After a long winter, I was eager to get out on the water and pursue smallmouth and largemouth bass. Recently I got my hands on the new Trapper Tackle bass hooks, which are produced by Landum Outdoors. These hooks won the Best New Product award at ICAST 2016 and have made quite the splash in the bass-fishing scene. Want to get your hands on the new Trapper Tackle bass hooks? Check them out here. In the early season, I am a big fan of fishing Senkos, or other finesse worms, weedless on offset wide-gap hooks. Fishing weedless plastics in the shallows is sure to produce quality fish but also involves chewing through a lot of plastics on bass, weeds, and timber. In fact, I generally expect to donate one Senko per caught bass, not to mention a few along the way to milfoil or timber. Looking for the subtle, natural action of a Senko? We have Y... Read more

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... Read more

When I was first introduced to Savage Gear, we were fishing a local lake here in North Idaho. To say the least, I was more than impressed. Unlike my normal fishing schedule of waking up at 4:00 and being on the water at 4:15, this day we got out at 3:00- p.m. Not what I would consider "early bird getting the worm." Order these three swim baits right here. Savage Ridicule Becomes Disbelief- Becomes a Double Bass Bonanza While casting my normal presentations of swimbaits, spinners, and twitch baits, my partner pulls out this insanely offensive colored swim bait... As I start ridiculing him about the colors of this "beacon for the space shuttle," he casts toward the main lake, and after about 3 seconds, snap! I thought it was his line that broke, but no, it was the tip of his rod- after that I stopped laughing. Is this bait right for you? ... Read more

It's been a long dreadful winter -with an anticipation to go out and fish out of my kayak. I'm trying to make some modifications to make my time on the water more efficient. Lately, I have been working to get my fish finder installed, so that I can fish areas that have a higher percentage of catching fish. The fish finder I use is the Piranha max DI for kayaks or small boats. I don't think there is anything better. Looking for the right fish finder? Check out our selection here. I began rigging everything up the night before my March 15th adventure. One set up that I am very confident in -is my 7'1" Medium Heavy Mojo Bass rod by St. Croix, paired with the Lew's Speed Spool. At the end of my line on this reel, I have a 1/2 oz. football head jig. My other set ups are; a 7' Medium Abu Garcia Veritas, with a black max reel, and a St. Croix ... Read more

Through the Ice into the Frying Pan... Fishing the Panhandle Looking at a map of the Idaho Panhandle reveals a land dominated by water, an angler's paradise. The big waters of Pend Oreillle, Coeur d'Alene, and Priest Lakes garner much of the angler's attention in the warmer month but the region is sprinkled with dozens of smaller shallower lakes. These smaller lakes teem with a cornucopia of panfish species including Yellow Perch, Bluegill, Crappie, and many are frequently stocked with trout including Rainbow, Brook, and Cutthroat. Shallow, quick to cool, and first to freeze in winter these little lakes form the frosty backbone of the region's ice fisheries. Read about best places and species to target ice fishing in Montana.  What's Ice Fishing Season look like? Once a solid 3 to 4" of ice forms on these lakes anglers eager to deploy ... Read more

As every angler sits inside during the winter organizing their tackle and making a wish list for Christmas they are starting to get cabin fever. Like every other angler, I was getting a little antsy to get out on the water! Wednesday 12/21 I finally got all my warm gear on and went out. I launched out of Ellisport Bay with my kayak and a determination to catch some bass. I thought this would give me the chance to find bass easier... The rod setups consisted of a 6'6" Medium action Abu Garcia Veritas bait casting rod with the black max reel, a 6' medium action spinning rod with a Pflueger President Limited Edition, and a 6'6" light powered rod with an Abu Garcia Cardinal spinning reel. More bass bonaza articles online here. For my adventure I tried trolling most of the time, because I don't have a fish finder for my kayak yet. I thought t... Read more

As ice begins to form in early winter, the buzz of anticipation begins. Hard water fans rejoice when the mercury drops. Ice allows shore bound angler's free reign over some very productive waters. Smaller lakes and waters at higher elevation freeze first. Large bodies of water take more time, but at some point in December, anglers will begin heading onto safe ice and pulling out fish. There are numerous opportunities for ice fishing the region around Great Falls. If you are in the area, stop by your local North 40 Outfitters and get the gear you need to get out on the ice, or shop for ice rods here.  Ice Fishing for Trout: Tactics and Lures Trout are always in season in Montana. As cold water fish, they tend to stay fairly active throughout the winter. If you find the right location and lure or bait combo, the bite can get hot. Jigs, be... Read more

Fall is a very busy time of year for anyone who loves the outdoors. Hunting is taking up everyone's time. I find a lot of people saying that they haven't had time to fish because they've been too busy hunting, myself included. The sad thing is that fishermen are missing out on a great opportunity to fish for bass. Winter Feeding & Fishing Depth The bass are feeding heavily to get ready for the winter when there is less forage. This is my favorite time of year to fish because there is little to no boat traffic and very little fishing pressure on these fish. Need help dialing in the fishing depth? Check out these fish finders. At first it may be hard to find what depth the fish are at but they should be in that 10-20 ft. range with some fish going shallower. I would recommend fishing suspended weed lines. A simple but very important to... Read more

During the months of September to the middle of October we have a very awesome fishery down at the Hanford Reach area. This stretch of the Columbia has the highest return of Chinook salmon in the entire Columbia River system. Last year we almost hit a million Chinook returning to their spawning grounds on the Columbia. This a 50+mile of natural free flowing stretch of the Columbia River, with heavy fast moving currents. This can make an experienced fisherman new to this area, look very intimidating to fish. This stretch of free flowing water and fast current speeds means it's time to do some back trolling! Here are a few techniques to help you put more fish in your boat... There are a couple ways you can back troll down at the Reach. One of the most popular techniques are running cured eggs behind a size 50 Jumbo Jet Diver. Running eggs ... Read more

I have learned a few little tips and tricks to help you become successful on the Columbia River for your chinook salmon. To begin, let's talk Brad's Super Baits. A True Believer in Brad's Super Baits Brad's Super Baits are one of the top lures used on the entire Columbia River system for catching spring, summer, and fall chinook. I started fishing with Brad's Super Baits about 4 or 5 years ago and my catch rate went way up. I started catching a lot more fish with a lot more takedowns. The first time I used Brad's Super Baits was above Priest Rapids Dam for fall run chinook, within the first 30 seconds it was in the water, I had a nice chinook on. For the rest of the day we couldn't keep them off. My father and I landed six huge adult chinook and lost a handful. In the end, we did go home with a cooler full! My father and I have never... Read more

If we're talking about fishing for salmon in the Columbia River, chances are we're talking about Chinook salmon (also called Kings, Springers- etc). And the best time to fish for those salmon, like Matt and Tanner say in the video, is starting mid-July. BUT that's because they are talking about fishing Chinook near Omak, WA- that's in the upper Columbia, and pretty specific to their local area. It's not the same everywhere.  The Columbia River System: Lower VS Upper  Imagine the river system as the circulatory system of a human body, and the ocean is the heart. The Lower Columbia, being closer to the ocean, will see spring run salmon sooner than the Upper Columbia. The fish have further to travel to get that far up, and it's all up stream, against bears and dams- so the further from the ocean, the longer it will take the salmon to get... Read more

In episode #14 #AskNorth40, Blake with NuCanoe, jokingly refers to hearing complaints about how two seater canoes and tandem kayaks are called "divorce boats"... because they don't work very well. He is quick to clearly point out that it doesn't have to be that way. Blake is an owner at NuCanoe. NuCanoe, an excellent company based out of Bellingham, Washington, that manufactures kayaks and kayak accessories. On their website NuCanoe explains, "Fishing in a kayak with your spouse, child, or friend is an awesome experience... if you have the right tandem fishing kayak!" The Most Important Issue when Looking at 2 Person Kayaks So, when you are shopping around for a two seater kayak what is the most important thing you need to make sure you have? Blake states, that with two people fishing out of a kayak, the main and most important issue to... Read more