UPDATED: March 5, 2025
March has quickly snuck up on us and spring is beginning to spring! March brings all sorts of new fly fishing opportunities to the fly fishing angler HQ'd in the Seattle/Everett/Western Washington area. Here are some of our ideas on where anglers may want to consider for their fly fishing calendar for March.
Trout
Rivers – As March begins, it's time for the Yakima to get very exciting. The Skwala stoneflies are the big news. Skwala activity begins in February but really gets cranking some time in March. Other bugs will join in on the fun in March as well. The Blue Wing Olives will hatch in the afternoons, especially on cloudy, cool days, and will be in the size 16-18 hook size range. Fish the BWO's in nymphs, emergers and dries depending on the situation and water you encounter. March Browns will also join the party and are generally most important on the upper parts of the system and faster water areas later in the month of March. Midge will also continue to be important, particularly earlier in the month, and streamers are always important and a fun option. Look for the Skwala nymph show to get rolling very soon. Those bugs getting active will get some of the big fish eating and produce some great days for some lucky anglers who time it right.
Some good Skwala flies to take on a March Yakima trip would include Dave's Neo Twenty Incher, the Little Olive Sloan, the Micro-Stone - Dark, Mercer's Tungsten Skwala, the Restless Stone - Brown/Olive, the Rubber Leg Stimulator Skwala, and Silvey's Little Olive Stone. For the Blue Wing Olives, consider these patterns in size 16 & 18 -- Baetis Nymph, Morrish Anato-May - Olive, Baetis Challenged, D&D Cripple - BWO, Baetis Thorax, and Quigley's BWO Hackle Stacker. For March Browns, check out the Morrish May Day March Brown, March Brown Parachute, the go-to Pheasant Tail Nymph, and the March Brown Wet Fly. Also, don’t forget to take a few Gummy Worms, especially if you're there during a shot of rain. Definitely have a handful of streamers as well. It is hard to go wrong with the original Sculpzilla Jr. or the Sheila's Sculpin. Also, certainly have a few midge patterns like the Jujubee Midge - Zebra or Tungsten Zebra Midge in the boxes as well.
Another great benefit of the Yakima in March is that the river is typically running at low flows, which makes walking and wading the river much easier and a more fun river to fish from shore. Right now, from recent rains and now warm temperatures, the river is pretty high (as of Mar 5, 2025). It will likely drop back down and 1000 to 2000 cfs would be ideal conditions for this time of year. Check the river levels here to make sure it isn't blown out.
Rocky Ford is another great trout river to fish in March. Feel like tying into some rainbows in the 18 to 24 inch range? Fish over 20-inches won't even turn heads on Rocky Ford. Some days the fishing can be really easy. Other days it can be seriously tough. Since Rocky Ford is a spring creek, the water temperatures are fairly stable and the fish will feed all year long. This time of year, plan to fish either streamers or small nymphs and scuds. A good fly box this time of year might include flies like the Coffee's Sparkle Minnow in Pearl, Swede's Rabbit Leech - Black, Jon's Hot Spot Czech Scud - Pink, the Jujubee Midge - Zebra, and the Tungsten Zebra Midge - Red. I would also have a few BWO nymphs and dries handy like those listed for the Yakima.
Rocky Ford produced good fishing last month, but has had a problem with pelicans the last few years. It sounds like they have come back recently and slowed the fishing down. Are pelican feathers good for fly tying? :-)
Lakes – The month of March marks the beginning of some of the year's best trout fishing on many of our quality lakes here in Washington. As of March 1st, many of our state's most popular and productive lakes open for the season. Some of these lakes include Lenice, Nunnally, Dry Falls, Lenore, and Dusty. Lenice, Nunnally, and Dry Falls lakes are very popular with fly anglers and are usually sure bets for a good day as long as the wind doesn't explode in the afternoon (more the issue with Lenice/Nunnally). Dry Falls has been trending favorably the last few years while Lenice/Nunnally seem to have had some spotty moments, but remain very good fisheries most of the time. Lenore had some off years but, apparently, is producing really well for some anglers giving it a shot as of last year. It could be a good time right now for the big Lahontan cutthroat that call it home. Omak seems to be getting more and more popular for fly anglers pursuing Lahontan cutts and also opens for its C&R season on March 1st. Dusty requires a bit of a hike-in so get the float tube out for this one and get some Backpack Straps to hike it in to the lake.
For the March 1 2025 opener, ice was not an issue on Lenice and Nunally lakes.
Pass Lake – Pass Lake usually fishes very well in March, especially during a stable or rising barometer (in my opinion). The last we heard, however, the lake was dealing with an algae bloom again. Not sure what is going on with that situation but it seems to be a growing issue each year.
Well, when Pass Lake does clear up, the fishing can be really good this time of year. A good plan for hitting Pass Lake in March would be to start with full-sinking lines with leech patterns like the Hale Bopp Leech – Brown or the Ruby Eyed Leech in Canadian Olive. Fish these leech patterns close to the bottom of the lake but fish different depths to figure out what depth is most productive. Concentrate on the 12- to 18-foot depths this time of year on most days.
Another hot technique right now is balanced leeches. Balanced leeches are usually fished by suspending a specific style of leech pattern underneath a strike indicator like we do with chironomids. The balanced leech is designed to suspend and keep the fly horizontally positioned under the indicator. Especially in cold water situations, balanced leeches can really be effective. Here are some balanced leech patterns to check out... Balanced Leach - Bruised, Rowley's Balanced Leech - Black, Balanced Leather Leech - Peacock.
When surface temperatures on Pass Lake reach around 50-degrees, get ready with your chironomid setup because this is when many chironomids begin to hatch and the trout will be ready to intercept them on their way from the bottom of the lake all the way up to the surface where they will hatch.
Here are some solid fly recommendations for Pass Lake in March. The exact size/color of chironomid hatches is tough to forecast, but some good chironomid flies to have along would be the Yankee Buzzer in Black and Red, Chan's Chironomid Bomber in Black/Red, and the Buzzer in Olive and Black. This time of year the larva can be very effective as well (usually referred to as blood worms). Patterns like Rowley's Holo Worm are spot on. You will probably need to fish these fairly deep so we recommend using Quick Release Chironomid Indicators and fluorocarbon tippet around 5X in size.
Lone Lake – Lone Lake is a great option in the early season and in March and April Lone Lake should be high on your list. Concentrate on fishing full-sinking lines with dark leech patterns like the Ruby Eyed Leech – Black/Red, the Gold Bead Bouface - Black, Drifter’s Crystal Leech. Chironomids will get very important on Lone Lake and will be even more important as the month goes on. On this lake, the same chironomids recommended for Pass Lake would be on the list, but we would increase the emphasis on some blood worm patterns like the San Juan Worm - Red or the Rowley's Halo Worm. If the fish are on bloodworms, you will know right away. The Olive Willy – Red Bead is always a pattern worthy of consideration on this lake so it might be worth having along, but it will usually fish better a bit later in the season.
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. Unfortunately, we don't have a pontoon boat wheel system to sell in the store as Outcast has discontinued making them.
Steelhead
It has been so nice to have good news to report for our many steelhead anglers. For the second year in a row, we've had very good reports on the Skagit/Sauk system and for the Olympic Peninsula rivers. That is certainly the case this year based on the reports we've had throughout January and February. We've also seen some monsters already.
The Skagit and Sauk rivers are open for catch and release steelhead fishing through April 15th. Water levels have been pretty low and us fly guys tend to do better on the Skagit when that is the case. Put some color in the Sauk (but not too much!!), and it can be the perfect winter steelhead river. It just gets tough when it gets gin clear. They are in there, though, so going into stealth mode can be an option as well.
The Olympic Peninsula rivers are producing great reports also. Every fly guy's favorite, the Hoh River, apparently has a road closure on the upper river due to a road washout. The Queets, Quinault (with a guide), the Bogachiel and the Sol Duc are all very worthy options. Don't forget that these rivers can get super crowded so plan accordingly or just bring lots of patience. It is a shame we have to avoid a beautiful, sunny weekend with prime water conditions because it will be a zoo... but it will.
If you're really ready to get you swing on, contact us about a couple of trips we have lined up for the Skeena river system this year. One is in mid-June for giant chinook on the swing and another in early September for steelhead. They are both awesome trips! Contact us to get details or swing by the shop.
Puget Sound Saltwater
Sea-run cutthroat trout fly fishing in Puget Sound can be good all year long. March usually provides good opportunities for a nice day on the beach. As in February, the southern portion of the Sound is a better bet in March but the central and northern portions of the Sound will still produce both sea-runs and resident coho. In March, consider keeping an eye out in shallow water near creek mouths for big fish looking to nose up into the smaller creeks and spawn. Also, March is typically an important month for chum salmon fry exiting rivers and hungry cutts looking for them.
The usual techniques and fly patterns should have you in the game. Baitfish patterns fished on an intermediate sinking line with a 5- to 6-weight rod will have you setup. For the chum fry, try Chum Body's Baby or Tak's Mini Minnow.
The RIO Outbound Short - Intermediate or the SA SONAR Titan Intermediate are both great lines to get for Puget Sound beaches (if you need a 5wt, get the RIO Aqualux line) . Put a 3X Fluorocarbon leader on your line, add a fly, and you're fishing. Look for beaches with oyster beds, cobblestone, or eel grass bottoms and cover water to locate the fish.
Resident silver salmon are also often caught while fly fishing from the beach for sea-run cutts. For both fish, remember to pinch your barbs down to aid in releasing the fish unharmed.
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 April report.
-- Michael
Pacific Fly Fishers
Ph: 425-742-2402
Email: Info@PacificFlyFishers.com