Yakima River - Trout Fly Fishing Guides - The Evening Hatch

2000 Fishing Reports

This is the archived fishing reports for the 2000 season.

click here for 1999 reports

Click here for Current Yakima Fishing reports

January 1, 2001

The Yakima River has been fishing quite well lately. Water temps have been in the mid to upper thirties and the Dry Fly Midging, Nymphing and Streamer techniques have all been worthy techniques. The Bumstead party had a fun time waterside with us on New Years Eve Day as displayed by the photo ensemble above. The steelhead style swing was definitely a good option Dec 31st as we landed about 7 fish in an hour all over 14 inches and hooked a couple more as well.

Staying up close and personal with the Yakima river

respectfully and fish-on

jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report 12/26/2000

Water temps as of 3pm today.............
@Umtanum 37.25
@Ellensburg 35.01
@Cle Elum 37.52

I fished the river on Christmas Eve day for two hours and landed 5 fish. I was in the upper canyon between Ellensburg and Cle Elum. Caught all my fish on a large black Woolly Bugger. One of the fish I landed was about an 18 inch fat Cutthroat.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Report December 19, 2000

Water temps this morning are as follows
@Cle Elum 36 degrees
@Ellensburg 31.5 degrees
@Umptanum 32.5 degrees

The obvious choice would be to fish the upper river because of the warmer water temps. The extended forecast shows lows in the low 20's and high in the mid 30's with a chance of snow showers on friday only. We will not be updating this week as we will be on vacation! Wishing all
of you a joyous week and a Merry Christmas!

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

December 15, 2000 Yakima River Report

The roads are bad, the water temps are between 31.5 and 34 degrees...............Stay home, tie flies, hug your kid and drink eggnog.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

December 13, 2000 Yakima River Report

The Yakima River water temps have dropped significantly in the last 3 days with the cooler weather we have been receiving. The Midge activity has been exceptional with yesterday being absolutely stellar fishing. Unfortunately the activity will most likely be slowing down especially after today. There is a warming trend again starting on the 17th. We will keep you updated.
Staying up close and personal with the Yakima.............

WED DEC 13 Mostly Cloudy hi 20°F lo 10°F
THU DEC 14 Snow Showers hi 26°F lo 17°F
FRI DEC 15 Snow Showers hi 35°F lo 21°F
SAT DEC 16 Cloudy hi 38°F lo 31°F
SUN DEC 17 Cloudy hi 39°F lo 30°F
MON DEC 18 Showers hi 41°F lo 29

Yakima River fishing Report December 9, 2000
Well the last week has been good fishing. Water temps have been ranging between 36 and 40 degrees depending on the time of day and where you are in the system. The Midge hatch yesterday was absolutely phenomenal and although we didn't see a large amount of big fish rising we were able to find quite a few pods of fish. One pod in particular must have numbered 70 fish rising rhythmically; Pretty awesome. I would say that most of the fish were literally 8-12 inches, but it didn't matter it was still an impressive sight; and with a small rod was loads of fun. The nymphing and streamer game have been equally as good and actually have been the goto techniques other then when we are able to find pods. All of this might come to a halt real quick as our air temps are supposed to drop to near 0 degrees with an Arctic Front starting on Monday.

Extended forecast:

Thursday and Friday: Dry and cold. Lows 5 to 15. Highs 15 to 25.

Who knows how long it will last? We will keep you updated.

Respectfully and fish-on

jack@theeveninghatch.com

Water temps have warmed a bit with the break in the cold snap that we had for over two weeks. Night time air temps have been in the upper 20's and day time temps have been in the upper 30's to low 40's.
Fishing has been good lately.
December 2 morning water temps.................
@Cle Elum 39.5
@Ellensburg 38.5
@Umtanum 39.5

and the fishing was quite good using Dries and Nymphs both. Most the fish were in the 10-15 inch class but we did manage to land quite a few over 15 including this dark hen. Staying up close and personal with the Yakima.............
respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River November 28
The warming trend I talked about in the last report finally got here. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day in the valley here. Prior to yesterday we have had some normal Winter type weather with snowfall and cold conditions.

Water temps AM 28th High yesterday, the 27th
At Cle Elum 38 40
At Ellensburg 35 38.75
At Umptanum 36.25 38.25

Fishing has been mixed. Some days are decent to good and others slow. The water temps dipped down to 33.7 on the 21st which made for a couple tough days in that time period. At this time of year, a couple degrees drop in water temp is significant. Streamers and nymphs continue to be the consistent game. We are seeing some midge activity on top. December is usually a good midge fishing...We will keep you posted.

Rocky Ford
Reports show that Rocky is in its usual Winter mode, Good Fishing. Rocky is always a great place to go and get your fish fix during the middle of Winter with a 24 inch bow. Bring the usual Rocky Fare to serve up to the well conditioned broods--Midge Pupa, Scuds and various other nymphs from sizes 10-22. Streamers and the like are certainly an option that can bring a waking bow to your feet. Being creative at The Ford is not a bad idea as well. These fish tend to see a large number of flies and can become a bit persnickety. The Ford is a bit light on hatches currently.

Patagonia
Our North Camp has just opened and the fishing has been excellent. Renee Jaffe, The North Camp senior guide landed and released 36 inch Brown on River Y the other day. The Fishing has been consistent with predominantly streamers. The Weather has been beautiful. I will post a current pix soon - Stay tuned to our Patagonia section of the website...........It is about to evolve.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report November 18, 2000

The river is in late Fall/early Winter shape and mode. Every day is different, we have seen some good fishing lately and we have seen some slow fishing lately. Nymphing and Streamers are the main game but there is certainly some dry fly activity with midges here and there. On November 6th the beginning water temps (at Umptanum) were 45.5 degrees and today's starting water temp is 37 degrees. That is quite a drop! The first few days after the initial drop in water temp the fish seemed to be a bit Shocked, however they seem to be settled in now and fishing can be fairly good depending on the day. The weather channel shows a general warming trend Sunday the 19th through Thursday the 24th, where the highs are to reach the upper 40's and the lows in the upper 20's. This should be some good fishing. The weather over here has been beautiful but cold. On some days the highs have been 35-37 with the lows to 18.Regardless, we have been catching fish and should see some good fishing coming up with the warming trend. Remember small nymphs can be the ticket at this time of year---#18-22. If the fish are rising, most likely they are eating Midges; although a cluster pattern is sometimes effective, single midge emerges and dries can be very important and they need to be in sizes 20-24. Using long leaders is crucial when fishing Midge patterns to rising trout, so as to help eliminate drag. We recommend 12 foot leaders.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima Fishing Report November 9, 2000

The overall fishing on the Yakima river has slowed down lately most likely due to the colder water temps. The last two mornings the valley has been dusted with snow. Both Wed and Thursday mornings we woke up to about an inch and 1/2 of snow. By mid morning the snow has melted off. The water temps have dropped from beginning water temps of around 43-44 degrees to 40-41 degrees over the last 4 days.
Yesterdays nymphing was ok. We experienced many subtle takes. Now is the time to fish the primetime hours from 12 to 4. No need to get to the river bright and early unless you are streamer fishing.

Yakima River Fishing Report November 7th

We apologize for the lack of reports over the last two weeks. The Bulkley Steelhead got the best of me and cramped my typing fingers. The Yakima River is in beautiful shape in its entire length. Although fishing has been good, the Fall has not produced the prolific hatches as expected or as compared to years past. In fact this Fall's hatches have been fairly light. The upper canyon has actually seen more consistent hatches than the lower canyon and farm lands.
The nymphing in the farm lands and the lower canyon has been steady with the smaller nymphs being the overall ticket. The streamer fishing has been average at best. When the water is this low the fish can be anywhere. As water temps drop, the fish will generally move to the slower, deeper slots. However, currently we are still finding fish in riffles and faster runs. Today was an absolutely gorgeous Fall day and the fishing was good.

The Tip Pool
*Work the water you are fishing. One cast is not enough through a particular slot. Be diligent and repetitive in the area you are targeting...........especially with nymphs.

*When using smaller hooks the continuous bend style hooks like the Tiemco 2457 allow a better hook-up a landing ratio.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report October 23, 2000

Now we are Fall Fishing! The boat anchor rope is frozen in the morning, you can see your breath until about 11am in the morning, and at about 1:30pm the bugs are hatching. The upcoming week should be fabulous fishing. Typical Fall weather with cold nights, daytime temperatures to 58 degrees, a stable barometer, hazy blue skies and Blue Wings, Cahills and Mahogany duns. Yesterdays rise in the lower canyon was awesome. The upper canyon fished great but did not see the rise the lower canyon did. Water Clarity is great throughout the system. Beginning water temps are between 46-50 degrees depending where you are in the system. The best of the Fall is the next three weeks!

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Report October 22, 2000

The Yakima River is finally starting to see normal Fall fishing activity. Fishing over the last four days has been good. The nymphing in the lower river has been the game but the guides have also been finding small groups of fish here and there feeding on the surface. The insect activity is increasing with Baetis, Mahoganies and Cahills. The farm lands and the upper river are showing some good fishing as well.
The best of the Fall is coming. Usually at this time of year we are having to unthaw our anchor ropes from the bottom of the boat and that hasn't happened once yet. Weather.com shows this next week as dry with cold nights and normal days.

Tip pool
*Fall nymphs should be small
*Drag Free Drag Free Drag Free

respectfully and fish-on

jack@theeveninghatch.com

The Yakima showed a significant drop in volume today below the KRD Water Return Flume as the canal has been shut down. At Ellensburg yesterday, the volume was 1100 and today it is at 700. The river was certainly wader friendly before and is most definitely more wader friendly today. Weather today was mostly cloudy, slight precipitation in the lower county and more in the upper county, uncommonly warm and breezy. Fishing was average in the Farm Lands and the Lower Canyon.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report Yakima River October 17, 2000

The Yakima River and surrounding views and vistas are certainly in Fall mode and color. Weather has definitely been variable ranging from bluebird and calm to nuclear winds notwithstanding to full cloud cover and rain. The latter of weather conditions describes the climate currently. The river is fishing differently throughout the system. Some stretches are fishing more productively with dries and other stretches are fishing better subsurface. Today we had a goooooood day fishing dries both large and small. Only ran a few nymphs early and after that it was float-em and well you know the rest. We saw decent Caddis activity all day both October Caddis #8 as well as Hydrosyche #16, # 14 tan Stones?,
#18 Beatis and a few Mahogany Duns #16. We used 12 foot leaders with single or tandem dries.
Beginning water temps are ranging from 48-52 degrees depending where you are in the system. Clarity is great until the farm lands where the clarity decreases as you progress downstream . Wilson/Cherry Creek is however clearing day by day.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report 0ct. 9th, Yakima River

No more Bugless on the Yakima. The entire river over the last two days showed a major increase in bug activity. Good Baetis hatches throughout the system and actually finding some small pods of fish. Last night we found some very nice fish sipping on Baetis. As usual in the Fall we are also seeing some smaller Caddis #16 emerge in the mornings. One of our guides found a nice pod of fish on Caddis the other morning in the upper river. All- in-all the weather has been incredibly stable lately. Mostly blue bird days until yesterday when the skies were basically hazy. Today looks as if we will be seeing mostly clouds and cool temperatures which should be great for the fishing. In fact, the remainder of the week looks like awesome fishing conditions for Fall activity.

MON Scattered Showers hi 61°F
lo 43°F

TUE Partly Cloudy hi 61°F
lo 41°F

WED Partly Cloudy hi 65°F
lo 40°F

THU Partly Cloudy hi 64°F
lo 41°F

FRI Mostly Cloudy hi 62°F
lo 37°F

SAT Partly Cloudy hi 61°F
lo 34°F

SUN Partly Cloud

Oct 8, 2000

The phrase for the week is Bugless on the Yakima. We still continue to see very light hatches on the entire river system. Morning water temps are ranging from 49-53 degrees depending where you are on the river and the water is in beautiful condition. Clarity is great until the farm lands where it does decrease as you progress downstream due to irrigation input. However these returns are cleaning up every day now and the lower river should start clearing up and already has. With the lack of hatches the fishing has been average to good at best lately. We are expecting to see the insect game increase any day now and we will most certainly keep you updated as things change. All in all, the Fall weather and water have been beautiful so far and the fishing has been good. Wade access is plentiful and with exception of the lower canyon, a wading angler can cross the river in most tailouts.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fly Fishing Report Yakima River Oct 4, 2000

The Yakima River saw a 200-300 cfs increase in flows over the weekend due to large amounts of rain. In some stretches it made fishing tougher, in others it didn't. Water temps are about average for this time of year beginning somewhere between 50-54 degrees depending where you are in the system. Summer Stone activity is winding down while the October Caddis continues to be fair game. The little bug activity has been very light up to this point and we are a bit mystified by the lack of stronger Epeorus, Baetis and Paralepts.
These hatches should pick up soon, throughout the river. Overall fishing has been good. As usual, variable techniques are being used to dupe the trout. Dry Flies, Streamers and Nymphs are all part of the arsenal for the crew. I personally have been throwing only dries and have met with good success. However one guide report lately stated that the streamer game was great and others said that the nymphing had been good. So variable techniques should be part of the arsenal.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

September 27, 2000 Yakima River Report

The Yakima river flows have actually decreased a bit lately and the water temperatures have as well. Yesterday, the morning water temp near Cle Elum was 51 degrees. I should bite my tongue when I make predictions about certain things, such as the Big Bugs. Although the Summer Stone activity is starting to slow down, The October Caddis activity in certain stretches of the river is fabulous. Last night the October Caddis Ovipositing activity was incredible. In fact, that would happen to be the most October Caddis activity I have personally ever seen. I am talking hundreds and hundreds of the big Caddis. Although they are not readily available to the trout when they are ovipositing, the trout most certainly know they are there. They are most available to the trout while pupating and when they are spent. We did just fine last evening using Big Bugs, and it was fun.

The lower river is seeing decent Baetis and Cahill hatches. The first semi cloudy day should erupt with rising fish. The key word there is should. All in all, the river is looking great for the Fall season.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Report Sept 23, 2000

The Cooler weather has dropped the water temps significantly. 6 days ago our water temps were starting out at 60 degrees. Yesterday our beginning water temp was 55.5 degrees - just what the doctor ordered. We saw good Cahill and Baetis hatches yesterday. Although we didn't see a large amount of fish rising to them, we were able to find a few small pods. The rising activity should increase as the trout acclimate to the changes. The overall fishing yesterday and over the weekend was good.
Today was a picture perfect day in the valley. Looks is if the entire week is going to beautiful as well.

All techniques are being used to fool the trout. Dries, streamers and nymphs are on the hitlist for getting the fish to eat.

Our private Lake Sorensen is gearing up for some good Fall Dry Fly activity. Today was a great day for casting small dries to rising fish on the lake and it should only get better. We predict the next three weeks to very good on the lake.

Reports from Lake Lenice(public) have been very good as well.

Tonight: Clear and cold. Lows in the mid 20s. Variable wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny. Highs 60 to 65. East to Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday night and Monday: Clear. Lows 30 to 35. Highs in the mid to Upper 60s.
Extended forecast: Tuesday through Thursday: Dry. Lows in the 30s. Highs in the 70s.

The Tip Pool
**At this water level the fish can be any where; In the skinny water and the heavy water.
**Big Insects/Dries will decrease as an important food source as fall progresses. That is not to say that the big bug won't work; In fact we may see another burst of summer stones yet; However, The decline of the Big dry action is starting.

Respectfully and Fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report 9/21/2000

Cooler weather has covered the valley today and is expected to last for the weekend. Highs are supposed to be at most 70 degrees and lows possibly into the high 20's! This weather pattern is just what the doctor ordered and should cool down our water temps a bit and hopefully spark some Fall Mayfly activity. Mayfly hatches have been fairly light lately. The upper river from the East Cle Elum launch site and West is basically inundated with Chinook salmon as we speak. This has made for some tough fishing in those sections because the trout seem to be displaced. We can't seem to pinpoint trout in any type of water which is most likely do to them being spooked out of their traditional lies. When the salmon activity slows down in those sections look for the trout fishing to pick up. Overall fishing is good, not great and not poor,
just fishin!

Looks like it is going to be a great Fall and the best of it is yet to come!
respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report- September 17

The weather has been clear and warm along with the infamous Kittitas valley winds the last couple days. Hoppers, Stones and October Caddis are the fare for the full meal deal with Crane flies, Caddis and other various Mayflies adding in as desert. The nymphing and dry fly fishing has been good depending on where and when you are fishing. Water flows have stabilized for the time being and the water temp this afternoon was 62 degrees in the upper river. There are large numbers of Stonefly skeletons and October Caddis Pupa
shucks on the rocks riverside. There is nothing explosive about the fishing currently; it is just decent trout fishing. Cooler air and water temperatures will bring on more Fall Mayfly activity. Look for the 55 degree water temperature to be a basic benchmark for that. The Cutthroat are in their beautiful Fall colors and are usually willing to take the dry.

The Tip Pool
* Don't over look the insides and the drop-offs.
* Far and Fine will start to be more important as the Fall progresses; especially in the clean
water stretches and when the Little Bugs make there presence.

Respectfully and Fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report Sept. 12, 2000 Yakima River

I don't remember ever seeing the Yakima river so low; from Bristol Flats up. The fishing continues to be good throughout the entire river. We had our first blue bird day in a while yesterday and it looks as if the weather will be the same for today. The weather pattern for the remainder of the week is shown below.

Today: Sunny and warmer. Highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s.
Variable wind to 10 mph...Becoming Northwest to 10 mph in the
Afternoon.

Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Breezy and cooler.
Lows 45 to 50. Highs 75 to 80.

Lets cross our fingers for cool nights and mild days, so that we can keep our water temps down. We have been fortunate so far this year, but with the water as low as it is, temperatures can change quickly; For the better or worse!

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report 9/10/2000

The Yakima River continues to fish good through the drop. The weather is certainly not normal for this time of year. Cooler air temps, clouds and precipitation have covered the valley for the most part over the last week ensuring that our water temps stay cooler than normal for the front end of September. Typical water temps for the beginning of September over the last 10 years would be 60-65 degrees. Currently, beginning water temps are ranging from 56-60 degrees depending on where you are in the river system. We Like It! Clarity is as follows.....................

Clarity Chart
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 7-8 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 8-9 feet
Teanaway to KOA 8 feet
KOA to Wilson 5-7 feet
Wilson to Roza 3 feet

Bugs
Multiple types of Caddis #8-18, Yellow and Tan Mays #14-18, Baetis #18-20, Craneflies # 12, Yellow Sallies #14 and Summer Stones #6-8.

The Tip Pool
*Epeorus (Yellow May) is a clinger mayfly and therefore comes from the riffles. They emerge quickly so remember if you can't get them on a dry or an emerger, try a traditional wet fly!

*As fall progresses the Dark Dun # 16 Paraleptephlebia is as important to the dinner plate of the trout as is the #20 Baetis!

Respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report Sept 7, 2000

The Yakima river continues to drop in levels and the fishing is good. Bug activity includes Summer Stones, Craneflies, Cahills, Baetis and Caddis. Turning over rocks shows large numbers of October Caddis ready to emerge and in fact we are beginning to see a few here and there. The Summer Stones have made for some good action lately and the evening bug activity of smaller Caddis and the like has been light. Nymphing, Dries and Streamers are all on the hitlist for the guides. Variable techniques and tactics are being used to dupe the trout.

The Tip Pool
The Fall is a good time for matching the hatch but is also a great time to use good ole hairwing dries.
Don't forget to bring some of the classics.
One of the most overlooked hatches of the Fall is the Cranefly.
Although trout eat the adult October Caddis, the Pupa is certainly more available to them.

Morning water temps are ranging from 57-60 degrees depending on where you are in the system. Water clarity is as follows...
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 7-8 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 8-9 feet
Teanaway to KOA 8 feet
KOA to Wilson 5-7 feet
Wilson to Roza 3 feet

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report Sept. 4, 2000

Labor Day weekend brought some Good Fishing - Not Great fishing and not poor fishing - just Good Fishing. Weather was mostly cloudy and some light and heavy rain mixed in here and there. With the cloud cover we expected it to be great catching the entire weekend, however our guide reports and ratings scored it as good.

We have been covering the river from its headwaters to the lower stretches and producing average to good reports throughout the system. Hatches are light overall, except for some of the evenings where the bugs can be thick. Morning water temps are between 57-60 degrees depending on what stretch you are in.

Water levels continue to drop and the clarity is great throughout the river except for after the Wilson/Cherry creek confluence where the clarity diminishes significantly. Here are few pictures of our happy clients.
The Evening Hatch would like to thank it's client base and our sponsoring fly shops for the continued support.

We are happy to say this is a record year and we appreciate the loyalty!
The Hatch is offering a Super Fall Special -- All Yakima River Guided Trips for the Month of November and December will be 15% off.

Some of the Best Fall fishing to pods of fish are in the first 21 days of November!

Fishing Report Aug 30, 2000

The Fishing over the weekend was a bit tough because of the nuclear winds. We managed to do average on Saturday and less than average on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday were definitely Good fishing. Summer Stones are showing and using various big dry flies can pay off. The Fall Cahills are starting to show as are the Craneflies. Over all hatches would be considered light except for certain evenings where the Caddis and other various Mayflies can be strong. Terrestrials are still part of the game and will be for the next Month and a half.

Water levels are dropping and the clarity is awesome until the Wilson creek. At this time of year Wilson creek can be ugly and with the volume of water decreasing from the reservoirs above there is less clean water to mix with the dirty water and therefore the clarity below Wilson is less then it has been. Fishing is still good down low but the clarity about 3 feet.

Expect to see the flip flop complete around the 10th of Sept. Day by day the volume is dropping.

Clarity Chart
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 7-8 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 8-9 feet
Teanaway to KOA 8 feet
KOA to Wilson 5-7 feet
Wilson to Roza 3-4 feet

Water temps are ranging in the AM from 58-60 degrees and topping out in the latter part of the day around 61-63 degrees.

We are looking forward to a great Fall. Remember that some of the best Fall rises are the last two weeks of October and the first two weeks of November!

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

The cooling trend and clouds lately has made for some good to great fishing. Hatches include Caddis, yellow and tan Mays, summer Baetis, Crane flies, Summer Stones and the terrestrials, especially on windy days. Water temps in the morning are ranging from 59 - 62 degrees. Clarity of the river is great in its entirety.

The Bureau of Reclamation stated yesterday that the Flip Flop will take place during its usual time period of the 1-10th of September. Until the first we should see the trickle down effect as well. Day by day the river will decrease slightly. However beginning on or around the first of September the drop in water level will be significant until the 10th. The BoR originally thought they were going to do the flip flop a bit earlier this year to increase the success of the salmon spawn; however they have opted to decrease flows as usual.

We are looking for another warm front starting on Monday. The extended extended forecast is for a dry September and cool October.

Let's cross our fingers for cool nights in September to keep our water temps at a reasonable level.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report August 15, 2000

The Weather has cooled down a bit and the fishing has been good. We certainly wouldn't call it great fishing but we are catching good numbers of trout. Utilizing all techniques from dries to nymphs to streamers has been the game. The trout are healthy and are willing to eat the fly if it is presented correctly. Water temps have cooled down a bit and the river is in beautiful condition. We should begin to see the trickle down effect starting soon. The water should be slowly decreasing over the next few weeks and the flip flop as usual around the first 10 days of September.

Yakima River Fishing Report August 9, 2000

The Water temps on the Yakima are warming up. From the dairy lands to the lower canyon our water temps are ranging from morning temps of 60-62 and evening temps of 63-64 degrees. The fishing during the day lately would be slated as average at best and the last hour as good. Our fishing has held up to be above average for the heat we have been seeing, however the last few days the overall fishing has been a bit less intense probably due to the increase in water temps. Now is as good a time as always to take good care of the trout when catching and releasing. The fish will tend to be more stressed with the warmer water temps. The last couple of days the average size of fish has been quite a bit smaller. The bigger guys may be laying low and not as willing to move up for the dry or quickly for the streamers. The smaller fish are the future of this river, so take good care of the these little jewels.

The upcoming weather pattern shows a bit of a cooling trend which will be welcomed. All in all, the summer fishing so far has been good and we can't complain.

Respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report August 4, 2000
Sounding repetitive, but the river is fishing good and in Summer mode. Water temps have increased a bit.
The river is in beautiful condition. Clarity is awesome. The hatches are light except for the end of the day where they can be prolific. Predominantly - Caddis, Micro Caddis, Baetis and Yellow Mays. There was a decent yellow May hatch during the day yesterday which was a nice way to mix up the hopper fishing. The hoppers are thick bankside now and although trout don't eat them on a regular basis they most certainly eat them opportunistically. Summer Stones are showing and should only get better. Watch for the Summer/Fall Cahills to increase as well.

Water temps Beginning/End

Headwaters to Cle Elum River 58/ 65
Cle Elum river to Teananway 57/ 59
Teanaway to KOA 58/ 60
KOA to Wilson 59 /61
Wilson to Roza 60/ 62

Clarity Chart

Headwaters to Cle Elum River 6-7 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 7-9 feet
Teanaway to KOA 7-9 feet
KOA to Wilson 4-6 feet
Wilson to Roza 4 feet

Respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report 8/1/2000
Since the last report there are no real incredible up dates other then we are beginning to see Micro caddis.
Micro caddis are about a #24. Although they may not seem like a major food source, the trout do eat them especially under water. Micro caddis can be very thick. It is not uncommon to see blizzard of them! All in all, the Yakima is in Summer mode!
fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River fishing report July 31st
The Yakima River continues to fish in summer mode. Some days are better than others and usually the evenings are good to great. This weekend we had boats in the upper canyon, the dairy lands and the lower canyon. The upper canyon report was poor to average. The dairy lands and lower canyon report was good.

Hoppers are definitely out in full force and an occasional stomach sample shows that a variety of terrestrials especially ants and beetles are a good choice. Remember don't be afraid to sink those terrestrials. The streamer action has been mixed and inconsistent but definitely is a good option at times. The dry fly game in the evening has been average to great depending on the stretch you are in and the day. Nymphing during the day is always a good option and has been fairly productive.

Water flows are definitely up and moving. Currently they are actually a bit higher than the average for this time of year. These flows are large and tough for wading but they are actually a blessing at this time of year. Without these flows our water temps would be incredibly warm. Recently, one of our guides was fishing the Bitteroot river and the mid-day temperature was 72 degrees. The mid-day temp on the Yakima in the lower canyon is 61 degrees.

Hatches include
Caddis #14-18 Tan, grey, olive
Summer Baetis # 18-22
Summer Stones #6
Yellow Mays #14-18
Yellow Sally Stones #14
Terrestrials/Beetles, Ants, Hoppers
The bug activity is fairly light except for evenings.

Clarity is as follows;
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 6-7 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 7-8 feet
Teanaway to KOA 6-7 feet
KOA to Wilson 4-6 feet
Wilson to Roza 3-4 feet

Fish-on
The Evening Hatch
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima Fishing Report 7/25
The basic words for this week in weather has been warm and nuclear. High Airtemps and relentless winds have been the challenge. The fishing overall is average. Some days and or nights are more productive then others. The challenge for the beginner is the casting in the wind. Water levels are basically normal for this time of year and temperatures. Wade access is limited unless you are a strong wader and if that is the case there is plenty of access to get waste deep in and work your way up stream. A combination of Dry Flies Nymphs and Streamers are being used to dupe the trout which are certainly healthy as shown here in this recent photo of Gary McManus with a bow that measured 18" by 11" .............
respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report July 19th, 2000

The airtemps this week are expected to be in the mid 80's to 90 and some days are to be partly cloudy. The nymphing over the last two days has been good according to the guides; In fact, yesterday was very good. The key is presentation, and drag free is the game. Assuming you are able to present the fly in a drag free manner, the nymph game has been definitely productive. The dry fly game in the evening has been good as well.

Water temps yesterday were in the 57-59 degree range from the dairy lands into the lower canyon. These are good water temps for this time of year, and although the releases we receive from the reservoirs sometimes are annoying, they are a blessing in the heat of the summer to keep are river cooled down!

This is also a good time to do a bit of creek fishing as well. There are many tributaries to the Yakima that can produce some good fishing from the upper county down into the valley. Make sure that you aren't trespassing when fishing these creeks. If you do a bit of door knocking, generally the result is good. One of my favorite techniques on the creek is to use a small muddler and fish it either like a dry, a streamer or a nymph.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report July 17, 2000

The Yakima river is in definite Summer mode. This week the weather man predicts hot weather and the river is at full Summer volume. The day time fishing has been average at best with the morning and evenings being your best activity for dry fly fishing. Summer time fishing can be a bit tedious during the middle of the day, so don't burn yourself out in the heat. Some of your best Summer time fishing is on windy days. Casting can be a bit tougher but the terrestrial food sources get blown around and provide opportunity for the trout who otherwise are seeing less bug activity at this time of year. We do however have some aquatic hatches and they include;
Caddis #12-22 Various Caddis including Hydrosyche, Rychophilia and Micro Caddis
PMD's and or other Yellow Mays #12-18
Yellow Sally Stones #14-16
Summer Stones #6
Green and Brown Drakes #10

Terrestrial food sources include---Hoppers, Ants, Bees and Beetles/ Remember that hoppers do get large but most are rather small.

Also, Don't overlook the skinny shaded water for fish (Big Fish and Small Fish). Not all fish are deep because of the sun, and lack of thick hatches.

Clarity is as follows;
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 6-7 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 7-8 feet
Teanaway to KOA 6-7 feet
KOA to Wilson 4-6 feet
Wilson to Roza 3-4 feet

Water temps are staying low due to the releases from the resevoir...........
AM PM
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 58 63
Cle Elum river to Teananway 52 54
Teanaway to KOA 53 56
KOA to Wilson 55 57
Wilson to Roza 56 59

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report July 13, 2000
Fishing has been a touch on the slow side lately. Beautiful hot blue sky weather during the day can certainly be great for the tan but definitely slow on the dry fly fishing. Variable trichniques during the day including dries, nymphs and streamers are all worthy choices. Remember, at this time of year some of your best fishing is when the shadows hit the water!

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Update 7/5/2000

Reports showed the Yakima River in the desert Canyon fished good to great yesterday. From 2pm to dark the anglers were casting to rising fish. The trout were eating Caddis willingly. The fishing over the next week should be great. The increase in water flows from the Cle Elum reservoir also decreased the water temps which is wonderful as well. We were starting to see fairly high water temps for this time of year, due to lower then normal flows. With our flows at normal levels right now our AM water temps in the lower canyon should be around 57 degrees. The AM water temps in the Upper Canyon should be similar, maybe 1or 2 degrees less.
on the Yak with The Hatch
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report 7/4/2000

The Yakima river water volume has increased substantially over the last 3 days. The water volume is now at normal summer flows and the clarity is great for all sections of the river

Headwaters to Cle Elum River 6-7 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 8-9 feet
Teanaway to KOA 8 feet
KOA to Wilson 5-8 feet
Wilson to Roza 4-5 feet

Fishing has been good overall. Not great and not poor, just good fishing. We are beginning to see the front end of our Summer Stoneflies which is a great sign! We have also been fortunate to see some great Brown Drake hatches in the last 30 minutes of light. Over the years we have seen the Brown Drakes here and there but this year it seems to be a bit more consistent in the evening. Being in the right place at the right time is crucial for these Mayflies.
Hoppertunity is just around the corner as well. Remember, windy days are great for hopper fishing!

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report June 30th

Cooler temperatures and nuclear winds were part of fishing today on the Yakima. The Hatch had 14 anglers on the water with three boats reporting average fishing at best while the other four reported good to great fishing. The three boats that reported average fishing were in the dairy lands and the four that report good to great fishing were in the lower canyon. Multiple techniques and patterns were used to fool the trout including big dries, little dries, big nymphs and small nymphs. The last 60 minutes of light produced some great Caddis and Brown Drake hatches as well Stoneflies. There were yellow Mayflies intermittent throughout the day. The river is in beautiful condition with the clarity as stated in the last clarity update, and the flows lower then normal for this time of year.
On the Yak with the Hatch
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report June 28, 2000

The overall clarity on the Yakima River right now is great. The levels are lower then normal for this time of a year and the water temps are higher then normal for this stage in the game. This is a factor we need to keep an eye on! Be careful on the releases and assure that the fish is ready, willing and able to swim on its own. Water temps at Bighorn in the morning are 60 degrees and usually would be around 56 degrees. The fishing over the weekend was quite good considering the nuclear winds. Since this incredible hot weather pattern has enveloped us three days ago the fishing has been average at most during the day time heat and good in the evening.

Make sure, if you haven't already, to write to the state off of our website link and give them your two cents worth regarding the salmon fishery on the Yakima. Here are a couple of interesting facts or statements...............

-I talked with one of the local game agents about this salmon fishery and he informed me that he found out about this "special opening" when his wife called him the day before the first opening occurred and read an article to him listing that there was to be limited fishing season for Chinook on the Yakima River above Roza. This was the first he had heard of the opening. It seems a bit ridiculous that are game agents were not informed of this fishery especially when it happens to be on a river with pre-existing special catch and release regs?

-I thought the Wild Chinook of the Columbia system were endangered. Then what are we doing opening a season on the fish where they are trying to reproduce; Go figure!

Respectfully and Fish-on
The Evening Hatch
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report June 25th, 2000

Fishing, aside from battling the nuclear winds lately has been good. The nymphing and streamer fishing has definitely been more productive than the dry fly game. Dry fly action lately has been good in the last two hours of the day for the lower desert canyon stretch. We have found some decent dry fly action throughout the day in the upper river. The river as we speak is in beautiful condition.
Clarity is as follows.........
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 6-7 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 9-10 feet
Teanaway to KOA 8-9 feet
KOA to Wilson 5-7feet
Wilson to Roza 3-4 feet.

Water temps are ranging from AM temperatures of 53 degrees in the upper river to 59 degrees in the Lower river. Hatches include;
Yellow Mays #10-18
Drakes #10
True Golden Stones #6-8
Yellow Sally Stones #14-16
Caddis #14-18 Tan - Grey

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Report 6/22/2000

The fishing over the last few day has been only average. Nuclear winds have made fishing difficult. Water temps in the AM are 58 degrees in the lower river and 53 degrees in the upper river. Hatches are as listed in the last report. Water Clarity is as follows

Headwaters to Cle Elum River 6 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 7-8 Feet
Teanaway to KOA 7 feet
KOA to Wilson 4-5 feet
Wilson to Rosa 3 feet

Fishing Report 6/20/2000

The Yakima has stabilized once again from the artificial releases and is basically at standard summer flows. The fishing for the last two days has been average. The fishing during the rise was non-existent. Bug activity lately includes PMD's, Caddis, Drakes and Epeorus. Water clarity is as follows:

Headwaters to Cle Elum River 4-5 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 5-6 Feet
Teanaway to KOA 5 Feet
KOA to Wilson 3-4 Feet
Wilson to Roza 2-3 Feet

Upcoming weather shows Sun and partly cloudy all week. Air Temps---Lows 55 degrees, Highs 83 degrees.
Assuming the Bureau of Reclamation is done with the huge swings of water releases...........Fishing should stabilize. Nypmphing, Streamers and Dries during the day and Dry fly action in the evening should be a good game plan.

respectfully and fishon
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Update 6/13/00

Due to the large rains we received this weekend the Teanaway River as well as the Cle Elum River have increased in flows and decreased the clarity of the Yakima River. The Teanaway River is not regulated by dam and showed an increase of 600 cfs since yesterday but is on the decline now. The Cle Elum river flows controlled by dam have increased 1600 cfs since yesterday. Hopefully, the releases should not increase that much more and should subside with upcoming weather conditions. The clarity below Cle Elum confluence is very poor.

Respectfully,
The Evening Hatch
Jack Mitchell
jack@theeveninghatch.com

The fishing this weekend was exceptional. Great hatches of various Mayflies--Baetis, PMD's, Epeorus, Slate
Grey Duns, Green Drakes and a few Caddis kept the fish willing. We covered the river from the Headwaters to Roza this weekend and saw some good fishing. Our slowest fishing came in the Dairy Lands section. Our best rises were in the desert canyon because the hatches were absolutely prolific. In fact on Sunday the hatches in the lower canyon were some of the best we have seen of yellow mays and Baetis. The hatches were strong lasting for 3-4 hours. This season, the Yellow May hatches have been great on the entire river. A wading angler can do well in the desert canyon at this time of year. Regardless of hatch, the wader has plenty of bank access. We had some good rises up above the dairy lands as well with the same hatches as the lower river but not as intense. Water temps have stayed cool because of our weather pattern, however the forecast shows a warming trend. The warming trend will slow down the PMD's a bit but will turn on the Caddis!

Current Hatch Chart
PMD's #16-18 Parachutes, Comparaduns, Sparkle Duns, Transition Duns
Epeorus #10-14 " " "
Baetis #18-22 " "
Slate Grey #12-16 " "
Green Drakes #10 Paradrakes, Quigley Emergers
Caddis #14-18 Tan and Grey--Elk Hairs, X-Caddis, ESP's, Tent Wings

Clarity Chart
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 5-6 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 6-8 Feet
Teanaway to KOA 6 Feet
KOA to Wilson 4 feet
Wilson to Roza 2-3 feet

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report for the Yakima River 6/11/2000

The Yakima was back in shape for the weekend. The clarity and levels are good for this time of year. The weather for the weekend was a bit colder then normal. We had 16 river/boat days this weekend and saw some average to great fishing. The middle stretches of the river fished only average utilizing all techniques but nymphs seemed to be the key. The lower canyon was an absolute slugfest with variable yellow mays and prior to the dry fly fishing from 11am to 6pm the nymphing was good. The upper canyon fished decent to good as well. Assuming all is stable with the water now we should see some good consistent fishing. The weather pattern shows a warming trend starting Tuesday. With the warming trend the Caddis action should pick up as well.

respectfully and fish-on
www.theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report Yakima River 6/8/2000

On the 5th of June the Bureau of Reclamation R released a huge amount of water out of the Cle Elum reservoir. The volume from the dam almost reached 5000 CFS. On the 7th they began dropping it almost as fast as they raised it and as of today they the flows from the Cle Elum reservoir are stabilized at 2,600 CFS which combined with the flows from the upper Yakima proper of around 800 CFS and the Teanaway River makes for flows close to average Summer Flows.

The fishing for the last couple of days has been nonexistent below the Yakima River confluence with the Cle Elum River. Our prediction is that the fishing on the entire river should be online again the 10th if everything stays relative to what we are seeing now!

Clarity is coming back in and hopefully that release of water was the last hurrah.

Headwaters to Cle Elum River 6 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 5-6 feet
Teanaway to KOA 5 feet
KOA to Wilson 3-4feet
Wilson to Roza 2-3 feet

AM Water temps are ranging from 46 degrees in the upper river to 52 degrees in the lower river. Insect hatches are as listed before.

Respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report 6/6/2000

As expected, The Yakima volume is up again because of releases from the Cle Elum reservoir. According to the Bureau of Reclamation they are thinking this may be the last hurrah - meaning, after this next 5 day push of water we should see some stabilization so that we aren't seeing these large fluctuations. The reason they are releasing is because they have no more capacity in the reservoir at the present time. The Bureau of Reclamation releases from reservoirs to make room for the continued inflows they receive. The goal is to have as much water stored in the reservoirs as possible after the Last Hurrah! We can't complain too much, the overall run-off this year has been GREAT!

respectfully and fish on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

6/5/2000 Fishing Report

Reports from the guides showed average to great fishing throughout the river yesterday. We had boats on the river from the upper reaches to the depths of the lower canyon and the reports were good overall. Hatches include;
Baetis, PMD's. Flying Ants, Drakes, Yellow Sallies, Golden Stones and Caddis.

Variable techniques including Dry Flies, Nymphs and Streamers were used to dupe the trout. Water temps have increased in the entire river from the warm weekend. The Teanaway, although higher, was fairly clean yesterday. The Cle Elum continues to run lower then expected. How long that will last, who knows. The overall condition of the river right now is incredible and we are having fun!
fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report 6/4/2000

The Fishing has been good and consistent on the entire river the last four days. The heat has slowed the PMD dry fly action down a bit during the day but the nymphing has been good. The evening has been on fire with various insects as listed in the last reports. The Teanaway shows a 250 cfs increase in the last few days because of the heat, but nothing significant, yet! The Cle Elum Reservoir River releases are down and we should expect to see them increase again soon.

Staying up close and personal with the Yakima
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report 6/2/2000

The Yakima River has fished incredibly well in the last 4 days, especially in the desert canyon stretch. Good to great PMD hatches combined with cloudy weather kept the fish rising all day long. The weather is changing to sunny and warmer and therefore the day activity on PMD's may be less but as witnessed yesterday the Caddis will be strong in the afternoon until the evening. Yesterday the bug activity included.....
#20 Baetis
#14-18 Yellow Mays-PMD's, Epeorus, etc....
#14-20 Caddis in Tan and Grey
With the warming trend we should see more of the True Goldens again. There are still a few March Browns up river. The water temps are still in the mid to high 40's up river and in the low to mid 50's in the lower river. Also stay tuned for Drakes; We have seen a few but the best is yet to come.

Clarity Chart
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 6 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 8 Feet
Teanaway to KOA 6 feet
KOA to Wilson 41/2 feet
Wilson to Roza 3 feet

The Evening Hatch will be on the Yakima river during the month of June approximately 150 River Days---Staying Up Close and Personal with the Yakima!

jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fly Fishing Report 5/31/2000

The Desert canyon of the Yakima river is on fire with an incredible hatch of PMD's-Yesterday was one of the top 10 I have seen in 10 years. The hatch also lasted for a very long time, about five hours. It is always a humbling experience to see how many fish are in specific holes when there is a hatch in progress. Most of the fish we saw were nice healthy trout; 13-19 inch fish. The fish were eager to eat most PMD patterns or light colored emerging caddis as long as the fly was presented drag free. The weather for the next 5 days is definitely Mayfly and Caddis weather. Partly cloudy with a warming trend. Assuming our river will stay stabilized, fishing should be good. The following is the forecast for the next 5 days.

Scattered Showers hi 61°F lo 42°F

THU Partly Cloudy hi 65°F lo 44°F

FRI Partly Cloudy hi 76°F lo 48°F

SAT Partly Cloudy hi 78°F lo 49°F

SUN Partly Cloudy hi 78°F lo 50°F

MON Partly Cloudy hi 74°F lo 49°F

TUE Mostly Cloudy hi 69°F lo 46°F

Yakima River Update 5/28/2000

The flows of the Yakima still continue to be large, basically due to releases from the Cle Elum Reservoir. The clarity, or the lack of, is due to the overall volume of the river picking up debris, as well as above the Cle Elum River confluence the Big Creek, Silver Creek and overflows from the Easton reservoir which is directly affected by the Cabin Creek are the main culprits. The Teanaway river seems to be subsiding even with a few 75- 80 degree days. Of course from KOA down, there are a few creeks that contribute color and the last one being Cherry/Wilson which is as a general rule, DIRTY.

Clarity is as follows---
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 2 - 3 feet
Cle Elum River to Teananway 4 feet
Teanaway to KOA 4 feet
KOA to Wilson 21/2 feet
Wilson to Roza 11/2 - 2 feet

Bugs have been fairly sparse lately. The Caddis and PMD's have become very light as well as the Yellow Sallies, and Golden Stones. The bugs will become a bit more consistent once things stabilize, which should not be to far from now. The fishing lately has been a streamer game and we have caught some very nice fish but the numbers of fish to the hand have been considerably less. Our Streamer arsenal is certainly specific...
We use about 4 different patterns that seem to be very productive. The problem is, to divulge this top secret information would take an act of guide congress amongst The Evening Hatch guides. So I will respect their wishes and refrain from giving too many specifics as there needs to be a few things that are only guide PRIVY.

Remember..........the general creek and river opener is the first of June!

Lake Sorensen is fishing very good now with chironimids and damsels being the main course on the diet.

respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Update 5/23/2000

Warm weather in the higher elevations the last few days increased the volume and decreased the clarity, of the Yakima River. The overall water flow is not bad, however the clarity is poor from the Easton Dam down. Cabin creek, Big creek and the Teanaway river are the major tribs that are contributing.

The snow melt this year has been good to us. It is basically the smallest overall impact we have seen. The recent flows we are seeing on the river are indicating that there is not a large amount of snow up there or we would most likely have seen the Yakima at a higher level with this warming trend. The next week will paint the picture as to how long or clarity will be hindered by this light run-off.

With this season we have experienced only about 11/2-2 weeks of down time so far, which is very minimal.
Lets cross our fingers for our good luck to continue.

Fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Report May 19, 2000

The Run Off
The Teanaway increased 750 cfs with the last blast of warm weather we received. The clarity below the confluence definitely decreased but not enough to make it unfishable. This weekend the airtemps are supposed to hit 82 degrees here in the valley. It will be interesting to see the impact. The Teanaway chart definitely jumps up and down with the warming and cooling trends but we are hoping and thinking that the degree of the jumps are not going to be to severe from this point on.

Talking with The Bureau of Reclamation yesterday was informational. Of course, their mode of operandi on releases is directly related to the weather. However the general feeling is that within the next 7-10 days they will start to release on a regular basis out of the Cle Elum reservoir. The outflows will be directly related to the inflows. One thing nice about Cle Elum Reservoir water is that it is clean water; Sometimes it is colder then the main system water from the upper Yakima proper out of Easton, but again it is clear water. The overall clarity and condition of the upper Yakima above the Cle Elum river is directly related to the Cabin Creek system and Big Creek System. The Yakima river clarity above the Cle Elum confluence is generally considerably less then below. As you progress down river past the Teanaway, some of the other impacting tributaries include the Taneum, Naneum, Swauk, Manastash and Wilson/Cherry creeks. The Clockum or North side is very light in snow pack and therefore we should see minimal impact from that side. The North side creeks will offer a bit of volume but should not be major. The run-off this year is chalking up to be one of the best!

The fishing over the last few days has been average. Our flows did increase quite a bit as well as the clarity was less which didn't help. The other major weather factor we have experienced lately is the wind. It was basically nuclear the 15th - 18th. The wind definitely hinders the aquatic insect activity which obviously hinders the rising fish.

Staying up close and personal with the Yakima river
The Evening Hatch Guide Service
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Report 5-17-2000

The Infamous Kittitas Valley Winds have made fishing a bit tough the last couple of days.
The following is a brief description of the upcoming weather. The extended forecast shows a high of 80 degrees on Sunday. The warm weather we have seen in the last few days only lightly impacted the Teanaway River with a slight increase in volume, and light decrease in clarity below the confluence. We may have just experienced the lightest run-off impact I have personally seen in 10 years. There may be a slight increase in volumes and decrease in clarity when the airtemps hit 80 degrees and above as well, but for the most part we are thinking the natural run-off impact is over. Knock on wood!
respectfully and fish-on
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Today: Partly cloudy and breezy. Highs in the lower to mid 70s.
West to Northwest wind 15 to 25 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Wind
Decreasing to West 5 to 15 mph.

This report is based on information from our guide crew. During the month of May 2000, The Evening Hatch will have approximately 100 river days on the Yakima. Staying Up Close and Personal with "Our Home Water" The Yakima River.

The Yakima River is in great shape. Insect hatches are definitely strong and sometimes prolific depending on the weather, conditions and location.

Caddis - Multiple families but predominantly
#14-16 American Grannoms(Brachycentridae) and
#16-18 Tan Spotted Sedges (Hydropsyche)
Caddis Patterns to Use---Tan and Peacock Elk Hairs and parachutes, Egg Layers, X-Caddis, ESP's
MayFlies - #16-18 Pale Morning Duns(Ephemerella Inermis)
#18 Blue Winged Olive
#10 Green Drakes (Ephemerella Grandis & Doddsi)
#14 Grey May (Not able to Identify)
#12 March Browns (Rithrogena)
Mayfly Patterns to Use----Parachutes, Comparaduns, Standard Thorax, Quigley emergers in appropriate sizes and colors for the respective mayfly.
Stoneflies -There are a few stones here an there hatching, but not in any large numbers, however the trout do remember
#6 True Goldens (Acroneuria Californica)
#4-6 Salmon Fly (Pteronarcys Californica)
#14-16 Yellow Sallies(Isoperla)
#10 Spring Stones (Skwala)
Stone Patterns----Stimulators, Wersland Big Dogs, Madam X's ................In respective sizes and colors

Although streamer fishing has and is a great option, the last few days the streamer action has slowed down for us a bit.

Water Temp in the upper river (above CleElum) on the 11th was 44 degrees. Water temp in the lower river was 51 degrees on the 14th.

Clarity chart
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 5-6 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 7-8 feet
Teanaway to KOA 6 feet KOA to Wilson 4-5 feet
Wilson to Roza 3 feet

The last day I guided personally which was May 13, between 3-5pm, I didn't stop my boat on rising fish unless there were more then five fish eating consistently-I would call that a bit spoiled! The fish are definitely looking for presentation - in their feeding lane - and drag free is the key. It is definitely the time for fishing far and fine.

We have seen some very late spawning activity this year. Be careful with your anchors. Dragging an anchor is not good for the bottom and definitely not good for spawning beds. Trout like to spawn in shallow gumball or less size rock flats. Avoid these areas for anchoring. There are large amounts of this type of water in the Dairy lands and the waters near Cle Elum. The other day one of our guides reported seeing good numbers of fish on spawning beds. Please don't disturb these beds, they are the future to our trout fishery.

The fishing today was exceptional with dry flies from 2pm to dark. The morning was slow but once the PMD's and Caddis started showing it was a dry fly game. Guide reports showed slow fishing in the Dairy lands and good in the Canyon. Water temps today ranged between 47-50 degrees. Water levels are unseasonably low. Clarity is as stated in the last chart. The small dry fly fishing sometimes is not about what small dry you use but how you present the fly; Drag free and in the trout's feeding lane is the game!
Presentation, Presentation, Presentation! Remember the drag mend, down stream presentations and set the hook lightly!

The Yakima has been fishing consistently good. We are still finding our best fishing from morning to the late afternoon with the evenings being slow. The water flows have dropped even more and the river is in beautiful shape. Caddis have been lighter then we expected here lately and the March Browns are still showing. We are starting to see decent hatches of PMD's and a few Drakes here and there. There are a few Salmon flies as well. Water temps are ranging from 46-54 degrees depending on the stretch you are fishing.

Clarity Chart
Headwaters to Cle Elum River 5 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway 8 feet
Teanaway to KOA 6-7 Feet KOA to Wilson 4- 5 feet
Wilson to Roza 3-4 Feet

jack@theeveninghatch.com

Fishing Report 5/2

Trout Section - The fishing today was very good but being in the right place at the right time was important. Early to mid afternoon lately has been the best fishing for us. The evening seems to be less productive. Today from 9am to about 1pm the best bug was Caddis. Size 14-16 far and fine worked great. At about 1:30pm to about 2:30pm the March brown hatch was wonderful. Water temps are ranging from 55degrees in the lower canyon to 48 degrees in the upper river. In the last 24 hours the flows below the Teanaway have increased about 250 cfs due to warmer temperatures.

Small Mouth Bass Section - Below Horn Rapids to the Yakima rivers confluence with the Columbia River the Small Mouth Bass are on the prowl. One of our guides has been doing a bit of R&D lately and the conditions are perfect right now for the fly angler to tie into some wild Bronzebacks. Average size today was 3 pounds, and that is a hot three pounds of fish. If you are interested in booking a trip on the lower Yakima for some smallies give us a jingle and we can set you up for a great float on the lower river.

Fishing Report 5/1

The fishing has been mixed lately. Being in the right place at the right time seems to be the ticket. Yesterday, we had some great fishing in one particular stretch and at the same time in another stretch very close by it was very poor. For example, two of our boats were in a stretch the other day where the fishing was absolutely fantastic for about 3-4 hours on Caddis. At the same time down and up river 3 to 5 miles our other boats were struggling a bit. So who knows? If you do happen to hit it good, It can be awesome. We sat on a pod of fish the other day and fished them by foot quartering up stream dries and manage to land 7 fish over 15 inches, standing in basically one spot.

Teanaway system
jack@theeveninghatch.com

The Yakima river is fishing great. Today our streamer fishing was exceptional and we were fortunate to fish a great March Brown hatch as well. A few reports back I stated that the March Browns were light this year but recently we have seen some great hatches of Rithrogena. The March Browns are definitely showing strong late this year. On the opposite we are seeing Salmon flies, Caddis and even a few Pale Morning Duns very early...........Go Figure! Regardless the fishing has been awesome. It is a good idea to come prepared with a variety of bugs, because you never know what is going to happen. We do predict the next series of warm days the Caddis hatch should explode as we witnessed a few days back. The Caddis as of today were very light due to cold temperature. In fact it is supposed to get down to between 25-30 degrees this evening. Patterns used today included; Parachute Adams, Gulper specials, Elk Hair Caddis, Comparaduns and a variety of Streamers. Today was guides day out and we had a great day of trout fishing. Numbers and numbers of nice trout. Clarity Chart is basically the same as the last report and our flows have slowly been decreasing.

Staying up close and personal with the Yak
Tight lines and Screaming Reels
jack@theeveninghatch.com

Yakima River Fishing Update 4/24
News Bulletin
Flash
Hot
The Yakima is in a Full Swing Caddis Hatch. The American Grannom Caddis have come early this season and we should see some incredible fishing in the next few weeks!

One of our guides was on the river and said they caught fish basically at will until the temperatures cooled down. There were some warm temperatures from 12 noon to 4:30 pm and during that time it was awesome. Last night got awfully cold and as the day before the caddis were quashed with the cooler temperatures.

There is no doubt we are into the Mothers Day Caddis Hatch early. The Weather patterns show warming days and cooler nights with a chance of showers this coming week. Should be good to great fishing the next 7 days. According to the forecast, Wednesday and Thursday should be optimal.

Clarity Chart

Headwaters to Cle Elum River-4 to 5 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway-7 feet
Teanaway to KOA-5 Feet
KOA to Wilson-4 to 5 feet
Wilson to Roza-4 Feet

Cold weather and wind today quashed the blizzard Caddis we saw yesterday. We still were able to muster up a good three hours of dry fly fishing today despite the conditions. The main course for the rainbows today were the March Browns and Caddis. Our best patterns lately have been Parachute Adams, Gulper Specials, Humpy's and Egg Laying Caddis. The next warm day on the Yakima should explode with more Blizzard Caddis. There have only been a few years that I have seen this many Caddis so early! We are looking forward to more pods of Fish.

The Mothers Day Caddis Hatch is here early and we are in a Full Swing Blizzard Caddis Hatch. Fishing was good today but there were so many bugs it was a bit challenging; watch for updates!

Yakima River
The flows seem to be stable for the time being and the fishing has been fair to good. Yesterday I had a client in the lower river that is well tuned to drag free and dry fly presentation and he was able to wrangle up numbers of fish; about 35. Most of the fish we caught yesterday were all visually rising; in fact we only caught 7 or 8 fish searching. The magic time was from 1-4pm. The predominant bugs yesterday we saw the fish eating were March Browns and Caddis. Prior to hatch we picked up a couple nice fish on streamers and nymphs. After hatch we used a few big bugs and nymphs and were able to fool a few. No doubt, the best fishing was during the hatch off March Browns and the Egglaying Caddis. We are seeing a few Salmon flies here and there which is quite early for these large critters. The Skwalas are almost all but done, fizzled out in the lower ends of the river. Remember, in the upper reaches of the river hatches can be delayed, due to the cooler climate.

Water temps-Ranging from 50-51 degrees in the lower canyon to 46 degrees in the upper reaches.

American Grannoms are just around the corner and the magic water temperature for the emergence is about 54 degrees!

Clarity Chart
Headwaters to Cle Elum River--3 to 4 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway--5 to 6 feet
Teanaway to KOA--4 feet
KOA to Wilson--3-4 feet
Wilson to Roza--3 feet

Isaaks Ranch - Private
Fishing on Isaaks is Hot right now. The average fish size is 20 inches and they have been keying in on chironimids and damsels.
On the 19th, we had 7 angler land about 280 fish in one day! Mostly sub surface but there was a good rise in the evening and the next 4 weeks the dry fly fishing will be exceptional at Isaaks. Largest fish landed the other day was 28 inches. Dave Lamson was the angler.

Lake Sorensen - Private
Sorensen has some great rises going on right now and will increase in intensity over the next three weeks as well. Average fish is 17 inches with fish to 22 inches and conveniently located in Ellensburg!

We have been in all stretches of the river lately and our best reports have been coming from the lower end. The river is producing some fairly consistent March Brown hatches as well as some BWO's. We are also seeing some #16 Caddis, some early Salmon Flies and few straggling Sqwalas. Water temps are ranging from 45 to 51 degrees depending on which stretch you are in. Water clarity is as follows..................

Headwaters to Cle Elum River--3 to 4 feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway--5 to 6 feet
Teanaway to KOA--4 to 5 feet
KOA to Wilson--3 to 4 feet
Wilson to Roza--2-3 feet

The Mothers Day Caddis Hatch is here early and we are in a Full Swing Blizzard Caddis Hatch. Fishing was good today but there were so many bugs it was a bit challenging; watch for updates!

The river is definitely on the drop and the clarity is improving. The fishing today was average. Our best success was with streamers and we caught some nice, beautiful trout. We did see a few groups of fish today eating BWOs as well. Water temp was 47 degrees and the clarity chart for the river is as follows:

Headwaters to Cle Elum River ---------- 2 Feet
Cle Elum river to Teananway ----------- 4-5 Feet
Teanaway to KOA ----------------------------- 3-4 Feet
KOA to Wilson ----------------------------------- 3 Feet
Wilson to Roza ---------------------------------- 2-3 Feet

The river is on the drop in levels and three of our guides will be canvassing the river today to survey the conditions. We ended up canceling a large number of clients this weekend because of the flows. We have a large amount of clientele in the next week and it looks like everything is going to drop back into shape according to the weather report. This report will be updated in the pm as well.

There have been a large number of people poaching on the river the last couple of years. Some of the targeted areas are those that are hard to access by vehicles and game wardens. Recently one of our guides took it upon himself to spend some time to stop some of this illegal action happening on the river and thanks to his efforts, two people were ticketed and fined heavily in the upper river. Unfortunately, they had been fishing some of our favorite holes and actually had a few pictures of dead trout they had caught from some of these areas. One Trout, honest to goodness had to have been 28 inches and about 6 pounds. This fish was definitely a native resident fish and not an anadromous rainbow. In the last two years our guide staff reports, as well as other reports we have heard, are a testament to how Catch and Release works. This river is in prime condition. The fish are healthy and we have seen the average size of the trout increase as we have also been catching some very large trophies. The other day one of our guides was out and he stated that he landed a hen rainbow he figured to be 26 inches! Now this is legitimate. We are all familiar with the story, "Yeah we caught 8 fish over 21 inches"; Yeah Right! I wish my boat could catch 8 over 21" in one day! That could happen, but not doing it - in ten years on the river makes me think that the 8 fish over 21" is really more like 8 fish over 17"; Which is definitely realistic. Any how, we are definitely seeing some awesome fish on this wonderful resource.

The river spiked in levels in its entirety due to some very warm temperatures and rains over the last few days. The overall temperatures are supposed to decrease and should bring the river back down in levels and a general clarity increase

The Yakima is fishable in its entire length as we write this report. The following is a clarity chart for the river Headwaters to Cle Elum River 4 to 5 feet of visibility
Cle Elum River to the Teanaway River 6-8 feet of visibility
Teanaway to Thorp 3-4 feet of visibility
Thorp to Wilson 3 feet of visibility
Wilson to Roza 2-3 feet of visibility

Water temps are ranging from 43 degrees to 49 degrees, depending on what stretch you are fishing. The fishing has been average lately. Nothing incredible but just consistent fishing. Hatches include, March Browns, Caddis, Midges and Blue Wings. The rises this year on the March Browns have not been as consistent or as prolific as with the last 3 years. Bugs are cyclical and the last three years of March Browns were incredible. Our guess is that the overall run-off this year is going to be light and we feel that the run-off will almost be over by the middle of May. This projection, if it holds true will be wonderful because that timing will coincide with our traditional Mothers Day Caddis Hatch. Usually during the MDCH we are inundated with high and dirty water; we are crossing our fingers! Until then fishing will be good, just a matter of where and when.

Lately we have been using multiple techniques to dupe the trout. These techniques include dry flies, nymphs, streamers and true wet flies. Using a variety of techniques is always a challenge and widens the scope of ones fishing.

Private Lakes Lake Sorensen-Fishing good; On non windy days the surface activity has been decent to good and should only get better with the next 8 weeks---Good Chironomid action for 17-23 inch rainbows.

Mouer Lake-Heating up for the Spring Spawn. Should start to provide some great Largemouth action; Mostly sub surface, but the possibilities of some decent topwater action as well.

Stay tuned for the final entry to the 1999-2000 Under the Southern Cross Chronicles.

Going...going...gone. The Yak is out for the first time this Year. Warm days with air temps in the mid 70's have raised the snow levels and the river. The entire river is now running brown and high. The weather reports are saying it should cool down during the week but warm up again by the weekend. We are going to have to wait and see when things drop back into shape. With luck we could be fishing above Cle Elum by the weekend.