Emerald Water Anglers Archives - Emerald Water Anglers

Seattle Fly Fishing Report – July 6, 2020 – Fireworks Are Done!

July 6, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Alright, the 4th of July weekend is nearing closure and we are finally beginning to see water levels drop on many of our small streams in the area meaning it is time to break out the 5x and the dry fly box…it’s about time!

The other fishery we should be paying more attention to is our multitude of bass fisheries we have all over the area. Most of our local Seattle area urban lakes are home to the “Ditch Pickle” and while many consider them a lesser species to chase, it could very well be because they haven’t run across a 14 inch small mouth before. These fish hit hard and fight harder and are absolutely worth your attention.

The lower Yakima, Lake Alice, Greenlake, Lake Tapps and the illustrious and giant Lake Washington have fantastic bass fishing on them. Surface flies like frogs, poppers, mice and even the Sound Searcher are always a first picks for us but fishing deeper with crawdad’s and streamers can find some of the larger specimens hanging out near the bottom.

Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Holiday weekend with family and friends. We look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Seattle Fly Fishing Report – June 29, 2020 – Cool Weather/Low Water

June 29, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Well we finally coincided summer with some cool weather resulting in some nice low water flows on local rivers and streams which means…time to fish!

Mountain Creeks – We always suggest using high water time to do some due diligence on new places to get on the water and now that time spent should begin to pay off. Looking at the flows today, the Forks of the Snoqualmie are in great shape especially the South Fork. Water will still be cold but fish should be looking up more and more so mid sized stimulator (stimi) with a dropper of your choice should do the trick. If you start getting strikes on top, take the dropper off and just play on top and don’t be afraid to get yourself close to some of the pocket water you are trying to fish either. These fish live in a volatile world so someone standing in the water 10-15 feet away is not likely to spook them…yet! Later in the summer when water is lower, slower, clearer and warmer it will be not so much now.

Puget Sound – Sand Lance have arrived and they are close to shore so make first casts near the bank before stepping into the water. As we move into the summer, many of the bait the SRC’s (Sea Run Cutthroat) will be predating upon are becoming larger in profile so slightly longer flies will be beneficial. With all the kelp in the water, intermediate lines MAY get you below it to some degree but not a guarantee as it is drifting throughout the water column. Stripping baskets are definitely more relevant these days so look into one of those, we have 4 versions beginning at $45 and our rules for engagement are as follows.

1. Cover water methodically when you can.
2. When fly is around fish but not getting any takes, change retrieve first and then fly if this persists.
3. Tip in the water pointed at fly line while retrieving.
4. Outgoing tide, early in the AM if possible, otherwise fish when you can fish.

Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers – These are heading towards their summer flows which will remain high for the summer until mid September most likely. This means caddis in the evenings will be a good bet, nymphing through the middle of the day is always solid and if you have access to a boat, use it! Access will be severely diminished for the walk and wade angler until fall. Trout spey will give you a bit more advantage in these high water times too, just saying!

Bass and Carp – This is the time of year for both. Big surface flies near any and all structure such as docks, rocks and lily pads are going to be sure things and during the heat of the day, get down with any of your trout like streamers in those same locations. Carp Tournament is coming up fast, let us know if interested in signing up for it.

Steelhead – Now is a fabulous time to switch out those heads from winter Skagit to summer Rage or Scandi heads and if you have a long rod from the days of old, let’s chat long belly lines from Bridge. Nice delicate, long tapered heads are a joy to cast and handle smaller summer type flies with finesse. Get out and swing away everyone, great time of the early summer to possibly come into contact with our state fish.

As always, questions in this complicated Seattle area world of fly fishing, don’t wait, just call – 206-708-7250

Seattle Fly Fishing Report – June 22, 2020 – The Time is NOW!

June 22, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Welcome to summer! We have seen an incredible insurgence of new fly angling interest over the past few months and why not? If done in the way we enjoy doing it, it is the epitome of social distancing outdoors. Long expanse of beach to yourself, intimate mountain creeks or long classic steelhead runs to swing your new spey rod through.

Well, summer is here but water levels are still a bit high. Water is in good shape clarity wise on many rivers but the creeks are still big and cold. As of now, best bet is Yakima River from a boat though that is going to inflate a bit for the summer so we recommend Google Earth and WA Fishing Regs book. Find some small streams you haven’t heard mentioned in the airwaves, see what is close to you and go check it out. Some will likely be tough with over hanging flora but others may surprise you.

Skykomish, Skagit and Sauk are in good shape flow wise and not really on most peoples radar so these are great options to consider. As we move into the summer season with low water, we encourage transitioning from those winter Skagit heads into more elegant, fun to cast Rage or Scandi heads. These simply come off the rod tip with more ease, feel smooth and generate beautiful loop shapes. If you happen to have an older, longer spey rod gathering dust, maybe give one of the Bridge Long Belly spey lines a try and see what spey really is. Come in and ask away, we are pretty into this stuff!

If you have tried to fish the Sound recently, you have possibly noticed a significant increase in kelp, maybe even a frustrating level of increase. 2 suggestions to help mitigate this issue.

1. Intermediate line or shooting head/beach line such as the Airflo Beach. Helps get below some of that kelp for a better fly presentation.

2. A stripping basket. We have 4 great options at different price points in the store, come by and check out the differences and pick up the one that suits you.

Have fun out there everyone and remember, we are here to help you be successful in, on and around the water.

Seattle Fly Fishing Report – June 13, 2020 – Choices Galore

June 13, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

As we prepare this Seattle fly fishing report this morning from here at the store, the last 7 people in have been headed to 7 completely different places to chase almost as many different species of fish. We live in a mecca for those curious and adventurous about where and what to fish for.

Here is the rundown for the weekend…

Forks of the Snoqualmie are a bit high yet again. We had a couple of days with warm weather and we still have snow to melt. And so it is doing. That being said, the fish will be looking up more and more, especially in the afternoons and evening as water temps rise during the day hours.

The Yakima River is in maybe perfect shape flow and water color wise for caddis activity, especially in the lower reaches of the river, in the canyon. Upper river still expect to see a bit of a smorgasbord of bugs from PMD’s to March Browns and Drakes with caddis and stoneflies tossed in for good measure.

The Cle Elum River is up pretty high for wading now and it may be that way for the remainder of the season so be careful and choose your access points wisely. Similar bug and fishing expectations as the upper Yakima but with a few more cutthroat trout in there, would hedge our bets on surface flies first…we always do that anyway! Employ the trout spey on both rivers with streamers, this is why you have one and if you don’t yet, let’s talk!

Cedar River is still a bit high was well but if you pull up google earth you will see a ton of public access points to get onto the river. Streamers in the scour holes below log jams are a great way to move some of the bigger trout in here. Definitely a skill not widely needed in WA but a good one to have so come in and we can give you some pointers. We also recommend having a bike and utilizing the path to more quickly and easily get to places on the river some anglers on foot won’t get to as easily. Bring it down to the water and lock it to a tree.

Puget Sound is fishing so so right now. Kelp is working against you to some degree and can definitely be frustrating. Stripping baskets and intermediate lines can make a huge difference but more than anything, know your beaches, fish ones with a relatively fast moving current across it and as often as possible, fish outgoing tides as often as you can. Not because it “takes” the kelp away but because on incoming tides, it lifts the kelp resting on the shore back into the water and then you are surrounded by it! We are entering the time of year where early and late are usually better if possible and there are more and more baitfish of varying sizes out there so have a variety of fly patterns as well. Build your library!

All the lakes and warmwater species are active right now in more lakes that we can begin to mention. Callibaetis in the east side lakes for trout, frogs, mice and baby duck imitations working great for all else on our west side ones. Carp are an increasingly fun species to chase if you enjoy sight casting, stealthy approaches, subtle reaction to your fly and ultimately a visual refusal!

Steelhead rivers are actually in pretty good shape and this is a great time to encounter an early arriving summer run or late arriving winter fish. With water still a bit turbid, we recommend staying for the moment with what you would use in the winter. T-7 should be fine with smaller winter like flies in color of choice would likely work well. We would hit the Skykomish or maybe the Sauk/Skagit but really any would be good right now including the Green, Snoqualmie and Cowlitz.

Mountain creeks are a bit big and unruly but some are approachable now. We usually encourage people to wait until late June at the earliest as water levels can fluctuate during the day on some of these and water will be COLD still so the fish won’t likely be looking up just yet. Give it another week or two and we should be green light go on these little gems.

Upcoming Seattle Fly Fishing Events – June

May 31, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Well, obviously the events list is going to be short but, we do have some exciting things to share with everyone and we hope you are all staying healthy in both body and mind.

First and hopefully most obvious is we established National Women’s Fly Fishing Day on June 27th! As we see what we are able to do in group settings, please stay tuned for some events, possibly virtual ones to celebrate and help encourage women of all ages to get on the water.

In conjunction with this, our good friend Laura Klaren has designed our new women’s logo which we will begin to incorporate into the store, our products and our media.

Secondly and also exciting is we will be returning to our normal business hours on June 1st. M – F is 10-7, Sat is 10-6 and Sun is 11-5. We miss all of you and look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Third, we are able to guide again. Obviously under restriction but as we are coming into summer time, walk and wade guiding allows for easy social distancing and many of our favorite watersheds will be in shape to do so here soon. We will have a smaller staff this year so please call and book trips soon. We are also doing plenty of private and semi private casting instruction and are trying to accommodate as needed so call to set a time.

Fourth, we know the West Seattle bridge is going to be an issue and is obviously inconvenient for many of you to come see us. We are working on a bi-weekly meeting place in SODO where we can bring you product ordered on the phone and answer some questions if need be so stay tuned on that front. We are also happy to ship to you anywhere in the city, just call, order and we will get it out. Lastly on this front, we are also hoping to have a delivery service available outside of USPS or UPS and we will flaunt that when we have it solidified.

Fifth, we became an official Orvis dealer. For those who want to put side by side, those rods the industry reveres from coast to coast, we are the place to do so. H3, Recon and other models will begin to arrive here shortly so stop by and check them out.

October 3, 2020 – We are hoping to have our usual spring event this fall with a dry fly, trout and steelhead spey focus with those reps available on hand and with the ability to try out all the rods we are confident in presenting to you.

Lastly, fishing has been really good out there lately on the Yak and Cedar. Water remains high on everything so check flows before heading out or call us for latest details. Believe it or not, this is the tip of the iceberg, more great news to share shortly so bring on summer, see you all soon!

Upcoming Seattle Fly Fishing Events – May

April 29, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Okay then, the list of upcoming Seattle fly fishing events for the coming month can pretty much be summed up in a few words…we can fish again!

While we are all excited at the prospect of getting on the water again for being shut out for the past month or more, we need to be very thoughtful in how we collectively engage. More people out of work, kids out of school, cabin fever and limited options to get out for the next month mean a possibility of congestion at many of our favorite places. Congestion at a level that could easily shut us back down again.

Unfortunately we have had to reschedule all of our wonderful events from casting demos to celebrity engagements and book readings due to the current state of affairs but keep an eye on us as we have some exciting news coming soon. We have been busy behind the scenes and are excited to share some new things from EWA with everyone as well as provide a reschedule for all of our upcoming Seattle fly fishing events.

As of now, we do not see guiding being able to happen for some time yet. That being said, we have already seen a spike in interest so if hoping to get on the calendar with us this summer, please consider getting dates scheduled here soon. We are hoping by early June at the latest we will be able to resume guiding.

We want to wish everyone well, sincerely hope everyone is healthy in body and mind and also profess an enormous THANK YOU to all who have kept us alive these past weeks. To say we appreciate it is an understatement!

Look forward to seeing and talking with you all here very soon!

Women’s Intro to Fly Casting – 5 students per teacher
June 7
June 21
July 12
July 26
August 9
August 23

Women Intro to Fly Fishing Schools – 3 students per teacher
June 6
June 20

EWA Youth Fly Fishing Camp – 8 Youth Max – 8am – 5pm – $650
August 10 – 14
Finally, we are putting together a camp experience for mid teen youth to experience how we view the sport through the lens of education, stewardship and conservation while exploring and enjoying our outdoor world.

EWA Coffee

April 21, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Besides water, few things are more a part of the sport of fly fishing than a good ole cup of Joe in the AM. Which is why we are so excited to launch our own private label medium dark roast coffee beans.

Choose whole bean or ground to your liking upon order. We also have whole bean coffee in the store in 12oz bags. Otherwise click the link below to have it delivered straight to your door.

Be sure to send us pics of you, our coffee and your favorite location so we can share.

Buy EWA Coffee Here!

Three Essential Shooting Heads For Winter Steelhead

March 4, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

A tool for every job makes a good steelheader into a better one. Just think about this: you wouldn’t use a hand saw to cut through a fallen tree. It would take way too long and require much too much effort. So what do you do? Grab a chain saw and have at it. The right tool for the right job makes it easy and efficient. The more efficient you are, the quicker you can get to your goal. An anglers best tool while on the water is their shooting head and we have narrowed it down to three essentials heads that get the job done in nearly all situations you encounter while on the water.

Short Head – Airflo Skagit Short

This head is our go-to for most situations that you run into while fishing for winter steelhead. It handles nearly every situation well, but is especially useful in tight casting quarters. Through the use of a micro D-loop, you can propel a 60-90 foot cast with little effort, while shooting line underneath an overhanging tree or up against a high bank. In addition, you can get a little more creative with tip lengths as shorter heads make it a bit easier to cast a longer tip.

Long Head – Airflo Rage Compact

For those situations where you just don’t need to get deep or cast big flies, we like the length of a Rage head. For one, they are just plain fun to cast. Who doesn’t like throwing light flies on longer heads? The great thing about Rage heads is that they can throw sink tips too. We run tips between T-7 (or T-8) and T-10 (or T-11) and can throw unweighted or lightly weighted flies. For shallow riffles or tailouts, or fishing close to the ocean, you don’t need to get deep so why not cover more water, strip your line less, and have more fun fishing.

Tricky Water – Rio Skagit Gamechanger

For those complex pieces of water or for when you want to get deep and slow way down. Sometimes the water is fast, or sometimes you have mixed currents that will pull a standard shooting head out of the zone. We have been playing with the Float/Hover/Int./Type 3 sink heads which have proven extremely useful on the OP in a multitude of situations. Pair this with a 10ft standard sink tip and you have a deadly effective tool on your more complex rivers like the Sol Duc and upper Hoh.

*Staff Favorite – Bridge Tributary

Coming in at around 42-44 feet in length for your standard winter steelhead rods, these lines are a ton of fun on the water. This line is much more like a Rage Compact but 10 feet longer. It can still throw light tips and light flies but may be a bit more difficult to cast for new spey casters. However, if you can huck, this is a line you need to try.

Upcoming Fly Fishing Events – March 2020

March 3, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Wow, spring is coming at us so fast, not even funny. Soon these snouts will be more prevalent on the Yakima as BWO’s/Baetis/Blue Winged Olives and other spring hatches begin to emerge. Steelhead season is in full swing on the OP until the end of the month and Chum Fry are beginning to show their tiny little silhouettes along the beaches of Puget Sound. All in all, it is a fine time to be picking up a fly rod in our beautiful corner of the world.

Upcoming Intro to Fly Fishing Schools – Coed – 3 students per teacher. We cover essential knots, fly selection based on entomology, casting skills, reading water, approach and line management. Equipment happily provided.
April 18
May 23
June 20

Women Intro to Fly Fishing Schools – 3 students per teacher
March 21
April 11
April 25
May 9
May 16
June 6
June 20

Women’s Intro to Fly Casting – 5 students per teacher
March 6
March 7
April 5
April 19
May 3
May 17
May 31
June 7
June 21
July 12
July 26
August 9
August 23

Montana Fly Fishing Film Festival – Admiral Theater – 7pm
March 20
Come see some regionally focused fly fishing films to help kick off the spring season. Always a fun evening.

Art on the Water – Mercer Island Community Center – 7pm – 9pm – $25
March 27
A spectacular event joining all th elements we love…fly fishing, water and art. Join our very good friends and fellow Patagonia Ambassadors Dylan Tomine and Riverhorse Nakadate and former editor of The Flyfish Journal Steve Duda for a reading and fundraiser for The Red Badge Project supporting veterans.

POSTPONED – Movie Night @ EWA – Tomorrow’s Fish – Hosted by AFFTA 7pm – 9pm
April 1
Come join us for a private screening of Tomorrow’s Fish, a great new film on fly fishing off the coast of New York City.

POSTPONED – FFI Casting and Education Fair – 9am – 5pm – Mercer Island
May 2
Dave McCoy will be teaching an introduction to fly casting class at this event and there will be plenty of other instructors working on everything from beginning to advanced techniques.

EWA Fly Fest – 9am – 3pm @ Seattle Community College
May 9
Our annual event to try all the latest fly rods and lines, get personal instruction, attend seminars, ask questions and meet other local anglers. Patagonia, Thomas and Thomas, Scott, Sage, Redington, Echo, Winston, Gloomis, Hardy, Scientific Anglers, Airflo, Rio and Bridge Fly Fishing will all be on hand.

EWA Youth Fly Fishing Camp – 8 Youth Max – 8am – 5pm – $650
August 10 – 14
Finally, we are putting together a camp experience for mid teen youth to experience how we view the sport through the lens of education, stewardship and conservation while exploring and enjoying our outdoor world.

5 Tips for High Water Steelhead

February 6, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

An early winter steelhead found in very high water. Photo: Cole Leishman

1. Fish light and inside

In high water, the steelhead are going to be on the move and they are trying to find the path of least resistance, which is often right by your feet. I like to fish light and short tips, casting to the near water first and fishing it well. Using 10 feet of T-7 or T-10 will get that fly to swing into the bank. Hang down grabs are very common in high water so make sure you get that fly swinging all the way below you.

2. Go big or go home

When the water is high, it is typically dirty too. We have been fishing in 1-2 feet of visibility often recently and your smaller steelhead flies won’t do. The fish need to be able to see the fly in these conditions and they are much more likely to see a big intruder rather than a small marabou. In addition, dark flies with a lot of flash will be easier to see in poor visibility.

3. Use appropriate tackle

Put the small rods and 12 pound test away. High water means more resistance and that 20 pound fish is going to be much harder to land. Step up to an eight weight rod with a 20 pound leader. Our favorite is Maxima Ultragreen but you can use a variety of leader materials from any reputable manufacturer. Land the fish quickly and put them back on their way to the spawning grounds.

4. Fish the moving water

Focus more on the tailouts and the heads of your pools. In high water, steelhead are moving and these areas are going to facilitate more encounters with aggressive fish. Still remember to fish to your hang down!

5. SLOW DOWN

Fly speed and the way you cover water will increase your chances of connecting with a steelhead. In dirty water, I will fish a one-step approach in the likely zones. Slow your fly way down to stay in the zone as long as you can. You can do this through a proper mend in the beginning of your presentation. Let your shooting head straighten out and engage once your line has become tight. Your fly should be crawling through the insides, but not getting hung up.

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