Fishing

Through the Ice into the Frying Pan... Fishing the Panhandle Looking at a map of the Idaho Panhandle reveals a land dominated by water, an angler's paradise. The big waters of Pend Oreillle, Coeur d'Alene, and Priest Lakes garner much of the angler's attention in the warmer month but the region is sprinkled with dozens of smaller shallower lakes. These smaller lakes teem with a cornucopia of panfish species including Yellow Perch, Bluegill, Crappie, and many are frequently stocked with trout including Rainbow, Brook, and Cutthroat. Shallow, quick to cool, and first to freeze in winter these little lakes form the frosty backbone of the region's ice fisheries. Read about best places and species to target ice fishing in Montana.  What's Ice Fishing Season look like? Once a solid 3 to 4" of ice forms on these lakes anglers eager to deploy ... Read more

As every angler sits inside during the winter organizing their tackle and making a wish list for Christmas they are starting to get cabin fever. Like every other angler, I was getting a little antsy to get out on the water! Wednesday 12/21 I finally got all my warm gear on and went out. I launched out of Ellisport Bay with my kayak and a determination to catch some bass. I thought this would give me the chance to find bass easier... The rod setups consisted of a 6'6" Medium action Abu Garcia Veritas bait casting rod with the black max reel, a 6' medium action spinning rod with a Pflueger President Limited Edition, and a 6'6" light powered rod with an Abu Garcia Cardinal spinning reel. More bass bonaza articles online here. For my adventure I tried trolling most of the time, because I don't have a fish finder for my kayak yet. I thought t... Read more

As ice begins to form in early winter, the buzz of anticipation begins. Hard water fans rejoice when the mercury drops. Ice allows shore bound angler's free reign over some very productive waters. Smaller lakes and waters at higher elevation freeze first. Large bodies of water take more time, but at some point in December, anglers will begin heading onto safe ice and pulling out fish. There are numerous opportunities for ice fishing the region around Great Falls. If you are in the area, stop by your local North 40 Outfitters and get the gear you need to get out on the ice, or shop for ice rods here.  Ice Fishing for Trout: Tactics and Lures Trout are always in season in Montana. As cold water fish, they tend to stay fairly active throughout the winter. If you find the right location and lure or bait combo, the bite can get hot. Jigs, be... Read more

Fall is a very busy time of year for anyone who loves the outdoors. Hunting is taking up everyone's time. I find a lot of people saying that they haven't had time to fish because they've been too busy hunting, myself included. The sad thing is that fishermen are missing out on a great opportunity to fish for bass. Winter Feeding & Fishing Depth The bass are feeding heavily to get ready for the winter when there is less forage. This is my favorite time of year to fish because there is little to no boat traffic and very little fishing pressure on these fish. Need help dialing in the fishing depth? Check out these fish finders. At first it may be hard to find what depth the fish are at but they should be in that 10-20 ft. range with some fish going shallower. I would recommend fishing suspended weed lines. A simple but very important to... Read more

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 ... Read more

I have learned a few little tips and tricks to help you become successful on the Columbia River for your chinook salmon. To begin, let's talk Brad's Super Baits. A True Believer in Brad's Super Baits Brad's Super Baits are one of the top lures used on the entire Columbia River system for catching spring, summer, and fall chinook. I started fishing with Brad's Super Baits about 4 or 5 years ago and my catch rate went way up. I started catching a lot more fish with a lot more takedowns. The first time I used Brad's Super Baits was above Priest Rapids Dam for fall run chinook, within the first 30 seconds it was in the water, I had a nice chinook on. For the rest of the day we couldn't keep them off. My father and I landed six huge adult chinook and lost a handful. In the end, we did go home with a cooler full! My father and I have never... Read more

If we're talking about fishing for salmon in the Columbia River, chances are we're talking about Chinook salmon (also called Kings, Springers- etc). And the best time to fish for those salmon, like Matt and Tanner say in the video, is starting mid-July. BUT that's because they are talking about fishing Chinook near Omak, WA- that's in the upper Columbia, and pretty specific to their local area. It's not the same everywhere.  The Columbia River System: Lower VS Upper  Imagine the river system as the circulatory system of a human body, and the ocean is the heart. The Lower Columbia, being closer to the ocean, will see spring run salmon sooner than the Upper Columbia. The fish have further to travel to get that far up, and it's all up stream, against bears and dams- so the further from the ocean, the longer it will take the salmon to get... Read more

In episode #14 #AskNorth40, Blake with NuCanoe, jokingly refers to hearing complaints about how two seater canoes and tandem kayaks are called "divorce boats"... because they don't work very well. He is quick to clearly point out that it doesn't have to be that way. Blake is an owner at NuCanoe. NuCanoe, an excellent company based out of Bellingham, Washington, that manufactures kayaks and kayak accessories. On their website NuCanoe explains, "Fishing in a kayak with your spouse, child, or friend is an awesome experience... if you have the right tandem fishing kayak!" The Most Important Issue when Looking at 2 Person Kayaks So, when you are shopping around for a two seater kayak what is the most important thing you need to make sure you have? Blake states, that with two people fishing out of a kayak, the main and most important issue to... Read more

As a fisherman, there are few things in this world that can be labeled as truth. Bad weather is just over the horizon, the size of the fish is about half what the beer says it was, and a bad day on the water is better for the soul than a good day at work. Life and fishing are difficult enough, creating another obstacle seems outlandish. But in THAT lies the challenge! Great Minds Think Alike March is a special month in a fishing shop. It is a transition period between hard water and open water. Ice houses, augers, and coveralls are stored away for the year and out come the spinning rods, tackle boxes, and bait coolers. It is also the time that new gear starts showing up on the shelves. The "brand new thing" for us here at North 40 are the Kinchou Shads and Minnows from Matzuo. While we were putting the finishing touches on the display, D... Read more

Nucanoe was founded on a simple phrase: "Get a billion butts in boats." We know simplicity works, and this is true for Nucanoe as well. The product does what you would expect it too it is a hybrid between a kayak and a canoe and offers exceptional versatility and customization options. I talked to Blake, the CEO, and he told me no two Nucanoes are alike some people use them to fly fish and strip them down to drift, some people motor them up to get more mobility out of it. A story that really stuck out to me was that of an older customer 75 years and had been kayak fishing for decades. He wrote into Blake and told him until he found Nucanoe, he thought his kayak days were over- getting into and out of a traditional kayak had become too much for him to do, but with the open Nucanoe design, which makes it much easier to use alone, this gent... Read more

The Lamiglas NWSS (Northwest Steelhead Salmon Series) was made by the North 40 crew to mimic the higher end Ti1000 Lamiglas rods, while maintaining a lower price point. Check out our selection of Lamiglas fishing rods online here. Features of the Lamiglas NWSS Fishing Rods We started with a black, G200 series blank, and accented the lower guides with red wraps. The rod features a sanded blank that is left uncoated by resins. This allows the rod to be much lighter in the hand and creates less hand fatigue after long days on the water drifting or casting. The rod also features several extra guides making it a 14 eye rod, in the casting/level wind version. This allows the rod to bend true when placed in a downrigger or fighting a fish. The rod has a traditional cork grip with a composite reel seat similar to the G200. Lamiglas NWSS Spinnin... Read more

It all began standing over a hole in the ice on the south end of Canyon Ferry Reservoir east of Helena, MT. I was on my first of many ice fishing adventures with my dad (Kit) and my grandpa (Poppy). Although I can't fully remember the entire experience of reeling in my first fish (a big rainbow trout), it somehow instilled a passion into my veins that never left. And when I look at the photo, I can almost remember the feeling I felt..almost. But, what I can remember is having cold toes and a happy heart! Now many years later, my best pal and adventure buddy, Chris Schlenker, and I always take an annual trip to the remote and magical Fort Peck Reservoir. The first few years were a big learning experience being under-geared and uneducated on the massive body of water. Our biggest setback was our old Tecumseh power auger. In fact, it was the... Read more