Page 152 - North 40 Outfitters

Weather has been amazing this past week and fishing on the Coeur d’Alene and some of its smaller tribs has been excellent. It feels like July up there and those fish have been eating everything from small streamers and nymphs in the morning to Salmon Flies and Adams in the afternoon. Our favorite patterns have been Hippie Stomper’s, Bloom’s Ant’s, and a gold Chubby Chernobyl! No need to nymph on the smaller waters, unless you really want to make it a numbers game. A small dropper off your dry will help scoop up a few of those fish skittish about eating something off the surface. Adding a dropper on the big river is key however. Most anglers have been doing well with a small mayfly or stonefly hung beneath their dry. A double nymph rig has been very effective as well. In our experience, the fishing has still been a little slow i...

The Missouri is fishing extremely well right now.  BWO’s is all the rage this week.  Make sure to bring a dry fly pattern you can see as your front fly and then bring a bunch of CDC emergers to tie behind it because lots of fish are finning for emergers.  Just ask Joe in the shop as he was with us last night, Fred’s been out too.  Fish are pretty choosy so fish Missouri acceptable patterns.  If you are unsure what that means then visit Joe and Fred in the shop.  A few fish will eat an Adams or one of the parachutes and could be a good lead fly but from our experience, and again last night if you can fish the realistic bugs they are eating them better (ask Joe to elaborate as he had some firsthand experiments going on last night). If you are nymphing try a caddis nymph as your high nymph and a PT or variant PT as your bottom ny...

Below are the latest standings for the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club's Spring K&K Derby. Remember, derby tickets are available at North 40 Fly Shop and the derby lasts until Saturday. Standings as of April 29th Kokanee Ranking Trevor Walkington - Weight: 0.44lbs. - Length: 11.5 inches. Junior Division Ranking Dylan Moore - Weight: 6.06lbs. - Length: 25.25 inches. Joe Kasperson - Weight: 1.14lbs. - Length: 15 inches. Tatum Hartley - Weight: 0.80lbs. - Length: 14 inches. Rainbow Ranking Derek Blanchard - Weight: 21.16lbs. - Length: 34.5 inches. Vern Scott - Weight: 20.5lbs. - Length: 34 inches. Randy Vanderkolk - Weight: 16.66lbs. - Length: 34.75 inches. Kevin Reiber - Weight: 16.42lbs. - Length: 32.5 inches. Cory LaRue - Weight: 15.6lbs. - Length: 33.5 inches. Mackinaw Ranking Edwin Dickson - Weight: 23.58lbs. - Length: 38 inches. B...

Someone just asked me if I’d been fishing lately.  I said I can’t remember the last day I did not fish.  The weather has been great.  The river is in prime condition.  Bugs are hatching prolifically.  Browns are crushing streamers.  I have to go- I manage a fly shop so I can’t help but get pumped up by talking about fishing. People constantly ask me for the word, so I feel the need to give them a personal account. I’ve got to know what’s happening.  I’ve got to personally test the flies.  I also guide and have guided anglers for over 25 years, so spending time outdoors is in my blood.  I like to fish by myself, with family and with friends-every chance I can get. I don’t view going fishing as just a big trip or even a day trip pursuit.  For me, it’s a lifestyle.  I take it in big chunks when I can, but when I c...

Many people pair the word warmth with wool, however when it comes to Merino Wool there is a lot more to the equation then warmth. The women's Floral Scroll sock is a perfect example of how warmth and breathability come together to complement one another and regulate the temperature of your feet. Being that it's spring, it is important to have a sock that not only keeps your feet warm but also keeps them cool and dry. These socks are made in the United States and are constructed with merino wool, nylon, and elastane blends. These socks aren't your typical outdoor sock. With a fun floral design, this lightweight sock is bound to meet your needs. PLUS if for any reason your Smartwool product does not preform to your satisfaction, you may return it for a replacement, which makes for a carefree buying experience. With this sock being only $9...

The Missouri is prime right now. Huge blue wing olive and midges hatches are coming off and fish are keyed in on them. I fished last night, hopping road spots from Wolf Creek Bridge down to about Stickney. There were lots of rising fish pods in every spot. Make sure that you have some stealthy BWO patterns, CDC and low riding are important if it’s in calm water. You can get away with a post and more hackle in the riffles but in the slicks they were choosy last night. If you can’t see a low riding or CDC style BWO pattern then put a visible one out front and have an emerger hanging 18 inches behind it with 4.5-5x tippet. It was really fun last night, and if dry fly fishing is your thing, you better go this week. We have a huge selection of BWO patterns in the shop to get you going.\ I actually had trouble getting takes with a white fo...

Many anglers are familiar with the F3T and IF4 film tours.  This is something new and homegrown.   The Montana Fishing Film Fest is an event created by serious Montana Fishermen, for serious Montana Fishermen.  Fly Fishing teaser "Mf3 2015" from Matt Devlin on Vimeo. While it is certainly fun to be entertained by anglers fishing in remote locations throughout the world, we’ve got plenty of great fishing here in Montana and throughout the Northwest. Come catch the Montana Fly Fishing Film Festival. Join us on Friday May 8th to celebrate Montana fly fishing at the The Do Bar in Great Falls. The show room will be open by 6:30.  Grab a beverage and share some fishing reports with friends before the films start at 7:30.  You can stop into the North 40 Fly Shop and pick up a ticket for $10.  Hope to see you there.

Got some interesting news from Wade up in Cut Bank.  If you are planning to fish anywhere on Blackfoot Nation Waters with a float tube or any other type of watercraft, you must first get an inspection. The word is that the inspection station is open from 9am to 7pm.  Permits are issued for 7 days.  Lakes are posted with this sign, so pleading ignorance will not keep you from being ticketed if you don’t have a permit.  This is going to add a major logistic challenge to your fishing trips. For more information you can contact Blackfeet Nation Fish and Wildlife at PO Box 850 Browning, Montana 59417 406-338-7207 - 406-338-4751 Fax or visit the website. Plan ahead and good luck.

After playing with a Nexus 5 weight demo rod back in October, I was pretty sure anglers were going to like it.  We knew we had to have them in the shop for this season. While the Nexus is not inexpensive, it is a reasonably priced premium fly rod.  The deep black, light weight, fast action Nexus has been a big hit.  Just ask Tony Onitsuka-- His buddy clearly cut him off to get this beauty of a brown trout in the frame.  You can see Tony’s Nexus carefully placed in the corner.  When I asked Tony if he likes his new Nexus, I got a big smile.  That’s really all I needed, but I probed a bit further.  "Is it accurate for casting dries?" "Yes!"  "Do you like the action?" "Yes!"  "Is it more fun to fish with than your old rod?"  "Yes!" I love selling fly rods, because I love casting and fishing with fly rods.  I especially love s...

I spoke with the guys down in Belize last night.  The spirits are high and they haven't seen this many permit down there before.  Everyone is having a great time.  I told Joe, the young gun in the group he better party it up down there and he is so focused he simply says, "I'm not going to catch Permit doing that"... Makes me proud! Here is what Paul and Denver had to say from Day 3... Ray O’Brien fishing superstar. Ray completed his trip GRAND SLAM in three days after landing a nice baby tarpon this afternoon. He caught a small permit yesterday and has caught numerous bonefish over the three days. His secret? It’s hard to say, but a cool demeanor under pressure doesn’t hurt. Right time, right place, great guides and the right fly are also part of his winning recipe. Ray has been given some much deserved congrats, but also taken...

The anticipated black carpenter ant hatch has started here in Northern Idaho.  We have had three days of 65+ degree temps and the ants are really popping out this afternoon.  Our parking lot here at the fly shop is full of them.  The fish should really be keying in on these over the next week or so. Hopefully we will get another day of warm weather to really get them going followed by some overcast conditions to keep the fish on top.  We plan on going out in full force Thursday armed with 7 weights, 2x leaders, and 2.5" floating black ant patterns to try and achieve hooking a large Lake Pend Oreille rainbow on a fly rod and dry fly.

Here is what anglers are seeing on the Missouri River Right Now. BWO’s are popping out. Midges are thick. Some Skwalas are still around.  March Browns are already showing in places.  Even a few caddis have been seen low on the Mo.  Current flows are 3690 cfs and 45.5 degrees below Holter.  It’s happening fast this year folks.  We are selling lots of dry flies right now. I hope you're enjoying the Mo whiles it's bugging out!