It is the last few remaining days of
2019, and I personally would like to
take the time to thank all of our fly
fishing friends that have supported the
efforts of WBFC again this year.The Professional Fly Fishing Staff here at WBFC,
experienced perhaps the most eventful season to
date, in our two decades of existence.After twenty plus years of offering our professional services to the public, our
expertise continues to grow and expand
and we are now more excited than ever
about the sport.
The fishing season began a little bit later than usual this
spring, due in part to the extended
warm fall that we encountered in 2018.The Kittitas Valley has
experienced several years in a row now,
where the Indian summers take hold in
late October and
our fishing remains intact and
productive well into the month of
November. The same scenario played out again this fall and warm temperatures were predominant throughout the majority of November. The last day I guided was November 15th
and half of the fish to the net, were
on my Blue Wing Olive Cripple Emerger pattern.
We were able to fish a size 16 the
entire day and the fish ate it without
reservations.
You have got to love
that in November. Usually, we are
fishing mostly sub-surface flies or
presenting size 20 or smaller mayflies
by that time of the season.
Hatches of Blue Wing Olive Mayflies continued well into the third
week of November, as water temperatures
remained mild for this time of year.
The tell tale signs of winter, didn’t
actually become visible in the valley
here until the first week of February
and once it started, the precipitation
all came in bunches.Shortly there after, the Kittitas
Valley received it's snow pack and
though not in the normal range we are
used to seeing,
it was ample enough to supply plenty of cool water
reserves, to make it through the summer. This was a true blessing for us and the fish, especially in this day and age, when emphasis on our water
resource here in Central Washington is
more demanding, than we have ever
encountered.
With
the moderate snow pack, the river never did experience a large push of
water at once or a big blow out period.
The air temperatures remained mild throughout the spring and
the snow pack run-off melted
gradually, which is always the preferred
situation for us.
Summer fishing of course is always good
because of the Yakima River's cold, clean water and high flows that dictate elevated levels of DOC (dissolved oxygen content). There are always hatches of aquatic and non aquatic
insects during this time period that
supply an incredible food source to a
growing trout population.
Personally, I believe this past September, October and November go down in the record book as
perhaps the best fly fishing I have
witnessed to date on the Yakima River.In my near thirty years of
fly-fishing here in Central Washington,
our home river seems to be improving
greatly year after year, and the wild
trout are thriving throughout the
system. Our mayfly hatches
were
exceptional and the October Caddis again
lasted into November. The Yakima produced excellent hatches of Cranefly
and Stonefly both in the month of September and that was
out of this world fantastic.
A great deal of changes have occurred over the past
decade in the Yakima River drainage. If you stay in touch by viewing and
reading our
quarterly newsletters, then you have surveyed my thoughts and theories as to why. There has been
a vast improvement in the river resource,
since the infancy of its selective gear
rule changes and the beginning of the
fly fishing sensation here in the
valley. Not a week goes by at the
WBFC Pro Shop when Tim
Irish's name isn't brought up or mentioned
in conversation. The
Yakima River's,
first ever
fly-fishing guide
and prodigal son left his legacy well
intact and his vision of a thriving wild
trout population in the river is
unfolding. If
you haven’t fished the Yakima in some
time or gave up on it completely, I
would encourage you to take another
look. It’s not the same Yakima River
you grew up with. It has truly become
one the best trout fishing rivers in the
west.
As you may or may not know, WBFC is also the premier
outfitter for warm water fly-fishing in
Central Washington.Our Professional Staff of fly
fishermen spend at least 80 to 90 days a season,
fly-fishing for Smallmouth/Largemouth
Bass, Northern Pike, Tiger Muskie, Carp as
well as several other species.
This year was also an exceptional year of bassin’ with a
fly.We had great water in the Lower
Yakima for a 30+ day period of
Smallmouth fishing and from mid
May to the end of June, it produced some
fine bass fishing with a fly.The Columbia Desert Unit is just a
short drive to the east of us. It consistently
flexed great
fly-fishing as well in the
rivers and lake systems.Of course, we love top-water
fishing for bass and practice this form
exclusively as much as possible, whether
we are guiding customers or when we are
fishing ourselves.
The
staff is already "chomping at the bit"
and drafting new fly patterns to use for
our warm water friends this coming
season.
We look forward to the upcoming
term of warm-water fly fishing and
introducing new anglers to these great, dramatic game-fish. We plan to expand
our warm water, guided fly fishing
opportunities in 2020 and you will see
acknowledgements of that after the new
year. If you are interested, mark
May & June on your calendar as the key
months.
It's December now and the most
productive time of the year for fly
fishing the Yakima River has ended.
Why? Water temperatures have
dropped, insect hatches are scarce and
the amount of daylight is limited.
That doesn't mean fly fishing on the
Yakima River has subsided. Fishing
is
open here year round, 365 days a year in the Upper Yakima
and as we already know, trout do not
hibernate. They feed on a daily
basis, but tend to only be active during
the warmest portions of the day.
The river is quiet now with just a few anglers standing in
its sub straight or casting from a
boat each day. The peace,
solitude and beauty that the river
provides can be invigorating this
time of year. Of course,
the pursuit of a large trout is a
thrill as well and the Yakima just
happens to be a good winter
fishery. It can fish especially
well during mild periods like we are experiencing
once again this December.
Plan your day according to air
temperatures and fish during the
warmest portions of the day.
You will notice a swing when the
fish get active and feed.
Concentrate your efforts if you
can,
where the sunlight has penetrated
its warming rays. The valley
can develop an inversion layer of
clouds and fog that can hang low,
along the hills and gullies this
time of year.
The days when
the air temperature exceeds 38
degrees or better, can be wonderful
fishing. If you live and fish
here in the Northwest, then warm
weather gear is essential and is
part of your wardrobe. The
"Primaloft" material made jackets,
vests and other apparel are
incredibly warm and light weight.
If you love winter fly fishing or
outdoor recreation this time of
year, then these are a must have
to keep you warm and comfortable!
It kept me toasty in late October,
when we ventured to Wisconsin in
search of Muskies on a fly.
The WBFC Pro Shop is stocked now
with some fine Simms brand,
Primaloft jackets, just in time for
the colder weather.
If winter fly fishing isn't your thing, well then
leave it to those who enjoy it.
The Skwalla Stonefly hatch is just
around the corner and depending on
Mother Nature and what Old Man
Winter decide to do, we could begin
seeing signs of that hatch as soon as
February. Until then, dream of
fly fishing on your favorite
streams, refill your boxes with
arsenals of flies and get ready for
the 2020 season. It will be
here before you know it.
I am pleased to announce that WBFC is in another state of
expansion in two separate
categories.It seems, I just won’t be
satisfied until I have
accomplished everything I set out
to do with this outfitting
business and the WBFC Staff keeps driving and
improving our services each
season.The first class of
the expansion is under way, as we
bolstered our “hosted travel”
program in 2019. The travel program began from its infancy in 2018 when Aron
and myself, hosted our first
group of traveling anglers, to the remote bush country of
Alaska.
This past May, Lead guide and Professional Fly Fishermen,
Aron Larsen escorted his first
group of saltwater fly fishermen
westerly, to the remote island of
Kiritimati, better known in the
fly fishing world as
Christmas
Island.The trip was a smashing
success, as hundreds of bonefish
were brought to hand as well as
several species of trevally,
dozens of triggerfish, milkfish
and barracuda.
WBFC is pleased to announce that we have secured (2)
“Full Moon” dates to
Christmas Island in the spring and summer of 2020.
On
May 19th To May 26th-2020 (booked
full) and July 28th To
August 4th (spaces
still available).
In May of 2020, Head Guide at
WBFC,
Steve Worley and Lead
Guide, Aron Larsen, will host
another epic, saltwater adventure
to Christmas Island.Ten adventurous, traveling
fly anglers will join us for a
week in the tropical waters of
the Pacific, as we pursue a host
of unique and magnificent
saltwater species.Everyone is excited and
preparing for this adventure at
one of the worlds most productive atolls.
In late July of 2020, WBFC
Pro-Staff Personal,
Dom Singh will host his first
exotic trip to this region of the
world.WBFC has reserved and
secured another, fantastic
“Full Moon” date and we are
looking for eight to ten
adventurous fly anglers to join
him.If you are interested in
visiting this pinnacle, saltwater
destination, please contact us
immediately. A deposit is
required to hold each reserved
fishing spot.These fishing spaces will
begin filling quickly after the
New Year, so I would encourage
you to reach out to us
immediately, if you are
interested.
This is an excellent, “Full
Moon” summer date at Xmas
Island.This is a quiet time of
the year on the island and a low
fishing pressure period as well.
It is typically not visited with western hemisphere,
fly anglers during the summer
months.
Traveling fly anglers from the
west coast generally visit the
island during the cold, winter
season.
The average daily
temperature is 80 degree’s, even
in July and August.It will be a great way to
spend a week of the summer, in
2020 with an excellent host.
You can find more information
about these two saltwater
destanation trip
here.
The past two summer seasons in
August of 2018 and 2019, WBFC
also secured dates for an amazing
backcountry, bush adventure to
the Last Frontier of Alaska.We have visited Justin
John’s and crew at
“The Fishing
Bear Lodge” on both occasions.The Fishing Bear Lodge is located in America’s largest,
Nation Park, which encompasses
over 1.6 million acres of prime
Alaska wilderness.Referred to as “The Jewel
Of Alaska”, the park is filled
with incredible beauty and
mountainous, green, granite architecture.
Here, we are treated like kings
and queens, as we fly fish for
four different species of fresh water fish. The Rainbow Trout dotted throughout the system will
test the best fly gear in the
world.They will accelerate into
your Dacron backing without any
unwavering hesitations.It is, absolutely hands
down, the best “Dry Fly” fishing
I have ever experienced in my
fly-fishing tenor. I am
already savoring our return in
2020.
Once again,
Steve Worley
and
Aron Larsen will host a group
of eight to this remote sector of
Alaska and spend a week at The
Fishing Bear Lodge. We have
secured and reserved,
the week of August 2nd
thru August 9th-2020.Again, we are looking for
(8) eight adventurous, traveling
anglers, both men and women that
would like to join us on this
adventure, to the remote bush
country of Alaska. It is, without
a doubt one of the most beautiful
places on the planet!
Steve, It was indeed an epic adventure for
me. Some of the largest fish
I've ever brought to the net.
Where can you go and successfully
fish for four species of fish in
one day. I did hook a Sockeye,
but thankfully I shook it off.
There were a couple rainbows I
wish I could have seen but they
had other ideas. Way into the
backing but I couldn't turn
them. Jared was getting a bit
frustrated with me and said maybe
he was picking on the client too
much. I agreed. He really
bonded with Chad, which was
great. I would recommend the
trip for anyone looking for a
great fishing and social
adventure. You and Aron were
perfect hosts.- Bill
Here, we will spend 6 days, fly
fishing in rivers, streams and
lake systems.During this period,
millions of Sockeye Salmon will
be spawning throughout Southwest
Alaska.Our main focus will be on
rainbows, Artic Char, Artic
Grayling and Northern Pike,
however you can fly fish for
Sockeye Salmon if you like.The average rainbow
trout
in the rivers at this time is
(20) inches and most can be
caught on the surface with dry
flies.Skating Mouse patterns was
an incredible fishing method,
throughout the park in 2019.
We are now accepting deposits to
secure fishing spots on this 2020
adventure to Alaska.For more information, I
would encourage you to visit this
link
for more detail information or contact the WBFC
Pro Shop with any questions you
may have.These dates will fill
quickly, now that the fishing
week has
been secured and announced.Thank you for your
interest.
Our next expansion project is
centered around our home base
location in Ellensburg.Over the past few seasons,
WBFC has worked tirelessly to build
one of the finest Professional Fly
Fishing shops in the country.We will continue with this
mission, as we introduce new and
exciting 2020 products to the shop,
as well as expand our already,
massive inventory of gear, flies
and fly tying products. Did you know that WBFC sells their inventory products online through the extensive website and ships them on a daily basis around the globe?
In 2020, plans have been made to
add an additional (10) ten new
drawers of fly patterns.These ten new drawers, will
integrate into our existing fly
display and accommodate patterns
for saltwater, Northern
Pike/Muskie, trout, bass, Carp,
Redfish as well as many Stillwater
applications.When complete, WBFC will
house close to 3000 different and
unique fly patterns, which can be
used worldwide.
The Christmas season can be a
difficult time, especially when it
comes to gift giving.What do you give the fly
fishermen in your life that has
every gadget imaginable?One of the most popular
gifts during this time of year at
the WBFC Pro Shop is a “Guided Trip
Gift Certificate”.You can purchase these for a
variety of Guided Fly Fishing Trips
that WBFC will offer throughout the
year.This could very well be, the
best gift under the tree this year.Give the fly fishermen in
your life, an adventure they will
remember…give the gift of
fly-fishing with WBFC.
If you are looking for some other
great gift ideas, the WBFC Pro Shop
is stocked with lots excellent
products for the fly fishermen.Here is a list of a few,
that we
can recommend to you.
Flies, leader, tippet-Always a
great stocking stuffer and
these are items a fly fisher
will always use. Every
fly fishers loves getting flies.
Hemostats, barb crusher,
nippers, pliers, zingers and
assorted fishing tools or a
nice new fly box.
UV Lights and UV Glue in
assorted colors-A great gift
for any fly tyer.Gauranteed they will
love it!
Simms Primaloft
Jackets-Incredibly lightweight
and super warm-A must have for
any outdoor enthusiast.
In stock now!
Hareline Dubbin Fly Tying Kits-Great
for the fly fisher looking at
expanding their knowledge of
the sport and begin tying their
own flies.
WBFC Pro Shop Sale Items-WBFC has some gear redrastically marked down for close out in 2019. Take advantage of the savings!
As we prepare for the upcoming holidays,
we trust you will find lots of quality time to spend
with friends and family. Here, you
can reminisce and
reflect on the happy times and fishing
trips that occurred
this year. Let's us take the time to
enjoy those that are still in our life
and celebrate those that we have lost. If you didn't get out
fly fishing as much as you had hoped,
change that next season and make it your New Year's Resolution.
The staff at
WBFC, will be taking some time off
between the holidays and our Pro
Shop hours now have changed.
We will be enjoying the time
with family and friends as well, because we
know that Skwalla Stonefly season
is right around corner and our
little break will be short lived.
I have also commited to another
season of
"Guide Chronicles" on
Ellensburg Community Internet Radio
and new eposides will begin in
airing "live" in January of the new
year with more exciting and
interesting guests.
Again, we thank you for your continued support and patronage over the past two decades and we look forward to seeing everyone in 2020. We wish you and your family a Happy Holidays.
