I recently returned from a 4-day trip to the Rio Grande with my long-time friend Randy. He drove up there from Arizona and I drove down there from Denver. We both headed to Creede with high hopes. But, in fishing, the higher the hope, the easier it is to be dashed. The fishing was lackluster,…
Ever since my passion for tenkara was kindled, I had the idea to somehow document the path of its “new” history as it would inevitably develop in the West. Early on, I started collecting what I saw as soon-to-be artifacts that would one day serve as markers of modern tenkara’s coming of age outside of…
As I do every year, I attended the Denver Fly Fishing Show today and as it is every year, the best part about it wasn’t the gear–it was the people. I go to reconnect with fellow fly fishers I haven’t seen in a while, to trade lies, and exchange ideas. And so, here is my…
If you follow my fly tying at all, you probably know I’m a big fan of Firehole Sticks hooks from Firehole Outdoors. I wrote a post not too long ago about their #315 and #633 competition hooks and have been using them avidly ever since. As I mentioned, they’re high quality all around: strong, sharp,…
I was recently contacted by my friend and veteren tenkara angler Paul Vertrees who told me about a new tenkara line he was developing with Royal Gorge Anglers. He offered to send me one to try and of course I accepted because I love to try out new gear, but honestly, I wasn’t really expecting…
Ever since the 2017 Denver Fly Fishing Show when I first cast a Tanuki rod, I’ve wanted one. Though I had corresponded with the company’s owner, Luong Tam, over the years, it was the first time we’d met in person and I got a glimpse into his unique and sharply honed tenkara rod design theory.…
As tenkara anglers, we like to push the boundaries and experiment with different techniques and tackle. One area of our sport that particularly lends itself to R & D is using unconventional materials for lines. While early lines may have been constructed of furled or braided horse tail or silk, commercially available modern lines have…
When your fishing partner catches the first fist of the day, the inevitable question is, “what did you catch him on?” It’s as if the fly were the ultimate “magic” factor in catching the fish. And, in fact, we all kind of place that faith in the fly … don’t we? We automatically place the…
I recently had a chance to try out the newly designed NIRVANA 400 tenkara rod from DRAGONtail Tenkara and have nothing but good things to say about it. I’ve known the company and its owner, Brent Auger, for several years now and have always been impressed by how they’ve consistently put out tenkara gear that…
I recently wrote a post about how to make your own DIY fly drying patch. And it works great if you want to switch out soggy flies for fresh ones or just want to dry out your flies before you retire them to the box. But, what do you do when you’re down to the…
Whether you need to swap out a waterlogged dry fly for a fresh one or are just switching patterns altogether, it’s never a good idea to put a wet fly back in your box. To avoid rusting the other flies in your fly box and to allow them to dry faster, it’s best to allow…
Midge and blue-winged olive hatches often coincide and two fish in adjacent feeding lanes could be keyed in on one or the other. So why not fish a fly that covers both? The Molive (“midge” + “olive”) is a crossover pattern that can be fished during such hatches and can be mistaken for an olive…
Many fly anglers spend more time with their fly in the air than in the water. Tenkara forgoes all the false casting, shooting line, and line management usually required when fishing with a rod and reel, and keeps your fly in the water more–where the fish are!
Twelve years. That’s how long it had been since my friend Randy and I fished the San Juan together. He had been there a few years ago and we fished together in Colorado since then, but we were overdue for joint venture. So when he first mentioned reuniting on the San Juan a few months…
A common concern in tenkara (and a valid one) is casting in the wind. Of course, there are ways to mitigate this and there’s been much discussion on the topic: adjust your casting stroke, use a heavier line, use the blow line technique, use a titanium tenkara line, etc. But to me, a much bigger…
Yesterday, one of my closest friends and fishing partners, Dennis Vander Houwen, came over as he often does for coffee and our usual conversational acrobatics of politics, culture, art, science, domesticity, gossip, and, of course, tenkara. I posted a video we made about his handmade tenkara line spools the last time he visited, and this…
Probably the thing I love most about fly tying is that there are limitless possibilities for experimentation and how each experiment builds on the lessons of previous ones. You take a certain technique or style you’ve tried in the past and blend it with another (previously disparate one) to create an entirely new avatar. You…
We’ve all been there before. You’re fishing your favorite line and it’s the perfect color for the spot you’re on. You can see the tip perfectly and detect even the gentlest strike with ease. But then, things change. Maybe you move slightly upstream where the lighting conditions are completely different, or the sun suddenly disappears…
In this video, I interview my long-time friend and fishing partner Karel Lansky about some of the differences between tenkara fishing in England and the States. Karel was one of the earliest adopters of tenkara in the U.S. and is the author of Tenkara on the Fly–one of the first tenkara blogs in the English…
One of the advantages of having a diverse background in fishing is that there can be some interesting crossover among the different genres. I’ve borrowed many tips, tactics and techniques from spin fishing, bait casting, deep sea fishing and (of course) western fly fishing that I’ve been able to incorporate into my tenkara fishing over…
I’ll admit it. I’ve been keeping a secret from you. I’ve had this rod for several months and am just now getting around to writing a review of it. It wasn’t on purpose. Life just gets in the way sometimes. But if anything, it’s give me a chance to really put through its paces and…
It’s September and for me, that means one thing: IT’S HOPPER TIME! While most people here in Denver will be spending their Sundays watching the Broncos game, you’ll find me pounding the banks of my favorite hopper stream: The Big Thompson meadow stretch in Rocky Mountain National Park. With its lazily meandering currents, deep pools,…
I’ll preface this by saying that that I’m probably not the first one to have thought of this. Whether it’s a new DIY alcohol stove design or a fly pattern I thought was original, it often turns out that someone else had already beaten me to it. But I came up with this design independent…
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been attracted to oddball gear–those esoteric things you discover off the beaten path that you’ll never find in the chain stores or mainstream fly fishing catalogs. It’s akin to treasure hunting and you need to be diligent–scouring thrift stores, searching eBay, and talking to unknown artisans. But once…
Over the course of my fly tying career, I’ve had the opportunity to try out a lot of hooks, and like many tiers, I’ve settled on a few favorites: the TMC 2457, TMC 2499 SPBL, Umpqua Competition Hooks, TMC 2488, TMC 100 (just to name a few). But I always like to experiment with new…
When I was first getting into fly fishing, there were basically three ways fly boxes stored flies: compartments, clips, or foam. There were some other clever designs companies like Perrine experimented with such as coil springs or magnets, but those never really took off and the trinity above dominated. Compartments were great for dry flies…
As fly tiers, we pride ourselves on the reward of catching fish on flies we tied ourselves. But what about catching fish on flies we tied ourselves using tools we made ourselves? I think taking tying to this next level deepens our connections to the humble origins of our craft and strengthens ourself-reliance as anglers.…
One time, while fishing a local stream with my good friend Karel, tragedy stuck and was narrowly averted. I was standing about knee deep in the water re-rigging, when suddenly, my net slipped out of my wader belt and was mercilessly swept away by the current. I watched in slow motion as it drifted helplessly…
Sling packs have become all the rage in fly fishing over the last few years–and for good reason. They’re light, compact, versatile, and offer a unique hybrid alternative to wearing both a backpack and a fly fishing vest without sacrificing the convenience and functionality of either. And the intrinsic ethos of their design is especially…
One of my closest friends and favorite fishing partners, Dennis Vander Houwen from Tenkara Path paid me a visit to show me some his latest wooden tenkara line spool designs. Dennis is a magician by trade, but he’s also a magician at the lathe–creating some of the most innovative and gorgeous spools I’ve ever seen.…
