Tenkara on the Rio Grande
Today, I was lucky to head out to some absolutley gorgeous water with fellow tenkara angler Paul Vertrees. We saw tons of animals, caught tons of fish, and absorbed more scenery in four hours than many people see in a year. Here’s my trip report…
The Stream
Paul took me to a spring creek outside of Canon City, Colorado. It’s not just off the beaten path. First, you go off the beaten path, and then you go off that to get there. The stream is rarely fished. Only a handful of people know about it and you’d never even suspect there is a trout stream within a hundred miles of the turnoff from the road (even I questioned its existence during our 2-mile hike in through the arid landscape). But sure enough, there it was–a cold, crystal-clear spring creek with lush aquatic vegetation pulsating in its slow, rhythmic currents. It reminded me of my local spring creek back east but seemed out of place in such a desert environment.
The stream varied from anywhere between 2 ft. to maybe 10 ft. at its widest with a great diversity of infrastructure. It was nothing short of gorgeous.
The Fish
The only inhabitants of the creek are brown trout and they’ve got a very healthy, naturally reproducing population. Almost everywhere you look, there are fish–anywhere from fingerlings to 14-inchers. We saw some larger 16″ – 18″ fish from high on the trail, but most of the fish I saw or caught were in the 8″ – 12″ range. And that was fine with me since they were very cooperative (almost suspiciously too enthusiastic to take a fly). I lost track after a while but estimate that I landed about 30 fish total.
Oh, and I finally got some semi-decent underwater shots. They’re not as good as Kevin Frickie’s, but they’re the best I’ve taken so far I think. I’m slowly learning:
The Gear
I used my Tenkara USA Ito and an 18 ft. Tenkara USA 3.5 level line all day. I started with a 3 ft. 5X tippet but bumped it up to a 5 ft. tippet to give me a little more delicacy. That and the ability of the Ito to zoom out to 14′ 7″ gave me a huge advantage in not spooking the trout in the clear, calm water. While such a big rod and long line might not seem like an obvious choice for a 3-foot wide stream, it actually turned out to be the perfect setup. Paul fished his 12′ Tenkara USA Iwana.
For flies, I started off using my light Kamikaze Kebari. I caught so many fish on it that it got ripped to pieces. When that happened, I tied on the dark version of the same fly. The fish didn’t seem to care as long as I didn’t spook them.
The Animals
As if catching fish after fish amid picture book scenery weren’t enough, we also spotted a myriad of animals including a black bear, antelope, several big horn sheep, and coyote (didn’t get the camera out fast enough to catch the coyote). Sorry for the bad iPhone photos.
The Man
In case you don’t know, Paul Vertrees is the author of the Tenkara Tracks blog. He was an early adopter of tenkara and is the tenkara guide for Rigs Fly Shop–currently the only shop in Colorado to carry Tenkara USA gear (I’m trying to change that). And, he’s also an unapologetic member of the Tenkara Cult (shhhhhhh).
Conclusion
I often say that I try to learn or do something new every time I get out. This trip was the first time that I’ve ever fished tenkara on a spring creek and the fact that I was successful using only traditional tenkara techniques was a major victory for me. And when you add the beautiful scenery, animal sightings, and great company, we’ll, it’s just icing on the cake. It was a stellar day all around. You don’t get too many of those in this life so I think I’m going to sit back and savor it for a while…
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NICE!! I would have loved to have fished with the two of you..
Tenkara Cult sticker? I want one!
Brian
Great shots
The stream looks very much like the high desert streams we have in S. Oregon. Thanks for the trip report and pictures, I enjoyed both!
awesome! very cool creek, isn’t it?
Hi Brian, if you really want a cult sticker, you can get them here: http://www.zazzle.com/tenkara_cult_bumper_sticker-128599137313073129
looks like a nice set of horns on the antelope
Great post! Looks like a utopia for fisherman and hikers, I’m really starting to want to move to Colorado at this point!
Sean, do it! Colorado is becoming the hub for Tenkara in the U.S. and as you’ve seen, there’s a reason for it!
Good post. I have caught more fish here in TN on that fly gray and silver wire than any other fly. Odd how a good fly is a good fly no matter where you are.
Great trip report, Jason! Loved the pictures…especially the underwater shots of the brown trout and the black bear!
Hi Tom, well, many insects are a grey color so I think it’s a good all purpose choice.
Thanks Ashley! I’m just starting to figure out how to take better underwater shots. It’s trickier than it looks.
Loved the Post. It one of your best. Loved seeing the river you fished, description of rod, length of line and length of tippet. This
helps me to learn what works well. Also loved the picture of the fly you used.
Great post. Your under water pictures look good( there in focus which is the toughest thing to get). Love the long line idea for small creeks. I have been using a 14′ line but didn’t think of going much longer till now.
Thanks Kevin, that’s high praise coming from you! I love the longer lines for actually fishing BUT, they seem to snag on everything when moving from spot to spot unless you collapse the rod and stow the line on a spool. I need to come up with a solution for that.
Nice post. That creek reminds me a bit of the spring creek I fish here in Minnesota (minus the mountains). I may have to get a Tenkara Cult sticker. I am definately in it!
I hate when I misspell definitely.
I’m consulting my Delorme atlas as I speak. Any ‘hoppers up there?
I was re-reading this post and the thought occurred to me – trout are not native, and this is spring creek in a remote area. I wonder who “seeded” the stream with hatchlings and when, and what the story was behind it? Now that’d be an interesting thing to discover.
I don’t know the answer to that but Paul might.