It's August and warm weather and low rivers create as many opportunities as they take away. August in the greater western Washington area offers good fly fishing days for alpine lakes, upper stretches of our local rivers for trout, also cutthroat and salmon off of local beaches, and warmwater species like bass and carp. Here is a breakdown of what we're seeing for good fly fishing spots in the month to come.
Alpine Lakes
I certainly wouldn't call this an area of expertise for us, but we know enough to know this is a good time to breakout the hiking boots and head up the mountains for alpine lake fishing opportunities. Take a light rod, a small box of flies, maybe a sinking leader and lots of water. A little time on Google will offer lots of ideas on different alpine lakes to try, as there are lots of them! Here is a good place to start your research.
Trout Rivers
The Yakima has good flows right now and is producing good reports. It is still high enough that wade fishing is doable but floating the river is the better option until it begins to drop later in the coming month. Fish early in the morning due to higher fish activity and less impact on the fish. Late evenings can be really good too, especially with caddis dries. Overall, look for good dry fly activity early in the day with hoppers, stonefly and caddis on the menu. If you fish mid-day, expect the fishing to slow and fishing nymphs will probably result in more activity. Fishing streamers on the swing on sink-tips and deeper pools below current breaks would be a fun gameplan to try as well.
Icicle Creek NW of Leavenworth is a popular place to hike and fish in August. Take a 2-3wt rod and a box of dries. If the wind stays the current SE direction, hopefully it isn't smokey from the nearby Little Giant fire which is north of Leavenworth.
Two other good options for good numbers of cutthroat are the Cowlitz and the Sol Duc near Forks, WA. Both of these rivers can offer very active days fishing for cutthroat. Swing or stip small flies like a little Muddler, Knuden's Spider, or similar. Dries and nymphs are certainly options as well.
Closer to home, the middle and south forks of the Snoqualmie are staple August trout options. The South Fork of the Stillaguamish above the Mountain Loop Highway bridge above Granite Falls is a another trout river option. All of these rivers offer small trout but they are generally pretty eager to eat dries and make for a fun day.
Maybe TOO close to home is the Cedar River. It is open through August and we've recently had some good reports. Definitely consider fishing early or late in the evening due to activity on the river, but the Cedar has some really nice trout in it as well as good numbers of small fish.
Salmon & Steelhead
August is always a slow month for salmon and steelhead in our region. For steelhead, probably the best option is the Cowlitz or down to Oregon on the Sandy or Clackamas. The Deschutes is open for a few more days and then going to close on Aug 15 for steelhead due to poor returns over Bonneville Dam. Hopefully things turn up and it could open back up around Sept 15 if we see some pushes of fish between now and then.
Coho salmon are apparently very plentiful for Puget Sound anglers fishing gear on the sound. It sounds like some fly guys on the beach are finding some coho as well. That's good to hear and should get better as the month goes on.
Puget Sound Beaches
As just mentioned, some coho are being caught off the Puget Sound beaches in our area. In addition, it is a great time to head out early in the morning for a sea-run cutthroat morning from the beach. We have lots of good fly options and can help you with locations if you stop by the shop.
Bass & Warmwater
Great opportunities abound for fly fishing for bass and other warmwater species in August in Washington. With warming water temperatures, I would shift my emphasis to larger bodies of water for bass. The smaller, shallower lakes will still fish, but often the morning/evening bite is the way to go with the mid-day sometimes getting tough.
Larger, deeper bodies of water like Lake Sammamish, Washington, Goodwin, Whatcom, Stevens and others can fish really well in August and offer both largemouth and smallmouth. Target largemouth with poppers and shallow water tactics near structure and shade. Look for smallmouth in deeper water structure like rocky points, ledges and deep docks in 15- to 30-feet of water. Don't forget a very fast sinking fly line for those smallmouth and flies like the Sheila's Sculpin, Jawbreaker and Flashdance (both the Rainbow and Shad colors) are all proven winners.
If you've haven't tried carp fly fishing, August is possibly the best month to go hit it. Sight fishing and stalking carp in the shallows is pretty addicting. Right now, Banks Lake offers very good carp fishing. Look for fish with their heads down, feeding on the bottom. Fish a floating line and long leader with a sinking fly like the Carp Carrots.
I fished Banks Lake a few days ago and there were feeding carp by the dozens in the area just north of the Coulee City Campground. There is a walking trail that goes north along the lake and should get you to the water's edge. I was in a boat but walking/wading would have been better for the carp because they are very spooky. They are also very hard to get to eat a fly, but you will likely have lots of shots at feeding fish. Drag the fly right under their nose and I hope you have better success getting them to take the fly than I did. (The bass fishing was great, though!). On Banks, the carp tend to run about 5-10 pounds with some larger ones. A 7wt seems about right.
Summary
There you have it. Hopefully we've provided you with some good ideas for places to get out and enjoy our amazing summer months with a fly rod in your hand. Check back at the beginning of September for our next report and, of course, always let us know if you have questions or if we can help you get geared up for your next outing.
Good Fishing,
-Michael