Page 98 - North 40 Outfitters

We are beginning to have our summer weather here in northern Idaho. For me, this translates to long days on the lake, and late nights on the river. I recently had the chance to sneak away from work, and spend a few hours on our local puddle Lake Pend Oreille. The goal was to hook big Smallmouth on the fly, what I found was something I should have been expecting. Learn to tie Dillon's Dill's Pickle bass fly right here. The wind was dead calm, temperatures were in the 70s, and water clarity was great. We launched at City Beach, and started at the rock wall along the Long Bridge. Here we found a few healthy Smallies, but hooking them seemed to be an issue. Plenty of follows and grabs, but hardly any hook sets. Is my fly too big? Should I tie the flies with a stinger? The part that puzzled me the most was that the bass had no problem finding...

We spent 4 days fishing from Holbox Fly Fishing Lodge. While the wind was fierce, it was nothing we are not used to coming from Montana. What we were not used to was casting 8-10 weight rods with 12’ leaders to moving targets or tiny pockets. The fishing was very challenging, but it was also very good. We offered guided to trips to Mexico, if you're interested, drop us a line here: support@north40.com March 2: Journey to Isla Holbox Flies Tied & Preparation It’s after midnight. My friend Brian is picking me up in less than 4 hours. Tonight, I tied 6 more tarpon flies I really don’t need. I’ve got my gear distilled into one carry-on backpack along with three rod tubes taped together. If you're looking for flies to take to Isla Holbox, start here. I sheared my head, shaved, showered and brushed my teeth. I was totally ready to ...

I recently had the opportunity to test out Savage Gear's 3D Burbot on a small lake I know holds a few Tiger Musky. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with this soft lure. It took one cast to be exact. After my buddy had pounded the shoreline with a black spinnerbait, I thought it was time to toss the burbot. As if he didn't ridicule me enough on the drive to the lake for buying this insane lure, he had to get in one last jab as I prepped to throw the burbot. If you want to try this lure, you can buy the Savage Burbot from us right here. "That lure is ridiculous. I will be surprised if you catch anything with it." I throw this chunk of chartreuse meat against the shoreline, give the reel a couple cranks, and what do you know FISH ON! "It's a small Tiger! It's a small Tiger!" I wanted that fish to be a Tiger Musky so bad. The f...

The Cardinal Rule of chicken farming? Don't get more chickens than you can care for! If you buy too many chickens for the amount of time/money/energy/space you have, chances are they are not going to flourish- and could actually get sick, or in some drastic cases, the outcome may be even worse. For example, imagine you don't have the correct watering system, or your waterer is too small for your flock -- or, you live in the Northwest where summers are hot and chickens need water. No matter the manner, without water, chickens, like people, cannot survive. Going too Big, Too Fast Chickens can also get sick if you go too big, too fast. And when that happens, it happens slowly and you might not catch it at first- Imagine your life as a chicken. If there is not enough space for the pursuit of life, liberty and the decent meal worm, you will s...

The time has come and boy has it been a long time coming. Blue skies, warm breezes, cold water and hatches that fill the sky with tasty little trout treats. We were planning on taking my friend's new drift boat out to some local lakes in search of bass, and to make sure it held water, but the river was constantly on my mind. With our first 80 degree day of the year on the horizon, I knew the odds of finding me out bass fishing out of a drift boat were slim... Once we realized just how nice of a day it was going to be, it didn't take much convincing that the river was the way to go. Sure bass fishing would have probably been more productive, but drifting a gorgeous flowing river was what my soul needed. So we loaded up the cooler with all the drinks and snacks we could fit, hooked up the boat and hit the highway. Looking to purchase a coo...

It’s May 22nd.  We are right in the heart of the spring fishing season. Last year, the Mo was running 5730 CFS.  Short leashing small nymphs and dry dropper fishing the skinny flats was producing fish.  May 22nd 2017 is a little different.  This is last year's report from this time. Snow and 82 degrees. Almost Entirely Unlike Last Year This picture was taken last Thursday at the mouth of the Dearborn.  The water is running somewhat clearer now.  Today’s flow is 11,300 CFS at Holter.  By the time it reaches Cascade, it’s at 13,700. That’s big water and we still have significant run off on the way. Depending on rain, heat and various climatological factors, the river will shift in and out of prime fishable shape in the portions below the major tributaries.  One thing will remain consistent however. The fish will still be ea...

Who could tired of sight fishing to cruising cutthroats on Omak’s beautiful beaches? Not me. Playing here kitty, kitty with a 7 pound trout tends to get the blood pumping. But occasionally, while stripping in that bugger, we wonder what lies beyond the foreboding cliffs ringing the lake? After all, variety is the spice of life -- particularly in fly fishing, right? It is said, "Never leave fish to find fish," and who wouldn’t agree? But over the years, Colville tribal fish biologists have proven to be magicians, and magic can make a guy curious. I Will Fight no More Forever.. Fighting Cutties on Omak Lake Omak Lake features aggressive, toothy fish often taping well over 20 inches. The lake boasts the Washington State record for cutthroat (over 17 pounds), and is completely pristine. Between Chief Joseph Dam and upstream megalith Gra...

It’s that time of year. The lakes are filling, if not already full and the water must be released. Rivers, streams and small creeks are on the rise and runoff has commenced. We haven’t seen the peak high water flows yet, but expect to see flow continue to rise over the next couple weeks. Don’t be discouraged by high water, trout still need to eat and are more than willing to, you just need to find them and present your flies correctly. In my experience, concentrated numbers of trout are found resting (and feeding) in the same areas during periods of high water. If you want to stay off the rivers, here's how to fly fish stillwaters. If you find one in a particular high water holding spot, there are likely to be more following pursuit. I will be making most of the tactics presented here pertaining mostly to tailwater fisheries, speci...

The long wait is finally over! The weather is SLOWLY warming up, water temperatures are rising, and Smallmouth fishing is great on the fly! If there is a gear fisherman reading this, he is probably laughing because finesse fishing for Smallies has been great for a few weeks now. However, finesse fishing for Bronze Backs on a fly rod isn't easy, so we are limited to stripping streamers. The bass are still in pre-spawn so they are fatter than ever, and looking to eat some protein before the spawn. The bass I am finding are along sharp rocky points in 7-10 feet of slow moving water. All of the "small" smallies seem to be elsewhere because every bass I am finding range from 1-4.5 lb. There will come a time in the summer when I can't keep the sub-1 lb. smallies off my flies. Blue or chartreuse flies have been the go-to colors. My favorite ...

I’ve heard about Heather Hodson and her active ladies fly fishing group Spokane Women on the Fly for several years.  I even corresponded with Heather last spring about possibly hosting an event for us. The timing did not work out, but I got the chance to meet Heather in Bozeman last fall at a fly fishing dealer summit.  We did a little talking after hours.  Heather's passion for engaging women in fly fishing is quite simply infectious.  I asked her to let me know if, and when, her busy schedule would allow a trip through Great Falls. It turns out, Heather is hosting a group of ladies on a fly fishing trip to the Missouri River the first few days of June.  Routing through Great Falls works out nicely. Get Ready Ladies Heather Hodson, AKA Northwest Fly Girl will be hosting a Ladies Night at the Celtic Cowboy on Wednesday May 31st fr...

Ryan Kilgore sends us reports of his fishing outings in the Omak area. He was out this weekend at a couple of our local lakes. His report is below. I have been itching to get out and find some fish, so I packed up my gear, strapped my Buck’s Bags pontoon raft to the top of my Subaru, and headed out. Buzzard Lake near Loup Loup pass is a favorite spot, offering peaceful meadow scenery and usually some eager trout. But I also hadn’t been to Omak Lake for a while, and I was hoping to get into a nice Lahontan Cutthroat. Driving southeast on Omak Lake Road, I found that the access road down to Nicholson (Beercan) Beach at the north end of the lake is closed. I could have parked there and hiked down, but I decided to keep going down to Cowpie Beach at the south end. The dirt access road to Cowpie was also in rough shape, with soft mud ...