**

3-6
feet

Upper Columbia
'Black Bear Lodge'

***.5

5/23/13 The river is at 195K and fishing good. Tactics lately include:
1) Shallow and deeper nymphing with indicators
2) Soft hackles in the surface and on a tight line
3) Streamers with a 150 Grain
4) The dry fly

The water temp is at 53 degrees. Hatches include Caddis and Baetis with a few Yellow Mays showing.

5/18/13 Ditto last report!

5/14/13 The river fished extremely well over the past week.It has doubled in size in 7 days. Remarkable river. What river fishes great through a huge change like that? Not many. Nymphing under the indicator and straight, tight line swing/retrieve on a dry line as well as a 150 grain tip has been the tactics used lately.

Best bugs lately;

#12 Goddard, #12 Brown Bomber, #12-14 Spanker,
#12 Red Copper Swan, #8 Catch-all

5/9/13 The UC has come up quite a bit and lost some clarity but continues to fish good to great depending on the zone and day.

The Caddis hatch is in 2nd gear and the Mayflies while sporadic have been reasonable.

There are ample Beetles and Ants about as well.

Retrieving, Nymphing and Dry Fly Fishing has been the Game

5/5/13 The Upper Columbia is fired up with reasonable Mayfly and Caddis hatches

Caddis - Size 16 Tan (Not the Mother's Day)

Baetis - Size 18-20

Tan Mayfly - Size 16

Fly Carpenter Ants - Size 12

The Sink tip swing fishing has slowed dramatically which is typical at this time of year. Nymphing with an indicator, Soft hackles on their own swung or retrieved as well as the dry fly have been the ticket lately.

Best Nymphs - #14 Spanker, #14-16 Caddis pupae in Tan

Best Soft Hackle - #14-16 Tan Bomber

Best Dry - #14 - 16 Blooms Caddis and Goddard Caddis

4/26/13 Ditto last report, plus great weather. Mothers Day Caddis is just around the Corner.

4/20/13 The fishing remains avg to great depending on the day. Yesterday, some of the fish we hooked on the swing were Tarponesque in their demeanor.

Best line yesterday 24 ft of 150 Grain.

Best Swung Fly - #8 UC Mini Leech

Best Nymph - #14 Spanker.

4/14/13 Grand Coulee's level is dropping fast and certainly defining more water for us and the flow at the border is higher then last week. The swing fishing has slowed quite a bit. We have however picked up quite a few fish while retreiving the fly on the move....Streamer style drift fishing. Good Blue Wings lately as well. The Nymphing has definitely picked up. The past couple days we have been able to target rising fish with nymphs just under the surface.

Best flies: #4 Catch All, #6 Bow River Bugger, #14 Lightning Bug, #16 and 18 RS2.

Best Sink Tip: T-150

4/8/13 So the powers that be started decreasing the level of Lake Rosevelt and increasing the flows at the border. The absolute complete opposite of last week regime....We will be on the water this entire week and keep you updated. Fishing has remained reasonable through the change. Nymphing has picked up a bit.

4/2/13 Pretty remarkable swing fishing for bright and blue skies. The past two days we have hooked 2 confirmed fish over 10 pounds including the buck to the right and above as well as a huge bright hen that spit the hook as she was leaving the country. In addition we have seen good numbers of 2-5 pounders.

Best tactic has been swinging the fly with various tips.

Best tip recently - 24 ft of 150 grain

Best Fly #4 Catch All

3/28/13 Water temp is at 42.

Bugs include; Light Skwala, Blue Wings and Midges.

Catching continues to be reasonable with half the fish awesome heavy specimens.

Swinging continues to be the ticket...

Best tip today was a 200 grain 24ft head. Best bug #6 Catch All

3/24/13 Water temp will most likely see 41.5 by the end of this week.....

Bugs include; Light Skwala, Blue Wings and Midges.

We would rate the catching recently as fair. Our prediction is that the catching should be more like good by the end of this next week with warmer air temps coming to the American Reach.

We are utilizing the swing with everything from a light sink tip to 24ft of 300 grains based on depth of flow.

Nymphing should be spot on over the next couple weeks with more insect activity.

3/19/13
Water temp on the Upper Columbia is hovering at around 40.5. Warmer then normal for this time of year. The lake level below us has gone down and then back up recently. Flows at the border are higher then the 40 year average but certainly better then the past few winters at this time of year. Fishing has been great; Catching has been OK. Having to work for the fish; We have been fishing the fly on the swing, retrieve and some nymhing as well.

When swinging we have utilized variable tips and lines based on depth and flow. Best swing bugs - #4 Pats, #4 Copper Brown String Leech

Best two hand rod sink system has been an Airflo Skagit Intermediate with 12 feet of T-8 or T-10

Best Single hand rod tip would be a Teeny 250

Best Nymphs - #6 Olive Pats, #14 Red Copper John.

3/14/13 New report coming soon....

3/12/13 No report

3/6/13 We are good to go on the UC. A normal winter is refreshing for the UC in the late winter. Our flows are ranging from 40-65 K daily which is spot on. Water temps are warmer then usual and the fishing is GOOOOD.

3/3/13 No report

2/18/13 Reasonable fishing continues here... Swing tactics as listed below.

2/15/13 Water temps are at 39 degrees already which is 1.5 - 2 degrees warmer then the norm.....Swing fishing has been good not great not poor...but good. Put your time in and it will bring rerwards.

Best line - #6 Out bound for a single hander / Skagit 450 Intermediate with a 5.6 inch per second sinking leader for the two hander

2/8/12 No report

1/30/12 Back on track with some reasonable weather. Lake level is at 1273 and the flows at the border are averaging around 100K.

1/11/12 Brutally cold - Negative 8 degrees F at night!

1/7/12 Hung out at Black Bear Lodge last week.....Getting things ready for the 2013 season. Highest airtemp was 32 degrees so I said the heck with fishing; I know that is a weak excuse. It was however awesome to tie a few bugs next to the fire, enjoy the river views, watch a few movies and do a little sledding with the family.
Water clarity is 12 feet+
Water temp is 37.5 F

12/29/12 On the UC next week and will give up a current report -
River flow at the border ranging from 100 - 120 K which is significantly higher then normal for this time of year (this has been the pattern for the past three big water years)

Grand Coulee Lake level is at 1285 ---- Full Pool is 1290

12/17/12 Currently the fishing by foot is limited as the lake is still at high levels which adds to the 'back up' factor and the flows at the border, while dropping, are still pretty big. Regardless, I managed to swing a couple up by foot the other day. Both fish landed were on an articulated orange/brown marabou with gold flash.

Water temp was 40 degrees. Saw a few fish rise to midges but nothing consistent.

Klickitat
'The Steelhead Ranch'

Klickitat
@Pitt

Methow

Opening Soon

Temps

in Cliffdell

Naches
@Cliffdell

Opening Soon

West Side Steelhead

3/19/13

**

In Forks
In Montesano

The Hoh
near Forks
The Wynoochee
near Black Creek

Thanks to all who fished with us for Winter steel!

 

WDFW Fishing Regulations