"A PROFESSIONAL BRICK
& MORTAR FLY FISHING PRO SHOP & OUTFITTER SERVICE"
It is hard to
believe, but it is that time of year
once again and spring has officially
sprung.This
year, Old Man Winter was showing his age
and moving at a snail's pace. As you
may know, the Pacific Northwest
experienced very mild temperatures
throughout the closing two months of 2018.On the 27th of
January, the fly fishing city of
Ellensburg recorded a high temperature
of 58 degrees.I am not certain that this a
weather record, but January is typically our
coldest month of the year, where nighttime lows can be well below zero.Three days later, we had eight inches of snow accumulations
on the ground and the bone chilling cold
thereafter.
Snow accrual kept on dropping and a record-breaking day of precipitation in the mountains was recorded, as winter storms pummeled the Cascade Mountain Range between Kittitas and the metropolis of Seattle. Water
reserves are always an issue every season
as we theorize on what weather patterns
will prevail over the Pacific Northwest
during this time frame. There is now a
much higher demand on water reserves on a seasonal basis
from Kittitas County to Benton County
then ever.
Like usual, spring rolls into Central Washington like a
lion. The weather progresses
from one extreme to the next very
quickly.
For example, average day time temperatures
will range in the 30's and the
following day it's 65 degrees.When this occurs, winter's low lying,
snow pack in the hills surrounding the
river valley begin to rapidly dissolve.As the ground unfreezes, it will
begin to absorb and neutralize as much of the snow as
possible, recharging the ground water
aquifer.Once this is complete, the
melting snows have no where left to
seep and the remaining remenants of winter, eventually collide with the
river. This water is delivered by its many smaller
tributaries that feed water along its
course, as it flows south, towards the Columbia River.These small feeder streams of
course converge with Washington State's
only Blue Ribbon trout stream, crashing
into it with vast amounts of cool, milky
water, creating
un-idealic fishing conditions.That is exactly what occurred
during the month of March.
Spring fishing on the Yakima River is
always touch and go and solely dependant
on water and weather conditions.If you are prepared and can hit
it when the river is stable, it can be
some of our best fishing of the year.
However, warm weather and rain are never
a good combination for keeping our
rivers intact in the spring, when low
lying snow pack or high elevation snows
are still present.
There are two important tidbits of
information that I can bestow upon you today
in this spring newsletter to monitor if
you would like to experience fly fishing
the Yakima River in the spring.
(1) One; utilized the WBFC
Pro-Shop and call for a daily river
conditions update before heading out.If the river is in good fishing
condition, our guide staff is out every
day and is aware of the current state of
the river.
Our, professional, freindly staff will
provide you with an honest account of
the fishing statuses.
(2) Two; If you haven't already,
bookmark
www.worelybuggerflyco.com as well as
the
Yakima River Conditions page. Here,
you will find not only current river
reports, but also video on the daily
situation and current stage of the
river.We keep the report page updated
daily this time of year and the
conditions page is in real time, with
gauging station information from the
headwaters of the river to the
confluence of the Columbia. Here
you are getting a visual represention
and the instantaneous update state of
river flows, for which ever section of
the river you are interested in.
Keep this in mind as you learn how to
read the graphs as the Yakima River is
easily wadable at 1800 cfs (cubic feet
per second), from the Cle Elum Area to
the Lower Yakima River Canyon.If you see it within that range,
most likely the river is experiencing a
state of accord.If you see flows bouncing all
around on the graph, then most likely
the river is in fair to unruly
condition. If that is the case, I would
make plans to fish elsewhere for the
day.
If you are unsure after reading the
grapsh, utilize the information I
indicated above. As a Professional Guiding Service, we
like to see approximately two
feet of water clarity for consistent
spring fishing.
Low, clear water and bright sun
can make for much tougher fishing
circumstances, especially with novice or
first time fly fishers, any time of the
year. Visit the
WBFC You-Tube site and watch our
videos on
Skwalla Stonefly fishing in April.Take a close look at the river
color and you will see what I am
implying.
The river is going to be touch and go
throughout April due to more snow pack
melt. The low elevation snow
around the river has burned out quickly this year. However, the higher snow pack has yet to
really begin. As our days progress
and get longer and warmer, the snow will begin to thaw and be delivered once
again to the Yakima. Get out and fish if
you can during the prime days! If
not, Central Washington has endless
seasonal fishing oppurtunities with a fly rod.
We will begin pursuing bass, Tiger
Muskie and Northern Pike in April, so
watch the site for that info as well.
In this guide's opinion, April is by far
our best spring month to fish the Yakima
River, if conditions allow it. The
Skwala Stoneflies, Blue Wing Olive and
March Brown Mayflies, will be hatching
in the afternoon period. It is a
great time to experience the Yakima and
behold the epic
Mayfly hatches that it will produce.
Keep in mind, when the snow pack does
finally burst, that most of the high
elevation snow pack
is transported to the Yakima by the Teanawy River and
the small streams neighboring it. Many
days, the upper river above these
confluences will remain intact and
fishable. However, be prepared as
every fly fishermen fishing, converges on this portion of
the river. It can get crowded with
boats and wading anglers, sharing the
river
together. Call the WBFC Pro-Shop
directly to book your Yakima River Fly
Fishing Experience or any other detailed
information you may require.
509-962-2033
Each year on March 1st, signals the start of the Columbia
Desert Unit Lake opener, when many of the
popular Stillwater fisheries open for
the season.This year, the majority of them
were still confined under several inches
of rock hard ice, on the state’s
sanctioned fishing start.
Now that we are three weeks deep into the calendar of
March, many of the lakes are just now
thawing out.Some of these lakes are
completely ice free and others were
still frozen as of last Saturday.It is really dependant on their
location in the desert and how much
sunshine, rain or wind they receive on a
daily basis.Many are surrounded by big,
basalt cliff faces or sit down in a
basin bowl and receive very little
direct sunlight.These lakes are still frozen in
places
or the ice is beginning to melt along
the edges where it receives valuable sunshine
during the day.Which ever is the case, the die hard
lake fishermen were gnawing at the bit,
harder than I have seen in quite a few
years to fish their favorite piece of
water.They are now in route and out exploring, which ever lake is ready to
produce an early stillwater experience.
If you aren't an experienced lake
fishermen, or you are looking for some
great information about the Desert
Unit, I would encourage you to
check out the latest episode of "Guide
Chronicles". This is a live-internet radio
show that is produced with
Ellensburg Community Radio (www.eburgradio.org)
on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm.
If you have an internet connection you
can listen or download any of the episodes and
listen at your leisure.
Last week,
my guest in the studio was Grant County
PUD Fisheries Biologist, Rod O'connor.
Rod is an advanced angler and
prefers to fish the many lakes that
the Evergreen State has to offfer.
We
discussed lake fishing in the desert and
Rod gave some excellent insights and
stratagies for you to incorperate
as you begin to explore stillwater
fly fishing. Rod will join us
again in the fall of the season, to
offer more insights on fly fishing
stillwaters in the autumn.
When the rivers are high and dirty
with spring run-off, the stillwater
experience is yet another fly fishing
experience that will help you grow,
learn and
become a better, well rounded angler.
The species found in lakes are very diverse and learning
the lake game gives you another set of
options that will get you into the
great outdoors.
In
July of 2018, WBFC marked a
milestone in our two decades of
operating a fly fishing outfitting service. The start of our hosted
travel service began in conjunction with
Flywater Travel. Aron Larson
and myself, had the pleasure in
joining (8) eight friends to the
exterior of Alaska, where we
enjoyed the hostpiltiy and fishing at the
"Fishing Bear Lodge".
The trip
was such a success that once again,
we are traveling north to the "last
frontier" of Alaska to revisit the
"Fishing Bear Lodge" during the
first week of August, 2019. Here,
we will enjoy the company of Justin
and Kia Johns along with their
entire lodge staff for a week of
incredible fly fishing in the
remote wilderness of the Wood
River-Tikchik River State Park, the "Jewel Of Alaska".
Located at
the mouth of the Peace River, the
Fishing Bear Lodge is nestled in the 1.6 million acre
park, acclaimed as one of Alaska's
most beautiful locations.
Visiting this venue myself in
2018, I must agree
fully. The scenery is
absolutely incredible! Plus, the fly
fishing will completely spoil you and the hosts are
amazingly friendly and gracious
hosts.
August 4th-August 11th-2019
Today, we
have accommadations to include four additional (4) fishermen for
the Fishing Bear Lodge trip in 2019. The dates for this Alaska adventure are August 4th thru August 11th. If you are
interested in joining us on this
incrediable fly fishing experience
this August, please contact us at the WBFC Pro-Shop
immediately. Since the announcement, the dates for this Alaska adventure have filled quickly. We encourage you to join WBFC for this
incrediable oppurtuntiy, to see the
beauty and experience the spendor of Alaska, "The Last Frontier".
Christmas Island-May 21st-May 28th, 2019
Take part in another exciting adventure to the mecca of saltwater fly fishing on Christmas Island. In May, Aron Larson will host this travel quest to the flats of Kiritimati and fly
fish for a variety of exciting and challenging saltwater species. There are only a few open fishing spaces left available for this exciting, travel destination, where the sun is always shining and the average temperature is
near 80 degrees daily.
If you are interested in joining this trip, please contact us immediately. Time is quickly running out to fill your spot and secure a seat on the airplane. Christmas Island has very
limited flight capacities and
Fuji Airlines only lands on the island once a week.
To learn more about this exciting adventure
to the tropics of Christmas Island,
I would suggest listening to my
in-depth conversation with
traveling, fly fishing adventurer, Stefan Piccone on
the 15th broadcast of "Guide Chronicles". Stefan spent a week in Christmas
Island last April. Stefan will
join the WBFC group in May and is
readily available to answer any
questions about the trip as well. The
episode has detailed information on how to and what you can expect
during your week on the oasis, fly fishing in the tropical sands of Christmas
Island.
April is also the time of the year, when
the distraction from trout fishing
occurs around the WBFC proshop, and we begin
setting our sites on a whole different
freshwater creature. Bass fishing
in the Columbia Desert Unit begins as
the warmer temperatures sound the alarm
and both Smallmouth and Largemouth wake
up after a long, cold winter.
The bass fishing oppurtunities are
endless for the adventerous angler, as we will begin
fishing rivers and lakes for this
formitable species with flies.
Of course, top water fishing with
poppers is always a primary
choice for catching these fish,
however streamer fishing is also a
wise option, especially when other
baitfish and warmwater species are
around. After a long, cold
winter baitfish, salmonoids and
other small fish are optiomal feed
for both species of bass.
Smallmouth fishing generally will
begin first. However, these
fisheries are dicatated soley by
water temperatures. Pre-spawn
is always an oppurtune time to
catch adult, age class bass with
flies, because they move from the
warmer, deeper climates to the
shallow edges and the ideal mating
area's. Of course the deeper
a fish is, the harder it is for us as fly fishermen to acheive those depths, even with the best sinking lines. Those of course are designed and manufcatured
today, by Scienticfic Anglers and
we incorporate many of their lines
into our bass fishing.
The Lower Yakima River, the
mainstem Columbia River, and a host
of Desert Unit fisheries all offer
excellent fly fishing opportunities
to catch this willey, freshwater
fish with flies. If you are
interested in learning the fine
points of catch large bass on a
fly, call the professionals at
WBFC. Our entire fly fishing
staff revels in these types of
fishing prospects and are well
versed in the art of catching bass
on a fly. We would like
nothing more then to introuce you
to a whole new way of fly fishing.
In 1997, Worley Bugger Fly Co.
created this exclusive, members
only, monthly fly program.
The club, with it's membership
benefits operated until 2009, with
hundreds of memberships.
Unfortunately, the club was
discontinued because of the
inability for WBFC to continue to
offer "high" quality, proshop flies
each month, at a discounted price.
However, that has all
changed now. Back by
popular demand is the WBFC
"Bug Of The Month Club".
The remarkable effect that
the internet has on our
daily lives and our ability
to communicate world wide,
WBFC is now working
directly with several new,
high quality, fly tying
manufactures and vendors.
We are able to resurrect,
the Bug Of The Month Club
in 2019. Once again,
WBFC is offering super,
high quality pro shop flies
to our members, at
discounted prices each
month.
We have been busy around the WBFC Proshop throughout the winter months, changing the look and feel of the store. It is during these months of the year, when the fishing trend slows a bit and we have time to catch
a breathe. During the past few months, we have increased our "fly tying inventory" and added over 400 new sku's of fly
tying materials from our distributing partners at Nature's Spirit, Hareline Dubbing, Wapsi Fly, John Rohmer and Hemmingway. We will continue to add more incredible products throughout the year as they become
available. You can also shop the WBFC website for most of the material at this time, however we are in the processes of adding the new product as well as cleaning up old files and adding a new, easy to use
shopping cart system. Phone orders are always welcome and we appreciate your business greatly.
WBFC is also your one stop proshop when traveling to or from Central Washington. We have all the essential fly fishing gear and have added several new companies to the mix this season. WBFC also stocks
over 2800 different and unique flies and will soon be adding an additional (12) new drawers of flies to our current existing inventory. Here, we will offer high quality patterns for Muskie,
Northern Pike, trout, bass and a variety of saltwater species. Are you aware of the WBFC Customer
Rewards Program?
The WBFC Professional Guide Team is also offering a host of new and exciting fly fishing adventures around Central Washington this
season. Watch the web closely and you will see trips offered for Muskie, Pike, Small and Largemouth Bass as well as classes on
Euro Nymphing. Also our new two day, "Trout Camp" will be offered this summer. Information on all of
these trips will be posted on the website soon.
On Tuesday, March 19th, the Kittitas
Valley was stricken with tragedy as one
of our finest, first responders, Kittitas County
Sheriff's Deputy, Ryan Thompson was
killed in the line of duty. Ryan
was a family man, outdoorsmen, fly
fishermen and all around most excellent
person. I knew Ryan as a
passionate fishermen, who enjoyed the
sport and loved the community that he
lived and worked in.
Whenever a heartbreaking event like
this takes place, we struggle to
find any reasoning around it,
especially in a close knit
community like Ellensburg.
The outpouring of support has been nice to see for an event such as this. There have been several memorials set up directly for the family of Deputy Thompson. The fly fishing community always comes together
when folks need to be lifted up during times of
life's worst moments. You can visit
this link below, if you would like
to help during their time of need
for a fallen hero and his family.
Donations Here!