We may live in Montana, but if you like to fish, many of us also fish outside of Montana. For those interested what the Yakima and Cedar Rivers are looking like, let Creekside Angling Company out of Issaquah, Washington tell you here:
Yakima River
Spring is starting to awake, albeit slowly but winter is loosing up. Time to fish streamers, midges, BWO’s, march browns and skwala stones. The skwala nymphs should start migrating to the banks soon to emerge. When they move they become a large food item and fish will be targeting them in riffles and well aerated water. March browns will begin to emerge soon after. Look for water temps near 45 to get the skwala hatches going. Whitefish wil also congegrate during winter time making them a great species to target. Look for fish in the deeper sexier water and undercut banks. Low flows means easier wading for the bank angler as well. Fishing the afternnoon (10-3pm) will produce best. Look for midges in back eddys and sunny flats. Get the trout spey out put a tip on it and swing some streamers through the canyon! Warmer weather wil be coming soon and so will the skwalas and caddis. The lower canyon will warm and fish earlier than the upper stretches of river.
Dries: Dry fly fishing will be temp dependant with hatches of Beatis (BWO) in #18-20 March browns #12-14 and midges in varying colors in sizes #18-24.
Streamers: Streamer fishing this fall has produced some great fish! Sculpzillas and Dolly Llamas, Buggers. Anything 2″-3″ long with lots of movement will illicit a strike. chuck it across or slightly upstream with a sink tip and let it ride. Beads and flesh flies are worth a shot during the winter.
Nymphs: Pat’s Stone (#6-10), San Juan Worms, Pheasant tails (#16-20), Hares ears (#16-20) in tungsten jig head or standard versions, Copper johns varying colors (#16-20), Zebra midge (#18-22), Trout beads in peach and orange (#8-10mm).
Call or come into the shop for more fly suggestions and places to wade the river!
Check out recent pictures from our trips below!
Cedar River
Opening day is on its way (Sat before memorial day May 25), get your streamers tied! The Cedar was an excellent producer this spring/ summer. Streamers really paid off this year with some truly nice fish. These fish eat a lot of sculpins and other small baitfish along with crayfish. Give them some meat and or throw a mouse in the evenings. Big fish in our waters are accustomed to a wide array of food, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
