Page 75 - North 40 Outfitters

The Clearwater – The Clearwater is running at 10,400 cubic feet per second as of 01/24/2018. The river is more than likely going to stay up high and not fishable. Rain is predicted for four out of the next five days. I would not fish the Clearwater because these can be dangerous wading conditions. Grande Ronde River (WA) Blown out, sitting at 3190 cfs. Snake River (WA) The Snake is still sitting very high at 33,400 cfs. Flows have fluctuated over the last month or so. I have seen on social media that guys are still catching fish here and there. Focusing your efforts on the Snake could bring fish to hand. Utilizing a Skagit system would more than likely up your chances. Finding the softer water with lots of structure is your best bet. Fishing with a floating system and an intermediate Polyleader can also work year-round on the Snake. St...

When casting the Bad Ass Glass Quickshot fly rod, all I could think about was butter. Casting one is like dipping a big chunk of king crab into rich, lemony butter and sucking that thing down. That whole process is awesome, but you really just want to stuff that crab in your mouth. With the Bad Ass Glass, that smooth, buttery feeling only lasts for a moment, because the 8-foot length develops plenty of line speed, too. You can lift, backcast and fire in quick succession, stuffing the fly right where you want to.  Good Looking The Bad Ass Glass Quickshot series features the same design and cosmetics as its big brother, the 9-foot BAG rods, and comes in sizes from 6-10-weight. The translucent sky-blue color and matching fiberglass rod tube make a distinct package.  Efficient and Easy I fished the 8-weight BAG from a driftboa...

What's new with Echo Fly Rods? One thing that came out of I-Cast this last year was a new spin on an old classic, fiberglass fly rods. Watch the video below and see what Tim Rajeff has to say about the new Bad Ass Glass series of rods from Echo. We also have an in-depth review of this rod from the great Falls Fly Shop right here. Hi, I'm Tim Rajeff. I'm the owner and the rod designer for Echo Fly Rods. We're here at ICAST so it's kind of cool, you get to see all of next year's products all under one roof. What are these blue things in my hand? These are Bad Ass Glass Fly Rods. These glass rods kind of bring a little bit of the higher performance level that you're used to with your carbon fiber, and high modulus graphite rods into what you can do with a fiberglass fly rod. What did you say? Why would somebody want a fiberglass fly rod? I...

Shaw Grigsby introduces the "best new bass bait" on the floor at I-Cast... and it's not the biggest bait that he's excited about--it's the smallest edition to the Rage Swimmer line of lures from Strike King. This bass lure comes in three sizes, but the one Shaw seemed most excited about was the smallest size which imitates schooling bait fish that bass find irresistible. Watch the video below and check it out. Hi, I'm Shaw Grigsby... 2017 I-Cast new products. Man, you just got to love ... I'm like a kid at Christmas when I come here because you got all kinds of new stuff. You're going, "Oh man, I can't wait to fish that." Hey, right here Rage Swimmer, one of the best baits I've used all year long and for a little bit longer than that. Unbelievable big bass swim bait, just reel it. You can rig it a number of different ways. I've caught b...

This past weekend, I assembled a crew from North 40 Outfitters to support the Valier Area Development Corporation’s 2018 Ice Fishing Derby on Lake Frances. The VADC is an devoted to making Valier a better place to live and visit. When living and visiting revolves around a fishing destination, I’m all about it. Sydnee Thomason, from our fishing department, joined me. Thomason is a local Montana ice-fishing veteran and spends time on the ice every week during the hard-water season. We also had two guys from our corporate office, and we were joined by Robert Hambley, an ice guru from Shelby. A Fly Fisherman Tries Ice Fishing My ice-fishing experiences are limited and scattered over decades. A few holes in Wisconsin, a few holes in Alaska, and until recently none in Montana. I’m one of those crazy people who dons Gore-Tex waders and st...

For 2018, Mathews introduced the Triax bow, with the tagline, “Stealth is Lethal.” We had to try this one while attending the ATA Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. This bow features a 28-inch axle-to-axle length, a six-inch brace height, and has an IBO rating of 343 feet per second. It weighs in at 4.4 pounds. The short axle-to-axle length makes the bow great for packing in, hiking through brush, and hunting from a tree-stand or ground blind. The Triax also features Mathews’ Crosscentric Cam, which helps this bow achieve its unbelievably smooth draw and shot. In fact, we found it to be very smooth when compared to other bows. The Triax came out as one of our top picks from the 2018 ATA Show. The price of this bow is around $1,099.   Hey guys. I'm Mark Hayes from Matthew's Archery and I'm here in Indianapolis for the 2018 ATA Sho...

This is one of the products we selected as most impressive at the 2018 ATA Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. Victory Archery says the Xtorsion series arrows are the strongest to date, even stronger than the VAP Elite series. The Xtorsion series arrows have 304 stainless-steel fibers woven with high-modulus carbon fiber. Compared to aluminum, stainless-steel fibers have a higher yield strength, better durability, and a high modulus of elasticity. The exterior features 90-degree woven carbon fiber which increases strength and also reduces torsional deflection. These arrows work on everything, including dangerous game. Think Africa and Alaska brown bear.   Hey, this is Adam with Victory Archery here at the 2018 ATA Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. I wanted to introduce you guys to the new shafts from Victory this year. The first one's Exto...

Simi Seal Fur Dubbing is one of the most unique materials in the fly-tying arena, and we feel that every stillwater angler should be using Simi in their lake patterns. So, when you’re sitting down behind the fly-tying vice, you should have Simi Seal dubbing close at-hand or you might wonder why your flies aren’t catching the next time you hit open water. Simi Seal dubbing versus real seal fur dubbing Simi Seal is a replacement material for real seal fur. Real seal fur was outlawed due to the Marine Mammals Protection Act of 1972. Due to its bugs and translucent appearance, tiers lamented the loss of real seal fur as an option. The good news is that Simi Seal is just as effective to work with and it helps to catch fish. Most who remember what real seal fur was like attest that the synthetic material is at least as good, if not better,...

Dehydrate your own tomatoes for a delicious ingredient to recipes Long before pressure canners or even freezers came along, dehydrating was the best means of food preservation. As long as you can remove enough of the moisture from foods, which inhibits the growth of the microorganisms and enzymes that lead to spoilage, dried food easily lasts for months. Dehydrating foods also saves space, which is a precious commodity by the end of the harvest and hunting season. I’ve found a pound of ground beef dehydrates to roughly four ounces (or a good handful) of meat. I can easily store the equivalent of three-to four pounds of ground meat in a quart jar. It’s also very convenient. Dried berries of all flavors can be tossed into oatmeal or desserts, entire meals can be created within minutes with boiling water, and it’s easy to have enough ...

  Rufus Woods Lake is an impoundment of the Columbia River that flows between Chief Joseph Dam and Grand Coulee Dam in north-central Washington state. It is home to some of the biggest rainbow trout in the Pacific Northwest, although the average size of its fish has diminished over time. The state record rainbow—a massive 29.6-pounder—was caught here in 2002. I created the Rufus Chew Toy about a year ago for use on Rufus’ rainbows. The Rufus Chew Toy, at once, matches sculpin and crayfish, which are two major food sources for big rainbows. It’s proven itself over the past year and should work well for you, too. So check out this fly-tying video, sit down behind your fly-tying vice, whip up a few of these productive streamer patterns, and hit Rufus during the best time of the year for large fish—winter. Materials Thread: 14...

Omak Lake Finally had a chance to see firsthand how the lake was fishing. Had a couple of hours to give it a shot and even though I only caught a couple it wasn’t disappointing to me. Both Lahontans were right around 20 inches. I was at Mission Bay and not another soul in sight. The fish were not too far offshore. The weather forecast for this week puts most of the daytime temperatures in the mid-30s. The rod I was using was a 6-weight. It is one I picked up last year, pretty much for using it at Omak Lake, and I have been testing it out, getting the casting rhythm down. I'll be doing a review on it in the coming weeks. The fly I was using is a newer version of one that I came up with for Omak Lake a couple of years ago. I'll be putting up a video of it also in the coming weeks, it incorporates some new materials that we have in the sh...

Clearwater The river has dropped since it shot up last week. It was off-color two days ago when I drove up to check it out. The Peck gauge is reading at 10,700 cubic feet per second. Tyler Balich, the manager of our Coeur d'Alene Fly Shop, told me that he had friends who were catching fish up high on the river. I would imagine they were focusing their efforts around the North Fork. The techniques I would utilize are fishing with a sink-tip and a Hoh-Bo Spey. A fly with lots of movement and a bigger profile can get the job done. Grande Ronde (WA) I talked to my fishing buddy DV and he told me the Ronde is looking a little off-colored, getting close to the greenish hue. The cfs is 3,190 at Troy, Oregon. Same type of fishing technique that I would use on the Clearwater. Tips and a bigger profiled fly. Focusing on the slow water can bring fi...