Eastern WA trout and smallmouth settle into fall patterns

What's biting

What's next

With a New Moon today, expect dark nights and strong feeding urges at dawn and dusk, so plan the first and last two hours of light as your best windows. Stable flows at the three gauges suggest the next few days should fish similarly, barring a rain event that would push flows up and add color. If the cool trend continues, trout should keep moving into slower seams and deeper pools to hold in calmer water, which makes drifted nymphs and slow-worked lures reasonable choices.

Tactical Bassin (blog) notes that jigs and soft jerkbaits around hard structure such as dock pilings, laydown trees and rocks are producing in fall, and that fish position predictably this time of year. That advice fits Smallmouth Bass in Eastern Washington reservoirs and slower river reaches, where shallow structure near deeper water is the place to start. MidCurrent's recent Tying Tuesday features also point to hatches beginning to fire and predatory fish pushing into the shallows, a useful cue to carry a few small flies along.

Flows are the variable to watch. The 1.99 cfs reading at gauge 12492900 marks a very small stream, so wade quietly and fish it light, while the larger flow at gauge 12484500 will call for heavier weight and careful wading.

Context

Mid-October in Eastern Washington typically marks a transition. Summer heat is gone, water temperatures have dropped into the 50s, and trout are shifting from warm-season behavior toward fall feeding. Smallmouth Bass usually begin leaving the shallows for deeper holding areas as nights cool, so the shallow bite tends to narrow to the warmest part of the afternoon. Low-elevation streams generally stay fishable through the fall, while higher water cools quickly. Check state regulations for seasons and limits before keeping any fish, since rules vary by water.