Rufus Woods Lake is an impoundment of the Columbia River that flows between Chief Joseph Dam and Grand Coulee Dam in north-central Washington state. It is home to some of the biggest rainbow trout in the Pacific Northwest, although the average size of its fish has diminished over time. The state record rainbow—a massive 29.6-pounder—was caught here in 2002. I created the Rufus Chew Toy about a year ago for use on Rufus’ rainbows. The Rufus Chew Toy, at once, matches sculpin and crayfish, which are two major food sources for big rainbows. It’s proven itself over the past year and should work well for you, too. So check out this fly-tying video, sit down behind your fly-tying vice, whip up a few of these productive streamer patterns, and hit Rufus during the best time of the year for large fish—winter. Materials Thread: 14...

Omak Lake Finally had a chance to see firsthand how the lake was fishing. Had a couple of hours to give it a shot and even though I only caught a couple it wasn’t disappointing to me. Both Lahontans were right around 20 inches. I was at Mission Bay and not another soul in sight. The fish were not too far offshore. The weather forecast for this week puts most of the daytime temperatures in the mid-30s. The rod I was using was a 6-weight. It is one I picked up last year, pretty much for using it at Omak Lake, and I have been testing it out, getting the casting rhythm down. I'll be doing a review on it in the coming weeks. The fly I was using is a newer version of one that I came up with for Omak Lake a couple of years ago. I'll be putting up a video of it also in the coming weeks, it incorporates some new materials that we have in the sh...

Clearwater The river has dropped since it shot up last week. It was off-color two days ago when I drove up to check it out. The Peck gauge is reading at 10,700 cubic feet per second. Tyler Balich, the manager of our Coeur d'Alene Fly Shop, told me that he had friends who were catching fish up high on the river. I would imagine they were focusing their efforts around the North Fork. The techniques I would utilize are fishing with a sink-tip and a Hoh-Bo Spey. A fly with lots of movement and a bigger profile can get the job done. Grande Ronde (WA) I talked to my fishing buddy DV and he told me the Ronde is looking a little off-colored, getting close to the greenish hue. The cfs is 3,190 at Troy, Oregon. Same type of fishing technique that I would use on the Clearwater. Tips and a bigger profiled fly. Focusing on the slow water can bring fi...

Missouri River Conditions are good considering it is the middle of winter. The Mo has been running around 4,200 cubic feet per second lately and staying a few tics above 34 degrees below Holter Dam. If you get out in the afternoon on a milder day, it will warm up that one precious degree that really gets the fish moving. Last Friday, it was nine degrees. The water and the air were cold. I still got out for a few hours with another obsessive angler. I managed to keep my line clear enough to swing three rainbows before the icing got too extreme. If you can find three or four days in a row of above freezing temps, you can expect some pretty good wintertime action. This Friday, it looks like one of those windows is lining up. I can’t wait to be out there. Winter on the Missouri River Not much changes over the next few months in terms of fi...

Clark Fork River (MT) Gauges are reading “ice” at St. Regis. No recent reports here guys, so I'd be looking at a steelhead trip this weekend if we don't get a bunch of rain. St. Joe River Current flow, 2,240 cubic feet per second at Calder and dropping. Depending on the upcoming weather this might be an option—again, if we don’t get a lot of rain. Not sure of the boat launch conditions so this might be a better walk/wade option now. If you go, nymphing will be most effective. Tandem beadhead rigs should work. Your standards will be fine—Pheasant-Tails, Prince's, Brassies, Pat's rubberlegs. Make sure you get your bugs down and run a long enough leader to do so. The fish won't be super grabby now, and takes will be subtle. So pay close attention to your indicator. Streamers may get some attention as well guys, but keep them slow....

Fly tiers are creative, especially when said tier is in a jam, meaning they can’t find the materials they need on their cluttered desks or in their desk drawers. He or she might be able to find those materials at a fly shop, but not always. So, instead of trekking to the shop, the creative tier searches the garage, the kitchen and the laundry room, and scavenges these four materials. The next time you’re in a pinch, consider these items and give them a go. At the very least, you’ll be entertained in seeing what you can create with materials that rest nearly at the tips of our fingers. Mop Mopfly, Mop Caddis, Cased Caddis, Mop N’Glo—these are the names of some popular flies that are tied to match caddis, and they are creating a lot of buzz right now. All of these are easy to tie, they are extremely durable, they look realistic ...

We had a blast ice-fishing on Lake Frances in Valier, Montana, during the 2018 Ice Derby last Saturday. We’ve got lots of video and pictures to sift through. Look for another blog later this week with more details and some technical info. For now, check out some of our visual highlights from the derby, which drew 368 competitors. Derby Results Pike 1st Chris Verbus 11.14# $1,380 2nd Garret Moritz 11.0 # $828 3rd Ryan Fenner 10.82# $552 Kids Pike Riley Bock 8.96# $50   Perch 1st Pat Wheeler 1.38# $1,380 2nd Josh Waldner 1.32# $828 3rd Jason Brenden 1.22# $552 Kids Perch Colby South .94# $50

Victory Archery’s New Xtortion Arrows Victory Archery’s new Xtortion arrow meshes 304 stainless steel with high-modulus carbon fiber to create what Victory calls a “whisper quiet, small diameter arrow, with extreme kinetic energy for unparalleled impact force.” Its 304 stainless steel yields higher strength, better durability and greater longevity than other arrows on the market. It’s offered in three spines of 300, 350 and 400. The 300-spine arrow weighs in at 12.9 grains per inch; the 350 and 400 spine arrows weigh 11.8 grains per inch. All have an inner diameter of .204 inches and an outer diameter of .275 inches. The Xtorion is available in two shaft straitnesses—.003” and .006”. This arrow is the strongest and most dependable we could find—anywhere—and it’s as useful to whitetail hunters as it is to those who p...

Aiming a bow at a target resting a few yards away doesn’t exactly mimic an actual hunting situation. But it provides an opportunity to draw, hold and release a string, and that gives an educated shooter a pretty good idea of how that bow might perform in the field. That’s exactly what the North 40 hunting team did yesterday, walking the isles at the Archery Trade Association’s 2018 show in Indianapolis, shooting the bows we were most excited to see. And this is what we learned—in the past year some bow manufactures made incredible improvements over previous models, and all of the bows we shot are, arguably, better than any bow you could have found on the market just five short years ago. Here’s a rundown of the bows we liked best after testing more than a dozen. Any of these would be a joy for you to shoot, and all would make a ...