Page 141 - North 40 Outfitters

I have been looking forward to writing this article. I have a special spot for the armed forces of this country. My little sister, Kalireyna, is deployed right now on the USS Normandy, so to hear from active service members or vets is always something that interests me. Tanner VanPelt served in the Marines from 2002-2006 and was deployed twice: 02-03 as a heavy machine gunner, and again from 05-06 as a Scout Sniper. He grew up hunting and fishing in Northern Idaho, and after serving his four years in the Marines, came back to enjoy the Northwestern lifestyle. He has been with North 40 for a long time and his story with us is interesting as well. He actually applied with his new born son in the back of his car with his wife, "I had been in the hospital for about three days, hadn't seen a gun in as long- figured I could drop an app on the w...

If you’ve been out there, this past week or so, you might have noticed there are still a few caddis around. Tan Hydropsyche. Maybe that’s why anglers are finding success swinging soft hackles.  Or maybe it’s all those emerging midges and pseudos and BWO’s. Kevin Lyons has been getting his wife hooked up on Pink Lightning bugs.  Little ones.  He’s been catching his fish on tiny emergers like the Purple Donatello.  Terry Jenner’s been happy with the Last Chance Cripple.  There can be a prime dry fly hatch window from 1-3 pm-ish. Fish are eating scuds.  This time of year they are at their largest size.  Think big scuds in the morning with your little midge or mayfly dropper.  Pink Ray Charles are working.  Skip the Fire Bead for now.  It will be on the menu soon enough. If you find yourself on the water until evening, y...

Bruce Berry's Background on the Flash Tail Good flies are good flies and Flash Tail is just that. This is a pattern from a longtime friend of mine named Jason Hartwick. Together, Jason and I learned about the Pro Sportfisher brand prior to the product having an actual name a long time ago- circa 2008-09? Been awhile. Since then, I’ve become the distributor for Pro in the U.S., and Jason has guided a bunch of years in Alaska while at the same time building a successful guiding business chasing anadromous fish in Northern California. Why the Flash Tail came to Be I had the opportunity to spend a week with Jason at my house recently, and of course we sat down to tie some flies. When I saw the Flash Tail, I was immediately interested in the fly. "It’s just a marabou tube," he said, trying to dodge my curiosity. "Nope," I said, "there is a...

This last weekend, the 24th and 25th was a busy one for the local rivers. If you wanted to fish a run you better have been there at 0 dark 30. Seems everyone was on the water shortly after sun up. Once we finished fishing the run we started at it was anyone's guess which run would be next. On the Okanogan River most of the anglers are working down stream of Malott. Once we were able to get in a run it was pretty apparent someone else had already worked it. That was ok because no two people use the same fly or work the run same. The catch has dropped off quite a bit since opening day, but there are still players out there to be caught. Temperatures have dropped since the opener. Water temps on the Okanogan river are in the upper 40’s to low 50’s. Air temps have been a bit chilly in the morning so dress warm. As far as what’s working...

On the Methow River a lot of the pressure is below Carlton, with water temps on the river around the mid to upper 40’s. As far as what’s working, well it seems it’s an angler’s choice. For those of us swinging a fly, Hobo Speys in the blacks, bluesand reds seem to be working the best. The smaller Intruder style has been doing very well. If you’re one inclined to nymph, the number one fly is the Double Bead Peacock stone. Trail off of that with a bead or a small size #14 Flash Back Pheasant tail nymph, Lightning Bug in pearl, blue, purple and even red. If I can recommend one thing, try something that you think no one else is using. This is where home tied flies come into play. Hope to see you out there. Stop in to the shop in Omak and let us know how you did. The coffee is always on.

Growing up as a daughter of an outfitter, many would think that means that I had lots of opportunity to take down trophy animals. However, outfitting was my family's livelihood and my personal hunting time was second to our paying clients. One of my fondest memories comes from the fall of 2008.  My dad & brother were getting ready to take a group of hunters into the mountains and I was getting ready for another day of class at Choteau High School. My brother, Colter, knew I had wanted to hunt mule deer since I had only ever harvested white tail & antelope. He surprised me that morning with the hunt of a lifetime. He had scoped out some nice muleys and told me that we had to hurry, since they were supposed to be leaving for the mountains in just a few short hours. I didn't even know that hour of the morning existed, but I was dres...

...Enough Okanogan Steelhead to Shake a Stick at Town Water The Okanogan River Steelhead opener was a sunsplashed success. Lotsa steelhead reported at the mouth, and a few swam through town, too. Photos I’ve seen show our hatchery fish dominating the numbers right now. However, from my personal experience on this gorgeous day (0 for 2), I could neither confirm nor deny any facts. I fished the water around town with a two handed rod and a waking steelhead muddler. No takers on the surface bug, although the water was in the low 50s.  Once I switched to a blue/black tube fly swung along the bottom, I started getting grabs. Staying out of the Slime I’m guessing the historic low water and high temps were responsible for all the aquatic veg. on the bottom. Normally, that is long gone by the time the Okie is open for steelhead, but not ...

"Local"... the term seems to be batted around a lot these days. At North 40 Outfitters, one of the things we pride ourselves on is the connection we have with the communities we serve. Each store is a solution center for the needs of the people in the area. Our employees are passionate about knowing the answers to all the "local" questions, and along those lines we have put together an exclusive list of things to do in Great Falls, Montana. Check it out and find out what it is about this area that makes it special to everybody. Check out our location before you go out! Lost Lake- North of the Highwoods. This lake is a remnant from the ice age and is associated with the Shonkin Sag. The cliff walls at Lost Lake tell that story. Ulm Pishkun- The name comes from a Blackfeet word that translates to "deep blood kettle." This historic buffalo...

  This was the first time since the Methow River re-opened back in 2002, that I was able to fish the opener. 5:30 am on the 15th found me gearing up in the dark. With a slight chill in the air, I made the half-mile hike up river to a couple runs that always produce well for me. Based on the lack of other vehicles in the parking area, I knew I had the first crack at them. Once at the run, it was still dark enough that I had time to enjoy a quick cup of coffee. The sun inched a little more and it was time to walk into the top end of the run. I had tied on a Black with Blue trimmed Kilowa-Bou. I stripped out the line and made my first cast, half way through the swing I felt the tug, dropped the loop and it was fish on. A nice hen broke the surface and put on a show for me. Steelhead season on the Methow River had officially started...

We are finally getting some cloudy days, and the water temperatures are cooling (down to about 56 degrees).  We swung streamers, and although the fishing isn’t lights out yet, we did catch some big fish on the swing.  The weeds have subsided quite a bit making streamer fishing and nymphing a fun experience again. If you are swinging streamers, we caught fish on Ish’s Cool Herc, and some other olive sculpin swing patterns.  This time of year brown trout like flash so don’t be scared of it.  If you are using a Skagit head on your double hand rod 5 feet of T-11 is plenty for almost everywhere on the river right now with the current flows.  So the MOW tip from Rio that is 5 feet of floating and 5 feet of T-11 was plenty. If you are dry fly fishing there were lots of fish eating on top.  However, most of the action was on the smal...

"The perfect hunting bow." Those four words are powerful enough that they can spark heated debate amongst even the closest of hunting partners. It isn't because one of them is necessarily right and the other obviously wrong, but rather that we have more options available to us today than ever before. Check out the archery catalog we have online here. I've been a loyal Hoyt shooter since 2008 and in that time have owned several different models, most recently an AlphamMax32 that, until a few weeks ago, I thought was the epitome of the "perfect hunting bow." My perfect bow needs to be a combination of three things; quiet, accurate, and above all, forgiving. Enter Mathews' new NO CAM HTR. No bow that I have shot in recent years has so effortlessly checked all the marks off my "perfect" list. With an IBO speed listed at 330 FPS (wit...

As the grasses go brown and the leaves turn and fall, so too are the waters and the fish changing.  Mature brown trout will color up as they approach their seasonal spawn.  Char (brooks and bulls) will be sporting their most vivid dress.  There are even a few rainbows in the Missouri that are fall spawners.  They will darken and color as well. What does this mean to the angler?  Beyond enjoying beautiful fall days on the water, fly selection changes with the season.  It is hard to go wrong fishing streamer flies that match the colors of fall.  Yellows and browns are always a good place to start.  A little orange or red in the mix can add to the attraction.  Fish fired up with hormones will frequently attack flies that look like miniature versions of their rivals.  You can take advantage of their tendency to pick on the little g...