What's new with North 40 Outfitter's Ranch Rodeo at the Great Falls Expo Park? Well, kids 10 and under (when accompanied by an adult, of course) can get in free. Just come down to your local North 40 in Havre or Great Falls and pick up a coupon for your children to get in and come down to watch this truly classic day event, for free. Read more about the Ranch Rodeo below. When you think of rodeo, you probably think saddle bronc, bulls and barrel racers. But there is another type of rodeo we support at North 40 Outfitters, and that's the ranch rodeo. What is ranch rodeo? It's a rodeo where a team of ranch-hands compete in events based around real ranch work. Events like team branding where two opposing teams are put on the clock with a herd of calves in the ring. One cowboy is horseback and heels a marked calf (only both feet count as a ...

With sculpin imitations rightly deserving the spotlight for fooling large trout, Montana Fly Company’s Mini-Barred Marabou fills a niche in the fly-tier’s lineup. Here in Omak, Washington and elsewhere—wherever trout are found—sculpins are an important food source for fish. On our area lakes and streams sculpins rank right up there with minnows for importance. These are the forage that large, predatory fish seek. Indeed, MFC’s new Mini-Barred Marabou is a great tying tool for doing the sculpin job. Kris Keller’s Nightmare fly is a fine example of imitating the mottled skin and breathing or flaring of the gill plates that a sculpin exhibits when coming to a rest. Keller’s integration of barred marabou in the body of an articulated fly not only matches a sculpin’s skin color, but also produces a large profile. However, the...

Why do you tie flies? That is a question that has been asked of all of us that sit down in front of a vise. Plus, I'm sure others like me have asked themselves that question. Inspiration from Local Fly Tying Clubs For me tying flies started many years ago. At the age of 12, I joined an after school club for tying flies. I saw the list of clubs and spotted the Fly Tying Club right off. I had been interested in getting started in fly tying after reading the articles in one of the outdoor magazines that I would scrape money up to buy. Most of my material at that time came from friends and family that hunted. Feathers and fur were never hard to come by... plus, I raised chickens so when a rooster out lived his need to be part of the flock, I would have a supply of hackles. At that time, I tied some of the standard patterns but I was alwa...

The woolhead sculpin was one of the first flies I learned to tie. It was in my heavy rotation while guiding for big rainbows in Alaska during my early years. I tied those basic sculpins on 4X long streamer hooks. While they caught plenty of fish, I found that the point of the hook was constantly getting banged up on rocks. There is no point in a dull hook. Over the years, I’ve updated my sculpins with newer tying styles and platforms. To do so, I tied my sculpins on a shank and utilized a braided loop. The braided loops worked great, allowing hooks to be swapped out when needed. On the downside, I often felt like the loop was limiting the movement of the fly, and slashing strikes were harder to turn into hookups. My next platform utilized shanks with a fixed wire loop. I like dropping the hook off the fixed loop for two reasons. The bu...

Missouri River Winter has set in and there have been a number of subzero days. Days when open water fishing made no sense. It never stays cold forever though, and early in the New Year, temps are warming into the fishable range again. Not much will change over the next few months, in terms of the fishing conditions, other than the comfort of anglers. Fish will be stationed near drop offs and shelves or cruising the deeper slower flows. Most days, the action will pick up around 11 a.m., and fall off by 3 p.m., or so. We will be watching for chinook winds to create winter warmth and open up fishable windows. Trout Spey Always a great activity during the winter months. Scandi or integrated floating lines and long leaders work great in the slower flows. Skagit heads with tips work best for dropping flies off shelves. The Montana Mini Intrude...

Clearwater River The river is running at 8,670 cfs, having shot up early Sunday. The graph shows the river dropping and then climbing to its current flow. Rain is predicted so it could rise again. It’s cold out there with the water temperature running at 37.5 F. Foot warmers and hand warmers will keep you on the water and in the game. You’ll want to get down to the fish with Rio Mow tips or an Airflow Polyleader. You can try dry-lining, too. No matter what you throw, look for slow water with great structure. The fish don’t want to work too hard when the water is this cold. Grande Ronde River The Grande Ronde has ice throughout the river. The predicted rain my break the ice up a little and make the river fishable by the weekend. Intruder style flies on a long leader can be effective. The lighter Mow tips can be effective as well, but...

Rocky Ford If I can say one thing about fishing Rocky Ford this time of the year is this, "Dress warm.” Rocky Ford is a spring creek and does not really freeze, but you will if you skimp on the warm cloths. Fishing has been really good. Some may have read a recent news article about a 30-inch rainbow caught there not to long ago. You may not be so lucky to hook into a bruiser like that but 20-24-inch bows are a high possibility. Bring your favorite 5 weight or 6-weight loaded with floating line. Throw in a couple of 5-inch tips, such as a Type 2 or an intermediate and you should have your bases covered. If you feel you don’t need a sinking tip, long leaders over 10 feet would be a good idea. Size 16-20 olive or olive/grey scuds should be in your box along with a few #10 leeches in black or olive. Medium-size streamers are a must to ha...

Now that old man winter has officially arrived, there won’t be much change in the fishing until spring arrives. For that reason, this will be my final fishing report until the weather warms and the bugs start hatching in February or March. Clark Fork River ID Currently flows are bouncing between 6,000 and 28,000 cubic feet per second, once or twice a day. I would expect this to be an everyday occurrence. This year (2017), we had a push of runoff in mid-to late March. This could happen again in 2018, but it is too early to tell. Once the mountains start puking chocolate milk, flows will hold steady at anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 cfs. The fishing will remain slow/fair until we see warmer weather. When I fish this river in winter, I hope to catch one or two trout over the period of a few hours. The only hatch we’ll see is the occasio...

Fly-fishers often demand odd/innovative tools in order to pursue their passion. And sometimes people wonder if all those gadgets hanging off anglers and their gear are needed. I hear it in the shop all the time. “Do you really need forceps with a curved head? What is wrong with the bulk forceps that sell for $1.99? And do I really need a pair of nippers. I mean, some of these cost 50 bucks! Can’t I just bite off my tippet?” Outsiders often believe these tools are some kind of gimmick, just another way for fly shops to make a sale. The truth is, oddball tools make life a whole lot easier when waist deep in a swift moving river, attempting to roll-cast to a nose on the opposite bank. Those “useless” fishing utensils suddenly come in handy, and might just save you a trip to shore. A simple 20-foot trek to dry land can be an excruc...