The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
This Skwala nymph still has a couple months left to go before hatching, but it's still a good representative of its species, which was extremely abundant in my sample for a stonefly of this size. It's obvious why the Yakima is known for its Skwala hatch.
I made a quick trip Friday after work to the mountains, hoping to teach a friend how to fly fish. The South Fork Snoqualmie looked inviting, and we drove to a set of pools that were full of eager fish around this time last year. Unfortunately, they seemed almost empty this time. I missed a couple hits, and my friend will have to wait until next time to catch his first trout. After he had to leave, I explored a new stretch of the river and found a few willing fish, including the first two Westslope Cutthroat I've caught on the west slope of the Cascades. (They're named for a different west slope.)