A year ago, I got my hands on some predator wrap. I immediately began working up some little baitfish patterns for swinging on the Missouri. My first outing met with promising results. After a few refinements, I’ve got a simple pattern that I'm really happy with and really like. As tiers may note, this pattern has been modified from the Foxee Clouser. I’m not ditching the Foxee, but this one is updated with some real fishy materials. Our rivers in Montana have lots of small minnows: shiners, suckers, dace, whitefish and juvenile trout are common. While the Predacious Fox is a small minnow, it certainly represents more biomass than a midge. Drift it, swing it, strip it and find a predator. Streamer 4X Long #10 140 Denier Ultra Thread in Cream Marble Fox - Golden Olive Spirit River Real Eyes Senyo’s Barred Predator Wrap Black &...

With steelhead season winding down, Omak Lake is heating up. I have been getting quite a few reports from the local anglers about how great the fishing had been at Omak Lake. So on Sunday, Luke and I headed over to the lake to see if all the smiles and happy reports were real. We got to the lake at about 10:30am. We could see 3 fly fishermen waded out into the lake and one of them was fishing on. By the time we got waderd up and the boat launched, these guys had landed about half a dozen fish. That was enough to tell me that the reports I had been hearing just might be true. We headed over to one of the spots that had been good for us in the past, but after about 20 minutes we knew we needed to move. Luke fired up the motor and out we headed into the middle of the lake only to run into something that neither of us expected. A sheet of th...

It’s hard to believe it, but we’ve had a winter free winter for the past month. What does that do to the fishing? Well, it makes it pretty darn good. Water coming from the dam has been reaching 36 degrees. By the time it gets to Pelican, it’s pushing 40 some afternoons. Those are some fishy temps and what we typically expect later in March. Fish are actively feeding. Streamer reports have been good. Nymphing reports have been good. Midging reports have been good. Some folks are not doing didley, but that can happen any day during any season on a river like the Missouri. You can be just a little off on your depth, your fly selection, the speed of the current, or the mood of the fish can be iffy at times. Or it can be lights out good in the right place at the right time with the correct rigging. Frankie and Jessica Lyons are dialed...

Just about when the river gets to where it is starting to be in great shape, Mother Nature changes the game. The fishing on the Okanogan for steelhead was starting to take off. I had been out a few times and even though I did not land any fish, I was getting enough action to keep hope alive. I was also getting a few reports from customers that they were picking up a fish here and there. The majority of the fish were being picked up by the guys who were nymphing. Most of the set ups were either a stone fly and bead combo or a egg sucking leech drifted under a indicator. I had been swinging a few different flies and had the most tugs and hits on a Kila-wa-bou in the blue and black. I had tied some a little bigger then what I use on the Methow River. Then, in the last couple of weeks, we have had rain and warmer weather. This has caused the...

So, what’s up with strike indicators versus bobbers? Is it price like Fred says... is it the Bowling Green in Victorian England as Joe suggests, or is it potential copyright infringement lawsuits seemed to be implied by the Coeur d'Alene fly shop? Definitions: Bobber vs Strike Indicator If we look at the colloquial and common use definitions (as Fred mentions), the traditional "bobber" is the red and white contraption used by everyone from kids to hallmark dock fishers. Bobber usually refers to this traditional piece of equipment used by gear fishermen. "Strike indicator" usually refers to a more technical piece of fishing gear used by fly fisherman. However, "strike indicator" is not a single-use word like bobber; this word holds under its umbrella a much larger range of materials and techniques. From the commercial Air Lock Indicato...

Why should you maintain your footwear? Simple. So you don't lose appendages. Dear Reader: What follows is a fictitious rendering of events that could have possibly happened at some point in time. Don't let these fictitious events happen to you. Waterproof with one of our Nikwax products available online here.  In the beginning of his life Dan wanted to be an alpine skier or a cross-country musher. He bought a pair of White's Firefighter Smoke Jumper Boots online from North 40 Outfitters in case he needed to jump into an arctic firestorm. (You can buy the same boots here.) But Dan didn't follow his dreams, and instead he settled for a job in the Bay Area where he paid 3,000 dollars a month for a one bedroom apartment above a noodle shop. Dan wore his White's Boots for 12 years, and when he finally saved enough money to travel to the No...

Missouri River trout like to eat. This time of year, they are hungry and they don’t have the volume nor the choices in February and March that they will have later on. Do the math. Your flies will get more attention from fish looking to eat this time of year, because they are not getting stuffed by nature. It’s almost not fair. It always makes me chuckle when someone comes into the shop and says, "Is anyone catching fish yet?" "Only the guys who are fishing, I reply." There must be lots of folks under the impression that river fish hibernate during the winter. While their activity will slow during the coldest periods, they still want to eat. Do you stop eating when it gets cold out? Not likely. Chances are, you eat even more. Add in the fact that it really hasn't been winter for the past several weeks. The extended forecast is showi...

With the past week of warm/rainy weather in Ponderay, I had a hunch that the fishing would start picking up. As predicted, the fishing was good. It was never fast and furious, nor was it mind numbingly slow. Just consistent action to help me enjoy a beautiful day. The weather was cloudy for almost the whole day, and I fished through a 20 minute downpour around 12:30. A steady 10mph wind occasionally tossed my line around, but never enough to be irritated. Runoff hasn't taken over the river yet, so the water is still clear and beautiful. The fish I did catch nymphing were on a small #18 red midge and a trailing grey midge behind it. Swinging/stripping a #6 olive woolly through deep holes also produced a couple fun trout. Very few small fish rising to dries just before sunset; not enough for me to tie on a small midge dry. If you are a ha...

Since I was a child, I have always loved fishing, especially fly fishing. I can remember when I was in elementary school, I would daydream of becoming an ice cream man, or working in a fly shop. Luckily, I made the better choice... I think. At the age of 16, I started working summers in different fly shops within the Yellowstone area. Now, I have worked in 5 different fly shops and enjoyed every minute of it. However, over these years, I have noticed a few benefits that aren't mentioned during the interview. Lasting Bonds formed in the Fly Shop The fly shop has a very relaxed atmosphere, and is an awesome place to meet fun people with common interests and life styles. It's a place where you can share some great tips for hunting, fishing, or anything else, really. Whether the person is a co-worker or a customer, I have gained some aw...