Yakima River Fly Fishing Report – 8/15/10

Nick came out to fish the Yakima River again, but in the lower canyon this time. We did an early morning float 6am to 1. We threw the big dry fly without a dropper all day. We pulled most the fish out from tight to the bank. Besides picking some fish up in the slower rock gardens, the majority of the fish came from within 4′ of the bank, the tighter the better. Nick’s big rainbow came up within 5″ of the bank. The key is to get the fly tight to the bank and get a long dead drift. As long as your fly is in the zone you want to fish, let it ride. If your fly gets pushed too far away from the bank get it back on the bank quick. Big fish of the day was an 18″ rainbow, but in the next 15 minutes after that fish we two more fish up that were in the 17″-20″ range. One even chased the hopper down stream and rolled on it. Overall, good fishing. Flies: #8-10 hopper variations (tan, yellow), #8-10 foam stone fly variations, #8-10 PMX (Yellow, Orange, Red)