Unless you are living under a rock (which, good for you because it is probably nice and cool under there), you know that during this past week, summer unshackled itself and rampaged throughout the Pacific Northwest kneecapping everyone under its intense heat. The temperatures here in Spokane were crushingly brutal and broke historical records, by mid-morning most residents would smartly run indoors to sit in front of their air conditioners (if they had them).
For the Spokane River, this meant that angling time was limited to early mornings or maybe the last hour or two of visible light. Thankfully, much of the Spokane River is recharged by our aquifer which keeps water temperatures in the 60's, but it has been creeping up to about 68F which is a bit high for the health of our redband trout. So, it is still best to fish early mornings right now.
This heat wave seems to have recalibrated to slightly lower temperatures these past couple days (in the 90's rather than 100s), but it seems that it will remain hot into the next week. Water levels on the Spokane are also low, and continue to drop.
If you are planning on fishing the Spokane this weekend, set your alarm early. A couple of our guides went early enough, before the first shafts of sunlight hit the water, and the air was abuzz with caddis. For the dry fly fishers out there, dappling an elk hair caddis on the surface could produce some surface strikes during this time. It is cool and tranquil in these early morning hours on the river, savor this time.
Once the heat begins to radiate onto the boulder studded Spokane, expect find trout in mid-depth channels. Keep moving around and traversing from one deep trough to the next looking for a good mix of depth, boulders, and walking-pace current. Our guides had success fishing with heavy stonefly and small green caddis patterns suspended roughly six feet beneath an indicator. Some heavy leach streamer patterns even had a couple hits in deeper slower areas. But as the morning progresses, the trout are sent to the bottom to commiserate under the scorching sun and its best to also escape to any air conditioned room.
If you are interested in guided trips on the Spokane River contact us and we can set up a trip for you. For those looking to go out on a guided trip this week, half-day float trips early in the morning might be best in order to make the most of your time on the water. For more information, check out our page about guided trips on the Spokane River.