Eastern Washington Fishing Report 08.15.19
The good news is, the rivers have not dropped anymore since last week. Instead, they have come up a little with the recent rains we have had in the last week. Mornings are still going to be your best bet if you are able to hit the waters. The area lakes are still running a little high in temperature.
Current Conditions
Bonaparte Lake - It seems fishing has taken a back seat to most people on the lake lately. The good thing about that means less competition for those that choose to wet a line. Morning time as it has been for the last few weeks is the best time to be on the water. The smallies are still taking topwater poppers in and around the weeds. Another couple of good flies to use, just outside of the weed line, are the Canadian black or crystal simi seal leeches. Besides the smallies, you are looking to stand a good chance of hooking up some of the nice rainbows, tiger, or brook trout that are close in right after sunup. Once the sun gets a little higher overhead, move out to the 20-foot-plus depth water -straight lining with a full sink line with chironomids or blood worms. Also, as mentioned, earlier leech patterns on a slow strip are also productive.
Okanogan River (WA) - The rain we have had on and off for the last week has brought the river level up a little. The current flow is 841cfs, that is about 100 cfs over last week. Day time temperatures by this weekend will be getting into the high 80s and low 90s. So, early mornings and just before dark will be your best time to work the waters for smallmouth. With the river still low in most areas, you will need to concentrate on locations that have a minimum of four to five feet in depth.
Clouser style streamers are a good choice to use along with some of the other streamer patterns that have a jig style hook in them. A short tip of maybe five feet of type-3 sinking line will be about all you need to get down in most of the holding waters. The speed of the water will dictate how fast your strip retrieve will need to be.
Methow River (WA) - The good news is that the river hasn’t dropped below last week's level. Right now, it is running at 311cfs. This is still below what it should be for this time of the year but, at least it is holding. From first light till about 11:00 a.m. then again from 4:00 p.m. to dark, will be your best times to work the waters. Hoppers are still the go-to pattern most of the time. Keep them in the #12 to #10 size range. Chubbies and J-slams are the next in line for the working dries right now. If you want to nymph, a couple I would suggest would be; a #10 beaded stonefly, a #16 Prince nymph, or a #16 pearl lightning bug. For streamers, keep them on the small to medium size right now with the low water. Allso, a #8 sculpzilla or #8 or #6 muddler minnow is having good results.
Other Waters - Patterson Lake over by Winthrop has been fishing well for smallmouth bass. This lake gets a lot of daytime activity from paddleboards, kayaks, and windsurfing users. So, keep your fishing time confined to mornings and wrap it up by noon. Topwater action is still productive for the first two hours of light then switch to small minnow or crayfish patterns. Fish the rocky drop offs on both the west and east side of the lake for the smallies.
Match the Hatch
Foam Flies – J-slam pink, purple, Chubby chernobyl red, royal or pink.
Hoppers – Morrish hopper pink, tan or purple.
Leeches/ Buggers – Brown Crystal Bugger, Black Crystal Bugger, Black Balanced Squirrel leech, Simi seal Canadian black, crystal.
Poppers – Popper splatter Fl. green chart or orange, Frog, Mini Mouse.
Streamers – Sculpzilla, Muddler Minnow, RJ's Jiggy Worm blue or orange, Clouser chart/white, gray/white.
Need to fill the box before you go? Order flies online here.
Tips & Techniques
When fishing for smallmouth bass on or near the bottom, try and use jig style streamers. With the hook riding up you are less likely to snag up on the bottom. Also, when fishing the rivers that are low right now, try using unweighted nymphs and streamers. You will not be snagging up on the bottom as much as you will with weighted bugs.
See past reports from the Omak region, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.