Fly Fishing in Washington: Your Guide to the Best Spots

Jordan Rae casts for trout on a beautiful summer morning on the Skykomish River, Washington. The Skykomish is bettern known for steelhead and salmon but it can produce nice rainbow, cutthroat and bull trout for anglers that get good at locating them.

Being based in the greater Seattle and Everett area of Washington state, we are blessed with a great variety of places to go fly fishing around Puget Sound, Western Washington and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Use our Monthly Fishing Guide and our Destination Guides below to find the best fly fishing trips throughout Washington and the surrounding areas all year long.

If you have questions about which is the best fly fishing spot to go or any tackle needed for your trip, that's why we're here. Stop by the store or shop online and give us a call or email with questions.

Monthly Fishing Guide

With our modest winter temperatures, fly fishing in Western Washington makes perfect sense. Winter steelhead rivers can be experiencing the peak of their hatchery steelhead run. Some trout lakes fish great in January with almost nobody else around. And, fishing for bull trout can be as good as you'll find. See our January report.

An exciting month for steelhead fly anglers, February brings wild steelhead to most rivers on Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula. Slightly warmer February temperatures can also create a great time to be on Rocky Ford and lots of trout lakes on the western side of Washington. See our February report.

Winter steelheading peaks in March on many favorite rivers like the Skagit and Hoh. Temperatures are warming and Fly Fishing in Washington is cranking up. The Yakima starts to see mayflies and stoneflies hatching, more trout lakes are opening and fishing great, Rocky Ford is in prime mode ,and  Puget Sound Beaches are producing cutthroat trout. See our March report.

April has so many prime fishing opportunities it gets tough to list everything on our Guide to the Best Spots. Some of the top places to go fly fishing in Washington are the Skwala hatch on the Yakima and winter steelhead on the Skagit and Sauk rivers. But, there are many, many more.  See our April report.

Warming May weather means the trout lakes become food factories and the trout are feeding. Bass are up shallow and are good fly rod targets and trout rivers like the Yakima are entering their busiest time of the year. See our May report.

June offers more opportunities in the local trout streams in the greater Puget Sound area.  In addition, the Yakima river, trout and bass lakes, and summer steelhead entering OP rivers are just a few commonly enjoyed fly fishing activities in Washington. See more in our June report.

Trout streams are alive with dry fly opportunities in July. Summer steelhead are entering their natal rivers. Bass are eating topwater flies. July has a lot to offer fly anglers and choosing the best spots can be daunting. To help decide which is best for your, see our July report.

Around Puget Sound in August, Silver Salmon are beginning to head to the rivers. Trout rivers are low and clear but usually fishing well up high. On odd numbered years, Pink Salmon are in the sound and preparing to enter the rivers. Carp anglers are in the peak of their year. Steelhead are entering the Columbia and heading towards famous rivers like the Deschutes and Klickitat. See more in our August report.

There are so many places to go fly fishing in September. In Western Washington, on odd number years, Pink Salmon are filling local rivers with silvers on their heels. Bass and panfish are starting to snap out of the summer doldrums, Peak summer steelhead fishing is beginning to happen on Columbia tributaries, and much more in our September report.

Fall has fallen and October has Washington fly fishers chasing steelhead on rivers like the Grand Ronde. Trout in lakes are firing up the feeding in preparation for winter. Silver Salmon are jumping in Puget Sound rivers. Lots to do before the rains of winter take over. See the October report.

Between rainstorms and occasional flooding, November offers chum salmon and coho in the rivers as well as some great summer steelheading on Columbia tribs. Trout fishing is still cranking until the cold starts to take over so check out where to go in our November report.

All these years and we've never done a December report. Christmas keeps us pretty busy at the shop, but we'll have one for 2025 for sure.

Destination Guide - Fly Fishing Washington