North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine February 2015 | Page 10

T

he New Year is under way and all of us
here are abuzz with excitement. The
years monthly planner book is getting
dates penciled in. We’ve been laying out
locations where we will be traveling to test
the waters.
Of course our local waters will be getting a
fair share of our attention. Right now till it
closes, steelhead is our top target. We’ve
been out and have had some fantastic
days. Omak Lake is starting to turn on and
will only get better.
As the warm days of spring begin, we will
be hitting some of the area lakes and a
few a little farther away. A couple of lakes
that will be getting a little more attention
this year will be Patterson Lake (over by
Winthrop). This lake holds a variety of fish.
Three species we will be targeting the

OMAK
most will be small and largemouth bass
(on top water flies), and the other is the
tiger trout (some are up to 27”).
Some of our local creeks can be quite a
surprise when it comes to feisty cutthroats.
Speaking of creeks, we will be traveling to
some desert spring creeks that hold very
impressive rainbows and browns.
Of course this year we will be testing the
Methow, Twisp and Chewuch rivers with
a different angle than most— the big talk
around here is Micro Spey rods. This year
we will be doing a lot more streamer fishing
then in the past. I know when it comes
to our rivers in the Methow Valley, very
few anglers use a streamer—this style of
fishing can be a real eye opener. Speaking