Dang we are getting some hot weather. Don’t forget to bring a lot of water when you venture out on the water and keep the sunscreen handy. Nothing can spoil a day on the water like heat stroke or a bad sunburn.

The small rivers in our region have dropped into fishing condition well before what we are used to, and that means there are good opportunities for those who like to fly fish these streams. Typically, I don’t even try to fish the upper Icicle until very late July or August, but this year is different. This stream and many others in the region are already wadable. There is something about splashing around in one of these small streams in my shorts that I really enjoy. When temperatures are hitting the 90s and 100 degrees I can run up the Icicle Valley and find the temperature about twenty degrees cooler.

The small streams that I have fished over the years include the Icicle, Entiat, Kettle, and San Poil. Most of these produce small trout, but there are bigger fish in the Kettle for sure. I think that it is interesting that the fly patterns that work well for me work on all of the rivers. If you want to get out and give fly fishing a try, this is the time to do it. Easy wading and a great way to beat the heat. Just be sure to have some size 12 Parachute Adams, Parachute Caddis, and Stimulators with you. The photo is of a typical rainbow from the Icicle.

A couple of streams that will produce bigger trout are the Methow and the Yakima rivers. A friend sent me a photo of a cutthroat a friend caught on the Methow recently and it had to push 20 inches. The Yakima consistently produces rainbow over 12 inches and there are much larger trout taken even in the heat of summer.

You can learn a lot fishing these small waters that will prepare you for fly fishing larger rivers. Knowing how to present a fly, so it appears like a natural bug floating down the river is critical. Learning how to make your fly land softly and not smack on to the water and mending your line is very important. Although you don’t need to make long casts on the small streams, you still need to find the rhythm required for good casting.

If you are just starting out, I would suggest that you purchase a 5 weight rod. It may seem a bit heavy for the really small trout we catch on most of our streams, but this weight rod is very versatile. I even landed and released a 7-pound steelhead with my 5 weight rod on the Yakima. It is a good rod for fishing our area lakes, too.

There is good news and bad news for salmon anglers on the upper Columbia River. The bad news first. TAC has updated the upper Columbia River summer Chinook Run size to 57,000 at the Columbia River mouth, which is 68% of the pre-season forecast. The good news is the return of sockeye. Through July 5, a total of 264,004 sockeye have been counted at Bonneville Dam which is the sixth highest count in the last ten years. Based on either the 5 or 10-year average run timing the run was expected to be 83% complete on July 5. TAC has updated the sockeye run size to 331,000 at the Columbia River mouth, 141% of the pre-season forecast. After reading this report, I dashed up to Tumwater Dam. I had heard that there are sockeye already over the dam, and when I read the sign, I was pleasantly surprised. Over 3,000 have been counted, and they are still coming strong! If this keeps up we could have an earlier than ever opener to the Lake Wenatchee sockeye season. It usually starts in early August but could be late July this year. Maybe even a four-fish limit again. Keep your fingers crossed.

I sent out the free Summer issue of the Fishing Magician E-Letter a few weeks ago and I am still getting requests for it. This time I dedicated the bulk of the E-Letter to sockeye fishing, not knowing at the time that we were going to have such a great return. The E-Letter describes in detail how to catch sockeye, on both the main stem Columbia River and at Lake Wenatchee. In the E-Letter I provided a link to a video that I put together that features three guides; Shane Magnuson, Jerrod Gibbons, and Austin Moser. In the video, each of them show anglers what they use to catch sockeye. This video is definitely worth checking out. As many of you know, bait is allowed on the Columbia River but not on Lake Wenatchee. It’s easy to get on the list to get your free copy of the E-Letter. Just go to my website at www.fishingmagician.com and click on the E-Letter button at the top left-hand corner of the Home Page. I will be sure to get a copy out to you right away, usually the same day I get the notice that you have signed up.

As many of you know, there are several radio stations here in Eastern Washington and one in Seattle that broadcast my reports. The stations all broadcast the reports at different times of day, so when people ask me what station they are on, it gets complicated. Now there is an easy way to listen to these reports “on demand”. As long as you have a cell phone signal or computer connected to the internet you can get the reports, and even go back to prior reports if you missed one. Just log onto kkrv.com/graybillreport/. When the Podcast page opens just click on the one you want to listen to.

Although salmon fishing gets a tremendous amount of attention this time of year, there are other really good opportunities. Banks Lake can produce limits of walleye this time of year, and the same can be true of Potholes Reservoir. Fishing for bass on both of these reservoirs can be great as well. Also, I have had very good success catching walleye and triploid rainbow on Rufus Woods Reservoir in the month of July.