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Tom Bolender's fly fishing report for July 9

• Published July 09, 2009

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Rivers – The Nisqually River currently is the best place to fish close to home. The river is in prime shape, and the fish are biting. Bob Brown told me he was fishing the handicap area and got several bites using a jig and bobber. Another friend fishing near Ohop Creek said the fish are taking stonefly nymphs like they haven’t been in eating in a while. He landed an 18-inch rainbow that hit so hard he thought he was going to loose his fly.

The Deschutes has slowed to a crawl. The only anglers hooking up are those that are fishing early in the morning. The river is so slow and warm that the fish just aren’t hitting during the day. Bead Head mayfly imitations are the flies to use. The Tilton is low but not too low to fish. The flows are just about perfect, and the fishing has been pretty good. Dry fly action has been better than usual for this time of year. Stimulators and grasshopper patterns are working on the surface, and stonefly nymphs are picking up fish on the bottom.

The Skookumchuck is in as good of shape as anywhere and hardly gets any pressure. There are several place to access the river, and the trout hardly ever see flies so they’re not the hardest to catch. Use the same flies as recommended above, and you should be into fish. If you’re into hot weather and rubber hatches (lots of people floating downriver in tubes), then this would be the time to hit the Yakima. Fishing has been good for many and extraordinary for others. The river is high for irrigation purposes, so wading isn’t the easiest. Don’t let that stop you, as there are lots of spots to hit along the Canyon Road that hold fish. The anglers that are doing extraordinary are the ones who are drifting and getting off the water just before or after dark. The evening stonefly and caddis hatches have been incredible. If you’ve never fished the Yakima, it’s definitely worth doing at least a couple of times a year. The fish are smarter than most, so I recommend using fluorocarbon tippet in the 5x- or 6x-size class to give you the most stealth when presenting a fly. If you’ve never used fluorocarbon, make sure you buy the kind that is limp and strong. Rio’s Fluorflex Plus is my favorite.

Saltwater – A couple of days of cloudy weather can make a big difference when is comes to finding fish. These past few have helped the beach angler’s success rate. Shiela Sculpins and Deep Minnow Stingers have been the flies to use on Eld Inlet. Several fish longer than 16 inches have been landed in just the past two days. If you’re looking for some resident coho, then Doc’s place on the southwest side of the Narrows Bridge is the place to be. They’re not present at all times, but an early morning high tide is the time to hit it. You’ll have to make long casts with little backcast room, so the outbound fly lines I’ve talked about are the way to go. The fish aren’t picky. If you can cast far enough to get the fly in front of them, they’ll usually pick it up.

Tom Bolender is a longtime fly fishing enthusiast from Rochester who runs Fishy Business Guide Service. He can be reached at 360-280-5770 or FishyBusinessOly@comcast.net.