Yep, if you have been outside around here lately you likely noticed it is feeling a bit like winter. Cold but not yet very wet around here which is a particular aspect of this report to pay attention to. In general, if you are resilient to the weather, we are embarking on a fantastic time to fly fish in this region.
Steelhead - WE NEED RAIN! Everything is as low and clear as we have ever seen it...Hoh, is really low, marginally floatable depending on size of boat you have on the upper stretch, should be fine on the lower. Skagit and Sauk are clear as air at 10,000ft and the Sauk is also quite low for floating. Skagit is fine, runs are very clearly defined so if you are just learning, this is a good time to see the water.
Fish are being caught, a few of them sort of spread around on the various rivers so make a choice and go for it. Good news for everyone is the Skagit system is expecting just over 7,000 fish this season which is enough to keep most of the river open 7 days a week until April 15th.
This is the Cowlitz prime season for the winter hatchery run, not our fav but there is ample swing water on the river and these fish do run a bit hot if you know what we mean.
Low clear water, for us, means longer leaders, smaller flies and drab colors. Or, fish what you love and will stay focused on while it is in the water. We have some favorites we use, come on in and we will share them with you.
Puget Sound - While the salmon fry haven't hit the Sound just yet, they will be here soon and we have seen some of the SRC's staging near popular on ramps to the Sound from Chum spawning streams so start searching around those areas in the north and south Sound. The fry will be small at first so small baitfish patterns, with parr marks will be ideal. Chum Baby and small Foul Free in dark colors will be great options. As always, when the fry are being chased, they often meander or rather rush their way to the surface so the infamous McCoy Sound Searcher is a pattern to never be without.
Yakima - Like everywhere, it has been and is going to be cold, in fact crossing the pass this next week may be a challenge so be careful. Nymphing will be the name of the game for the most part, maybe some streamers but just on the horizon is that ever infamous Skwala hatch so smaller stonefly patterns in dark colors will eventually bring some fish to the surface but not quite yet. Maybe some BWO action if we get a warm spell here in the near future. Water is crazy low so if you are on foot, get over there and explore, you can probably walk from Roza to Cle Elum right now if you wanted...or nearly so.
Also, don't think a nice slow swing a small soft hackle won't get some eager rainbows or cutts to pick that up on the way by. We are huge proponents of this method as you can cover stretches of water with a fine toothed comb and feel like you have touched most of the water well.
For now that is about it outside of east side spring creeks and frozen lakes around the state. While this doesn't sound like much it is actually a fairly large amount of real estate to cover and much of it is a bit technical this time of year. With that in mind, come in and ask the burning questions that will get you over that hurdle and on to enjoyment at a higher level.
That is what we do here, help you!
Have a great weekend, drive, float and wade safe.
EWA Staff
206-708-7250
shope@emeraldwateranglers.com
