Rivers – The past week’s rain and expected high water cleared the Peninsula to all but a few brave anglers. They profited from the low traffic. Jim Kerr of Rain Coast Guide Service said that his boat hooked a mess of nine to twelve pound chromers on Thursday of last week. The upper Sol Duc is usually a nymphing game but his client wanted to learn to spey cast with sink tips so they gave it a whirl with lots of success. Just when you think you’ve got it figure out you try something different and BAM you’re into more fish than you’ve seen in a while. Let this be a lesson to all who fish the same way with the same flies all the time. There are other techniques, other flies and more fish to catch in places you never thought about. The Cowlitz surprisingly got a higher than average number of Steelhead to Blue Creek hatchery in the past week. Angler pressure is down and the catching is slightly better than it has been. Trout fishing the Deschutes hasn’t happened much since the water started to rise on Wednesday. At last check it was dropping quickly and should be fishable by now if the weather report stays true. I haven’t fished the river in a long time so this Friday’s outing will be to the lower river where I plan on catching my fair share of trout. If you’ve even considered crossing the mountains to fish the Yakima River, now is the time to do it. The flows are excellent and so is the catching. Reports are coming in saying that more fish are being caught on dries than nymphs. If you like seeing big trout come to the surface and grab big dry flies you’d better get on it. Of course I’m talking about the Skwala hatch. Don’t forget some mayfly dries either as there’s been a great hatch of Blue Wing Olives for a short time in the afternoon. Size 10 Parachute X’s and size 16 and 18 Parachute Adams should do the trick but stop into an Ellensburg fly shop for one of their super secret patterns.
Lakes – As the weather warms and the daylight increases the local lakes become more and more appealing. Last weeks slow snap at Munn Lake has been broken. Anglers have been doing great the last few days. The majority of fish being caught are the 1 ½ to 2 pounders that are the most plentiful. A few people are hooking into the big brood stock toads. Several patterns have been working but the most effective is still the San Juan Worm and size 14 red chironomid tandem set up. Other effective patterns have been the Carey Special and a buoyant dragonfly nymph fished off the bottom with a full sinking line. Lake St. Clair has been productive as well. Anglers fishing straight out from the boat launch on the east side of Rehklau Rd. are doing the best. Size 10 and 12 Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymphs fished on a 10 to 12 foot leader off a floating line are the flies to have. A very slow troll is the way to fish it. The Cutthroat in Offut Lake are getting a little more aggressive. If you want to get away from the crowds on Munn this is a great place to fish. The Carey Special is a good choice here too.

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