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Tenkara on Clear Creek

June 17, 20127 CommentsTrip ReportsBy Jason Klass

Today, on my first Father’s Day, I hit Clear Creek for a while just a few miles outside of Golden, CO.  I’m not sure why I made that choice.  It’s not my favorite type of stream–steep banks that you have to climb to get from spot to spot, vast distances between good pools, highway noise, and extremely fast water (I suppose that’s why it’s such a popular rafting and kayaking stream).  But despite not being my favorite destination, I managed to pull a few fish out and have a good day on the water.

 

A nice pool on Clear Creek

 

The fishing was challenging and the gale force winds didn’t help.  We’re not talking just “hard to cast” winds, we’re talking winds that were so strong, it literally put a bend in my rod which made it nearly impossible to make a good presentation or even detect strikes.  Nonetheless, in between gusts, I was able to make a few good casts and land some nice browns.

 

Clear Creek Brown Trout

 

The fly of the day was a loop eye burnt orange & partridge sakasa kebari (the first fly I tied on my new Regal vise).  For the recipe, see my last post.  Here’s what it looks like dry:

 

Burnt Orange & Partridge Sakasas Kebari Dry

 

And here’s what it looks like wet:

 

Burnt Orange & Partridge Sakasas Kebari Wet

 

While overall it was a good day, it was not without its folly.  I had my Go Pro camera out for the first time (my Father’s Day present) and was excited about getting some good video with it.  I waded up to an idyllic pool, turned the camera on, and started casting optimistically.  On my second cast, a 14″ brown hit my fly and danced on the surface of the water before being brought to my hand in a perfect sequence.  I was excited to see the video but when I got home, I discovered that I had had the Go Pro set to camera mode and not video.  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.  It was a perfectly executed catch and release.  But you can be sure I’ll be reading the owner’s manual from cover to cover so this doesn’t happen again.

I didn’t fish that long but it was nice feel the cold water rush between my legs.  I really wanted to get back early and spend some time with the ones responsible for making me a dad in the first place.  So, to all of you dads out there, I hope you had as great of a Father’s Day as I did!

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.

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7 Comments
  1. Reply
    June 17, 2012 at 7:30 pm
    Tom Davis

    Happy Father’s Day! That is a beautiful river. It looks like is has numerous pools and lies for fish.

    One thing that I don’t like about the GoPro is that it can be difficult to tell when it is on or off. Depending on the water noise it can be hard to hear the beeps sometimes. Also, it has about 2 hours battery life. This sounds like a lot but it goes by quickly. Get yourself two batteries, if you haven’t already. I have tried both chest mount and head mount. Both seem to be OK but give a distorted views of your casts. I use ahead mount now since my chest pack gets in the way of chest mount.

    Looking forward to some nice video!

    -Tom

  2. Reply
    June 17, 2012 at 9:15 pm
    Tom

    Good report Jason glad you had a good fathers day. May I ask how you fished the fly?

    Tom

    • Reply
      June 17, 2012 at 9:21 pm
      Jason Klass

      Hi Tom, pulsing it cross and downstream about 2-3 inches per second.

  3. Reply
    June 18, 2012 at 9:25 pm
    Jim Lionberger

    Jason: congratulations on becoming a member of Team TenkaraUSA. You’ll do great, and your enthusiasm and passion for all things tenkara has found a fitting home. Your entrepreneurial spirit will fit well with Daniel Maybe now I’ll take you to some REALLY good spots.

    Jim

    • Reply
      June 19, 2012 at 6:52 am
      Jason Klass

      Thanks Jim! We have tons of ideas and I’m really excited about it!

  4. Reply
    June 20, 2012 at 10:24 am
    Ashley Valentine

    Great pictures Jason! Looking forward to seeing some footage with your Go Pro!

  5. Reply
    June 21, 2012 at 4:30 am
    dave

    jason,a happy fathers day to you.i didn`t get out last weekend but a few of my buddies were out on the big lake and they did fairly well on salmon out there.i believe the largest one that day was just under 17 pounds.

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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 >>

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