a few days off, but I'll leave this parting thought to help fly fishers decide what they should be doing with their free time in the next week or two:
Caddis action on the Yakima River has been good in recent weeks, but the insect hatch that makes the Yakima River a standout among the greatest trout rivers in the West is going to peak in the next two weeks.
The Yakima's summer stonefly hatch -- triggered later than natural river stonefly hatches in part because of increased irrigation flows -- rivals any stonefly hatch in the country, with incredible big dry fly action in the wee hours, according to the guides at Red's Fly Shop south of Ellensburg.
Read on for details from Red's.
The Yakima River Summer Stonefly is what takes the Yakima River from a "good" trout river and makes it legendary. This big leggy creature is a nocturnal stonefly that is a huge food source for the wild trout in the Yakima River. This hatch also occurs while the Yakima is running very high to meet irrigation demand downstream. This means that the river is running with fishy current right up against the shoreline and makes the perfect big dry fly fishing habitat!
The Yakima Canyon offers about 19 miles of straight cutbank. The trout move up against the shoreline and under the grass and sticks for two reasons. First, the current is high and this position offers them refuge. Second, it puts the fish in a position to eat the stoneflies living in the bushes and grass along the shore! It is the perfect storm for a dry fly fisherman.
The river being high also presents an entertaining challenge to the angler. Drifting your fly up under branches only inches from the shoreline is a fun game in itself. Combine that with some crazy dry fly action in the mornings and evenings and you have one of the very best trout rivers in the country.
Our pro guide staff is well versed in rowing the boats perfectly for long drifts and coaching anglers on the finer points of dry fly fishing out of the boat with these big bugs.
