Page 160 - North 40 Outfitters

Early in January I headed to Christmas Island for our annual hosted trip with Frigate Adventure Travel.  Arriving on the island, we had a week of perfect weather ahead of us.  Temperatures on Christmas Island range from 77 at night to 88 in the daytime. The sun is very intense and burn times can be as quick as 20 minutes during the heat of the day.  We had several people get burned through their UPF poly blend sun shirts. This year, I decided to try Free Fly's Bamboo Midweight Hoody. When I first received the hoody, the first thing I noticed was the feel wonderful in my hand.  The hoody felt softer than any other material I had felt, and was even more comfortable once I put it on.  The UPF 50+ really held up to the demanding conditions, and I never felt any sun get through the shirt.  The hood was essential to protecting my head la...

Materials: Senyo's Articulated Shank 1" Senyo's Standard Intruder Wire Spirit River Real Eyes Plus 3/16" Krystal Flash UV Tan Flashabou or not Rabbit Strips Dark Brown Rabbit Strips Cream Diichi 2557 Intruder Hook #4   The Bald Eagle is named for the color similarity to the impressive bird that eats the same fish the fly is intended to catch. Trout, Salmon and Steelhead. The cream colored head simulates either wounded prey or a flesh eating fish, something game fish have a hard time passing up. Quick note: Brown and cream was my original dressing and has been a favorite color combo.  More recently, I've had success tying the body with black or purple and using peach as a head color. It can also be effectively scaled down by using Pine Squirrel Zonker Strips and 5/32" eyes.  

Got to the lake this week in the late AM. Warm air temps (mid 30s) and little or no breeze got me pumped to find a few famed Lahontan cutts. An hour of effort produced three cutthroats on streamers. The fish are looking pretty chunky this winter with the smallest caught about 18", and the largest probably pushing 25". Fast-sinking, jigged flies in sizes 4-8 were chomped pretty heartily. I also twitched a bugger pattern about 6 or 8 feet under an indicator but above the weeds, when a truly bright beasty lightly mouthed it out of curiosity. Luckily, I had one eye on that thingamabobber and one on the pair of bald eagles circling Mission Bay. When it scooted slightly, I set up attached to a big cutt. That one tested my SA Fluorocarbon pretty well. Omak Lake cutts should be chasing streamers for another couple weeks until they st...

I, like many folks in the Northwest, have been hunting for quite some time. What I didn't know, up until about 10 years ago, is that I was missing out on a lot of hunting opportunities because all I was hunting was typical Montana big game. My hunting epiphany occurred in my 20's when my dad picked up 18 used goose decoys to get us started in a new adventure. Up until then I'd always had a place to go goose hunting, but never did it. My thought was that laying in a field waiting for geese couldn't be nearly as fun as stalking a deer, elk, antelope, etc- Dang I was wrong, but luckily I found this out before it was too late! If you haven't tried chasing geese I highly recommend that you do: here are my top 3 reasons why waterfowl hunting is a blast: pun intended! Extend Your Season: Before I started chasing geese my hunting season typic...

There are many synthetic flash material options for accenting flies.  Flashabou, Krystal Flash and Angel Hair are popular long fibers.  In the middle, we have Ice Wing and Shimmer Fringe.  On the short side, there is the ever popular Ice Dub.  Counting off the colors and choices on the wall, I found 170 options to bling your flies before looking at today’s featured materials. Add in 24 new choices of Angel Dub and Salar Synthetic Series Glitz.  Why do we need more you might ask?  Are 170 options not enough?  A fair question. Fly tying is constantly evolving and anglers are always looking at creative ways to construct flies.  New materials provide fresh options.  Angel Dubbing and SSS Glitz are longer fiber flash dubbings.  They are perfect for building dubbing brushes or adding to dubbing loops.  The fibers can be combed out...

Do you think you have sick poultry? Here's some helpful tips to spot the symptoms. Whether you're a first time chicken farmer or a seasoned veteran, there is always a great "unknown" when it comes to disease. If you're looking for medication for your poultry, click here to see what's in stock. Well, thanks to this great #N40 infographic this is now a known unknown. Poultry Diseases and Symptoms Frostbite in Poultry Symptoms: pale combs or wattles in winter; reddened areas indicate thawed frostbite Prevention: Increase coop ventilation to remove excess moisture in the air. Consider providing supplemental heat. We have a selection of chicken health products online here. Conjunctivitis Symptoms: cloudy, watery eyes; blindness can occur Prevention: Conjunctivitis is caused by ammonia buildup in the coop, often occurring in deep-litter syst...

Directions: Let all dyes come to room temp. strain and transfer into individual cups. Let hard-boiled eggs sit in dye for 15-20 minutes or leave in the fridge overnight for deeper hues. How to make Yellow Dye Ingredients: Dry mustard, orange peel, celery seed, and carrot. Directions: Add the mixture to 2 cups boiling water. Let steep until room temperature, strain. Add 3 tsp. vinegar. Homemade Lavender Easter Egg Dye Ingredients: 100% grape juice. That's it. Add 1 TB vinegar to juice. Looking for more crafty things to do? Check these out. Greenish Yellow Egg Dye Ingredients: Spinach leaves. Directions: Add baby spinach to 2 cups boiling water. Let steep until room temperature strain. Add 1 TB vinegar. Rust Orange Easter Egg Dye Ingredients: Paprika Directions: Add 2 TB of paprika to 1 cup boiling water. Let steep. Add 2 tsp vinegar. Si...

MISSOURI RIVER FISHING REPORT 1-23-2015 The weekend is almost among us and warming weather trends are full force.  At the moment, Ice off paste is no longer a factor. Flows are riding at 5K. Fuel costs are down. Making it to the river is very affordable.  Days are getting longer.  Today is about 40 minutes longer than the winter solstice. Your winter go-tos are still the ticket. FB Rays, Czechs, Sows, etc. Need to switch it up? Try dead drifting a double micro zonker rig or a #8 Sculpzilla.  Both can be effective and a ton of fun. Beating the wind is key. The MRF Banquet is less than a month out. Our Belize trip is less than three months now. We still have space available. Free coffee and wisdom tomorrow morning if 50’s are still too cold.

My first fly rod was passed on to me by a friend of my fathers who knew I was interested in fishing. It was made from bamboo. I delved into some issues of Sports Afield and Outdoor Life magazines to figure out how to use it. I had no reel, but I purchased a level Cortland 5wt fly line with money from my paper route. I raided my mom’s sowing kit for thread and borrowed my dad’s vise grip for a tying vise. I cut up some walleye jigs for feathers and tied them to an Eagle Claw Bait Holder Hook. Then I started fly fishing by simply pulling enough loose line from the spool to cast. I had as much fun with that makeshift outfit as I do now with my 4wt Sage One Switch Rod. That old bamboo fly rod was my catalyst for the lifetime pursuit of fly fishing. If you are interested in donating some used (usable condition) angling gear to help get a ...

Having just returned from Christmas Island to snow, freezing rain, and slush, I can now take some time to reflect back on how amazing this last trip was. We did a repeat of our trip last year, timing it around the tides, and stayed at the Ikari House. We booked this trip with Frigate Adventure Travel and co-hosted 16 guests. Fishing this year was incredible. The average bonefish size increase over the previous year and is expected to continually increase due to harvest restrictions. Since 2007 locals have managed strict catch and release practices on bonefish to help increase size and thus increase tourism, their main source of income for the island. This year the Ikari House was stacked with all the best guides on Christmas Island. Moana, English, Simon, Russel, and other famous CXI guides are all now staffed at the Ikari House, maki...

If you tie streamer flies, you are going to want to see the new Zip Strips that are exclusively available at North 40 Fly Shop. Zip Strips are twisted rabbit strips with the hair still attached to the hide. Unlike Zonker Strips, you don’t have a hair side and a hide side. The strip is universally hairy and the hide is invisible. It’s like a perfect dubbing brush without a thread or wire core. The core is the natural hide, thinned and twisted. Zip Strips have a little stiffness when dry, but when they get wet, the hide gets soft. I swam a fly in the fly tester tank (for a week) with a Zip Strip tail and body. I kept expecting it to unwind or loose shape, but it swam like a champ. You’ve really got to see Zip Strips in action to appreciate what they can do. When I think of all the sculpin and rabbit strip fly patterns I’ve tied ov...

In a recent post Keith described an outing on the steelhead fishery on the Columbia River below Well’s Dam. In this issue of the North 40 eMag, there is a write up of the techniques and flies we use to target this fishery. Since then it has been the most talked about subject around the shop. It is an inspiring place to fish what can perhaps be described as the quintessential tail water fishery. The Need for a Two-Hand Rod on the Columbia River As you stand in front of the enormous mass of concrete that is holding back the mighty current, of the 4th largest flow in North America, which is beating at your knees. The size and magnitude of the Columbia at any point in the US is intimidating and by focusing on its vastness it feels insurmountable as an angler. However, if a person approaches it with a cautious evaluation she will slowly rev...