Page 61 - North 40 Outfitters

Hi there. I'm Rosemary. I'm with Watson Gloves and I have me Melissa and today, we're at the Mid-States Show and we're going to talk a little bit about our new impact technology, D30. So in Melissa's hand here, you can see that we've got a performance style glove and we've put the D30 into the knuckle bar. Now this foam padding here, this is what you traditionally see in impact gloves. And see it's squishy, bendy, whatever. This here is the D30. It's a little bit firmer. D30 is traditionally used in NFL helmets to prevent concussions and now we've moved that technology into gloves. So I'm going to do just a little demonstration to show you the difference between traditional and the D30. So you can see I've got this metal ball here. When I drop the ball on the traditional padding, you can see it just bounces. When we drop the metal ball o...

Washington state is a dreamscape for dedicated stillwater anglers—it hosts more than 8,000 lakes and many of those, including dozens in the Omak area, are managed by progressive regulations. Due to that, these lakes provide excellent trout fishing and many cases, the opportunity to take large fish. The following Top-10 list—as chosen by the staff at the North 40 Fly Shop, Omak—should read like a lifetime hit-list. Fishing any of these waters could lead to the best day of your life, and we hope these brief descriptions inspire you to visit one or more of these placid, fishy places when the ice breaks up. But . . . first a disclaimer: There are great fishing waters sprinkled around the region, including many in western Washington. Our Top-10 list should only be considered a starting point. In addition, we’ve highlighted 10 lakes th...

Jimmy Jones created this fly during the depths of winter in Jackson, Wyoming, probably while dreaming about those big browns down on the Green and Newfork rivers. Or maybe he just wanted to bang up some cutthroats on the Snake during spring. No matter the dream, and the subsequent fishing, he shared his fly with the masses and the JJ Special was so effective it jumped state borders to become a mainstay on several big-name rivers, including Idaho's South Fork Snake and Montana's Big Hole. I've used this gaudy fly all over the place and taken hogs in Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, and even Alaska. It's flashy, and some fish like flashy. If I had to choose the perfect situations to fish this fly they would be for brown trout in spring and fall. Yellow rubber legs. Copper flash body. Brown saddle hackle to give it life. Yellowish tail...

Clark Fork River (ID) The river is running at 54,600 cubic feet per second, and well-stained. As the weather warms up, the river will only grow. We are officially seeing the effects of run-off on our big rivers. Because of this, fishing has been tough. Few are finding cutthroat swinging streamers like #6 rust Slump Buster, but even that isn’t a guarantee. Now is a great time to check out some of our smaller lakes. Lake Pend Oreille The lake is predicted to start slowly rising this week. We are still roughly 10 feet from normal pool, but it is exciting to think of a full lake. Most of the lake is slightly off-color with six to eight feet of visibility, and very dirty with only two to three feet of visibility near river inlets. Surface water temps are ranging from 45-55°F. The pike should be spawning in shallow sloughs, bays, and flats....

Lochsa River With a reading of 5,550 cubic feet per second at the Lowell, ID gauge on 04/24 the big push of run-off has yet to happen. With the upcoming weather forecast having the temperatures in the 70's and one day being in the 80's, I would bet that the big push is on its way. If you are planning on fishing over the weekend, I would either call us at the fly shop or check the USGS gauge. If the river stays in shape, I would either start my day out throwing a Skwala with a dropper nymph or throw a big bug. Productive flies vary include the Flush Floater Skwala, Rogue Foam Skwala, orange Stimulator, Chubby Chernobyl, Galloup’s Mini-Dungeon, Game Changer, Telleen's Polar Minnow, Zebra Midge, tungsten Terminator Stonefly, and Pat's Rubberleg. As always feel free to call for more information and have fun out there, but be safe as the wa...

Coeur d'Alene River Flow at Cataldo 7,250 cfs and dropping. This week there was a short window before the warm weather hit. It is still pretty high for great wading but if you know where to look you can do a touch of wading. Had some great reports from last weekend. Lots of folks were catching fish nymphing and streamer fishing. There are plenty of March browns around midday and some blue-winged olives, too. The nymph fishing will be your go-to for the high water, so patterns like Pat's Rubber Legs, San Juan Worms, big stonefly patterns, Woolly Buggers, Twenty-Inchers, Prince Nymphs, are all good choices. A large Chubby Chernobly with a big beadhead dropper will be a great all-around rig. Streamer fishing is still solid too, with black and olive Sculpins, JJ Specials, Congas, Sculpzillas, and Zonkers all getting looks. The weather is su...

“The river is really high!” That’s what people are saying. It is certainly somewhat higher than this time last year, but it’s not really high yet. That will likely be coming now that spring is finally here and daily temps will move past 70 degrees. Dry Flies The good news is that the water is finally pushing upwards from 40 degrees and it should be 42 or better this week. A few BWO’s are starting to pop, along with a steady stream of midges. Some fish are gobbling on the clusters when they form. Actually had a really good dry-fly session with a #18 Midge Cluster early this week. A few Skwala Stoneflies are present below the Dearborn River. Fishing them over water you know is holding fish is a viable choice. Consider dropping a midge or a jigged nymph off the Skwala and enjoy floating the river in nice weather. Streamers Streame...

Little Green Lake Fishing has been fast and furious at Little Green Lake and its big sister Green Lake. These two lowland lakes (and other early opening lakes in Okanogan country, like Rat, Davis and Spectacle) have been a wise choice for anglers getting out before the general opener this weekend. Now that settled weather has finally arrived and ice-off is a fading memory, rainbows are smacking trolled and stripped leeches like the Pineapple, the Red Head or the Bruised Leech in sizes #8 - #12 on intermediate lines. Anglers are also anchoring in five to 10 feet of water and fanning out casts with full-sinking lines, sporting Boobie flies on mid-length leaders. Last outing, a #10 Pickled Cabbage Boobie accounted for four fish before it was time to troll back to the boat launch. For those not familiar with Boobies, the technique involves a...

By Joe Dupont/Idaho Department of Fish and Game Spring weather is predictably unpredictable. But, as some nice days come our way, anglers are getting out to chase “bluebacks”, “smallies”, and whatever else may bite. So, if you’re itching to go, here’s what to expect from the Dworshak Reservoir fishery in 2018. If you’re a bass fisherman, you’ve either been fishing Dworshak the last two years, or you’ve been missing out. The smallmouth population has been very healthy and growth of the larger fish has been incredible, as it often is during years of high kokanee abundance. However, with declines in kokanee abundance, we expect the growth of bass to slow. As the big ones that were produced in recent years die off from natural causes, the number of larger fish may go down, as the ones taking their place didn’t have the be...

Northern pike are the apex predator in several of our lakes and rivers here in north Idaho and there are an abundance of opportunities to fish these toothy critters, which we will discuss this Friday, April 27, at 5 p.m., at our North 40 Fly Shop in Ponderay, Idaho. Really, what’s not to love about northerns—they are willing to eat anything that dares to swim nearby (meaning they are aggressive), and the world record holds at 55 pounds (meaning they are large fish). The Idaho state-record pike weighed 40 pounds and another angler caught-and-released a 33-pounder at Hayden Lake just last year. Aggressive and large is a combination that should catch any dedicated angler’s eyes. Fortunately, late spring is one of the best times—if not the best time—to fish northerns so you can get in on the action this coming weekend and beyond. ...

The Mother’s Day caddis is a hatch I love to hate. Half the time it comes off when water conditions are sketchy at best, and other times a fish has no chance of finding my bug on the water when there are, literally, billions of naturals riding the flow. The hatch occurs anytime from late April through the end of May on most Inland Northwest and Rocky Mountain rivers (late on some Yellowstone area streams), just prior to—if you’re lucky—or just after—if you're not—runoff hits in full force. When runoff arrives streams rise and turn clouded, meaning the color of black coffee mixed with two splashes of half-and-half. Place a fish a few inches below the lip of that latte (even if you hold the whip and drizzle), and you might see why fish have trouble finding these bugs in heavy, clouded flows. The Mother’s Day caddis hatch is a...

Durability is a feature some companies don’t believe is important. I’m not sure why. With gobs of information available at the consumer’s fingertips, most customers are educated shoppers these days. A couple of bad reviews on a boot’s durability could mean the end for the boot, or even the company. That’s why I continue to shop with a company that values the customer’s needs. With Simms, you don’t have to worry about getting swindled into buying a boot that fails quickly. My experience with the Freestone, old and new I first bought a pair of Freestone wading boots in May 2015 because my previous pair of boots disintegrated somewhere along Idaho’s Henry’s Fork River. I was in desperate need of durable/affordable boots. I stumbled upon Simms’ Freestone boots in a shop, liked the feel, the look, and the price, so I bough...