I am heading out to Lenice this weekend for the opener. Besides watching my backcast to make sure I don't hook someone, I would be interested in hearing some early season fishing strategies for trout. I usually fish the Yakima River and am not very familiar with stillwaters. Any advice?

Early season is characterized by COOOOOL water, Lazy fish, and lack of food in the water.
Try chironomids, which hatch first,but if no action switch to leeches or scuds which overwinter
in adult form. Fish your flies slooooooow. The fish may be quite shallow looking for warm water
or they may be near the bottom in deeper water (which is often warmest this time of year).
You have to bonk em in the nose,they won't move far for a fly.

Ditto on the chronies. You might try red thread bare flies, fished like chronies. These worked at both Nunnally & Lenice. I hit fish at Lenice last year on bead head olive buggers with flash-a-bou.

Looking forward to the report.

I'll be heading east, but not to the Nunnally chain.

I'd go,but it's just toooo cold for me. I don't mind running up and down a river bank in the middle of winter but sitting in a float tube and freezing my back side off. Thats not for me.
By the way. How is the weather over there. Is it still cold? I just need it a little warmer. Jim S.

I was sitting here thinking after what I just wrote. Where is Trout Master. He said that he wasn't going to start work until the 1st of March. I miss all of his colorful posts. He's usually ragging about his secret lake. Just a thought. Jim S.

JS - I owe you a trip up to Cady when it warms up a bit. I'd even loan out my small pontoon to keep most of you out of the water, or bring your canoe...

I think TM is laying low until he has something to report.

I'd love to go. I have my own pontoon boat. It's an Alpine made by Buck's Bags. So I can keep my own butt out fo the water.

Just let me know when a good time is so I can make plans to go. I've been tying up a few flies so I will be prepared. And what I don't tie I shall buy. Jim S.

There's not much food out this early in the year. There will be some bloodworms, chronie pupa, "pin dots" and LEECHES. "Pin dots" are either little green daphnia or teeny, tiny little shrimp. In either case they're too dang small to fish as they're about a #32...

Most of the fish I've caught this early have a couple of leeches (along with "pin dots") in their bellies. So... can't go wrong with leeches (or woolly buggers) this early in the year.

My early strategy would be to put a fly in front of them, get them to strike... and set the hook.

Zen, I thought your game early is to soak power bait???????????????????

Zen:
Thanks for the info. Leeches, WB's, and now zonkers are part of my standard search patterns. I was planning to try blood worms or small thread bare reds.

I remember seeing a picture in a FFing magazine that showed a guy with a very small fly, 28(?), in his eye, just seeing it made you cringe - wear glasses!

I been tying up leeches,wooley bugers,blood worms,chromids(I know this isn't spelled right). What ever else that I would need I think that I will buy. I can't tie anything hard so I just stick to the easy ones. But I have fun trying. I sure can come up with some screwy looking flys. I been using ostrich in place of chenille on my woolbuggers. It gives them a different look. You never know it might work. Jim S.

Hey old man, Re: the weather over here, it's miserable cold. Barely thawing each day in the Coulee
country and not much warmer in Moses lake. Another one of those damn mild but lingering winters.

Re: your flies, you'll need to tye one more: A mayfly nymph that I fish like a chronie and just hammer em during the early part of the hatch.

Tail: 6-8 fibers of gunnie foul body feather
split into two segments with a small ball of dubbin
Body: build a slim taper of any yarn for underbody.
Overwrap with REAL Oak Turkey fibre that has been
treated with Daves Fleximent. Should be VERY whitish with mottled tan highlights
Thorax: Few wraps of peacock herl behind the bead.
Wingcase:Overlay a snip of Oak Turkey.
Head: Small brass bead or clear glass indian seed bead. Tye somma each.

This Calabaetis nymph pattern will outfish all others in E. Wash alkaline lakes where the
nymphs are very pale. Murders em in Chopaka in May & early June.

I can't tie that one it's too hard. If it has more that 5 different types of materials I get up tight. Even my magnifiying glass doesn't help. Oops,another misspelled word. Woolybuggers aren't to bad. Hook,thread,tail,body,hackle and sometimes a little lead around the hook shank. Jim