Page 47 - North 40 Outfitters

I’ve got a new fish in my sights.  Freshwater Drum.  They are not a glamor fish.  They are not considered a game fish and there are no management plans concerned about their health and survival.  Bait fishermen are often aware of them and I’m told they taste pretty good. From the Montana Field Guide: Freshwater Drum - Aplodinotus grunniens “The only member of the drum family native to Montana. This species is found in larger streams and reservoirs in the plains region of Montana's eastern drainages. Drum are so named because they can produce sound by "drumming" muscles against their gas bladders. Drum are spring broadcast spawners, but unlike other Montana fish, their eggs are buoyant. Drum are not a sport fish in Montana and are taken commercially elsewhere. Drum eat fish, insects, clams, and snails.” The Montana State Re...

Long regarded as the top shelf reel for trolling for salmon, steelhead, and walleye in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes the Shimano Tekota has finally come available in a left-hand model. The redesigned Tekota A comes in spool sizes of 500 and 600 are more compact, possess faster gear ratios to keep up with hard running fish, and are more compact than ever. Watch the video below to learn more.   Guy 1: So we’re here with Paul with Shimano and they’ve come out with the new Tekota left-hand linecounter reel in the 500 and 600 spool size. Anglers have been asking for this for a long time so I’m going to let him talk a little bit about this reel. Paul: Exactly, so this new 500 Tekota comes in a left-hand model. We’ve changed all kinds of features. It’s way more palmable, it’s the 20% reduction in the size of the reel itself...

Simms new G3 Guide Pull on Boot is perfect for the angler who doesn’t need a wader but needs some protection from cold water when getting in and out of the boat. A 14” boot with neoprene and vulcanized rubber and Vibram soles with the option for studs. Watch the video below to learn more. Hi, my name is Eric Neufeld and today we’re at the ICAST show in Orlando Florida and great show cause we get to feature a lot of really cool new products. This is our new Simms G3 Guide Pull On Boot. We are really excited about this piece because we know a lot of our anglers are not always in wading boots and they need to get on and off the water. And this new piece is an insulated boot. It’s good to negative 40. It does have a neoprene upper, you know in a vulcanized rubber lower. The outsole on this it is a Vibram outsole, it’s Vibram’s h...

This is an iconic fly that can mimic so many different aquatic insects.  The advent of the style of the Parachute Adams most likely started with this fly.  If you are in the midst of a pmd, blue winged olive, mahogany, trico hatch and find yourself not having one of those specific flies to match the hatch, this fly in the right size, will substitute just fine.  The profile and size of the fly is typically what will fool the fish and this old standby will throw a silhouette of an adult mayfly just about perfectly.  Most seasoned fly fishermen always have these in their boxes. Do you enjoy learning about a new fly every week? Check out last week's featured fly.

Sage Igniter is a high end, ultra-fast, and technical rod by Sage. The ultra-fast action allows you to fight the wind and cast longer distances very fast and accurately. This rod is available in 4-10 weight in single hand and 6-10 weight in two handed rods. Watch the video below to learn more.    Hey, my name’s Peter Knox. I’m here at the Sage booth at ICAST 2018 and I’d like to show you the new Igniter series of rods. These are ultra-fast rods for technical conditions. Right here I have the six weight 691, which means it has a fighting but saltwater componentry. But I picked this rod because it’s really one of my favorites for trout fishing. Particularly on large rivers where the water is moving fast or you’re fishing out of a boat. An ultra-fast action has a really quick, requires a really quick casting stroke and so ...

Savage Gear once again pushes the envelope on the hard lure market with their new 3D snake. I admit I was a skeptic and I saw it swim. With two attachment points, this lure can dive or be fished as a wake bait. Watch the video below to learn more.  Hey guys, I’m Matt from Savage Gear. I’m here at ICAST in Orlando and I’m here with North 40 Outfitters and I’ve got exciting news for you, the snake. Savage 3D snake, we got two sizes here. A full 12-inch beautiful swim bait then a little baby snake here an eight incher. You’ve got two tie points, one that will dive about a foot under the surface and then you have a wake bait right at the bill there. What’s really cool is the spinning trebles. So built-in swivels so the fish can’t throw the bait. We got four brilliant colors for you right here, we got the rattlesnake, the bla...

Lochsa River (ID) The current flow is 631 cfs at Lowell. Hoppers have been productive for anglers who have been spending their time on the Lochsa. We have had a few anglers tell us that caddis are coming off and have been a productive fly for them as well. The mornings and evenings are the best fishing times. North Fork Clearwater River (ID) The current flow is at 1020 cfs at Canyon Ranger Station. Water temperatures are still in the mid to high 60’s. The reports coming in are that fishing has been good for anglers who are willing to put in the work. The fish aren’t veraciously taking the fly but are still willing to eat. Skating hoppers, giving them life, can make the fish come up. And, late in the evening’s caddis should work as well as a parachute. Clearwater River (ID) The flow is 9740 cfs at Spalding. We’ve heard that a coup...

Coeur d'Alene River The Coeur d'Alene River is fishing well right now.  However, the fishing is getting a bit more technical with the lower water and warmer conditions.  We are expecting some cooler weather though and rain hopefully by the first part of next week.  This should do wonders for the fishing but more importantly the fires.  The nights are getting cooler and this is a good thing for the morning fishing. The early morning hopper fishing should be great, but there is no need to go big.  You’ll want to keep them in smaller sizes like 10-12's.  We are also getting our early fall micro ant hatch now.  These guys are small in the 18-22# range.  These are best fished behind a pmd or a hopper as an indicator.  I find that a little breeze or a windy day is actually a good thing for these guys.  They are a flying insect. Whe...

There are several reasons why you should be fishing the Missouri River right now. More Water: While the river is not high, it’s a little higher than it often is at this time of year. It is also good for water temperatures and good for fishing. Low Pressure: The Missouri River has developed a reputation as a fishery overrun by anglers and guides. There is a window each season where that may be true, but it’s not true in August. There is lots of space out there. Lots of Fish Eating Dries: Trico hatches have been epic. There are big pods and lots of bank sippers. There is also enough variety of other bugs around to keep things interesting.  Plus, the terrestrial fishing has been surprisingly good. Nymphs The dam to Craig is generally busy and for good reason.  There are lots of sizable fish congregating around the weed beds there. ...

Clark Fork (ID) Flows are bouncing from 4,000 to 30,000 back to 4,000 cubic feet per second, every day. Water clarity is around eight feet. The fishing has been good in the mornings when flows are at their lowest and in the evenings when the hatches really take off. In the mornings, I like to fish above the bridge where there is some readable current. Then as the flows shoot up, the lower section below the bridge fishes well. Expect to see bugs like caddis, tricos, rusty spinners, and western yellow mayflies on the water. Hoppers, ants, beetles, and wasps are also great bugs to throw too. When the trout aren’t eating the naturals, throw stimulators like a #10 purple chubby chernobyl, a #14 purple rooster, or a #10 black moodah poodah. Nymphing flies through the riffles like a #8 Pat’s rubber legs, a #14 red copper John, and a #16 cru...

Whether you are chasing stripers, smallies, largies, or peacocks, fly fishing with poppers and divers is simply exhilarating. Watching bass crush my topwater fly on Lake Pend Oreille makes my heart skip a beat every time. Although catching bass on poppers is exciting, it can also be challenging. It is important to understand the do’s and don’ts to using poppers and divers. Leader and Tippet Selecting the correct leader for chasing bass is crucial. If you choose a leader too light, the popper will snap off in your backcast, or in a bass’ mouth. If you chose a leader that is too strong and thick, the bass will see the leader and not eat the fly. Length is also something to consider. Too long of a leader won’t turn over the fly while casting and a short leader is close enough to the fly line to spook the fish. Searching for leaders ...

Renzetti brushes give you a wide variety of option to build streamer bodies. The new “Lively Legs” brushes have built in micro rubber legs that make adding legs simple and easy. Watch the video below to learn more. Hi, my name is Caley. I’m here with our distribution in Renzetti at IFTD 2018 with North 40 Outfitters and we are talking about some of our new product that we have in this year. So, we just came out with our lively legs crustacean brush. This is going to be a great product. It comes in a few different sizes that we’re going to bring in: half inch, one inch, one and a half, two, three, and five. So, we’re going to bring in a bunch of different colors and a bunch of different sizes in this guy. It’s going to be great for making your shrimp patterns, crab patterns, just makes it all easier and one. The brush is mad...