Page 62 - North 40 Outfitters

One of my favorite summer activities is to sit outside and listen to the garden. When it’s alive with the sound of buzzing, chirping, and singing, I know all is well in our little microcosm. In the end, having an array of insects, along with a healthy number of birds, is the ideal mix for a productive and low-stress garden, not to mention a nice mindset. We all understand the role that honeybees play in the garden, with their hard work flying from flower-to-flower so we don’t have to hand-pollinate our squash and other vegetables. But there are a multitude of other insects that share this task. On top of that, there are a whole band of other insects, as well as birds, that will take care of a lot of your pest problems before they become an issue. The key is creating a suitable landscape for all. Spiders are a great help in the garde...

Spey-fishermen who’ve bucket-listed Washington’s once mighty Skagit River system have reason to rejoice. WDFW has launched a catch and release (C&R) steelhead fishery which opened April 14-15, continues April 18-22, and ends April 25-29. Regional Fish Program Manager, Edward Eleazer, tells me this is the first time this classic, big-water steelhead mecca, has seen a swung fly since 2010. Actually, that’s not entirely true. Skagit spey-lords have tested the waters while swinging for dolly varden for a few months now under a C&R gamefish opener. Additionally, between releasing dollies, anglers have been deputized to slay invasive Atlantic salmon, which made it to the Skagit as the result of an infamous fish farm debacle this past August in Puget Sound. But, now that NOAA has approved a five-year C&R steelhead fishery, it ...

By Brian Kozminski photos by Kevin Jozwiak Anxiety. It's a nervous wrecking ball inside me. Tonight it’s gut-wrenching, and won't allow me to sleep. It's been months since I’ve seen a bug hatch, seen one wriggle free for a trout to eat. There’s still some white stuff on the southern ridges. But the forecast calls for mid-fifties next week and daylight gains each day. Right now, on the cusp of vernal equinox, I can only tie so many more flies, and ready my gear so many times—I need to cast a dry fly. Then I can sleep. Over the past few months I have filled my fly boxes with the essential patterns to get me through the season, starting with those to match the long awaited arrival of the Hendrickson, Ephemerella subvaria, which occurs, typically, in late April or early May. The length and severity of winter predicates when this hat...

There are several words and phrases used to describe the Mop fly. And none of them are admiring. In fact, I’ve heard, “Sinful, abomination, an assault to the senses.” Those are the G-rated expressions. From what I’ve gleaned from the fly-tying community, this fly was created in North Carolina about 10 years ago by Jim Estes. It gained popularity and its reputation when Lance Egan won the U.S. National Fly Fishing Championship back in 2016. Since then, the Mop has been banned from use in several competitions and locations. That resentment comes from people who prefer traditional materials and hold a bias against flies the don’t fit that mainstream mentality. Some would say it’s a fly that you either love or hate. The name, alone, gives you a good idea of what the fly is made of. The microfiber chenille fingers you find on mops...

Ice-out is one of the best times of the year to take a truly large trout. This fish came just after ice-out along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front. Cruise the shorelines during mornings and evenings, when the wind is calm, and you can often sight-fish to these monsters. Take a variety of flies and a floating line, along with an indicator or two. The ice has finally come off some of our favorite lakes and reservoirs, and over the next week or so more lakes will open. Anglers have been chomping at the bit because warming water temperatures make aquatic organisms active and the trout take notice. In many of our lakes, rainbows congregate along shorelines to feed and search out suitable gravel for spawning. This provides great chances—the best of the year in fact—to sight-fish for some big trout, even if you are restricted to fishing from ...

Omak Lake The lake has turned on and the Lahontan cutthroats are cruising closer to shore. Finally, the pods of cutties are moving around and the action shows it. Both ends of the lake are having good action. From what I can tell the water temperature finally warmed up to trigger what we have all come to expect this time of year when fishing Omak Lake. Best times seem to be first light till 11:30 a.m., then again around 3 p.m. on till dark. A power boat will open up waters that the shore anglers can't get to. Those with pontoon boats are doing real good working the drop-off on into the shallows. Just be mindful of the shore anglers that might be there. The Lahontans are running on the average 18" to 22". Double-digit catches are becoming the norm now. One thing some of the new anglers are learning is you don't use tippet smaller the 3X, ...

Coeur d'Alene River Flowing 12,500 cubic feet per second at Cataldo and climbing. This is big water guys, probably not the best choice now. Looks like it is going to warm up and this should melt more snow. The Coeur d' Alene may be a gonner for a while. If that’s the case, check out the local lakes report (see below). St. Joe River Flowing 7,370 cfs at Calder and dropping. This has been a rollercoaster lately with brief windows of opportunity between highs and lows. Actually had some decent reports from folks who floated the Joe last weekend. It was running high but clear and there was sone good streamer fishing and decent dry-fly activity. I don't foresee the Joe holding shape with the warm weather that is coming. This will be a welcome change as the weather as we all know has been depressing to say the least. Old Ma Nature just can't...

Clark Fork River (ID) Recently, flows have bounced between 25,000 to 35,000 cubic feet per second. Water clarity has a stain to it, but remains fishable. This is fine if you have a jet-boat and know the river better than the back of your hand. If you’re only access is from the bank, fishing is going to be tough. Fishing has been good, but not great. Still waiting to hear a report of double digit trout numbers. Midges have been hatching mid-day in large numbers on the upper stretches of the river, along with very few Mother’s Day caddis. Dry flies to try include #12 brown Elk Hair Caddis, #14 Purple Haze, and #18 Griffith’s Gnat. Double nymph a #10 DB Stone, #14 red Copper John, or a #12 Squirmie Wormie. The cutthroat simply can’t resist those. Swing a #6 black Balanced Leech, #6 Stinging Smolt, or a Copper Trout Slider through lo...

Lochsa River Streamers, skwala's, orange Stimulators—those are the flies that produced when I fished the river last Sunday. The current flows are sitting around 5,100 cubic feet per second. On Sunday the water clarity was wonderful—you could see the rocks on the bottom and watch the fish rise to the fly. With the upcoming weather showing some warmth, the river could come up and start to get blown out with runoff. If it stays in shape you’ll likely see some smaller mayflies flying around in the afternoon and the fish will key on them for an hour or so. They also took skwala sones through that hatch, so a skwala followed by a smaller mayfly dropper would be a good bet. Here are some flies I would take to the Lochsa: Flush Floater skwala, Parachute Adams, Purple Haze, Galloup’s Mini Dungeon. Read past reports from the Lewiston regio...

Missouri River “Are the fish biting yet?” This is a routine question I get almost daily this time of year. Of course the answer is yes. Knowledgeable anglers know they never stop eating. Do you stop? Drilling down, the questions should be what flies are working, at what depths, and at what times during the day. While we don’t have all the answers, we are here to help and can provide suggestions, point out productive flies, explain rigging options and so forth. Ice Out If you are heading to Holter, we’ve got lots of flies to get you in the game, starting with the extremely popular balanced leeches and balanced squirrels. The best color is a variable thing and can change hour to hour. Purple has been a recent favorite. The blood leech is always a solid choice. Sometimes olive/chartreuse is the ticket. Black is often a good place to ...

When you look at a fly fishing boot, most of us only see cosmetics. At a glance, the Simms’ new G3 boots looks great and complement any of the Simms wader lineup nicely. I’m sure many anglers will simply buy the G3 on looks alone, but let’s dig a little deeper and see what the new G3 boot has going for it. What surrounds your foot? The height of the boot is slightly lower than the previous G3, though not as low as the Vaportread model. It still covers the ankle and provides good support while being easy to pull on and off. An additional lace-point provide a more secure fit, and locking hardware at the ankle provides a secure contact point to hold tension, before final lacing and tie off. Scratch-resistant rubber extends from the toe to the heel clip. The inside of the boot is neoprene lined. The neoprene adds a cushioning layer and...

By Darron McDougal The author claimed this western tom fresh off the roost. The gobbler was roosted with hens in a giant dead cottonwood tree in the middle of the prairie. (Photo by Rebecca McDougal) Faint, distant gobbles gained volume each time I scratched my slate call. In mere minutes, as my bride, Becca, rolled footage, an angry Merriam’s gobbler confronted my jake decoy, which was positioned six yards away from our hide. I drew back when his head disappeared behind his fan feathers. Then, I held my draw until he re-exposed his head. Once my pin found red, I squeezed the trigger. My broadhead sliced his neck wide open, and death followed almost instantly. Sounds like your typical bow-bird success story, but that wouldn’t be an accurate assessment. Just 15 minutes earlier, we watched the tom from our Jeep, which was parked a half...