Our Summer flows on the Yakima are yet to come up to their normal irrigating flows around 3000 cfs (sometimes up to 4200 cfs) for a couple months during the hot growing season. Looking at the reservoirs Keechelus is at 54% already and the others are near normal but under by about 10% each for June.

Flows at 1500 to 1800 into August and a heat wave will take me off the water if it hits 68 plus degrees H2O and most likely call for Hoot Owl days of guiding. Fortunately so far this season, cooler temps are playing nicely and lower flows have extended the Hatch Season with more great fishing on the way!

All this lower than usual water flow and cooler temps are creating a great dry fly fishery and better than usual hatches for the Yakima River. Over on the Methow there’s plenty to do with the magnums out to play daily and those pesky hatchery steelhead smolt getting in the way making for a good time.

On the Methow, it has dropped sooner than expected and may be too low to float and too hot to fish by late July or sooner. Here again cooler weather is helping at this time. Right now the fishing is awesome on the Methow!

In a nutshell, get out sooner than later! by August we may be looking at hoot owl either self-imposed or maybe even from wdfw.