#dave mccoy

[emrldwtranglers]

January 23, 2020  A Very Busy Week Ok, here is the quick and dirty of it.  There is so much going on this next 9 days it is a little crazy even for us so buckle up! January 23rd (aka today) - Tie One On at the store with Jeremiah Houle from Bend, Oregon.  Former steelhead guide, fantastic fly tyer and now Orvis sale rep will be doing his beautiful winter steelhead flies.  Join by clicking here... January 25th - EWA Spey Day on the Snoqualmie River in Fall City.  Find us huddled under the bridge with all the brands we carry to try the latest and greatest spey rods worth casting.  T&T, Winston, Hardy, Scott, GLoomis, Orvis, Echo, Sage, Redington, Scientific Anglers, Airflo, and Bridge Fly Lines.  Trout and Anadromous spey are all available to try.  Free instruction, bring water bottle and coffee cup, hot lunch provided. January 29th & 30th - The Fly Fishing Film Tour at the Admiral in West Seattle on the 29th and SIFF on the 30th.  Come see some of our very good friends on film around the world doing what they do best, capturing some incredible moments chasing our favorite species.  January 31st - Last day to fish our beloved Skagit and Sauk for the season.  Mother Nature may have some say in this but at the moment it is closing day so put on your waders and grab your new two hander and go enjoy... February 1st - March 31st - O.P. steelhead season in full swing.  Looks like it will be a wet one this year so plan carefully but more importantly be prepared to call in sick when the time is right.  As ALWAYS, call, email, stop in, IG message or even facetime us if you need to.  Our sole mission is to help you find the success you are after on the water. 

[emrldwtranglers]

Cinco de Mayo, 2019  Early AM Baby Well, the past week has been as spring like as you could ever ask for in this area.  Cloudless days with temps in the high 60′s has put the “early AM” back in our vernacular.  For Puget Sound, we have arrived...arrived at the point where tides need to be more closely watched and time of day can make a difference.  This is good practice for when migratory salmon arrive in a couple months.  Early AM is going to be a good bet regardless of tide, BUT, if you can coincide a good outgoing tide with the early AM, bingo!  That said, don’t not fish just because it isn’t perfect.  Plenty of fish have been caught when things aren’t perfect.  Yakima River is VERY low at this minute which means it is apt to change at any given time.  PMD’s, March Brown’s and Caddis are present but with water levels fluctuating as they are, be prepared to nymph for a period of the day still. Steelhead is mostly closed for the month of May so let that rest for a bit unless you really NEED to then the Cowlitz is open and has some fish entering still, not many but a couple.  Big news here is change out that Skagit head for a Rage or Scandi, pick up a couple poly leaders and hit the Skykomish when it reopens on June 1st.  Carp are actively moving into shallow water as we speak so come by, ask some questions about when, where, why and how and let us help you enjoy these hard fighting fish you sight cast to.  Great practice for your next bonefish trip.  Speaking of June 1st, our EWA Fly Fest and Guide Cook-Off is on June 1st and we have some special guests joining, teach and cooking with us that day.  Kayla Lockhart and Katy Watson will be teaching some casting, talking long belly spey casting, BC steelheading, travel and Katy will be doing a summer spey fly demo at the store that evening at 6pm. Welcome to spring everyone, we look forward to helping you be successful this season where ever that might be.

[emrldwtranglers]

January 21, 2019  Rainy Days and Short Speys Weather has been about what most would expect here in the PNW of late...rain, with some wind and the occasional sun burst followed immediately by more rain.  It is what keeps it so green around here so we’ll take it. Puget Sound has been fishing very well lately for both cutthroat and resident silvers, particularly in the south Sound.  We recently got in some new flies to represent the smaller euphasids and krill which have been present.  Of course our own Sound Searcher represents a floating krill pretty well, especially if you remove the eye on the bottom...just saying.  We also sniffed out some of our favorite books for access on the Sound...Beach Walks and Hikes Around Puget Sound.  Unintentionally a fabulous book for those on foot! Steelhead season is absolutely upon us.  Early winter fish on the O.P. and Skagit have been spoken of so there is no more time to hmmm and haa over it.  Our 4th Annual EWA Spey Day is on Feb. 2nd under the Fall City Bridge from 9am to 3pm.  Fabulous time to get pointers from our staff and the sales reps who will be on hand, try out some new sticks and otherwise dial in your casting and such for season.  On another steelhead note, we still have some good mid week dates open for the O.P. season into March.  Call the store and get on the calendar soon before we are booked solid. As we move into mid winter, weather will help decide when the Yakima and Cle Elum come alive again.  A warmer season will bring about mid winter hatches here soon so if trout is your game, start planning your days accordingly.  Also, we will be heavy on the hand of trout spey at our Spey Day so come out and cast a few of the newest trout sized two handed rods and see which lines we are all excited about. That is it for now, we are always here for questions so don’t be bashful, call, email or stop in if facetime isn’t working, we want you to be successful out there!

[emrldwtranglers]

August 23, 2017. Low Water Season Mountain streams are at the late summer, low water levels when anglers begin to wonder, “Where have all the fish gone?”  Well, they are more than likely still there but have become more savvy on where they sit so your approach has to change a bit.  Look for fish to sit in tail outs early in the AM and then move to faster moving water as the day moves on.  Faster water will be cooler, usually contain more oxygen and  have more surface disturbance creating more camouflage from predators.  It is getting late in the season so they can be a bit more selective after a season of angler interactions so either match the hatch or use something big enough to warrant them not wanting to pass it up such as large stimulators or even hoppers. Puget Sound continues on it late summer roll of Coho and Pinks cruising through the waters off most main channel beaches and not to be out done, big cutts shouldering their way in for some of the bait as well.  We have been using slightly long profile flies with darker back representing larger Herring and Sand Lance as well as surface flies.  COHO WILL TAKE SURFACE FLIES so don’t be afraid to use them! Summer steelhead on the Cowlitz has been typical...some fish, lots of anglers and low clear water.  A few fish throughout the season on the Skykomish and other rivers in the area but as we feel air temps begin to cool, we are excited for fall steelhead on the Klickitat and elsewhere.  Columbia River numbers are not looking good so it may be a case of working hard for your steelhead...story of our lives around here. We are pumped to hit the Albacore here in a month or so out of Ilwaco, this season has been under way for sometime and the fishing has been good.  If interested in joining us next year let us know as these trips fill lightning fast. All in all, summer is not over yet so take advantage of these next few weekends and get out there, we are happy to help! photo Dave McCoy

[hikereyes]

FOTO WAYBACK -  December 28, 2005 -  Dave McColy in Mammoth Village.        

by HikerEyes

[emrldwtranglers]

April 21, 2020 We’re Not Fishing...But We Have Coffee! Yes.  We now have our own EWA brand of coffee, click here to buy! Well, today we fielded yet a few more calls and emails from people asking which rivers and lakes were open to fish here in our illustrious state.  Sadly, at this time, Washington continues to be the only state in the U.S. entirely closed to fishing.  We like so many others hope this can begin to change in the near future, in the meantime, we are drinking coffee among other things, tying flies and spending incredible time with family.  Time we may not otherwise ever have.  DO NOT let this opportunity to do so pass you by. So without further adieu, here is our report for the region and futures forecast for fly fishing in Washington... Puget Sound - Looks freaking amazing these days, water is clear, gentle breezes and longer days will make for fabulous fishing when we are again allowed. Steelhead - Should be the song singing end to yet another amazing season of swinging flies for our wild state fish.  Well that song come in early March so we now look forward to hopefully a blissful reintroduction to our rods, boats, favorite runs and fishing partners.  On an up note, we are VERY excited to have provided the wild fish we love, maybe too much at times, a much needed break from us.  We hope they made the most of it! Yakima River - With any luck, like literally buy every lottery ticket available so we may be on the water for the caddis hatches of May and June. Mountain Creeks - A decent winter and a cooler spring could put us opening back up in time to enjoy some real social distancing on our little Cascade gems. Heads up everyone, we know this has been difficult but it has been for good reason and maybe, just maybe we will all look more fondly upon our favorite watersheds when we are able to return to them.  Deep breaths, long hugs with family and love for everyone, we have and are all truly in this together.