I'm not sure where June went but July is here! There are lots of good fly fishing places to go in Washington and the surrounding region in July. For anglers in the Seattle-Everett and greater Western Washington area, here are some good ideas for day trips or extended outings. Come by the shop if we can provide more details or help you with some flies, leaders or other gear.
Trout
Rivers – Just about all the run-off from melting snow is pretty much gone and that means ideal local river fishing for trout in our area. The Cedar River has fished well for anglers this season and has a mix of plentiful small trout with the occasional big fish, some of which can top 20-inches. Other river/stream opportunities for the greater Seattle fly fishing crowd includes the forks of the Skykomish and their tributaries like the Beckler. The South Fork Stillaguamish, the Middle Fork Snoqualmie, and the upper Green River are all good bets as well. This time of year, casting a smallish dry fly to shady, deeper pockets will usually find some fish. Especially on the Cedar and SF Sky, don’t be afraid to put on a fast sinking Poly Leader to turn that floating line into a sink-tip and chuck a big streamer into some of the larger, deeper pools. Some large trout come out of those rivers and they usually come to anglers stripping big streamers. Good dry flies for these rivers in July would be the Missing Link – Olive, Parachute Caddis – Tan, Keller’s Rocky Mountain Mint – PMD, Garcia’s Mini Hot – Hot Green. For nymphs, consider the Bjorn’s Red Pretty, Parrott's Euro Jig, Psycho Nymph – Dirty Pink, and Morrish’s Hot Wire Caddis – Chartreuse. For big streamers, go with Shiela’s Sculpin or the Sculpzilla Jr.
A summertime Cedar River rainbow fooled on a small Pat's Rubber Legs nymph awaits his release back to the shady pool he came from. Photo: Michael Bennett, Pacific Fly Fishers
Our most noted trout river, the Yakima River, is in full swing in July as well although it is running quite high at the moment at over 3400 cfs. So, you'll probably want to stay higher on the river right now, more around Cle Elum and not so much the canyon. It’s time for the big dries on the Yak in July. River levels have been good lately for the most part and we've been getting really good reports on dries, nymphs and streamers. Golden Stonefly and PMD dry flies should be in everyone’s fly boxes as well as nymphs for the same bugs. Top dry flies to have on hand are the Chubby Chernobyl – Gold and Purple, Henry’s Fork Stone – Gold, Morrish May Day – PMD, Film Critic – PMD, X-Caddis – Olive. Top nymphs would include Pat’s Rubber Legs – Black/Brown, Tungstone – Golden, Psycho Prince – Dirty Pink, Yeager’s Crack Back PMD, and Graphic Caddis – Olive.
Another great July trout trip is to head over to the Bogachiel or Sol Duc rivers in the Forks, WA area and fish for sea-run cutthroat trout in those rivers. They usually return in great numbers and few anglers target them. Take that mico-Spey rod and swing small steelhead style flies like the Egg Dart, Knudsen’s Spider, Rolled Minnow, Chumpy Fry, or Borden Special on a floating line. You can also fish these patterns on single-hand rods as well as fish nymphs or dry flies for these aggressive trout.
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 our cool June still has most lakes fishing very well and most will fish well through most of July. 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.
Lone Lake – Usually this time of year, Lone Lake begins to get warm and the fishing slows down. I would hope our fairly cool May and June would have Lone Lake fishing just fine right now, but we haven't been there recently or heard a recent report. The one report we did have a few days ago was for bass fly fishing on Lone. This person encounter good numbers of small bass, but there must be some good ones in there as well.
For trout on Lone, 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 are still worth a go as are damsel nymphs, dragon nymphs, and the Olive Willy – Red Bead is always a worthy pattern on this lake.
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 & Salmon
There's not much going on for salmon in our rivers in July unless you're targeting Chinook. If so, there are a few days left to target them on the Skagit or Cascade or Skykomish. The Cowlitz may be the best bet this year but the Quillayute system on the O.P. would be a good, more scenic option as well.
Speaking of salmon fly fishing in the rivers... everyone is getting excited for what is expected to be a record-breaking pink salmon return this year. That will start around the end of July in the saltwater and in the rivers around the end of August, depending on regulations. Prime season in the rivers is September through mid-October in my book but keep an eye on the regulations for which areas are open for the time you'll be going. We'll have more info in the August blog post coming out next month.
As for steelhead, there are a few good ideas for July. One would be the Klickitat River for sure. 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 Cowlitz, the Sol Duc and the Bogachiel may be at the top of the list with the Klickitat for me. Small flies like the Halo and a floating line would be the primary tools but I would have a sink-tip ready for the occasional deeper pool.
Puget Sound Saltwater
Sea-run cutthroat trout fly fishing in Puget Sound has been pretty good according to recent customer reports. About this time of year, the central and northern portions of Puget Sound begin fishing pretty good and we’ve had many 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.
By mid-July we'll start hearing of anglers encountering pink salmon off the beaches. Throughout August, the availability of pinks off the beach will peak. Use the same techniques for sea-run cutthroat but flies like the pink/white Clouser get most of the attention. Fishing early in the day or overcast days can be an advantage for the beach angler as well.
Bass & Panfish
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.
A decent largemouth from one of the endless small lakes in Eastern Washington. Many of the smaller lakes don't have large enough boat ramps for bigger boats and dropping in a pontoon boat or float tube can make for a great day full of bass eager to take flies. This largemouth took a custom deer hair popper fished on an 8-weight rod. Photo: Michael Bennett, Pacific Fly Fishers
As a general rule, cover lots of water and look for wood structure, docks or matted weeds in shallow 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