Pheasant Feathers for Fly Fishing
By Nick Simonson This year, it seemed that every pheasant was a trophy. Whether it was those early birds on opening weekend with half-colored feathers, or that lone rooster coming late in the season, each one provided a welcome warm meal and a new crop of pheasant feathers for fly fishing. With one season behind us, another one begins – the fly tying season. And I’ve been hard at it already, tying up new patterns with feathers from my favorite bird, beyond the nymphs and soft hackles that are so common. Here are just a few for you to try. The Copper ...
Outdoor Activities Sharing Memories
by Doug Leier Over the holidays I bumped into an old high school friend, and true to form for a couple of guys who love the outdoors and also have young families, we began sharing memories of outdoor activities. Living in Montana, Jon has had the opportunity to hunt elk in the same manner we hunt pheasants or ducks, and his kids are right there with him. His eyes sparkled like the ripples on an early-morning lake when he proudly relayed how his daughter, on an outing back in North Dakota, had bagged her first pheasant. “And my dad was along, too.” This ...
Ice Fishing Tip Ups
By Nick Simonson I often think back fondly to my times while ice fishing tip ups growing up in North Dakota. For those anglers who love to chase a waiving flag across the ice, there’s no better place than the Peace Garden State, where on hardwater, fishermen are allotted four lines with no restrictions as to what’s on the other end. It could be a treble or it could be a single hook, it could be in pursuit of pike or trout or walleye. Smelt, shiners, fatheads, whatever your bait of choice there are so many ways to fish with tip ...
Latest Hunting & Fishing Articles
Pheasant Feathers for Fly Fishing
By Nick Simonson This year, it seemed that every pheasant was a trophy. Whether it was those early birds on opening weekend with half-colored feathers, or that lone rooster coming late in the season, each one provided a welcome warm meal and a new crop of pheasant feathers for fly...
Outdoor Activities Sharing Memories
by Doug Leier Over the holidays I bumped into an old high school friend, and true to form for a couple of guys who love the outdoors and also have young families, we began sharing memories of outdoor activities. Living in Montana, Jon has had the opportunity to hunt elk in the same...
Ice Fishing Tip Ups
By Nick Simonson I often think back fondly to my times while ice fishing tip ups growing up in North Dakota. For those anglers who love to chase a waiving flag across the ice, there’s no better place than the Peace Garden State, where on hardwater, fishermen are allotted four...
Winter Current Walleye Fishing
By Nick Simonson My prediction from last month – that winter would eventually get colder – was way off; so much for making the safe bet. The ice in most areas hasn’t grown much, and with unprecedented January temperatures crossing the 50- and 60-degree barriers across...
Our Outdoors with Nick Simonson
Pheasant Feathers for Fly Fishing
By Nick Simonson This year, it seemed that every pheasant was a trophy. Whether it was those early birds on opening weekend with half-colored feathers, or that lone rooster coming...
Read More From Nick SimonsonValley Outdoors with Doug Leier
Sage Grouse Hunting – Management
by Doug Leier Sage Grouse Hunting Because of a long-term population decline throughout their native range, in 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considered listing sage grouse under the Endangered...
Read More from Doug LeierFrom the Hunting & Fishing Article Archives
Make Custom Crappie Jigs
Our Outdoors – By Nick Simonson As winter blankets, and blankets, and blankets the region with snow, it is becoming more apparent that it will be a long season indeed. That’s not a bad thing if you need some time to get your tacklebox ready for one of open water’s early quarries – prespawn slab crappies! If you remember the excitement...
Lindy Rigs – Everything You Need to Know
Lindy Fishing Tackle Lindy Rigging revolutionized live bait fishing in the 1960′s and is still one of the most popular and productive methods for taking walleyes throughout the country. Lindy Rigs can take panfish, walleyes, bass, northern pike, trout and any bottom feeding fish wherever they are–in natural lakes, man-made reservoirs, rivers...
Fishing Rod Building Tips
By Taylor Fitterer Making your own custom fishing rods can be a fun experience. Each rod normally takes about 2-3 hours to manufacture, and the finish drying time can take from a few hours to a few days depending on the type of finish, temperature and humidity. We have learned through trial and error and I hope this will save you a few errors while...
Coyote Hunting – Up Close and Personal
By Jamie P. Olson Jamie sighting in the first dog out coyote hunting It’s Thursday night and I am packing up for an early Saturday morning hunt (of course I am packing Thursday night so I can get some sleep Friday night). I call my hunting partner Jayson Deziel of Artistic Wildlife Taxidermy several times that night going over everything twice. The...
