river dog outfitters

Brewster Sockeye Fishing

Brewster Washington, a place in the North West that may not be familiar to the average persontraveling to the east side. But to the seasoned anglers ( especially the ones with a taste forsockeye salmon) it's the annual venue for the super bowl of sockeye fishing in WashingtonState. That is the Brewster pool! What makes Brewster such a special fishery is that it is the staging area for hundreds ofthousands of sockeye and several thousand summer chinook. They wait for the OkanaganRiver to cool off before making their final push to the spawning grounds after the season closesin the early fall. This is called a thermal barrier, creating a concentration of fish and makinga very productive fishery for the months of July and August.Brewster sockeye fishing is a meat run fishery! Typically the sockeye limit per angler is 4! Making this an awesometime of the year to bring the whole family out to really stack away some salmon meat for the restof the year and the fast action fishing is super entertaining to say the least. Brewster is located just slightly over an hour north of Wenatchee, and along highway 97 you’llpass many beautiful places in central Washington.Nearby is Pateros Washington, a town at the mouth of the Methow River just south of Brewster.Stay at Howards on the River Hotel! Don't forget to stop in at the Sweet River Bakery for coffee anda pastry while on your way for a round or two of golf at Alta Lake Golf Course! Prefer a campingexperience? Alta Lake State Park on Alta Lake has you covered!Not far away up the Methow Valley is the tourist destination of Winthrop Washington. Its old timewestern vibe in Washington's eastern north cascades is another must stop on your way to orfrom a guided sockeye trip in Brewster! Don't forget to grab a waffle cone and browse the shopsWinthrop has to offer.Prefer lake life after a sockeye slaughter fest? Lake Chelan is just a rock throw away from thefishing grounds. Rent jet skis, stand up paddle boards and even grab an airbnb for in betweenyour fishing adventures all while being able to enjoy a nightlife scene in the town of Chelan! Allwithin striking distance to epic fishing locations such as Chelan Falls, Wells Dam, and theBrewster Pool. Hot weather, fast action fishing, what's not to love about taking a trip to the eastside to targetsome of the most delicious eating salmon, Sockeye! Sound like a fun time? River Dog Outfittersis your one stop shop for getting on the water! Give us a call or shoot us an email and we canget your fishing adventure booked for sockeye salmon fishing in Brewster, WA!

Yakima River Fishing Report March 13

Section: Cle Elum Flow: 1500 CFS Water Temperature: 41 Degrees Fish caught on: Pats Stone nymph, Composite Soft Hackle streamer, Unit Skwala dry Key Notes: Feels like spring, big bugs flying, looks like spring Feels like spring The last few days have really been ideal spring days on the Yakima River. Warm air, gentle breeze, and steady flows. Good things never last, and as I'm writing this up it's raining and the river is on a steep rise. But before we get into that lets talk about how the fishing has been. First dry fly eat of the year! Still cold at night (30's) but getting into the high 40's and 50's each day has finialy brought water temps into the 40's daily. Fishing is usually slower early but as water warms and the sun arcs into the afternoon you can almost say the bite turns on. We still find fish earlier, but hit and miss. Nymphing and moving, find the aggressive and cooperative fish. Into the afternoon more fish are found but still no risers. Around 3pm we start to see skwalas flying but still have not seen risers. Don't let that deter you, cast a dry to the most trouty looking water and you'll be surprised! First dry fly taker of the season was a cutthroat eating a Unit Skwala on the first drift over a trouty looking ledge. Soon enough head hunting will be the name of the game. Looks like spring When we look at the forecast it's starting to look like spring, which doesn't feel as nice. Rain rolling in throughout the 10 day forecast. Some days windier than others with temps between 30 and 50. The river is rising steep right now, but it shouldn't blow out. A little color is nice anyway. Expect this pattern to continue into actual spring with plenty of actual blow outs to come. For now enjoy the dynamics and fish when you can! More information about Yakima River access, flows, and guided trips can be found at riverdog-outfitters.com/yakima-river/ Be sure to follow our Facebook page for the latest news, reports, and media https://www.facebook.com/riverdogoutfitters Check back on this blog for more Yakima River Fishing Reports. See you on the river! -Andy Lockey River Dog Outfitters Co-owner & Guide 253-381-6539 [email protected]

Yakima River Fishing Report February 21

Section: Lower Canyon (Ringer to Mile Post 20) Flow: 2000cfs Water Temperature: ~40 Degrees Fish caught on: Egg Sucker Spawn, Storm Swim Shad Key Notes: Useful map, cold water don't matter, spinning rod catches big fish Back on the Lower Made it back down to the Lower Canyon, this time with Neils. Eager to make use of my intel and river map I sketched from the previous trip (see previous post here). We were floating a little longer this time down to milepost 20, and there was wind forecasted in the afternoon. So we got started around 9am while the water temperature was still in the high 30's. Right off the bat I Neils hooked into a nice trout just across from the boat ramp. I also pulled a rainbow up with the Egg Sucker Spawn. Moving downstream it was ridiculous, Neils was using a spinning rod casting a plastic swim bait, specifically the Storm WildEye Swim Shad 1/4oz. I can't remember the color pattern but it didn't matter, this lure has a history with Neils absolutly crushing it on the Yakima. Today was no different, we can confidently say he went 5 for 20, but he probably touched more fish than that. And the 5 we did bring to sight were hefty. Most were fought quick and shaken off to keep them in the river and happy, but this one pictured below was worth a quick moment together. Photo Pro Tip Pro tip on photos with fish, we all have heard the "keep em wet" idea, we like to say go to the fish. Get out of the boat and in the water (that's why you're wearing those $ waders right?). It keeps the fish in the water, or at least over the water, and looks cooler in my opinion. Like you're actually out there in the action. Not just on a boat ride. None of us are perfect, just striving for better. Anyways, photo rant over. The crazy thing with this swimbait is we were watching fish chase it all the way to the boat! Water temp barely got up to 40 degrees and fish were MOVING across the river after this thing. Fish don't like to move far in cold water, at least not after the flies I'm casting. Gear fishing on the Yakima is no secret, plenty do it, but it's certainly something these fish aren't used to. So try something new on the Yakima and pick up a spinning rod, or tie a 1/8 shad to your streamer rod. We won't make fun of you.  The river map helped target the best water, and fish were found in just about every spot mentioned plus more. Thankfully we were off the water around 1pm, just before the wind really started to pick up and freeze us. Stay warm out there! More information about Yakima River access, flows, and guided trips can be found at riverdog-outfitters.com/yakima-river/ Be sure to follow our Facebook page for the latest news,…

Yakima River Fishing Report February 7

Section: Lower Canyon (Ringer to Big Horn) Flow: 1400 CFS Water Temperature: 39-40 Degrees Fish caught on: Zebra Midge, Sculpzilla, Egg Sucker Spawn Key Notes: Fish later in the day, know your water, stay warm. Back on the Yak First time back fishing on the Yakima River since steelhead season. Fished with my buddy Drew of Crow Creek on a section neither of us have much time on, the lower canyon.We put in at Ringer loop after 10am hoping to give the water a chance to warm up. It's a short float down to Big Horn, just over 3 miles, so we took our time behind other boats. Got into some whitefish on the Zebra Midge at one constriction, saw trout rising (finning) to what seemed like gnats. No takes nymphing. Moved down to the mouth of Wilson Creek, there's a nice ledge here and Drew was able to swing up a nice Cutthroat on the Sculpzilla. The run below Wilson is fishy as well and I found a Rainbow to take an Egg Sucker Spawn towards the tailout. Do you make your own maps? We spent a lot of time in the upper half soaking up the winter sun and pushed through the lower half being in the shade with a breeze. Saw fish being caught throughout the float, I did take notes and even sketched a map for future reference. A lot of the fishiest water isn't obvious until you're right on top of it. Excuse the penmanship and enjoy the beta! More information about Yakima River access, flows, and guided trips can be found at riverdog-outfitters.com/yakima-river/Be sure to follow our Facebook page for the latest news, reports, and media https://www.facebook.com/riverdogoutfittersCheck back on this blog for more Yakima River Fishing Reports.See you on the river! -Andy LockeyRiver Dog OutfittersCo-owner & [email protected]

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Yakima River Fishing Report September 30

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Jenci catches a MONSTER Yakima Rainbow Trout on a rooster tail spinner! Not many anglers use this technique here on the Yakima as it is mostly fly fishing.

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