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I fished the Yakima Fri-Sun. I fished with a guide on Friday and from my own boat the next two days. Friday I fished with John out of the Worley Bugger, we floated Ringer to Umtanum. We started about 8:30 AM and it was slow. We fished a stimulator with a nymph dropper on one rod and deep with a dual nymph rig and strike indicator on another. The stimulator was a zero, but I got a few on the nymphs. I finally pumped the stomach of a fat 12 incher and it was loaded with tiny nymphs and larvae, most were mayflies, but there also were some tiny caddis and midge larvae. Most of the material was # 20 to about #28. This stuff was tiny, this seemed to explain why they weren't biting the #8 double bead stonefly or the #14 PT. The afternoon was better as we stuck with tiny stuff. I got quite few hits on a tiny olive beadhead I tied that I found in Dave Hughes latest book. Sat and Sun was more of the same, though I got a few fish on stimulators and October caddis, tiny stuff was the best. I hooked several large fish, they all got away. The last one I hooked was big, based on the flash, he instantly ran for a big snag and straightened my #18 hook as he flailed in the roots. One final observation, the best way to get a strike is to look away from your strike indicator. I can't count the number of times I looked away to plan my next cast and looked back to find my indicator gone. I actually hooked a few of these fish with a quick strike, but I gave some serious thought to looking away and setting the hook as a new technique.
Terry Whitworth
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