Tenkara TalkTenkara Talk
Tenkara Talk
a tenkara fly fishing blog
Search Tenkara Talk
  • Home
  • Tenkara Gear
    • Tenkara Rods
    • Tenkara Lines
    • Line Holders & Spools
    • Fly Boxes
    • Nets
    • Packs, Organization & Storage
    • Clothing & Accessories
    • Wading Gear
  • Flies & Fly Tying
  • How-To & Resources
    • What is Tenkara?
    • Tenkara 101
    • Presentation Techniques
    • Streamcraft
    • Tenkara Videos
    • Tenkara Knots
    • DIY & Hacks
    • Warmwater Tenkara
    • Books & Media
  • News & Fun
    • Trip Reports
    • Interviews
    • Philosophy
    • Humor
    • Art
    • Tenkara News
    • Events
  • Tenkara Links
  • About Me
  • Contact
FacebookTwitterYouTubePinterestInstagram
  • Home
  • Tenkara Gear
    • Tenkara Rods
    • Tenkara Lines
    • Line Holders & Spools
    • Fly Boxes
    • Nets
    • Packs, Organization & Storage
    • Clothing & Accessories
    • Wading Gear
  • Flies & Fly Tying
  • How-To & Resources
    • What is Tenkara?
    • Tenkara 101
    • Presentation Techniques
    • Streamcraft
    • Tenkara Videos
    • Tenkara Knots
    • DIY & Hacks
    • Warmwater Tenkara
    • Books & Media
  • News & Fun
    • Trip Reports
    • Interviews
    • Philosophy
    • Humor
    • Art
    • Tenkara News
    • Events
  • Tenkara Links
  • About Me
  • Contact

First Fish of 2012 and a Strange Catch

March 16, 20125 CommentsTrip ReportsBy Jason Klass

 

Just got back from Bear creek where I finally caught my first fish of the year.  I can’t believe I went this far into 2012 without catching anything but to be fair, this winter’s fishing conditions haven’t been great and I’ve been going to some tough places like the S. Platte.  But today made up for it with gorgeous weather, nice water, and lots of fish…I started the day fishing sakasa kebari in the traditional presentation with my Nissin Prosquare rod and the new # 4.5 yellow line from Tenkara USA.  It wasn’t windy but until now, I had only fished the # 3.5 version of this line and just wanted to see how the heavier line cast.  I like it!  Might be a little overkill on windless days but it’s extremely easy to cast.  I wasn’t getting any hits on sakasa kebari so I switched to a Utah Killer Bug.  As soon as I did, the action started.

 

Utah Killer Bug

 

I’m not a big fan of nymphing, but I am a big fan of catching fish.  So when when I started hooking fish left & right with the Killer Bug, I decided to stick with it the rest of the day.  The pattern definitely lived up to it’s legendary status and you can believe that I will be tying some more up tonight to restock my fly box.  All in all, I landed about a dozen fish in the span of about two hours and lost about half a dozen to ineptitude.  Even though I didn’t catch them with the traditional tenkara technique, coming off the heel of three fishless months, I was ecstatic!

 

Bear Creek Brown Trout

 

On one run, I set the hook on what felt like a really big fish.  But then, I saw it flash and it was no more than maybe 10 inches or so.  I was confused as to how such a small fish could be putting such a deep bend in my rod.  Then, I saw two fish flash and struggle side by side that were clearly attached to my line.  What the heck was going on?  How could I possibly hook two fish when I was only fishing one fly?  Soon, the sad truth became clear.

As I pulled harder, I could see that the two fish were attached to each other by a tangle of line which was snagged on the bottom.  I freed the line from the bottom and pulled them in to discover that one fish was a sucker that took my Killer Bug, while the other was a brown trout tangled in the line and connected to a cast of flies hooked into the body of the sucker.  The two had been attached to each other and bound to the bottom for who knows how long.

 

Trout and Sucker tangles Up

 

It was a sad site but a reminder that no matter how careful we are as anglers, fly fishing is still a blood sport. I knew if I didn’t separate them, they would die so I did my best to unhook and detangle them. Unfortunately, the angler who rigged this cast up used three midge flies and didn’t crimp down the barb. While the fish struggled, they dug one of the hooks into my finger.  That was not fun to remove.  I can’t tell you how difficult it is to stand in running water with two fish on the line, rod under your arm, and trying to remove a barbed hook from your finger while preventing two wily fish from getting even more tangled up than they already are.  Somehow, I managed to pull it off and set both fish free.  The sucker seemed fine but the brown looked like he had some damage to his mouth from the line.  I hope he makes it.

 

The culprit

I’m sure the angler didn’t mean for this to happen but c’mon–three barbed flies?  Might as well just use a gill net.  That’s not good fly fishing in my opinion.

Later in the afternoon, I headed back to the car for lunch and met up with Karel Lansky from Tenkara on the Fly.  I switched to my Tenkara USA Ayu with a Tenkara Bum # 4 level line just to mix it up.  I planned on fishing with Karel for a few hours but had to bail due to a previous injury to my Achilles tendon that was acting up.

 

Tenkara Fishing on Bear Creek

 

Overall, it was a great day.  I didn’t catch any monsters but the weather was beautiful and it was really nice to finally feel some life on the end of the line.  Plus, I think I learned a thing or two.  Can’t ask for much more than that.

About the author

Jason Klass

Jason is an avid fly angler and backpacker. As a former fly fishing guide originally from Western New York, he moved to Colorado and became an early adopter of tenkara which perfectly suited the small, high altitude streams and lakes there. He has not fished a Western-style fly rod for trout since.

Like this article? You might also like these ...
Tenkara on the Rio Grande
Tenkara on the Rio Grande
August 11, 2020
Tenkara on the St. Vrain
Race Against Runoff
June 5, 2019
Tenkara Fly Fishing Central Park
Stretching Lines in NYC
April 26, 2019
Jason Klass Fishing Tenkara on the St. Vrain
Redemption on the St. Vrain
March 25, 2019
San Juan River, New Mexico
Tenkara on the San Juan River
November 2, 2018
Jason Klass and Karin Miller
Tenkara Fishing with Karin Miller
August 14, 2016
5 Comments
  1. Reply
    March 16, 2012 at 5:18 pm
    Morgan

    Great report Jason. Envious!

  2. Reply
    March 16, 2012 at 6:45 pm
    Tom

    Glad you got out Jason it’s good to get that first fish under your belt. How are you fishing the Killed Bug?

    Tom

    • Reply
      March 16, 2012 at 6:54 pm
      Jason Klass

      Hi Tom,

      I just fished it in a dead drift–no indicator. I just watched the line. I know I missed some fish but caught so many that I don’t care. It was nice to be unencumbered by complicated nymph rigs with strike indicators and such. 🙂

  3. Reply
    March 16, 2012 at 7:09 pm
    Steve King

    Nice day! Feels good to break the 0 fer doesn’t it?

  4. Reply
    March 16, 2012 at 7:32 pm
    Chris

    Thanks for the report! any day fishing is better than a day without.

Leave Comment

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

clear formSubmit

About Me

Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide & casting instructor based in Colorado. He was an early adopter of tenkara in the West and has been fishing the method for a variety of species since 2009. Read more >>

Get an Email When I Post!

* indicates required



Tenkara Talk Sponsors
Tenkara USA   Yonah Tenkara Packs   Dragontail Tenkara     TAO Tenkara   Tenkara Tanuki
Search by Category
Send Jason an Email
Search Tenkara Talk
Tenkara Talk Archives
Tenkara + Backpacking!
Is there any other sport that goes better with tenkara than hiking and backpacking? Be sure to also check out my ultralight and DIY backpacking gear blog.

Tenkara and Backpacking
Latest Posts
  • DIY Wine Cork Fly Dryer
    DIY Wine Cork Fly Dryer
    May 24, 2022
  • Wader Bag
    How I Pack My Wading Gear (+2 Tips)
    May 15, 2022
  • Tenkara Strike Indicator
    New Tenkara Line Sighters (Strike Indicators)
    April 23, 2022
© 2022 | Tenkara Talk by Jason Klass | All rights reserved