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