Page 71 - North 40 Outfitters

When I was just beginning in this sport, my goal was to catch fish. Lots of fish. And I think that’s the goal for most anglers. We want action and numbers. Then, after a while something happens. All of a sudden numbers isn’t enough. We need bigger fish with the risk/reward factor coming into play—we’ll take one or two good ones, at the risk of missing the score box, rather than a dozen dinks. Most anglers go through this developmental stage and the key to catching bigger fish, many of us come to believe, is to use a bigger fly. Now, that’s not always true, but I’ve proven that correlation many times. For that reason, some of the flies we fish are ungodly, with massive amounts of material wound to their articulated bodies. They take fish, but can be a pain to manage in our fly boxes. The back of a fly may rest peacefully in gr...

The Missouri River Fly Fishers, known as MRF, is a non-profit organization based in Great Falls, Montana. The club works hard to further the sport of fly-fishing in our community, through education, conservation and the maintenance of angling access. The MRF donates to causes supported by Trout Unlimited and supports fish habitat projects with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and local landowners in the Missouri River drainage. Join the Missouri River Fly Fishers for the 36th Annual Art Auction & Banquet on February 24 at the Best Western Heritage Inn. This is the primary fundraising event for the year. It’s also a fun and entertaining evening. Pre-dinner music by We Ski Cousins, along with opportunities to win silent auction items. In addition, you can participate in raffles featuring the best in fly-fishing gear. A...

Our North 40 Outfitters team trekked to Minneapolis, Minnesota last week and checked out all the new farm and ranch gear at the Mid-States “Rendezvous” trade show 2018. On day-one we focused on innovative farm and ranch products that should make your operations run smoothly; on day-two we simply looked for interesting items that caught our eyes, eclectic new products you’ll see on our shelves later this year. Below you’ll find our choices, ranging from women’s arctic boots all the way to a pizza smoker from Pit Boss. There’s something here for everyone. Check out the videos below and enjoy. Pit Boss Copperhead 7 Smoker We met with Pit Boss staff member Scott Lowe, after being stopped in our tracks by one of the baddest smokers we saw on the show floor. The “7” in the Copperhead 7 name represents the massive 7 cubic feet s...

The Mystery Ranch Quick Draw Bino Harness offers quick access to one of your most important hunting tools—your binoculars. Along with quick access this harness offers great protection and a comfortable fit that works in sync with Mystery Ranch packs. The Quick Draw Bino Harness system can accommodate a pistol or bear spray, which keeps that protection readily available when needed. $75. Hi, I'm Alex from Mystery Ranch here at ATA 2018. I'd like show you the bino harness. This is the large bino harness; we have two sizes now, this is the bigger one. The smaller one's good for 10-by-42's, this will fit most 12-by-50's. Pretty nice setup. It's got a magnetic closure, so easy in and out of your buckles, one-handed operation. And that magnet will find its home every time. It's also a mechanical closure once it seats, so you don't really h...

This Saturday, February 24, North 40 Lewiston is hosting Atlantic salmon expert Bill Jollymore. Jollymore’s presentation starts at 11 a.m. and it’s free to anyone who wants to learn about this great fish. And while you’re learning you can rub elbows with anadromous brethren while enjoying a free lunch, catered by Bravas Restaurant. Jollymore grew up in Sydney, Nova Scotia and his interest in Atlantics grew when he visited Macleod’s Bookstore, which had half the aisles devoted to fly-fishing books. This was during the war and his father said he could not afford to buy flies, at 25-to 27 cents each, to fuel his son’s new passion. So, he told his son he’d have to tie them. Then he bought Jollymore a fly-tying kit that cost three dollars. Jollymore said it was pretty junky, but he took it home and tore pillows open to access and ...

Even though it’s still winter, it’s time to take care of your fruit trees. Pruning allows you to control the shape and size of your tree (at least to some extent since you can’t make a standard variety stay the size of a dwarf), as well as creating a healthier specimen with larger and more abundant fruit. What tools do you need to prune your trees? Before you make the first cut gather the tools you need, and make sure they are clean and sharp. Hand clippers are invaluable for trimming out small branches or water sprouts, anvil or by-pass loppers can handle the bigger branches, and a small handsaw is useful for taking out the larger pieces. If you didn’t store them in the fall with a new edge on them, grab a rasp and do so now. Nothing is more frustrating than fighting with a little piece of bark that won’t cut because a blade i...

Each spring all things farm and ranch gather under one roof at the Mid-States Rendezvous bi-annual show in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our North 40 team spent day one scouring the show floor, searching for products that enhance the farm and ranch experience and help you get work done more effectively and efficiently. We sifted through thousands of items to find our Top 10, meaning the items we’re most interested to see and use when they hit the farm and ranch market, and our store shelves, in 2018. Following is a preview of those products, compiled late last night by our coffee-sipping North 40 team so that you could see them first this morning. Many of these products won’t hit our store shelves until later in 2018, but we hope our coverage gets you as excited as we are to use put these to use when they are available. 1. Standlee Horse P...

Rather than shrinking their men’s gear to accommodate women, Sitka designed their Big Game women’s gear to actually fit a woman. The new line works whether you’re hunting high for deer and elk or low for whitetails and antelope. Available in 2018. Hi everyone. I'm Amanda Caldwell. I'm here at the Archery Tradeshow 2018 with Sitka Gear and my friends from North40 Outfitters. Sitka approached me several years ago and asked me if there was something missing for women that were avid hunters and I said there was a huge missing link. We didn't have gear that performed for us. We were missing the fit, we were missing the function, and we were missing the form. Sitka took the time, it was a several year process, to develop technical gear for the avid female hunter. It was not a shrink it and pink it type of system. We actually developed...

GA (Ground Attack) Hunting Products’ cell phone bow mount is a simple and economical way to capture hunting video with a smartphone. The bow mount fits almost any bow and any cell phone and is extremely simple to use. $40   How's it going? I'm Dan Tyler with Ground Attack Hunting Products. This is the 2018 ATA Show. What we have here is a way to video tape your hunt, utilizing something that you already have in your pocket, your cell phone. The cameras on these phones rival standalone cameras these days, so what we have is the bracket. It simply goes through anywhere you have a hole through your riser, captures between this shoulder and the washer on this side. So, Mathews is a dream come true because you can mount it anywhere, high, low. An accessory hole is the ideal place, but that simply becomes part of the extension of the b...

Here’s a press release from Idaho Department of Fish and Game announcing an opportunity for anglers to “salvage” kokanee salmon that are being flushed out of Dworshak Reservoir and into the North Fork Clearwater River near Orofino. According to Joe Dupont, regional fisheries manager for Idaho’s Clearwater region, flows from the dam are expected to increase again next week, meaning more of these very tasty fish are going to be available. The “salvage” season begins immediately. Due to this unique flush of kokanee anglers can keep as many of these salmon as they ant. Anglers can take them by rod and reel, with dip nets, or with their hands if they choose. Note: steelhead and other gamefish can not be targeted with dip nets. The salvage season runs through May 31, 2018. Dupont said that the kokanee can be abundant at times, mean...

Missouri River I’m still trying to remember how fun it was when I got out the week before last. For the past two weeks, it’s been fly tying season. Right now the Mo is running over 5000K. Lots of snow in the Missouri River Basin. One Hundred Forty-Five percent of normal snow/water equivalency currently listed. If conditions hold, we will see some strong runoff this spring. It looks like the yo-yo is going to swing our way for possible fishing on Friday and Saturday before it drops to the bottom again. Temps near or above freezing with clouds could mean some really good fishing. Winter on the Missouri River February can be a great month when the weather cooperates. In the coldest weather, fish within a mile or two of Holter Dam. After a few milder days, you can venture beyond Craig. Always be aware of drifting shelf ice, especially af...

Coeur d'Alene River It has shaped up nicely this week. We are supposed to get hit pretty hard with some snow later this week though. Air temps, as you have seen, plummeted from last week. That slowed down the runoff, but our fish may be a bit more lethargic. Looking forward, the positives are that we have better flows now, but much cooler temps coming, so your window of opportunity will be right in the middle of the day when the temps are the warmest. This is typical this time of year, where we get lulled into thinking spring is close at hand and then we get hit with a big winter storm. If you decide to brave the cold and snow, if that is what we get, nymphing and streamer fishing will be the go-to method. Fish will still be pooled up and not in the fast stuff, so concentrate your efforts in slower pools and tailouts. The warm weather i...