Page 127 - North 40 Outfitters

Whenever you’re starting something new, it’s important to get off to a good start. The same can be said about fly fishing. If you’re just starting out, having your first fly rod, reel, line, and case all ready to go, the last thing you need is a no bite start. Just like everything else, if you don’t get results, you get discouraged, and sooner or later, that new fly rod will be sitting in the back of your closet gathering dust. I have seen this scenario happen far too often for my liking. So, in order to combat this problem, I’ve compiled a list of places to fish near Sandpoint, Idaho. I have found these spots to almost always produce fun trout, perch, bluegill, crappie, and bass. (Ok, so this one wasn't caught on the fly, but look at that face. That feeling of success is going to keep anyone coming back for more.) Round Lake ...

Nucanoe was founded on a simple phrase: "Get a billion butts in boats." We know simplicity works, and this is true for Nucanoe as well. The product does what you would expect it too it is a hybrid between a kayak and a canoe and offers exceptional versatility and customization options. I talked to Blake, the CEO, and he told me no two Nucanoes are alike some people use them to fly fish and strip them down to drift, some people motor them up to get more mobility out of it. A story that really stuck out to me was that of an older customer 75 years and had been kayak fishing for decades. He wrote into Blake and told him until he found Nucanoe, he thought his kayak days were over- getting into and out of a traditional kayak had become too much for him to do, but with the open Nucanoe design, which makes it much easier to use alone, this gent...

For episode 15 of #AskNorth40, we were asked about the durability of West Paw Products. To answer, we facetimed Mary from West Paw Design who give us a run down on their products. In a nutshell, West Paw toys are made to withstand plenty of action and abuse as you and your pet enjoy playing, tailored to both indoor and outdoor play. West Paw Toys for Indoor Play There are times when you can't go outside and let your dog play in the yard or the park. Whether it be a rainy day or simply not feeling like going outside, there are still ways to play with your buddy indoors. Games of tug-o-war on the couch, small fetch games in the hallway or open areas of your homes with a Hurley bone, or giving them a treat dispensing toy like the Tux are great ways to engage your pet without going outside. These games work well with smaller, indoor dogs, bu...

Fishing on the Coeur d'Alene River this last week has been great. Lots of bugs mid-day has made for some happy anglers with plenty of solid fish stories to tell. River flows continued to fall all week, making for great water visibility. Many variations of may and stone flies are definitely in the air. I was able to float from Big Hank down to Shoshone this past weekend with great results on March browns and JC specials for drys. The 20 incher and Trina's micro copper stone produced good results under an indicator. Streamers in brown/olive also helped us land several hearty fish. With that being said, it was definitely the Crowd Surfer Salmon fly that produced some of our most hair raising action; including one fish that broke off on 2x that will haunt my dreams for a little while. Skating this dry with large aggressive twitches was just ...

Surprise On The Clark Fork April 13th was an odd day of fly fishing for me to say the least. It was a cloudy day, temperatures in the low 50s with off and on rain. A perfect day to chase a BWO hatch. I headed to the Clark Fork with hopes of hooking into a few trout on some dries. It didn't take long for me to realize that there were zero bugs in the air or on the water. I tossed my dry dropped combo around for a while without any action. Greatly disappointed, I tied on a #10 green Drake Nymph and a #18 red midge under a trusty indicator. I get to the end of my first cast and hook into something big. As it turns out, I had hooked a great big, healthy sucker. I wasn't mad or disappointed because this fish gave me a great fight. But, I released him and cast out again. The Tagged One Five minutes go by, and I hook into another fish. This...

After taking care of a few things in the shop yesterday, Luke and I were able to slip away for a few hours. We ran up to Leader Lake to see if we could find few of the 4lb Largemouth that we had been getting reports on from the lake. Leader Lake is a year round lake under the general fishing rules. Which means its open to all styles of fishing. Since it was a Sunday, there was a few other people on the lake and most of the camping sites were occupied. We rigged up and launched the boat and headed to the opposite side of the lake where I had some success before. We had a little action on the Low fat Minnow tied in a Bluegill color, but nothing of any real size. We moved to another location and had about the same results. Luke switched over to a Kreelex fly that I had tied up and started getting more action. Again, nothing of size that we ...

If you got out in the clouds and cool wet weather the past week or so, you likely enjoyed something special. BWO’s and enough March Browns were rolling to put the fish in a happy dry fly eating mood. Yesterday, I floated from the Dearborn to Prewit. Right away, it was obvious we were facing catastrophic cloud failure. This is a condition that I was occasionally faced with in Alaska. After a week of overcast, precipitation and epic fishing, the clouds would leave. We humans tend to rejoice. Fish do not. Fish are wet. They love water. Water falling from gray skies makes them happy. So instead of hunting heads, we nymphed, all day long. It was not my first choice, but it was productive. We focused our attention in the deeper waters and ignored the tapering inside turns and skinny water flats. JuJu Baetis, Green Machines, Radiation Baetis,...

In Episode 13 of AskNorth40, we were asked a question about where Simms clothing came from as some shirts say Bozeman, MT while others say Buy Local. To answer this question, we facetimed Michael White from Simms Fishing about where their products are manufactured. The answer to this question became twofold as Michael addressed Simms manufacturing production as well as their ideology behind the Buy Local shirts.   Simms Factory Tour in Bozeman, Montana As a manufacturer, Simms Fishing has been located in Bozeman, MT, since 1993 when the current owner, K.C. Walsh, acquired the company and relocated it from Jackson, Wyoming. Since then, the company has had a partnership with W.L. Gore & Associates (makers of GORE-TEX® fabric) to develop the breathable, GORE-TEX® Waders that Simms is known for. In 2012, Bozeman became the permane...

The Lamiglas NWSS (Northwest Steelhead Salmon Series) was made by the North 40 crew to mimic the higher end Ti1000 Lamiglas rods, while maintaining a lower price point. Check out our selection of Lamiglas fishing rods online here. Features of the Lamiglas NWSS Fishing Rods We started with a black, G200 series blank, and accented the lower guides with red wraps. The rod features a sanded blank that is left uncoated by resins. This allows the rod to be much lighter in the hand and creates less hand fatigue after long days on the water drifting or casting. The rod also features several extra guides making it a 14 eye rod, in the casting/level wind version. This allows the rod to bend true when placed in a downrigger or fighting a fish. The rod has a traditional cork grip with a composite reel seat similar to the G200. Lamiglas NWSS Spinnin...

Prepping Soil for an Annual Bed The best time to begin amending your soil for an annual bed is the fall BEFORE planting that bed. During this time you add compost, mulch, fertilizer and other vitamins and nutrients that may have been depleted during the growing season... and you make sure you have all the necessary tools to be successful. This will allow all of your soil amendments to "cook," or breakdown over the winter and become more bio-available during the next growing season.   If you are prepping your bed the spring before planting, you will need to add organic material, compost especially in order to replace the nutrients the plants drew up in the year previous. There are many forms of soil amendments from fertilizers to bone meal available at the store, however these won't do you any good unless you are aware of your soil's ...

GROUND RODS EXPLAINED In the above clip, North 40 Outfitters Purchasing Manager, Jesse Ova, talks about ground rods, but why do they matter in the scheme of things? There are three integral components when considering electric fence as an option for your livestock: energizer, wire, and grounding. It is recommended that you utilize three ground rods when building a fence for livestock. Here's the review we did of the S17 by Gallagher--check it out and see if it will work for you. Why? The ground rods are the "antenna" that pick up and deliver the electricity being used to effectively keep your animal penned in the more rods used, the more efficient the fence will be, and the more power the circuit delivers to the offending animal. If you don't use enough ground rods in your fence, your bull will walk right through it. Grounding is one of...