Page 18 - North 40 Outfitters

Smallmouth will eat a wide variety of forage and their diet is normally dictated by what is available in each fishery. From crawfish, shad, smelt, kokanee, and a variety of perch and panfish fry, smallies will eat virtually anything. Luckily smallmouth are not nearly as picky and snooty as a trout, but there are a handful of great patterns that I will fish for smallies with. Here’s my breakdown: #10 - The Jawbreaker Once I have fish dialed in and I have found a good consistent group to fish, I go with this smaller curly tail streamer. The fly tail on the rear creates a great action on the fly, similar to a curly tailed grub that you would fish on conventional gear. Fished in white and olive, you can key in the shade to a darker forage or a light colored forage fish. Lastly, the jig platform allows you to fish it off the bottom e...

Anyone can cook on a pellet grill. And, anything can be cooked on a pellet grill. From grilling roasts to smoking BBQ, pellet grills are really easy to use and really easy to maintain. In our How to Pellet Grill Guide, you’ll learn how a pellet grill works and how to keep it clean. You’ll also learn what foods are great for cooking on a pellet grill and understand if it’s hard to clean up afterward. It’s easier than you think. Get ready to pick out your favorite pellets and get started. Easy to clean and maintain, pellet grills are very efficient and burn pellets down to fine ash. Any leftover ash can be vacuumed out with a shop vac a couple of times a year, depending on how often you use your grill. Plus, most grills have a collection “cup” that gathers most of the ash and can be emptied without taking the grill apart. And, ...

Some people view fishing as just throwing something out in the water and waiting for a fish to bite.  These people probably only go fishing a few times a year or maybe only a few times in their life.  If the action is not steady, they get bored.  If they don’t catch any fish, they think fishing is lame.  I understand that.  I don’t like boring or lame fishing either.  That’s why I like to hunt for fish.  Not only is hunting for fish an interesting activity in itself but the ability to sight fish before casting gives you a distinctive edge when it comes to catching fish. In topwater situations, it’s pretty easy to find the fish.  You simply need to seek out the locations where they are rising to insects, tailing, pushing water, or crashing bait.  When they are not rising...

Time to shed the waders and soak in the long-awaited vitamin D of summer.  What a great feeling of the cool river on a hot July day, nothing better.  There are some clothing options that can make this a better experience.  Now that you have your waders and felt bottom boots, it’s time to think about how to dress for the elements of summer and wading the streams.  I get a kick out of the New Zealand folks on some of the videos I watch.  Wool calf high socks, polypropylene long underwear, and quick dry pants.  No fashion contest winners there.  But, I tell you they are on to something, having quick drying layers is super smart for wet wading. A darker color is good too for your shorts, pants, or polypro. Once out of the water the drying time will be accelerated.  However, for your shi...

Anyone can cook on a pellet grill. And, anything can be cooked on a pellet grill. From grilling roasts to smoking BBQ, pellet grills are really easy to use and really easy to maintain.   In our How to Pellet Grill Guide, you’ll learn how a pellet grill works and how to keep it clean. You’ll also learn what foods are great for cooking on a pellet grill and understand if it’s hard to clean up afterward. It’s easier than you think. Get ready to pick out your favorite pellets and get started.   As with any grill, keeping it out of the wind as much as possible is recommended. Cold weather can affect the ability to maintain internal temperatures. In this link, we explain steps you can take to combat cold temperatures and wind gusts.   Video Transcription Do Cold Temperatures and Wind Affect the Grill? Hey, everybody....

Pale Morning Dun Bunny Dun Fly Since I started tying my small comparadun or sparkle dun style flies, I have been on a quest. They are not an overly complex fly, but the crux is the wing. Finding the perfect comparadun hair can be difficult. Too long of a hair, doesn't look quite right or too stiff of hair... the same thing. It can be a challenge making the wing look, just right. So, when someone showed me you could use snowshoe rabbit’s foot, I was impressed, to say the least. This fly comes in all the cool dyed colors. It compresses very small when you tie it in, and the best part is that it floats amazingly well. I'd say it rivals CDC. So, once I was shown this material, I started tying a lot of my small mayfly patterns with it. What I also like about it, is that it seems to shed water very quickly when you cast it. The last th...

June has been a fantastic month for fishing here in North Idaho.  We've had plenty of water and all the local streams are in great shape.  The occasional rain has spruced things up along the way and keeping the water nice and cool.  Looks like we are in for a bit more rain come Thursday and back into the hot stuff the following week.  No 90's yet but high 70's and 80's, so ideal in my book. Hatches have been getting stronger.  Lots of Pale morning duns and caddis as per usual.  The St. Joe is still not quite at normal summer flows but this is a good thing.  Having extra water for the summer is what we look for.  The Clark fork is finally in shape and giving it up big time.  Things are shaping up for a killer summer.  Hopefully, we don't get too hot and we keep getting some rain here and...

The weather has been a little off with rain, wind, and a bit chilly at times. Trout fishing has remained steady on certain waters with great hatches of BWO’s, PMD’s, and Caddis. Green drakes have been popping on some local streams as well, offering for some fun dry fly action. Larger rivers and streams are coming down and are fishable, small cricks are dropping like a rock, so get it while it’s good. Lake fishing is still great, but look for some changes in tactics as fish transition with the flux in water temperatures. In the right spot and right setup, Pike, Bass, and Walleye can all be caught on the fly this time of year, making for a lot of fun opportunities when trout fishing slows down locally. Current Conditions Lake Pend Oreille - The big lake is steadily fishing for quite a few species. Bass are an eas...

PMD Mayflies and caddis are hatching big time on the Missouri River.  There are some larger drakes and a few salmon flies on the freestone streams.  Now is the time to take your vacation or call in sick or be retired and fish every single day. Current Conditions Missouri River below Holter Dam - Flows have dropped to the mid 5K range.  Easy wading opportunities abound.  While everyone’s take and experiences are different, the volume of bugs and the dry fly fishing has been nothing short of epic over the past week. The PMD hatches have come later in the season and thus the density of bugs has been compressed into a smaller window.  They have been hatching in big numbers lately from mid-morning all the way until dinner time.  On top of that, the caddis are out in big numbers too. Nymphing r...

The weather has been kind to us lately. Not too hot and only a couple of real windy days and a scattered rain shower now and then. As such the fishing in the area lakes is still going well. The water level in the Methow and Okanogan rivers is still on the drop opening more areas to access on foot and the small hoppers are starting to show up. Current Conditions Chopaka Lake - The water temperature is going up and down with the different weather fronts moving through the area. The morning bite is the most productive time until the damsel start climbing out and hatching. There are still some minor mayfly hatches coming off now and then along with some caddis hatches. #16 to #12 mayfly patterns and #16 to #14 caddis need to be in your box. Hopper activity is picking up along the shoreline and the fish know it. #12 gre...

Being an Alaska kid, the idea of bass or spiny ray fish other than pike was just something I read about growing up.  Moving to North Idaho and learning about the diversity of the fisheries here was really overwhelming. From native Westslope cutthroat to wild steelhead to all the different warm water species we have in our lakes and streams, the smallmouth is one of the most underrated species, I think, in the fly-fishing realm.  Not only are they aggressive and downright greedy, but they also fight just as hard as a dime bright rainbow in cold water.  If you are a big numbers person and need a constant tug on the line, these are the fish for you.  For our area, Hayden Lake is a great place to start out chasing these fish. Hayden Lake in Comparison Hayden is one of the smaller lakes ...

No Dirt, No Problem Straw bale Gardening I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest when it comes to gardening. Copious pages of pictures with all sorts of beautiful gardens, creative landscapes, perfect rows of veggies guarded by Gnomes and the most amazing flowers that would make Martha Stewart jealous. This is the part I love. The inspiration. The part I hate? Probably the same part you hate, unobtainability. Unobtainable, until I stumbled across the concept of gardening almost any veggie with the use of little to no dirt. Light bulb flickers on- Admittedly, I've almost always had dirt (science teachers everywhere are cringing at the word dirt, so I'm sticking with it) to garden in. But the few years I haven't, I've successfully killed plants in pots. Straw bale Garden Epiphany Straw bales, not to be confused with hay bales, are ...