Good afternoon friends. Is it just me or is it
hard to believe that the month of July has
already started and in just two short days, the
entire country will be celebrating Independence
Day? It will be our 238th year of a
freedom in America. Though the values of the
American people and our democracy still seem too
oblivious to fathom by other nations, billions
of people around the world strive to live under
the same blanket that we as Americans enjoy
everyday. Perhaps one day, the world will unite
in a free state and everyone will lay down their
arms and pick up a fly rod instead. Until then,
enjoy your holiday with friends and family and
rejoice as we celebrate the greatest free
country in the modern world.
On June 21st, we officially ushered
in the summer of 2014. I just happened to be in
Northern Canada at the time, fly fishing for
Northern Pike/Walleye with the closet male
members of my immediate family. It was a
fantastic experience as we enjoyed the fishing,
the weather and especially the family comradery
that only close personal ties can lead you to
appreciate in this busy day and age. Being
hundreds of miles away from the rigors of
everyday life like our cell-phones, the internet
and the other stresses, is something everyone
should experience at least once a year. Get
out, get away and enjoy life!
While I was 1600 miles to the north, the
boys at the Worley Bugger celebrated the
beginning of summer, driving westward to
guide trout fishermen on the Upper Yakima
and south to chase big Smallmouth in the
lower river by West Richland, Washington.
Both have been consistently good with the
occasional slower day in the upper river,
mainly due to excessive wind in the 30 mph
range in June.
Like several of the proceeding years of June,
the river has operated at lower than normal
flows. Irrigation season commenced on schedule,
but with a late winter and spring runoff,
farmers were delighted in the water reserves
that have filled the Yakima River storage
reservoirs nestled in the Cascade Mountain
Range. Adequate water needs have been met
throughout the month of June as tributaries that
feed the Yakima poured in volumes of snow pack
melt. As the month of July begins, we will see
increased air temperatures and a higher demand
for water not only in Kittitas county, but
hundreds of miles to the south in Benton and
Franklin Counties as well. This snow pack from
the reservoirs will flow and cultivate thousands
of acres of prime agricultural lands known far
and wide for its wine and hops growing
operations. These cold, winter waters will also
provide the necessary fuel needed to sustain our
blue ribbon trout stream throughout the hot days
of summer.
We have found the early afternoon into the
evening fishing has been the most consistent
fishing portion of the day as the Upper Yakima
experiences its summer solstice of aquatic
insect hatches. The Pale Morning Dun Mayflies,
Yellow Sallie Stoneflies, a couple of different
types of Caddis along with a few lingering
Golden Stones are a big part of the daily
fishing now. With warmer days on the horizon,
the Terrestrial fishing is about ready to
implode. Grasshoppers, ants and beetles are
beginning to show up along the river bank
grasses as these native plants and shrubs grow
tall along the shoreline of the Yakima.
As the weather warms and progresses many of these
“hoppers” will move from the famous Timothy Hay
fields of Kittitas County to the edge of the river
and our terrific dry fly fishing of the summer will
ignite. We always look forward to this time of the
year and the great grasshopper fishing we have on
the Yakima. It’s fun and challenging fishing, while
in the same context you float the river casting
towards structure, underneath brush and bush,
coaxing the biggest of trout to the surface. All
while enjoying the company of friends and that
infamous Central Washington sunshine. What could be
better?
What could be better? Fly fishing for big Yakima
Smallmouth in the lower portions of the river is
amazing. We have been waiting all spring for the
ideal water conditions to arrive and this June as
irrigation season began, the lower river dropped and
is now in ideal fishing shape for the Bronzebacks.
With higher flows in late May and early June, the
Smallmouth spawn was put on hold and we are now
finding many of them bedding up with the larger
sized females. This means, the fishing in this
portion of the river will continue to produce the
entire month of July, perhaps even into the hot
month of August for the bigger age class
Smallmouth. With a delayed spawn many of the males
will be around long after the fry have cultivated,
hatched and left the nest.
If you haven’t fished for bass on the fly before,
then we encourage you to give it a try. This
species of fish, many exceeding 3 pounds or better,
can be caught on dryflies! As trout fishermen, we
all love to see fish rise from the bottom of the
sub-straight and engulf a dry fly imitation. Many
of these bigger age class fish we are now catching
are coming to the surface to smash top water
poppers. Dead drifting, skating and twitching a top
water pattern will drawn this fish in like flies to
butter. It’s fun, exciting and a very visual type
of fly fishing. If you are looking to expand your
streamer fishing for trout, then fly fishing for
bass (either species largemouth or smallmouth) will
provide you with the necessary encouragement to
advance your skill level and take your fly fishing
expertise to the next level.
As our summer progresses, this type of bass
fly fishing will only get better, especially
as the bigger terrestrials show up in the
lower river as well. Big bank grasses and
Russian Olive trees smother the banks of the
lower river, creating an ideal habitat and
afternoon shade for Grasshoppers and other
big bank dwelling critters. These become
ideal food sources and perfect holding
structures for the resident smallmouth.
Most of your trout gear will be acceptable
for use. We like to see our guests casting
a 9ft 6 weight rod matched with a floating
line. Having a second rod on had with a
sinking tip is ideal. Our guide staff
always carries the necessary tools to get
the job done, so if you don’t have it, we
do!. A faster 5 weight rod in most cases
will work, but the added power of a 6 weight
will turn the flies over much better and
give you a little more heft when you rip
into a bigger age class fish. It doesn’t
overly exhaust the fish as well in the
warmer water conditions that the Lower
Yakima experiences this time of the year.
There are many different sections of the
Lower Yakima to float and like the upper
river, the guide staff has their favorites.
Many days you will have the entire river to
yourself, especially during the week. If
you would like to spend a day on the lower
river experiencing Smallmouth on the fly,
feel free to give us a call at the
Ellensburg fly shop. We would love to show
you this area of the river and we are sure
that by the end of the day you will be a
bonofinde, bass, aficionado.
Summer Steelhead fishing began on the Klickitat
River on June 1st of this year. This
marks our 17th year
of fishing and guiding the river.The season
started off slow, but as stocks of Spring Chinook
poured over the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia,
schools of steelhead began following. As the month
has progressed, more and more steelhead are
breaching the dam. Will this continue?
The Klick has been fishing well and the water
conditions have been exceptional. Gus and Tagg have
spent many, recent days in June here with great
success and a few hook ups on most days. Watching
the air temperatures and freezing levels is key to
good water conditions during the summer on the river. Remember this is steelhead fishing. You
don’t need gin clear water to find these fish. A
foot of visibility is great and will provide you
with the adequate clarity you need to get hooked
up. Tagg will be on the Klickitat over the 4th
of July weekend and have a report on current
conditions on his return. We will be there many days
this July and August, however we are considering
limiting our time there this Fall. Why?
The Klickitat, over the last several years,
has grown in popularity because of its prime
steelhead fishing. It’s also an incredible
place to fly fish for the day and holds some
truly remarkable wild steelhead. The beauty
of the river and its landscape, especially
in October, will rival
any piece of water in the Pacific
Northwest. With increased pressures and an
intensive salmon recovery program in place,
the steelhead fishing here has slowed to a
snail’s pace in September and October.
With increased popularity and amplified
outfitter uses, your chances of catching a
steelhead during these autumn months can be
limited. We all love the river and that is
a fact, but as fishing and boat traffic
increases, so do frustrations of over use
and abuse. This is a classic example of
what has happened on a few of the Southwest
Montana Rivers that many of us love as well.
The restrictions on river use and fishing
have been implemented by Montana Fish & Game
over the past several years. Will that
happen on the Klick? Does it need to
happen?
This year, WF&G and tribal fisheries are
expecting a “record” number of both kings
and coho salmon to return to the Klickitat
beginning in September. If that occurs and
these numbers of salmon stock return to the
river, thousands of fish will clog the runs
leaving little room for steelhead. We will
wait and see what happens, but friends, our
beloved steelhead is taking a back seat in
Olympia!.
If you are a stillwater fishermen then I am sure
that you have found this spring to be exceptional in
the majority of desert basin lakes you may have
fished just to the east of us. Our guide staff
spent many days in the desert this April and May
fishing bass and trout, due to unruly river
conditions.
Many of our fly shop customers reported
fantastic fishing as well. Great reports
came in from Lake Lenice, Nunnally, Merry,
Quail, Dry Falls, Dusty and many of the
Quincy Wildlife and Seeps area lakes.
Chironomid fishermen especially had the best
reports to share and were finding quality
fish and fishing the majority of the days.
Leech and Bugger fishermen’s reports were
good, but not as strong as the midge
fishers.
The cooler nights still have
the lakes fishing with
Damsels, Dragons, sporadic
Callibaetis Mayflies and
some Terrestrials. Fishing
will slow down over the high
heatperiod of summer
and return to prime in early
September. John will be at
Lake Lenice this 4th
of July for his annual
independence day fishing
with close friends. Give us
a call or stop by if you
need some advice.
Many of you are aware that we relocated to
an amazing new location approximately two
years ago this past June. If you weren’t
aware if this change, we are now the first
building on the west side of the street as
you enter the town of Ellensburg off of Exit
109. We have appreciated the increase in
business and have expanded the fly shop to
provide not only the best in customer
service in the area, but in the appropriate
inventory as well. Stop by and see what a
well stocked, full service, fly shop should
look like. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff
will help you with any questions that you
may have. This spring, our good friend Jim
Joyner custom built us an (8) man fly tying
table, enabling us to begin fly tying
classes as well as host expert fly tyer’s
from around the country. We will keep you
appraised via the email and Facebook on any
and all events we have forthcoming.
We hope that you enjoy receiving and reading
this fly fishing report and that you have
plans to fish your favorite waters this
summer. With so many incredible places to
fish in the Evergreen State and so many
different varieties and species, I hope that
you find time and are able to get out and
enjoy the outdoors.
If you had
a “Pre Season” guided tour booked with us
this spring and that trip got postponed due
to unfavorable water conditions, we will
honor that guided trip special anytime
during the year. Upgrades are available to
the special this time of year, but if you
would like to come out and fish, please give
us a call and arrange a date that
works with the schedule.
On behalf of our staff at Worley Bugger,
John, Rich, Gus, David, Aron, Anthony, Tagg
and myself, we hope you enjoy your summer
and give us a call if you would like to
spend a day on the water. We would love to
have you and appreciate your business as
always.
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