Page 115 - North 40 Outfitters

So I have a bit of a fish story from this week... On Wednesday, I got a fly box in the mail from a customer up in Calgary. He sent me a nice batch of carp flies and a request for some information. I figured I better hit the river at lunch and give him an up-to-date conditions report. Wednesday was partly cloudy, breezy, 72 degrees and the carp were up. I opened up the box and recognized a Carpin Crunch. It’s nice to see that someone watches my videos. If you haven’t been watching Fred’s videos on the Carpin Crunch, here is your chance. It's worth it. Not Your Average Encounter I tied on the Crunch and picked out a chubby tailer. It took a few casts before he saw the fly, but when he saw it, he ate it. I found my way to the water’s edge and was locked up with the beast when I heard from behind me... "Police Officers." "Is it not o...

With only a couple of weeks left to fish the Methow River, I was able to get out for a few hours and check out some of my favorite runs. I got started a little later then I want to, but that was okay. It was a nice sunny, early fall day. I was surprised at the number of anglers I saw on the river, being that it was mid week. The first two spots were occupied, but the next spot I wanted to hit was wide open. Curious how the river is doing? Check out current river flows here My 5wt switch and 6wt glass were my go to set ups for the day. Like always, I swung the run first with a Mini BDL. I had a number of tugs and a few wannabe rainbows before I hooked into a nice bow that went air born and put on a nice show for me. I switched over to the TFP Stinging Smolt and hooked a few more smaller bows and cutties. I ended fishing the run with my #6...

FlyMen Fishing Company recently introduced Double Barrel Popper & Slider Bodies to the fly tying world. No longer will you have to waste time gluing, waiting, painting, more waiting, then finally tying your bug. These soft foam bodies are remarkably easy to use. All you need is a lighter and bodkin to create a channel through the body. Tie a thread base on one of the Surface Seducer Popper Hooks, add a little Zap-A-Gap to the thread base, then slide the body onto the hook. Easy peasy poppers! At this point, you can get creative by using paint, markers, or keep it simple by leaving the body plain. The recessed eye slots make it easy to attach the Surface Seducer® Dragon Eyes with a little UV resin. Finish the fly with a marabou, hackle, flash, and rubber legs. But how do they work in the water? They float like a cork and move a lot...

Shelling out a few hundred dollars for a new pair of waders is never a fun event. I am the kind of person that will wear my leaky waders until the holes are visibly noticeable. Although this may sound bad, I have heard of fisherman worse than me: I heard of one man who had holes in his waders so bad he actually cut bigger holes in the waders, with a knife, while on the river. The thinking behind this was, with the bigger holes, that the water would at least cycle through the waders easier. This way, he wasn't carrying around extra water weight. Although I don't recommend doing this in early spring like this gentleman, I feel his pain, and see his logic. For all those outdoor enthusiasts that are always buying new waders, here are seven steps that will help prolong the life of your waders. Have holes in your waders from a hook? Stick? K...

On Thursday, I had a fun afternoon outing on the Big Twin Lake in the beautiful Methow Valley. Light pressure, mid 70s, light winds, just a gorgeous, beautiful day. I had a few small fish right off the bat by casting a waterboatman pattern something I like to use in the fall. I managed a few stronger grabs that didn’t stick - and then I saw a large fish that looked 20" follow it to the surface but did not commit. Other anglers that I interviewed reported the same: lots of small fish, no heavies. I was very happy with my setup: an Echo rod/reel combo throwing a RIO Clear 'Camo Lux’ intermediate line with 5 foot 3X level tippet. I wonder though-.those bigger fish can be wily, perhaps I should have tapered it down to 4X? Hmmm. Looking for a new setup? Pick and choose your gear here So, I put on a dragon nymph pattern on the same set...

Two weeks. That is the amount of time that has gone by since our kids showed at the local fair. 4-H is definitely one of the better things I can think of to have your kids doing, but sometimes, it's not always a walk in the park. All summer the kids looked forward to showing. We had big plans for them to attend their first clip & show clinic to help them learn how to properly prepare their heifers for the fair. But like most things, it conflicted with the farm schedule. Not only did it fall on Father's Day weekend but we were putting up silage. Wanna read how this whole thing started? Checkout the first installment where we meet these good looking kids... and cows. For a moment we had planned on putting a small event on the farm for the local kids to help prepare them for the fair, but once again, we were too busy with farm work. Th...

August on the Missouri River is a complicated time for dry flies- well for any type of fly fishing really. We’re in-between seasons, some days it’s still summer temps that hover around 80, some days it’s fall-esque and rainy. There’s still weeds in the water, the hatches are off and the days are long. But still, you ask, the fish are there- how can I make them eat? It’s a game of give and go in August on the Mo, but we’ve gathered up the best insights from decades of experience to get you a road map that you can use to get the most of the mid-season month of August. Battling Weeds in August on the Mo As the temperatures start to shift to true fall, the weeds begin to clear- a little. Streamer fishing by Craig Is still almost always out of the picture unless you are dredging for weeds on purpose. ...

So I have a bit of a fish story from this week. On Wednesday, I got a fly box in the mail from a customer up in Calgary. He sent me a nice batch of carp flies and a request for some information. I figured I better hit the river at lunch and give him an up-to-date conditions report. Want to see how the river is doing? Check out the current river flows here Wednesday was partly cloudy, breezy, 72 degrees and the carp were up. I opened up the box and recognized a Carpin Crunch. It’s nice to see that someone watches my videos. If you haven't been watching Fred's videos on the Carpin Crunch, here is your chance. Its worth it. I tied on the Crunch and picked out a chubby tailer. It took a few casts before he saw the fly, but when he saw it, he ate it. I found my way to the water’s edge and was locked up with the beast when I heard from beh...

Ever since we filmed Episode 33: How to Set up for Pike on the Fly of the #AskNorth40 show, I have had the Pike bug. It didn't take long for me to make plans to head over to Montana, and give Cabinet Gorge Reservoir another run. Interested in seeing other fly fishing related #AskNorth40 show videos? See them all here. The weather forecast was scattered. One website was calling for 50% chance of rain, another said 7%, one even said blue skies. I came to the conclusion that I needed warm clothes and rain gear because I always seem to get the worst weather. Out of the 9 hours we spent on the water, it rained for 7 of them. Not ideal fishing conditions, but I wasn't about to waste a day off and go home. We toughed it out through the rain with not much to brag about. If it wasn't for the occasional Smallmouth and Largemouth, fishing was poor...

With each day losing a few more minutes of sunlight, the dawning of 8 hour days become more apparent. Sunset was at 7:14 pm, so hitting the river after work was a hustle. However, we managed to find a few rising trout and land some sizable rainbows and cutthroat. The sky was partly cloudy without a breath of wind in the air. Want to see how the river is doing? Check out the current river flows here Finding the perfect dry fly wasn't easy. I started off with my purple people eater (a variation of a purple parachute adams), and had very little action. With light closing down, I decided to throw on a #14 callibaetis just to see what would happen. To my surprise, it worked well. I never had nonstop action with the callibaetis, but the trout that did eat it, exploded on the surface. My biggest trout of the night was a beautiful 18" cutthroat ...

The dog days of summer have set in and it's time to update the status of my straw bale garden. You can read about my first attempt here. I've successfully killed half of what I planted and learned some really good lessons along the way. Here's a quick break down of the good, the bad and the ugly. The Ugly of the Straw Bale Garden Although my bales were old, not all of them were fully conditioned. This means the straw wasn't broken down enough. When I started to add water to them, they got really hot. Why did they get hot? Decomposition. In a nutshell your straw bale is carbon, the goal is to break that carbon by "conditioning" it. Conditioning is adding nutrients and water to kick start the decomposition process (microbes eating the straw and changing it's cellular structure) that essentially turns the straw into soil over time. Some of...

Fall weather rolled through this weekend. On the Missouri River, the trout and the bugs responded positively to cooler temps and darker skies. I was out in the tempest swinging a two hander, covered in Simms G4 gear. It was just like fishing in Alaska. Cold wind, rain and rainbows. Instead of dollies though, I had a side of brown trout. Not bad. September prospects are excellent. Anglers can look forward to more little mayflies, increased action on the nymph, aggressive fish to the streamer and cooler days on the water. Want to see how the river is doing? Check out the current river flows here Fish can sometimes be tempted to eat hoppers and big Chubbies on the drift, the twitch and the long strip. Cast to the bank in key spots or run your flies well ahead of the boat. Fly first to the fish for success. It’s kind of like fishing a strik...