Here we find ourselves enjoying yet another week of great late winter steelhead fishing on the Met. Weather has been as close to perfect as one could hope for with temps at night in the mid and low 20’s and daytime highs in the mid to upper 40’s it has felt warm in day while staying cold enough at night to keep the river on a slow and steady drop.

Fish On!

CP’s first steel

Boat fishing has still been easier than dealing with higher flows from shore and most points are still not safe to wade across. Do not despair if you don’t have a form of watercraft though as many fish are in the easy to reach calm inside seems. The major pulse of fish seems to be between Carlton and Methow.

Scott w a keeper!

With water high as it has been I am having best luck with heavy rigs in slow water, much of the time in a depth of 6-8ft. Swinging heavy lines can produce fish, as of late most luck for my clients and I have been yielded from beads. To set up I use 0x 10ft to size 8 stone then drop 1x 16-18inches to which I attach orange or pink Hevi Bead and size 10 octopus hooks about two fingers width from egg bead.

Look for fishing to continue to improve as flows drop, steelhead season on the Methow ends March 31st. Also there is a new closure point on the Methow at Heckendoran Park across from East 20 Pizza; closure is in place to aid National Fish and Wildlife in collection of additional brood for this year’s steelhead program.

If you are interested in booking a trip with Methow Fishing Adventures just drop us a line at (509) 429-7298 or send an email to us on the Guides page. Fish On Yawl!

Early Morning Fish On

Wow! What a difference a few CFS (cubic feet per second) makes. Recently the Methow’s flows peaked at about 1570 cfs at the Pateros U.S.G.S. field monitoring site at that point fishing was pretty tough for all involved. Move ahead a few 45 degree days and some 25 degree nights and we see a steady decline in flows. While we still sit well above the sixty five year average there has been an almost instant change in the mood of the fish.

Need a Bigger Net

High Five

In a lot of ways increased flows can lead to even better fishing on the Methow river as it has a way of not only bringing fish up but also it spreads them out leading to good fishing in many sections of the river and lots of good runs to go around. Right now fishing has been most consistent for me in an area centered around Carlton but just yesterday I was able to pull in a nice buck in just a short time in Winthrop.

Headed Home

With flows fast and high as they are most fish seem to be holding in the softer water either on insides, tail-outs or perhaps just the right rock or break in flow. Swinging leaches and buck tail on sink-tips has produced well and with water swollen bank to bank it’s been fairly conducive as well. The most effective presentation as of late has been the stone fly with a Hevi Bead dropper; my favorite right now is the pink and orange. Remember when working drifts now more than ever to Slow It Down, I think that’s why the Hevi Bead has been the ticket lately as it has a way of dragging with-out hanging up and it gets down quick.

Hen on a Bead

Hevi Bead set-up

I can’t stress enough to be careful this year on the Met, I don’t wade across this river on foot even in Winthrop until the flows at Pateros are less than 1000cfs. Just use your head, go with a buddy, use a staff, wear a belt, yadda yadda all that stuff but take it seriously nothing ruins a fishing trip more than getting wet or worse.

BP

On a lighter note it looks like its pretty much time to get it on from now until the end of March barring flow spikes or season shut-downs. Just keeping checking in, I’ll do my best to keep you informed. If you would like to book a trip just drop me a line on the Guides page or at (509) 429-7298. Be careful out there, take care of one another and get that Fish On!