Well, we're nearly a third of the way through July and we're just getting our July report out. Summers are always so busy. The good news is, there are loads of fly fishing opportunities for all sorts of things right now. Here is a breakdown of what we're hearing and seeing out there.
Trout
Rivers - It's go-time on many local trout rivers as the water levels are dropping to summer lows. This is a good thing on many westside rivers. In addition, the Yakima is at its typical summer high flows but fishing well according to lots of recent reports. Here are a bunch of ideas on where to go if you're looking to hit the trout stream in July and into August.
Upper Skagit - The upper Skagit River above Rockport and all the way up to Newhalem offers good fishing for rainbows and bull trout for anglers wanting to swing/strip streamers. Some impressive fish come out of here. Floating the river is best to cover lots of water. Flies: Baby Swim Coach - Gray, Chou's Fortune Cookie - Olive, Conehead JR's Silver Minnow, Dolly Llama - Olive/White, Mini Loop Sculpin.
Forks of the Snoqualmie River - Take a box of small dry flies and hit the S.F. Snoqualmie for good numbers of small trout. Hit the Middle Fork with small dries and nymphs for a little larger average fish and a fun day on the water.
Cedar River - Now through August, fish the Cedar in the Maple Valley area for a mix of small fish with some seriously large fish mixed in. Fish it all... dries, nymphs and certainly streamers in the deeper pools. Hit it early in the morning and skip hot afternoons when there may be lots of people floating it to escape the heat. Flies: Mini Llama - Olive/White, Conehead JR's Streamer - Olive/White, Stubby Chubby - UV Light Tan, Missing Link - PMD, Parachute Caddis - Dark Olive, Psycho Prince - Dirty Pink, Tungsten Phase II, Pat's Rubber Legs - Black/Brown - sz. 10
Yakima - Good reports from the Yakima. It is in typical summer mode right now with higher flows pushing fish to the edges of the river. If you can start super early or end super late, that may payoff this time of year. Fish attractor dry flies like stonefly/terrestrial dries in the morning and evening and keep an eye out for PMD mayfly and caddis hatches to take advantage of. Consider nymphs and streamers in the deeper pools during the mid-day hours. There are walk-in opportunities but floating the river is generally best this time of year. Flies: Water Walker - Brown/Gold, Stubby Chubby - UV Light Yellow, Henry's Fork Stone - Gold, Morrish May Day - PMD, Pat's Rubber Legs - Black/Brown, Roza's Red Tag Jig, Jigged Caddis Pupa - Green, Mini Llama - Olive/White
Methow River - The Methow is open for trout fishing and offers very nice trout fishing on a beautiful river. It offers pretty good walk-in access and good floats for pontoon boats and rafts. Make note of sections of the river that are closed, but much of it is open right now. Fish it with dries, nymphs and streamers but it is a good dry fly river. See the flies recommended for the Yakima for some good ideas in July.
Olympic Peninsula - Journey over to the Sol Duc and Bogachiel rivers for good cutthroat fishing. Small streamers like the Knudsen Spider, Montreal Floozie, or Rolled Muddler on a floating line or light sink-tip. This would be a great place to breakout the trout Spey or a single-hand 4wt and swing and strip flies for lots of action.
PFF's Maveryke Hines with a nice summertime bull trout from the Skagit River near Marblemount.
Lakes – Most fly fishing lakes in Washington continue to fish well in July. Some of the shallower lakes with a lot of weeds can begin to get warm but the lakes with deeper water still have a lot to offer with a fraction of the crowds. Here are some good ideas for the popular Selective Gear lakes in our local region and Eastern Washington.
Pass Lake – Pass Lake is deep enough that it fishes well throughout the year. In July, concentrate mostly on fishing full-sinking lines with leech patterns like the Hale Bopp Leech – Brown. In the late evening, casting a minnow pattern tight to the shoreline and retrieving it on a fast strip can be very effective from now through the fall. Our Pass Lake Minnow is as good as it gets for imitating the lake’s Fat Head Minnows.
Dry Falls, Lenice and Nunally Lakes – These Eastern Washington lakes can be outstanding in July and the crowds have usually died down. Fishing during mid-day with damselfly dry flies can be a hoot and very productive. Cast the Deer Hair Damsel – Blue on a floating line and long leader near shoreline reeds and wait for the rise. Give the fly a twitch here and there and get ready for a fun day. Other “must have” flies are the Hale Bopp Leech – Olive, Olive Willy – Red Bead, Damsel Leech – Olive, Rowley’s Grizzley Dragon – Olive, and the Rickard’s Stillwater Nymph #1 – Olive. Fish all of these on a full-sinking line and 3X fluorocarbon leader.
Washington also has tons of lakes that are not regulated as Selective Gear lakes. These lakes can sometimes get a bit tougher as summer progresses but many of them continue to get fish stockings in summer. For a list of trout stocking reports in local lakes, click here.
All of the lakes mentioned here are best fished from a float tube, pontoon boat, or some other kind of small boat. Shore access is limited or non-existent on most of these lakes. Lenice and Nunnally require a walk to get into them so be prepared for that. A wheel system is highly recommended if you are planning to take your pontoon boat into these two lakes. Also, motors are not allowed on most of the Selective Gear lakes and catch and release is either required or recommended. Check the regulations before you go if you are not familiar with them.
Steelhead
There are a few good ideas for July for anglers looking to target steelhead. Our top choice would be the Klickitat River. Also, the Deschutes starts to see the first of its summer steelhead on the lower sections of the river by late July. It may not be the best month, but it crowds will be down. The steelhead run over Bonneville Dam on the Columbia started off pretty good but has pooped out in recent weeks. Hopefully it jumps back up when some rain shows up.
Puget Sound Saltwater
Sea-run cutthroat trout fly fishing in Puget Sound has been pretty good according to recent customer and PFF staff reports. About this time of year, the central and northern portions of Puget Sound begin fishing pretty good. To partake in the action, baitfish patterns fished on an intermediate sinking line with a 5- to 6-weight rod will have you in the game. Try walking-in and wading Manchester State Park, Olalla, or Penrose Point State Park for good cutthroat water.
Bass, Panfish & Carp
July has bass fly fishing written all over it. Just about all small lakes and ponds have bass and panfish in them. Grab your float tube, pontoon boat, or other boat and hit the water this month. Most of the smaller lakes and ponds have mostly largemouth and panfish. Many of the larger lakes have smallmouth as well as largemouth and panfish. Eastern Washington abounds with these opportunities. Western Washington has gobs as well but Western Washington lakes may not have as dense of populations. Either way, take a 6- to 8-weight rod for bass and a 3- or 4-weight for panfish.
If you've never tried fly fishing for carp, it's pretty dang fun and it is certainly game time in July. Popular locations are the Columbia River below Vantage and Banks Lake. Look for shallow bays and stalk fish you see in shallow water. Walk and wade or fish from a boat. Look for fish feeding with their heads down and tails up. Don't expect them to move too much for the fly. Instead, try and drag your fly right to where they are already feeding on the bottom. Fish a 7-8wt rod, floating line, 12lb leader and flies like the Carp Carrots, RIO Bandito Craw and the Crazy Dad.
PFF's Michael Bennett found some good largemouth fishing on a small lake in central Washington. This largemouth took a deer hair popper fished on an 8wt rod and was one of about a dozen fish for the day.
For bass, cover lots of water and look for wood structure, docks or matted weeds in shallow water close to deeper water for largemouth and rocky structure in deeper water for smallmouth. This time of year, smallmouth will often be found on the deeper portion of docks as well. Top choices for July would be Potholes Reservoir for largemouth and Sammamish for smallmouth.
For Potholes, take an 8-weight rod, floating line, and 20- to 25-pound 8-foot leaders with large poppers like the Dancing Frog. Cast it into the heaviest, most matted-down cover you can find where the water is 3-4 feet deep.
For smallmouth, take your 7-weight and fish intermediate sinking lines and pound the shady side of docks with a Jawbreaker. Or fish down to 20-25 feet with full-sinking lines, depending on what depth the fish are at that moment. Remember to cover lots of water and hit as many targets as possible. You’ll need a boat, but a pontoon boat works just fine. If you go to Potholes, put your pontoon boat in one of the arms at the north end of the lake and be careful not to get lost back there! You’ll see what I mean.
Summary
Give us a call if we can help with further advice or equipment, flies, etc. Hope you get out and take advantage of Washington's year-round fly fishing season and remember to check back for the August report!
-- Michael
Pacific Fly Fishers
Ph: 425-742-2402
Email: Info@PacificFlyFishers.com