Page 126 - North 40 Outfitters

In episode #14 #AskNorth40, Blake with NuCanoe, jokingly refers to hearing complaints about how two seater canoes and tandem kayaks are called "divorce boats"... because they don't work very well. He is quick to clearly point out that it doesn't have to be that way. Blake is an owner at NuCanoe. NuCanoe, an excellent company based out of Bellingham, Washington, that manufactures kayaks and kayak accessories. On their website NuCanoe explains, "Fishing in a kayak with your spouse, child, or friend is an awesome experience... if you have the right tandem fishing kayak!" The Most Important Issue when Looking at 2 Person Kayaks So, when you are shopping around for a two seater kayak what is the most important thing you need to make sure you have? Blake states, that with two people fishing out of a kayak, the main and most important issue to...

    When we sat down with Nutrena this year, we know we wanted to do something different. But there was a problem. In today's society, if you want to learn about chicken farming, there are a million resources available at your finger tips, a million "how-tos" and "best-practices you get with one simple search... "Chicken farming" on Google returns 23,500,000 entries. How could we maintain our position as a cutting -edge farm and ranch store and stay ahead of our competitors and the at glutted market... when chickens have been around and written about since 5,000 B.C. Easy. We bring you content you cant' get from Google. N40 Coops delves into chicken life beyond Google, into the stuff you can't get from a Google search. Human creativity is the only thing that can keep pace with human information, so we went out to find the most...

Notes from Bruce on the Leech Pattern Leeches have a long time history in steelhead fishing here in the N.W. As long as I have been tying and fishing, I can easily remember back to Joe Howell’s Starlight Leech. I vividly remember that fly because I had a hard time casting it, yet at the same time wanted to fish with it because I heard all the stories and saw pictures of steelhead caught with the leeches that I had been tying commercially for a local fly shop. Along the way, fly shops saw many different leech patterns to include: Starlight Leech, Double-Bunny, M.O.A.L. (Mother of all Leeches), Articulated Egg Sucking Leech, Miles Davis Leech-just naming a few and there are many more to check out and fish. Problems when Fishing the Leech Pattern My take is that all leeches designed for steelhead have a few things in common: They are al...

Alter Ego - Ginger The main character in this movie from Dreamworks is Ginger. A strong female lead, Ginger is an intelligent, Rhode Island Red hen who is effectively the chicken's shot caller and leader ala resitance de poulet (the Chicken Resistance). Rhode Island Reds are one of the most famous breeds of truly American chickens. They are bred in Rhode Island and lay 5-7 eggs a week... with the right feed. Alter Ego - Cornelius Rooster Kellogg's Corn Flakes, one of the most iconic American breakfast cereals, originally developed in 1894 as a food for patients in a sanitarium, was first graced by Cornelius Rooster in the late '50s. This is a Welsummer rooster, a breed developed in the Netherlands in Welsum. While the Welsummer may be a primarily European breed, Cornelius Rooster is purely American. These chickens are good layers (if th...

On April 15th and 16th, we held our first Spey Clave in Montana. We were pleased with the participation and excitement we generated, but I know that many folks still did not quite get our message or realize the opportunity we provided. Quite a few trout anglers are under the impression that spey casting is only for salmon and steelhead. So, why would we hold a Spey Clave in Montana? [Update: Want to see how the Spey Clave went in 2017?] All The Way From Alaska The idea crystalized during a road trip home from steelhead fishing on a Columbia River Tributary last fall. I love to spey cast and swing flies for salmon, steelhead and trout. So do all the guys I work with at North 40. 2014 marked my last season as a full time Alaska guide. Now that Montana is home, trout spey on the Missouri River and other waters in the northwest region ar...

Its caddis season again. Caddis are nice juicy bugs that often provide top water action for from noon until dark. We are talking nine hours of caddis, caddis, and caddis. You should probably get some. Sam Wike and I got out on the Ruby River last week with a crew from Winston Fly Rods. There were lots of caddis. Everyone caught brown trout on caddis. Caddis make fly fishers happy. Meaning, we were very happy. If you got out and fished on Mother’s day with your mother, daughter or significant other, you might have been treated to this sight. Those are not specs of dust or smudges on the lens. Those are caddis. There were caddis, caddis everywhere on the Mo this Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day Caddis.  Fish food. Bugs. Whatever you call them, the fish were eating them with abandon. Moms who fly fish were smiling big. Kevin Lyons float...

As a fisherman, there are few things in this world that can be labeled as truth. Bad weather is just over the horizon, the size of the fish is about half what the beer says it was, and a bad day on the water is better for the soul than a good day at work. Life and fishing are difficult enough, creating another obstacle seems outlandish. But in THAT lies the challenge! Great Minds Think Alike March is a special month in a fishing shop. It is a transition period between hard water and open water. Ice houses, augers, and coveralls are stored away for the year and out come the spinning rods, tackle boxes, and bait coolers. It is also the time that new gear starts showing up on the shelves. The "brand new thing" for us here at North 40 are the Kinchou Shads and Minnows from Matzuo. While we were putting the finishing touches on the display, D...

The start to what was sure to be a great trip. I just returned home from a weekend of breathing fresh mountain air, wet wading a cold, clean alpine river, and sleeping under the stars. With North Idaho's playground in my rear view, I spent the majority of my three hour return trip home grinning ear to ear. The rivers of North Idaho have underwent their seasonal flush and the trend seems to be dropping, cold, clear, robust flows, priming the rivers for some excellent early season fishing. Hopefully the beginning to a cool, wet summer. I could not believe the variety of feeding behaviors we witnessed. Everything from lazy cutties riding the cushion of their bucket ready to chew a well presented dry fly to supercharged bank huggers chasing streamers out of their seam like a junkyard dog. The fish have had a steady food supply for a few mon...

Pet and animal shelters are always looking for help. Whether that be volunteering or donating, the goal of these shelters is to have those homeless animals adopted into a loving home. To help with this cause, Hill's Science Diet has implemented their program "Hill's Food, Shelter & Love" to nearly 1,000 shelters. This program helps shelters by encouraging others to volunteer, donate, inform pet parents on proper nutrition for your pet and ultimately adopt from the shelter. Furthermore, they have been providing food to these shelter to help these animals become and remain healthy with a complete and balanced diet. We, too, at North 40 try to help out as we can. One of the ways we help out is our Pet Adoption Program. The Pet Adoption Program at North 40 started with our Lewiston store. The members of the Lewiston store worked with th...

  Join Trout Unlimited and the Wild Steelhead Coalition for the Spokane presentation of Steelhead Science for Anglers on Wednesday May 11th at the Spark Center inside the Kendall Yards development in downtown Spokane. Great parking options abound as well as drink/dinner opportunities pre and post seminar. In focus will be renowned steelhead biologist, John McMillan, who's presentation will jump you light year's ahead in your understanding of steelhead behavior, what's going on in the conservation community, threats and challenges for our fisheries and probably some great stories from his years researching and fishing. Sneak Peak The theme will focus on the diversity of steelhead and will cover a range of issues that many anglers have long been interested in. For instance, do you know why steelhead are unique compared to salmon? Do y...

Recently, I had the opportunity to fish alongside two astounding anglers, my good friend, Don Reeves, and our guide, Scott Wilson, on the Yakima River. My familiarity with the Yakima is limited, which is unfortunate since it is a beautiful gem in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. Mostly, I go ripping along her banks at breakneck speeds in a desperate urgency to make it to Seattle to catch a plane; often catching a glimpse of her waters just long enough to give myself a mental lashing for not fishing her more. The Yak is a storied watershed that is at the heart of the Washington fly fishing industry. She provides tough proving grounds for young anglers who are desperate to learn the ways of her well taught and finicky finned inhabitants. Those that rise to the top and become respected guides on these waters can match skills with the bes...