BP Fishing

Welcome to the big cool down. The weather of late fall has hit the Methow with its usual manic cold and wet conditions. Added water in the form of late and heavy rains brought the Methow to some record levels for November. Added flow can be a great attractant to fish looking to run up the river as well though thanks to the Carlton Complex Fire added flow brings unstable sediment, which has made fishing in the lower reaches of the system less productive than average.

As can be imagined fishing in general has slowed markedly in the past few weeks on the Methow and will take a bit to come back into shape. Fear not though as fish adjust to the cooler temps and flows subside back to their average levels fishing will get good again.
I see no reason for a closure this winter in the Methow Steelhead season and look forward to another season in the ice and snow. For me some of the best days of the season came in December and January, maybe the numbers were lower than fall but so were the numbers of people. Winter is peaceful and beautiful on the Methow and fishing is better than most would think.

Sarah and Glenn

As the metabolism of steelhead slows with colder water they will have a tendency to slide lower and lower in the run and begin to select smaller and smaller food items. The upper Methow has more spring activity than lower sections, as well water has not been exposed to low air temps for as many miles as lower section which is obvious by less ice above and more ice down low. Fish are less willing to exert energy to gain energy from food which is why much of the time when a given presentation has come to an almost complete stop in the drift is when take will usually occur.