Page 77 - North 40 Outfitters

If you’ve considered building a small-scale farm and embracing the homesteading mindset—whether that means a few cows on an acre, or merely a couple chicken coops in the backyard—North 40 Outfitters’ Farmstock 2018 is the place to be. That’s because, on March 10, we’re inviting local breeders, ranchers and farmers in to showcase their livestock and offer knowledge and suggestions at every North 40 Outfitters location in Montana, Idaho and Washington. Vendors may advertise their trades or sell their livestock while they teach people how to get started on their new adventure. For those who may have attended previous Farmstock events, this version will set itself apart—we aim to educate and impassion our communities on the homesteading lifestyle, a way to be self-sufficient and actively engaged in raising and growing their own...

Missouri River The New Year dawned in Great Falls, Montana with a deeply frosty temperature of -27 F. Not ideal for open-water fly-fishing, but in Montana temperatures go up and down. Fortunately for the angling obsessed, temps are back into the fishable range this week with some highs topping the freezing mark. Winter on the Missouri River Not much will change over the next few months in terms of the fishing conditions. In the coldest weather, fish within a mile or two of Holter Dam. After a few milder days, you can venture beyond Craig. Fish should be stationed near drop-offs and shelves or cruising the deeper, slower flows. Most days, the action will pick up around 11 a.m. and fall off by 3 or so. Trout Spey Always a great activity during the winter months. Scandi or integrated floating lines and long leaders work great in the slower ...

Clearwater River If you’re like me, and live a few hours away from the river, you’ve probably asked yourself several times this season, Is it worth it for me to travel and fish the Clearwater? I’m asking the same question today because I have an open weekend (never happens!) and am toying with the idea of driving Friday night, fishing all day Saturday, and driving back on Saturday night. Crazy, right? Crazier when I look at the forecast and see, like, a 90 percent chance of rain for Friday and a 100 chance (if that is the correct word) for Saturday. I can stand in the rain, all day, shivering if needed, and not complain. But I don’t want to arrive to a river that’s blow to bits. So, what to do? On Wednesday afternoon I called Jamie Robertson, a fisheries technician for Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Lewiston. She’s the...

Omak Lake Wish I could tell you Omak Lake is doing great, good, ok or even so-so. Alas, I can’t. I haven't been able to get out to the lake lately and I have had no reports from anyone. My guess would be the cold, windy days are keeping most people at home, close to the wood stove. I'm hoping to get out to the lake, possibly this coming weekend. Rufus Woods Lake The good thing about Rufus Woods is I don’t think I have ever been skunked here. Not saying you'll be catching anything real big, but at least you'll be catching some nice fish. I talked to a couple of gentlemen who came in recently and they said they had a nice day on Rufus. Between the two of them they hooked into about a dozen fish, landing five. The largest fish they estimated at about 5 pounds. Balanced Leeches and white bugger patterns seem to be doing the trick. A good...

Coeur d'Alene River Icing up. Will be a while on the Coeur d’Alene. Think steelhead. St. Joe River Icing up here as well. Stay tuned and we will keep you posted on when the Joe is back in shape. Clark Fork River (MT) Flow ice here, too. Will need a good warm-up before she's fishing again. Clearwater Good reports in the last week. Even with a small bump in the flows, anglers are still swinging up a few. When the river bumps, look for slower inside seams and keep your flies down and slow. Go with black Kilowatts, Hickman's Fish Tacos, Mark's Goblins, and Hot Bead Steelhead Stone Nymphs. Snake River(WA)(ID) Fishing well, with two uplifting reports this week. Water is still cold, so run the proper tip to get you down to the fish. Key here is to keep moving down the run and covering water, but keep the flies low and slow. Takes can be gentl...

What's new with North 40 Outfitter's Ranch Rodeo at the Great Falls Expo Park? Well, kids 10 and under (when accompanied by an adult, of course) can get in free. Just come down to your local North 40 in Havre or Great Falls and pick up a coupon for your children to get in and come down to watch this truly classic day event, for free. Read more about the Ranch Rodeo below. When you think of rodeo, you probably think saddle bronc, bulls and barrel racers. But there is another type of rodeo we support at North 40 Outfitters, and that's the ranch rodeo. What is ranch rodeo? It's a rodeo where a team of ranch-hands compete in events based around real ranch work. Events like team branding where two opposing teams are put on the clock with a herd of calves in the ring. One cowboy is horseback and heels a marked calf (only both feet count as a ...

With sculpin imitations rightly deserving the spotlight for fooling large trout, Montana Fly Company’s Mini-Barred Marabou fills a niche in the fly-tier’s lineup. Here in Omak, Washington and elsewhere—wherever trout are found—sculpins are an important food source for fish. On our area lakes and streams sculpins rank right up there with minnows for importance. These are the forage that large, predatory fish seek. Indeed, MFC’s new Mini-Barred Marabou is a great tying tool for doing the sculpin job. Kris Keller’s Nightmare fly is a fine example of imitating the mottled skin and breathing or flaring of the gill plates that a sculpin exhibits when coming to a rest. Keller’s integration of barred marabou in the body of an articulated fly not only matches a sculpin’s skin color, but also produces a large profile. However, the...

Why do you tie flies? That is a question that has been asked of all of us that sit down in front of a vise. Plus, I'm sure others like me have asked themselves that question. Inspiration from Local Fly Tying Clubs For me tying flies started many years ago. At the age of 12, I joined an after school club for tying flies. I saw the list of clubs and spotted the Fly Tying Club right off. I had been interested in getting started in fly tying after reading the articles in one of the outdoor magazines that I would scrape money up to buy. Most of my material at that time came from friends and family that hunted. Feathers and fur were never hard to come by... plus, I raised chickens so when a rooster out lived his need to be part of the flock, I would have a supply of hackles. At that time, I tied some of the standard patterns but I was alwa...

The woolhead sculpin was one of the first flies I learned to tie. It was in my heavy rotation while guiding for big rainbows in Alaska during my early years. I tied those basic sculpins on 4X long streamer hooks. While they caught plenty of fish, I found that the point of the hook was constantly getting banged up on rocks. There is no point in a dull hook. Over the years, I’ve updated my sculpins with newer tying styles and platforms. To do so, I tied my sculpins on a shank and utilized a braided loop. The braided loops worked great, allowing hooks to be swapped out when needed. On the downside, I often felt like the loop was limiting the movement of the fly, and slashing strikes were harder to turn into hookups. My next platform utilized shanks with a fixed wire loop. I like dropping the hook off the fixed loop for two reasons. The bu...

Missouri River Winter has set in and there have been a number of subzero days. Days when open water fishing made no sense. It never stays cold forever though, and early in the New Year, temps are warming into the fishable range again. Not much will change over the next few months, in terms of the fishing conditions, other than the comfort of anglers. Fish will be stationed near drop offs and shelves or cruising the deeper slower flows. Most days, the action will pick up around 11 a.m., and fall off by 3 p.m., or so. We will be watching for chinook winds to create winter warmth and open up fishable windows. Trout Spey Always a great activity during the winter months. Scandi or integrated floating lines and long leaders work great in the slower flows. Skagit heads with tips work best for dropping flies off shelves. The Montana Mini Intrude...

Clearwater River The river is running at 8,670 cfs, having shot up early Sunday. The graph shows the river dropping and then climbing to its current flow. Rain is predicted so it could rise again. It’s cold out there with the water temperature running at 37.5 F. Foot warmers and hand warmers will keep you on the water and in the game. You’ll want to get down to the fish with Rio Mow tips or an Airflow Polyleader. You can try dry-lining, too. No matter what you throw, look for slow water with great structure. The fish don’t want to work too hard when the water is this cold. Grande Ronde River The Grande Ronde has ice throughout the river. The predicted rain my break the ice up a little and make the river fishable by the weekend. Intruder style flies on a long leader can be effective. The lighter Mow tips can be effective as well, but...

Rocky Ford If I can say one thing about fishing Rocky Ford this time of the year is this, "Dress warm.” Rocky Ford is a spring creek and does not really freeze, but you will if you skimp on the warm cloths. Fishing has been really good. Some may have read a recent news article about a 30-inch rainbow caught there not to long ago. You may not be so lucky to hook into a bruiser like that but 20-24-inch bows are a high possibility. Bring your favorite 5 weight or 6-weight loaded with floating line. Throw in a couple of 5-inch tips, such as a Type 2 or an intermediate and you should have your bases covered. If you feel you don’t need a sinking tip, long leaders over 10 feet would be a good idea. Size 16-20 olive or olive/grey scuds should be in your box along with a few #10 leeches in black or olive. Medium-size streamers are a must to ha...