Tenkara on Boulder Creek
Jason with a small rainbow
Last weekend, Karel from Tenkara on the Fly and I headed out to Barker Reservoir in Nederland, CO. He heard that there might be grayling near the inlet so we thought we’d give it a shot. Our last attempt at getting grayling new Joe Wright Reservoir was somewhat of a disaster. But this time, we knew that there were plenty of other fishing opportunities nearby if the grayling didn’t cooperate. And in accordance with our apparent grayling curse, they didn’t. Luckily, there were plenty of browns, rainbows, and brookies to save the day…
Boulder Creek Brook Trout
We started fishing near the inlet at Barker Reservoir and while we didn’t catch any grayling, the fishing was great. I used my Tenkara USA 13′ Ayu with a 20′ level line. It was my first time fishing with such a long line but it proved to be the right choice for fishing the inlet.
Jason fishing the inlet
After catching a good number of fish, we decided to head downstream and check out a few more spots. While the water is tighter downstream, I only found a couple of places where I considered the 20′ line a little too long. But I was able to fish it all day and really like the way the extra line loads the rod so easily with minimal effort.
Boulder Creek is idyllic in many places
Boulder Creek brown trout
Karel like fishing on the edge:
Karel fishing Boulder Creek on a log
Also got to check our some of Karel’s flies. Here’s a purple sakasa kebari:
Karel holding a purple sakasa kebari
Here’s a sneak peek inside Karel’s fly box. Look familiar?
Karel's fly box made by Rick Setina
I’ve been trying to get some underwater shots ala Kevin Fricke of Tenkara Rising but have been failing miserably. Believe it or not, this is probably the best one I’ve taken to date:
Brown trout being released underwater
It was a great day with lots of fish all caught on traditional sakasa kebari. No fishing this weekend though. I need to start getting ready for the summit. Hope to see a lot of you there!
Related Posts
7 comments
Leave a Reply
About Me
Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide who now exclusively fishes Tenkara for trout in the streams and lakes of Colorado...Read More
looks like a great time was had by all. Well done!
Sounds like you had a great day! Many things I still need to learn. I cannot wait for the summit to be out east so I can get some hands on experience with other tenkara anglers.
Nice day out! Even though you got skunked on the grayling you got a little of everything else
How are you doing the underwater shots you have a case on the camera?
Zack, thanks. No, I’m using an Olypmus Stylus tough waterproof camera. I have a go pro with a waterproof case but it only shoots in fish eye so it’s not great for underwater shots.
Steven, well, this year there will be 300 other tenkara anglers there so you should be able to get all the help you need. Looking forward to meeting you!
Bad News Bears. I am not able to make it to this years Summit. I plan on attending next year if what Daniel said is true on twitter about it being out east next year. Trust me….I would have loved to attend this year.
Great pictures, Jason!