Summer Time in WA - June 12, 2019
The options are endless. Between the Puget Sound, Yakima, mountain creeks, bass lakes, carp flats of the Columbia River, alpine lakes, steelhead rivers, etc. Your options are anything but limited.
Puget Sound - Sea Run Cutthroat, Coho & Pink Salmon
As Summer progresses, we are seeing the Sound come to life. Sea Run Cutthroat remains excellent but we are limited to the early hours of morning and late evenings for the most productive fishing. Due to the amount of herring, smelt, anchovies, and sandlance in the Sound, we are fishing with much larger flies than normal. Think bigger, the fish will devour large flies this time of year.
Our salmon runs will be kicking off in July and you can encounter a number of species but we are mostly focusing on Pink Salmon and Coho Salmon. The former will arrive first in mid-July while the larger migratory Coho will arrive shortly after. We will be using 7-8 weight rods, aggressive shooting head lines, and big pink, white, or chartreuse flies.
Cascade Creeks - Native Cutthroat, Rainbows, etc.
Our creek season has really kicked off this week with what we believe to be close to the end of our snowmelt. We are already experiencing some decent fishing in our high drainage’s but it will just get better every day. We typically approach these streams with a 2-3 weight rod and a box full of dry flies. Don’t forget the streamers and nymphs, just in case the fish aren’t willing to come to the top.
This is one of our favorite fisheries throughout the year, for a good reason. It is just plain fun. It is a more friendly fishery than most of our others and is great for anglers of all skill levels. The season is short though, don’t let it get away from you!
Summer Steelhead - Skykomish, Cowlitz, Klickitat, etc.
Our Summer Steelhead fisheries are going well with good reports coming from the Sky and the Cowlitz. Our Columbia River tributaries, like the Klickitat or the Deschutes, will not start showing many fish until later in Summer into Fall.
In low and clear, summer conditions, think lighter and smaller. Our go to set up is a 6-7 weight spey rod (12′-13′6″) with a Airflo Rage head of appropriate size. Pair that with some light poly leaders, floating or sinking, and you’re in the game. We especially like to skate flies in later Summer as it is pretty shocking having a 12lb. hen grab your fly off the surface.
Warmwater - Carp, Bass, Tiger Muskie, etc.
Our warmwater fisheries have been fantastic this year. Whether you want to go after a big toothy critter or small panfish, we have great reports from them both.
Most of our carp are in post-spawn mode and are looking for food once again. These fish can be found all over the state including your local haunts such as Lake Washington, Green Lake, Lake Sammamish, etc. However, we find that most of the best carp fishing is found on the eastside of the mountains in the Columbia River system or beyond. We target these fish with 6-8 weight rods and floating lines. Make sure to have your drag set properly because these fish do not come to hand easily.
Bass fishing has been good all around. Most of our local lakes are done with the spawn and the fish are still in shallow, which is great news for fly anglers. In the heat of the day, we have been finding good luck on sub surface flies while we tend to use poppers in the low light hours. We use 6-8 weight rods and a mix of lines for these fish, floating or sinking.
Muskie fishing has been excellent with good reports coming out of Lake Tapps, Mayfield Reservoir and beyond. This is a fishery that every fly angler needs to try. We use 10-12 weight rods and can be tossing flies at a foot or longer sometimes. It helps to have a boat with this fishery but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a motorized craft. Get out on what you can, just be careful with inflatables and muskie teeth!
