6/25/24: Tailout Anglers is done guiding for the foreseeable future.
I am moving to the Bay Area, CA over the summer. While this transition is bittersweet, I am excited to soon be working full time at Lost Coast Outfitters fly shop in San Francisco. My destination travel and hosted trips will continue. In conjunction with the shop, I hope to expand travel offerings and hosted trips in the future. If you find yourself in the Bay Area, swing by the shop and say hi. Bring an 8-weight and hit the beach for striped bass too.
If you need guide reccommendations for Washington, please shoot me an email. I'll be glad to help.
I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who I had the privelege to taking fishing over the last 8 years, those who took me fishing, gave me advice, or were just a friendly face on the water. Tailout Anglers isn't going away entirely, just shifting. Newsletters and trip reports will continue on a more quarterly-ish basis. My Instagram and email will remain the same as well. I will be writing the LCO newsletter too. Visit the website if you want to sign up for that one. I promise, if anything, it will be entertaining.
Feed.Fish.Flies.
-Brett Wedeking
We offer Washington fly fishing guided trips year-round, all over the state for trout, steelhead, bass, and more. Below are descriptions of our destinations. Feel free to contact us for more information or to book a trip.
Guide rates for 2024:
Sea-run cutthroat: full day $650, half day $450
Yakima River float: full day $600
Steelhead float: full day $600
Walk and wade: half day only $450
Tailout Anglers trips include all taxes and access fees.
Puget Sound is our bread and butter, backyard fishery. We fish year-round for coastal sea-run cutthroat trout in this unique, protected saltwater environment.
Like steelhead, these native trout are anadromous, meaning they are born in a stream, migrate out to spend their adult lives in saltwater and then return to their natal water to spawn--and eat salmon eggs and fry. Puget Sound is a unique and vast fishery and harbors a healthy population of these feisty trout. This is one of the most prolific and accessible trout fisheries in North America though and remains unknown to most trout anglers.
We pursue these critters from a specially equipped power boat, giving us maximum versatility and the ability to target unpressured beaches with no foot access. This is trout fishing, so we throw five and six-weight rods armed with small baitfish and shrimp imitations. Coastal cutthroat are aggressive, ambush predators and they are highly migratory, chasing food around the Sound, moving with the tides and currents. The fishing is often very visual as you watch fish attack your fly in shallow, clear water. Salmon often live and migrate along the shoreline too and depending on the season we may incidentally encounter them while fishing for cutthroat.
Full day saltwater trips are $650 and half day trips are $450. 2 anglers max and all fishing gear is provided. Light lunch is provided on full day trips. See bottom of the page for more info.
For a more typical Northwest trout fishing experience we float the Yakima River in Eastern WA, fishing for rainbows, westslope cutthroat and the occasional whitefish.
An easy day trip from Seattle, the river flows off the eastside of Snoqualmie Pass. Over 60 miles of the river is designated catch and release for wild trout. The Yakima is fishable year-round, weather depending, with spring and fall offering some of the best fishing.
The Yak is an excellent nymph fishery and boasts some good dry fly fishing during hatches of skwala and summer stones, BWO's, PMD's, March browns, caddis and more throughout the year. During much of the summer season we prefer to fish dry/dropper combos as much as possible. Streamer fishing can be good too and usually puts bigger fish in the net. We float the river and fish out of a drift boat, stopping to wade when possible. The river offers some good trout-spey opportunities as well.
Full day Yakima float trips are $600, for 2 anglers max. All fishing gear and light lunch provided. Shuttle is included when avilable. See bottom of the page for more info.
When you're from Western Washington winter steelhead fishing runs deep in your soul. This isn't easy fishing. In fact, it's often cold, wet, dark and mentally and physically challenging. But, just the chance to find even a single, chrome bright steelhead is enough to fuel the day.
The Skagit River Basin is where the modern spey/two-handed rod revolutaion began and we head there to swing flies with two-handed rods for steelhead on the Skagit/Sauk system from December through April (the open season can change year to year). This is sink tips with big rods and big flies kind of fishing. We save the nymph rods for trout on the Yakima, preferring to swing flies for these native fish. If you wish to fish with a snagle hand rod that is just fine too.
Bull trout/cutthroat/spey casting tune up trips are offered on the Skagit River October--December too. This is a fun way to catch a few fish and work on your casting in a beautiful setting.
Full day steelhead float trips are $600 for 2 anglers max. All fishing gear and light lunch provided. Shuttle is included when available. See bottom of the page for more info.
During the warmer months, hiking along Cascade mountain streams is a fun and scenic way to spend a day fishing. Just a short drive up hill from Seattle are several, clear running rivers and tributaries full of native cutthroat and wild rainbows.
This is a hiking and boulder hopping, wild fish on light rods and dry flies kind of day. The fish are small and fun on light gear. This is an excellent way to brush up on your skills or just a spend a pleasant day in a pretty place.
This was the first place we began guiding, in 2006, and remains one of our favorite places to spend time.
These trips are offered as a half-day walk and wade outing, $450, for 2 anglers. A third anglers may be added for an dadditional $100. All fishing gear in provided. No lunch or drinks provided on half day trips. See bottom of the page for more info.
Note: While this fishing isn't complicated, the hiking and wading requires a moderate level of physical fitness to find fish and cover water.
What's Included:
All trips are for up to 2 anglers/boat. Rods, reels, leaders, flies, a light lunch/water, boat and truck/trailer shuttle (when available), launch fees and required safety gear are provided on full day trips. Full days are about 8 hours on the water. Depending on conditions, this may be a little longer or a little shorter. Half day trips are available on certain fisheries and fishing gear and safety gear is included however, lunch is not. Half days are about 4 hours on the water.
All prices include 10% WA sales tax (yes, it's that high!). All anglers must sign a liability waiver prior to their trip. This is required by our outfitter insurance carrier.
With enough advance notice, we can often accommodate more anglers and arrange multi-boat trips on the Yakima River.
What's Not Included:
Transportation and fishing licenses are not included. Fishing licenses can be purchased online here. If you're fishing for steelhead you need a Catch Record Card which must be mailed to your home in advance or obtained in-person at a license dealer.
You will need to provide your own waders, boots and weather appropriate attire. In warm weather months wet wading shoes or sandals are usually preferrable to waders. Always bring extra clothes/layers/sunscreen no matter what the weather. Polarized sunglasses are a must to see into the water and for eye protection. If you have specific dietary restrictions we will do our best to accomodate, but encourage you to bring your own food. A cooler is on board for client use.
Booking Your Trip:
Your trip can be booked over the phone or by email. A $100/day deposit is required at the time of booking to secure fishing dates. Payment options include cash, check, Venmo or Paypal. Deposits
are non-refundable except in the event of unfishable/dangerous water conditions. Unfishable/dangerous days can also be rescheduled. The balance of the payment is due the day of the trip. Guide gratuity, usually 15-25% of trip cost, is customary, but up to client discretion.
Tailout Anglers LLC is US Coast Guard licensed, WDFW licensed and fully insured. We are first aid and CPR certified.
Head over to the Contact page if you want more information or would like to book a trip.