I just got back from a quick trip to Rocky Mountain National Park with Anthony Naples from Casting Around. Anthony and I have had a long-term online relationship and many people might not know that he actually designed the graphics for the header of this blog. In addition to being a great graphic designer, Anthony…
This new tenkara fly tying DVD series was just announced today but I happened to receive one in the mail prior to launch (Thanks Brian!). This DVD isn’t good. It’s GREAT! The clarity and quality is amazing and the running commentary by tenkara experts is surprisingly informative. When I first opened the package, I was…
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…
I hit Clear Creek again today, hoping to do better than I did last time. Luckily, I did because this time I really wanted to get some footage with my new Go Pro camera. I’m still learning to work it, but I hope you like this short video I took with it. Also, here are…
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,…
The first fly I ever tied was composed of some fur and feathers I cut off a Mepps spinner, some too-heavy thread I stole from my mom’s sewing kit, and was precariously held in the chipped corner of my father’s tool vise as I haphazardly wrapped something resembling Cousin Itt on a bait hook (that’s…
It’s pretty simple math: a heavy wire hook + a soft-tipped rod = a lower hookup ratio. Physics is physics after all. Yet, for the longest time, this obvious formula eluded me (or, rather, deceived me). When I first started fishing the tenkara method (the “real” tenkara method), I was getting plenty of strikes, but only…
It’s hard to imagine how you could improve something as simple as a tippet spool but the geniuses over at Scientific Anglers have done just that. They’ve added a built in line cutter, a rotating hub that allows the spools to rotate freely (which will work very nicely with my DIY tippet spool holder…
A few tenkara anglers have asked me to take underwater video of sakasa kebari in motion in “real world conditions”. This proved to be a slightly more daunting task than I imagined. Here’s my first attempt. I’ll be the first to admit it’s not a great. It’s difficult to position the camera the right way,…
Today I had a chance to fish the Fall River in Rocky Mountain National Park for three hours. With high winds and ultra-spooky trout, I definitely had to work for my fish but the scenery and solitude were well worth it. I decided to fish downstream of the alluvial fan. My favorite section of the…
I met up with a bunch of fellow tenkara anglers on Boulder creek this weekend and what would you know but Larry Green from Granny Scott Pies showed up with a pie sporting the Tenkara USA logo. It’s just one more example of how cool, creative, and fun tenkara anglers are. Thanks for sharing Larry!
In my ongoing exploration of tying tenkara flies on eyeless hooks, I recently got a package of Gosen Torrents Ace GII hooks from Esoteric Tackle. These hooks have a very radical bend that makes them great for tying traditional looking tenkara flies, plus a couple of other features I really like. The hooks…
Right now, go to your gear closet, man cave, garage, armory, or wherever you keep your fishing gear. Grab your tenkara rod and shake it (vertically). Hear that rattle? It’s the collapsed segments of your rod slamming into the end cap. No, it isn’t broken. In fact, most tenkara rods do this–it’s just intrinsic…
The little voice inside my head said I should know better than to hit the stream Memorial weekend (let alone on actual Memorial Day) but sometimes it pays to go against your better judgement… Sure enough, the parking lot at Bear Creek was not only packed, but overflowing. I was lucky to get a…