I'm live on the water right now, so I'll be brief. I'm happy to be out. Overcast and only a light breeze. My windshield got covered in bugs on the way to the river. Curious how the river is doing? Check out the current river flows here Midges have some trout working right now. Baetis should fill in the bug scene this afternoon. Wayne Jordan from CDA fished yesterday and had good success on nymphs and streamers. I'm swinging now and hope to look for some heads later this afternoon. Need some flies before you head out? Check out our fly selection here So far so good. I'll be in the shop tomorrow to talk and share coffee and donuts. Tight Lines!

by Gretchen Bundy Autumn brings sweater weather, colorful leaves, and one of my favorite holidays -- Halloween. I love the magic and fantasy that comes with the holiday, and most of all, I love the candy! With this DIY from North 40 Outfitters, you can combine all your favorite Halloween or autumn themes into a cute (or spooky) DIY treat bag. All you need is burlap and a few simple materials to get started. Materials You'll Need for DIY Halloween Burlap Treat Bags Burlap Scissors Cardstock Paintbrush Acrylic paint Halloween or autumn images Leather cords or twine Sewing machine or needle and thread Instructions for Making your DIY Burlap Bag 1. Cut the burlap into two 5" x 7" rectangles (you can go smaller or bigger if you wish). Do a quick iron before cutting if the burlap is extremely wrinkled. If you're making multiple bags, cutting...

Everyday, I travel roughly 20 miles along the Spokane River to work, and every day I try to imagine what the fish and insects will be doing. Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to get out of work in time to find out. Curious how the river is doing? Check out the current river flows here Jake had given me a streamer to try that had caught some nice fish at Nunya Creek on his days off, so my first stop was one of my favorite streamer runs on the Spokane. True to my sarcastic nature, I had to mess with him via text letting him know I caught a "whopper" on his fly. After my good-natured ribbing, I proceeded to land a few nice fish on his streamer before moving on to look for risers. While the Spokane isn't necessarily known for it's dry fly fishing, there are certainly times when you can find pods of fish feeding on the surface. If there'...

With the seasons changing, I am looking for any lake or river that hold brown trout. Since I always seem to hook into a few browns on Lake Cocolalla, I figured I might be able to find a few staging. Temperatures were in the high 40's and there was a steady south breeze for most of the day. The first couple hours were as slow as slow can be. Cast after cast, deep and shallow, without a single grab. Once the sun started to shine through the clouds, the trout turned on. We went from zero fish in two hours to doubling up on healthy browns. Now the action wasn't always hot, but steady enough to keep a couple cold fisherman interested. The trout that did eat our buggers absolutely crushed it. Want to try out some new flies? Check out our fly selection here #6 Olive woolly buggers did the trick when fished with an intermediate line in 2-8 ft ...

As of late, Kootenai River flows have been steady at 4,000 cfs and fishing has been pretty slow. I haven't heard a decent report in over a month, unless you consider catching 20 trout in the 4 inch range decent. Nymphing has been producing the best quantity of trout. Try a #14 Prince nymph, #16 Pheasant tail, #18 Crust Nymph BWO, or #8 Deep October Pupa under an indicator. Midges will catch rainbows too, but I refuse to go that small just yet. Don't be surprised if an epic BWO hatch pops off on a beautiful overcast day. If you are looking to hook into something a little bigger that will put a bend in your 8 weight, throw a #4 Articulated Sparkle Minnow, #6 TFP Stinging Smolt, or a Cheech Leech (Fall). Want to try out some new flies? Check out our fly selection here The upper section near Libby seems to be fishing slightly better with the...

How do you Catch a Fish? Today, I had the opportunity to teach students at Sandpoint's Home School Academy the basics of conventional fishing, and fly fishing. The morning started off with general knowledge of how to catch fish, what lure/flies are meant to imitate, and what species we have in Lake Pend Oreille. After finishing up with the importance of catch and release and invasive species, it was time for a little Q and A. I received questions varying from "Are perch afraid of humans?" to "If you're swimming next to a whale in the ocean, will it hurt you with its tail?" Talk about keeping your head on a swivel. I answered all of the questions to the best of my knowledge, although I have never swam with whales. Complete Naturals Once all of the questions were answered, it was time to load up in the bus, and head to Lakeview Park for ...

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 ...

With the seasons and weather changing, I have had the itch BAD to throw streamers with the hopes of hooking something big and brown. Although recent reports haven't been great on the Clark Fork River, I thought I could crack the code. Started on the water at 7:30 a.m. and fished until 6:15 p.m., so if you are looking for an accurate fishing report, here it is. Curious how the river is doing? Check out the current river flows here We probably fished 8 of the 10 miles on the Clark Fork, hitting every secret spot imaginable with not a whole lot to show for it. My best fly was a #6 Olive Egg Sucking Leech swinging through gorgeous seams. We brought our fast sinking lines to get down deep in those 20ft+ holes, only to hook a couple healthy Pike Minnows. Mid-day, there was a light hatch of some grey #14/16 mayflies that brought up some s...

Last Saturday was absolutely beautiful on the Coeur d'Alene River. Mahoganies, caddis, and BWOs were hatching. The sun would occasionally tuck behind some clouds prompting the trout to rise with less wariness, which was nice because they tend to be very particular this time of year after being harassed all summer long. Want to know how the river is doing? Check out current river flows here This weekend is looking a bit soggy, which means you should probably blow the dust off your streamer box. Olive and tan sculpin patterns will always draw strikes, but don't hesitate to try a flashy fly like a Kraft's Kreelex or Sparkle minnow on cloudy days. As far as bugs go, the mahogany and BWO hatch should still be going strong, so have your 5X ready too. If you find the fish are refusing your fly, try using the most subtle dry fly in your box. I p...