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...

Worm castings... first off, can you guess the first person to write about them? Charles Darwin, father of evolutionary theory. Shoutout to Charlie. So... what are worm castings? Well- here's this if it helps: Worm cast: a convoluted mass of soil, mud, or sand thrown up by an earthworm or lugworm on the surface after passing through the worm's body.  Or check out the question on #AskNorth40 below. But what are worm castings REALLY? Organic compost naturally contains large amounts of minerals and trace elements, those compounds are ingested by the worm and altered chemically and biologically in their stomachs to pass through and become the "casting" one of the most natural and effective fertilizers you can get. And if you are looking for another resource on fertilizers, check out this blog about creating the PERFECT fertilizer and gro...

As anglers, we should always endeavor to improve our skill level and knowledge base. Dave Hughes has recently revised two of his pivotal pieces of fly fishing literature the first was his Trout from Small Streams, which was originally published in 2002, but was revised and republished in 2014. It is amazing to think that small stream fly fishing could have changed that much in just over a decade, but with the pursuit of knowledge it is easy as an author to feel your works can become less relevant the more experience you achieve. I don’t necessary believe Dave’s first edition has become dated or less pertinent than it was when it was released and I still consider it a classic, but technology has rapidly improved with both the publishing and the current techniques used to chase small stream trout. The biggest glowing change in the editi...

Every day, guys come in and say either "What’s happening." Or "Have you been fishing." I do go fishing every chance I get, but- In order to do some of this- We need to do a bit of this. In order to sell and ship fly rods, we needed to do a bunch of this- We got more orders than we had shipping containers for, so I enlisted Kyle and Payton to Sawzall a bunch of tubes. Thanks Milwaukee! Thanks for the quick help guys. We chopped tubes and cut boxes to size in no time. If you received a new rod from us, I hope you appreciate the love that went into the slightly funky packaging. We’ve been getting lots of feedback about our new fly shop re-set. Things were a bit chaotic for a week, but we’ve got it pretty dialed in again. We framed up our doorways in the log structure and opened the aisles to our counter. Now, I can see you coming an...

It was a beautifully cloudy day on the Clark Fork River with minimal breeze to interrupt any fly casting. Fishing was very slow... as in not a single grab slow. Water was crystal clear and around 10-12000 cfs and clear. Not ideal water levels for this time of year, but still very fishable.  There was a light midge hatch that went from 1-3. This brought up only a few small trout that were regularly rising in slack water. If I were to fish that day again, I would bring a rod set up with a size 20 midge instead of swinging streamers. That way, I would at least get some action, even if they were under 12 inches. I am predicting fishing will pick up with the warmer weather expected this week. Flows through the dam should increase in the next week or so, and stay at a high cfs. Run off should increase a little bit, but we shouldn't see muddy...

My daughter had always wanted chickens. Me, not so much. So imagine my excitement when she came home from school with a "free" chicken in her coat pocket. Thank you science lab. We found a cardboard box for a temporary home, then went to North 40 Outfitters for supplies and advice. Not wanting birds didn't seem like a good enough reason to make one live a life of solitude and loneliness, so we bought a couple fowl friends. I grabbed a chick from each bin. I'm the type of person that would much rather have a bouquet of wild flowers than a vase of roses. So began our small herd of birds, which I learned later is a "flock." We left with a feeder, waterer, heat lamp and chick feed.  If you'd rather order your chicken supplies online, and have them delivered to your door--here's what you need.  As the chicks got bigger, it was time to move ...

Chick season is fast approaching and to help you get prepared we have put together a list to let you know what chicken varieties will be available in your area. Available varieties differ by store, so check out your location below to see what chicks your local 40 may have. ***And remember, this list is not a guarantee, but a helpful guide. It is possible for shipping dates to change or for varieties not to show up (due to bad hatches or other unforeseen issues). The best way to confirm chick dates and availability is to call your local North 40. Enjoy! Great Falls - Montana First due Date 3.1.16 Havre - Montana First due Date 3.2.16 Colville - Washington First due Date 2.11.16 Mead - Washington First due Date 2.22.16 Moses Lake - Washington First due Date 3.2.16 Spokane - Washington First due Date 2.17.16 Omak - Washington First due Dat...

If you pick your days, you can have a soulful winter outing on the Missouri River. Jeff goes fishing any chance he can get. On this day, he was rocking his new Simms G4 Jacket, Sage One Trout Spey and a Missouri River Brown. I’m guessing Mr. Brown appreciated Jeff’s Professional Grade ensemble a bit less than Jeff did. Fishing reports are mixed as always. Guys like Jeff are catching their fish on the swing. That’s how they want to fish. That’s how I like to fish. It’s really fun. If the fish are feeling chompy, it’s a blast. If they are not, you keep swinging anyway, because the process is fun regardless of the outcome. My buddy Kevin is out several days each week working nymphs and tiny midglings. He’s always cooking up some new patterns and tweaking the good ones. He’s also catching plenty of fish along the way. Regardle...

There's many ways to patch a coat. You can go with the "farm-store" fix and use Duct tape or Gorilla tape to fix a down jacket... Or you can follow the recommendations from Mountain Hardwear and use Tenacious Tape--this is a time tested and a sure-fire way to get a quick fix. But let's get a little deeper with it-- the video below offers a step by step fix for using Tenacious Tape. Check out our Gorilla section here or you can use the Mountain Hardwear prescription here. Repairing Pinhole/Puncture in a Down Jacket There is one hole we'd like to talk specifically about, and that's the pinhole or puncture hole. These are normally much smaller, and only have a few fibers of down or fill material protruding. When it comes to a rip like this, a small dot of Zap-a-Gap, an integral part of the fly fisherman's accouterments, or any other type ...