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Seattle Fly Fishing Report – August 19, 2020 – Ahhh-gust

August 19, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Every year we enter summer looking forward to the days when weather is predictable, water levels are down and approachable and fish are looking up! Now that we are here we can’t wait for water and air temps to drop like a winter sun and fall freshets to perk up our finned friends.

So that said, the Yakima River is HIGH, hovering around 4000cfs and the wind has been howling on some days but the hoppers are out and about for a bit more time until we get our first couple of cold nights. So take advantage of it or wait for a few weeks until the flows drop and walk and wading is a bit easier/safer and fall hatches begin. Either way, get out there because summer is almost gone!

We went from many creeks being high and cold to now all of them are super lower, clear and often quite warm. Fish have navigated their way to either very deep holes, log jams or are sitting in faster moving semi deep water where oxygen is more plentiful, cover is there and water temps are a couple degrees cooler. This means slightly altered approach to your favorite small stream both in fly selection and presentation. Bigger dries look more enticing and will more easily suspend small droppers but matching sparse hatches will become more necessary as the fish become more selective in these low, clear water situations. Yes, even on the small streams!

Puget Sound as been kicking out some migratory Coho up north and for those with boats, Blackmouth have been around in good numbers as well. Most of the baitfish have gained considerable size including Herring and Sand Lance so larger profile flies for the salmon will often do the trick with an ever so slightly slower, more deliberate retrieve. Not a bad time to employ an intermediate line as well and that will require a stripping basket. Cutts are out there too but likely most other fisheries, early has proven better than mid day in most cases.

Pacific Albacore are WAY off the coast still, making jaunts to chase these longer than most are capable of in a day. With any luck ocean currents will bring these beasts closer to shore here sooner then later.

Summer steelhead have been few and far between but the Lewis, Kalama and Cowlitz have definitely had some numbers around and the broken record here is…water is low and clear! Longer leaders and small flies aren’t a bad idea and if on water super early, super late or anytime for that matter, go for skating one up. Guarantee this will change your life should you raise one to your fly.

Cedar River closes here in less than two weeks so get out and hit it now before we say good bye till next year. Water is low so gain your access and then hike up or down stream to get away from people and find fish that have been pressured a bit less. Water is warm so be kind, keep fish in the water if caught and fish early as possible.

Enjoy everyone and remember, we are here to assist in that enjoyment any way we can so don’t be afraid to ask.

EWA Staff

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Reports Tagged With: 5050 on the water, Cedar River, Dave McCoy Photography, Emerald Water Anglers, Orvis, Puget Sound, Puget sound fly fishing, Seattle Fly Fishing, Seattle fly fishing guides, Seattle Fly Shop, spey casting, steelhead, women's fly fishing, Yakima River

Seattle Fly Fishing Report – July 23, 2020 – Ready, Set, Fish!

July 22, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Well anglers, summer has officially arrived…feels like we have been saying that for sometime now but with all fisheries finally at a place where we are comfortable with anglers of all age and skill level exploring the waters around here, it finally feels real.

Creeks are low and fish are looking up. Parachute Adams, caddis, Stimulators and other attractors like Humpy’s, Wulff’s and Trude’s are all working well so there really shouldn’t be too much need to drop anything off the back any longer.

Yak is high for the next 7-9 weeks so look else where for walk and wade options like the Cedar, Puget Sound and the Snoqualmie Forks. If you are headed to the Yak, late evening caddis will be good all summer long along the banks so pick a spot and hunt them down, otherwise streamers and subsurface during the day will also produce fish but please be careful wading/float the river if you are unfamiliar with it.

Puget Sound is fishing OK. Nothing exceptional to write about here. If you are in a boat and can get out in the channels then there are some blackmouth to be had but SRC’s have been a bit slow, water is super warm in many areas so please be careful of over playing/handling these fish. Bait is getting larger as they prepare to collide with early arriving migratory Coho/Silver salmon. Flies should be a bit larger in profile but do be careful here. SRC’s/Sea Run Cutthroat will try to inhale anything they think they can and fatally wound themselves on too large of hooks. You can hook, fight and land big Coho on size 10 hooks, have done it many times, size 2 or larger not necessary, especially from the beach.

Skykomish and other Puget Sound rivers as well as the Cowlitz are as good as they will get for mid summer steelhead. Have been having a lot of fun dusting off the old longer belly lines like original Skagit and Delta lines as well as some other closet extra long lines in the 60+ foot range. Good reminder of the importance of knowing how to cast well before allowing technology to take over.

Warm water species are on their game right now. Bass, carp, pike and muskie are all in season. If you are unfamiliar with where, when, how, why and what to do in this arena, please come by and let’s chat. We are here for you and opening new doors in the sport will make you a better angler on those familiar ones…period! Unfortunately, our 4th annual carp tournament has had to be cancelled though Bill will be at Banks Lake, fishing and otherwise unofficially hosting those who would like to join. Any questions, let us know, happy to get you in touch with Bill.

Have a safe and wonderful rest of summer everyone, call, email, text, stop in with questions and remember, we sell what we as guides on the water use and believe in.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Reports Tagged With: 5050 on the water, Dave McCoy Photography, Emerald Water Anglers, fly fishing photography, Fly Fishing Seattle, Puget sound fly fishing, Sea Run Cutthroat, Seattle Fly Fishing, Seattle fly fishing guides, Seattle fly fishing reports, Seattle Fly Shop, spey casting, steelhead fly fishing, Washington fly fishing reports, Washington Lakes

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!

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Events Tagged With: 5050 on the water, Carbon Neutral, Emerald Water Anglers, FFI Certified, fly fishing photography, Offsets, Orvis, Puget sound fly fishing, Sea Run Cutthroat, Seattle Fly Fishing, Seattle fly fishing events, Seattle fly fishing guides, Seattle Fly Shop, washington fly fishing, women's fly fishing, Yakima River

Upcoming Fly Fishing Events – February 2020

February 1, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Sauk Magic steelhead fly by Nathan Keen.

Bienvenidos, willkomen, benvenuta, ようこそ and welcome…to winter steelhead season! We are writing this as nearly every river on the coastal side of the mountains is at or near flood stage, a momentary refuge for our andadromous friends making their way into the local rivers!

We just finished up our 4th annual EWA Spey Day and the buzz coming out of that was incredible. Maybe one of the biggest highlights was the time spent throwing the new long belly lines from Bridge Fly Fishing and having Tim Arsenault on hand to help take away some of the anxiety. Seems like another life when we were using rods longer than 13 feet and heads were longer than 25ft. With some Canadian encouragement, we watched as many got after the 60+ foot heads, we all felt like little kids again. Fabulous to see that level of enthusiasm on the water. Thank you to everyone who came out, sales reps, FFI instructors, friends and new spey casters, it was a blast.

Some great events still to come with us here at EWA and our surrounding area and we hope to see you at one or all of them, scroll on down and have a terrific February!

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

Tie One On – Coed Fly Tying
February 6 – Nathan Keen and Bill Marts – Steelhead and Salt
February 20 – Saltwater
March 3 – Tying Party!

The Fly Fishing Show – Lynnwood
February 15 – 16
EWA will not be in attendance with a booth this year but two of our Women’s Program leaders Jenn Fluke and Bethany will be at the Women’s Meet and Greet. But if you find something you really NEED, come on in and let us know and we will get it in your hands.

TreFin Seafood’s Tuna Pick Up – 3pm – 7pm
March 1
Come by the store and get the skinny on fishing for Albacore off the Washington and Oregon coast and pick up fresh tuna from the guys who line caught it and processed it in Ilwaco. Pre Order and Pick Up HERE

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.

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.

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.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Events Tagged With: 5050 on the water, AFFTA, casting instruction, Emerald Water Anglers, FFI, fly fishing events, Fly Fishing Seattle, fly tying, Meet and Greet, Olympic Peninsula, Pacific Albacore, spey casting, steelhead, swinging flies, Trefin Tuna, washington fly fishing, Wild Steelhead, women's fly fishing

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