Tenkara And Friends

I find it very interesting how Tenkara has brought about an increase in my number of friends. Most of those friends have become very personal goods friends. I have also found in increase in my online friends. I have found a few grumpy people out on the river but those appear to be primarily Tenkaraphobes.

I find it very fun to meet all these new people and to be able to share my time on the water with them. I have also shared a few other events in my life with some of these new individuals. What do I mean?

Ok, here goes and please don't feel that because I don't necessarily list everyone I don't mean any disrespect.

Probably one of the biggest events in my recent life was the day that I proposed to my lovely fiancee, Elizabeth Maria Flores, at the Cherry Cricket in Cherry Creek North in Denver. I had spent the day fishing with a great group of people including my buddy Karel Lansky of www.tenkaraonthefly.net and Erik Ostrander of www.TenkaraGuides.com. I also had my roommate who I had introduced to Tenkara at the first Denver Tenkara outing in 2011. Her mother also was at dinner that evening. And let's not forget Cooper.

Some people might say that I was pretty crazy to ask Elizabeth to marry me with all those people around but because these individuals were and are some of my best friends I wanted to have them be a part of this event. Seldom does one find people like this and I truly believe that Tenkara has brought this to fruition.

I am looking forward to the future when more people enter the Tenkara fold and the pool of fishing friends increases. I can say that this blog has done some very interesting things for me and I find it very nice to see how many people are reading my blog on a daily basis and for that I thank you all.

I hope to add more of you as friends as time passes.

A few new challenges for myself

I have been reading a number of great books lately and have decided that this is the year to put into practice what I have been reading. So what have I been reading that has instituted these thoughts? Three books that are very good in my opinion. Reviews of each book will follow very shortly but for now I want to let you know that the books are Tying Small Flies, Fishing Small Flies by Ed Engle, and Modern Midges by Rick Takahashi and Jerry Hubka.

All three books have gotten me thinking about how I can fish this summer in a slightly different way in regards to Tenkara. Now what I am about to say may push some Tenkara traditionalists away but I feel that for things to advance in my fishing I am willing to try anything.

To start with let's go with Ed Engle's Tying Small Flies, Fishing Small Flies. I am greatly impressed by Ed's ideas about fishing small flies on small bodies of water. I am also pleasantly surprised by the selection of small flies that Ed has included in Tying Small Flies. The flies that Mr. Engle has chosen are great and cover a large range of bugs found in and on the Colorado waters that I fish.

I have decided that I am going to tie up a box of strictly Mr. Engle's small flies and see what happens with the fish this summer. I am also going to attempt the strategies that Mr. Engle describes in both Tying Small Flies and Fishing Small Flies.

Additionally I am planning on tying a selection of midges from Modern Midges by Rick Takahashi and Jerry Hubka. I am curious to explore the quality of midge fishing here in Colorado as well. With that being said I will get back to the vise and see what happens. I will keep you up to date on what develops as the season goes on and let you know what kind of results I get.

River Attraction

I know that I love to get out and fish in any style that I can. Many times I feel that the body of water doesn't really matter much. I am happy to be on a lake or, God forbid, a reservoir. Recently though, someone asked me what it is about a river that makes me return to them more than I do a stillwater body.

 I have to admit that up to that point I had never truly considered what it was that took me back to the river every time. So I have been pondering the reasons I fish rivers more than stillwaters. It has taken me some time to come up with the key factors in some semblance of order. But even with the ability to edit this post I really think it is just best to put them here for you to read and order in your own way.

So here goes with my best attempt at the reasons I fish the rivers here in Colorado and anywhere else that trout can be found for that matter.

One of the reasons I love to be on the river is that there is an unspoken camaraderie between fly fishermen and a mutual respect that does not always exist in the bait slingin' world when open water is at a premium.You may be asking what I mean by this so let me explain as best I can.

When I walk along a river looking for a hole or even a gorgeous glide, I will give a wide berth to a person who is in a fishy looking spot if they are already in the water in the spot I was thinking of hitting. If I am walking with a friend I will even lower my voice until I am well past the individual. They may turn to see who is behind them and I will just give them a silent nod or wave.

What I sometimes see in the bait slingin' world, not so much the competition world but in the public domain, is that I have watched boats stack up in a very small area if the fishing is "hot". And when that happens, the real fun begins like turf or water wars start over who has right to what water. That being said, I will still go out and throw a spinner for a bass or any other fish on an open body of water. I am not below using a treble hook when trying to catch a large mouth bass. Although I refuse to use a treble hook on a trout in a river. To me that is sacrilege.

Another driving factor for me is the "sounds of silence" when I am standing in a hole by myself with only the sounds of nature around me (and maybe the voices in my head when they are feeling talkative, just kidding, or am I?) There is something ethereal about the sound of the river bubbling past my legs and also the pressure that the water exerts on my legs. There is also the calming sound of the breeze blowing threw the leaves on a warm summer day that cannot be matched by anything else in the world. And, lest we not forget, there is always the chance of spotting a random animal  in the bushes along the edge of the water as it hunts for it's food. I live for those little gems on a daily basis whenever I am on the water.

I also find that every day that I fish a river is a new day and that even though I may be returning to a river that I have been to frequently it is almost as if I am fishing a new river. And sometimes it may even seem as though the river is dead or beaten. I know may if not all of us have experienced this at one time or another when we have gotten to our favorite hole where we have caught fish in the past. But upon arrival nothing even gives our flies a look because someone may have been thru that hole only a short time ago and put the fish down.

And one final factor to why I like fishing the rivers is that there are great friendships that I have built on many a river with fellow fly fishers around me, even the ones I did not go to the river with and happened to meet by chance. To those of you who have met that way with me I extend you a hearty "Thank You"

So, in closing, these are just some of my reasons that I am attracted to the rivers and  I hope that maybe this has given you a little something to think about. I know I have more ideas as to why I am attracted to the rivers but this is enough for now and will give me a topic to add to later.

My personal definition of Tenkara

I want to apologize to my readers since it has been awhile since I last posted. I feel kind of bad about not keeping up to date for my readers. This is my attempt to get things going again. And I must thank Daniel Galhardo of TenkaraUSA for giving me the idea for this topic.

So as many of you know, Tenkara translates from Japanese to English roughly as "from heaven". I have been pondering what my personal definition of Tenkara would be and I think that I can give at least a short definition of what I think it is. Ok, well it might turn into a long definition but we will have to see.

I do believe that Tenkara is "from heaven" in that it is a way to fly fish without the extra baggage that sometimes comes from other forms of fishing be it fly fishing, bait slingin', or deep sea fishing. The minimal amount of gear makes it a very accessible form of fishing thus keeping overall costs down.

((On a side note, I am going to try to avoid the simplicity dilemma in this post since it seems to light a major fire within the fishing community. So, I apologize in advance to those proponents of Tenkara as fly fishing simplified.))

The ease of casting afforded by Tenkara and the quick learning curve in casting a furled line or a level line in my humble opinion can not be found in many other forms of fishing, even bait slingin' with a spinning reel.

So with that being said, I guess it is time for my personal definition of Tenkara.

Tenkara: a style of fly fishing that roughly translates as "Zen in Motion".

I know some of you are saying, "Seriously man??? Come on, how much more cliche can you get?"

Before you get your long underwear in a wad let me explain myself. If, after I describe what I mean, and you still disagree then send me a comment. Or if you do agree with me, then send a comment to me as well.

I feel that my personal definition of Tenkara as "Zen in Motion" is based on a few key factors:

• With less gear I spend more time fishing and less time fiddling.
• With more time fishing, the probability of me catching something increases exponentially.
• When I am casting, I am focusing on one thing and one thing only, a beautiful perfect cast that places a fly on target with the least amount of effort and the cleanest presentation to a fish.
• When I am on the water with a Tenkara rod in hand, it is me, my rod, the water, and the fish, nothing more, nothing less.

With those key points for me laid out before my personal definition boils down to this:

Tenkara is "Zen in Motion" because it is me unencumbered by material items and extraneous thoughts. It is nothing but casting to a target in the most beautiful, artistic manner available to a man (or woman). It is about being on the water and being outdoors, not about the number or size of the fish caught at the end of the day. It is the motion of the moment, not the past or future but the "Right Now!"

Ok, I feel like I have said what I can at this time and hope that maybe this might even get some of my readers to join in the conversation and start to post their personal definitions of Tenkara. If this happens, then I have succeeded to instigate something that might even transcend the practice of Tenkara.

Random Thoughts for a new month

I really appreciate all of the comments I have gotten in regards to my last post. Like I said, I had been thinking about it all day.

Anyway, I have been trying to get the creative juices flowing and kind of hit a wall. I have been toying with a few ideas for some things and hope that I can run with them. Some ideas I would like to bounce off some of you to keep them on the down low status to start with.

On another tangent, I wanted to tell you all how pleased and excited I am to find out that there are so many new Tenkara blogs popping up. As a community grows we will be taken more seriously each and every day. I am truly amazed at the quality of the writing that is occurring. I hope that I can keep up with the quality of writing of my fellow bloggers.

In the very near future I can see a group of Tenkara bloggers arranging a blogger summit/fishing trip somewhere and have some special guests such as Daniel Galhardo, Dr. Ishigaki, Misako Ishimura, Dr. Kelleher. Now tell me how cool that would be!

I am truly amazed at the number of people who are trying to spread the simplicity and enjoyment of Tenkara and also those who put their time into showing the uninitiated the ropes of Tenkara. Keep up the good work and don't let the nay-sayers take the wind out of our sails.

At this point I have pretty much said my peace.

Why I fish Sunday's

I was thinking today about why I like to fish on Sundays for the most part. I have been mulling this over all day and decided that it was time to get my thoughts down before I forgot them.

I am a religious person and I do attend church. My faith is not what I want to talk about today though.

I think I fish Sundays for the most part because that is my day off from work but also it is the same day that my fishing buddies can get away for at least a little bit. I also fish Sundays because I believe that being outside is like being in God's country and I find that I can see and feel God in the way that it was intended.

When I am on the river I can contemplate the meaning of my life and also to download the craziness of my week without any outside influence for other people. Not that I can't do that any day of the week but I guess Sunday just gives me the motivation to chill and become introspective.

I know this probably sounds disjointed and not in the least bit poetic but for some reason it seemed right for today.

I do intend to go fishing on Monday morning up on the Blue and will post a few pics and a report of my day up there when I return. Thanks again for being such good followers and readers. And I look forward to adding more to my page as time goes on.

Tenkara USA Ito Initial Review

I finally got the Tenkara USA rod I had been dreaming of since it was released to the Tenkara market. 

The Ito!!!!!

So, since that has happened, it is now time for me to write my initial review of the rod and then go out and fish with it and come back to you with my on stream review at a later date, which I hope will be very soon!

Upon first opening the box from Tenkara USA, I was very impressed with the length of the aluminum travel tube the rod arrived in. I have to admit, since I was so excited about receiving the Ito I do not immediately open it but caressed the tube for a few minutes to build up the anticipation of what I was going to find inside.

Once I opened the tube and pulled the rod in its sock out I was really excited and was impressed with the rod sock. I love the feel of the material but was pleasantly surprised by the embroidered TenkaraUSA logo on the rod sock. 

I then decided it was time to really look at what was in the sock so I pulled the rod out and was even more excited and amazed at what I had in my hands. I was now holding a beautiful piece of functional art that got my imagination going and made me want to start planning a few trips out to some different waters that I have not fished yet. The black and navy blue finish with the gold lettering really popped and made me think that this is a rod that will get peoples attention. Now if we could only figure out how to get the fish to recognize the beauty of the rods we use.

Anyway, I digress, I was impressed with the size of the rod when it was collapsed but also awed by the minimal weight that the rod had. After holding it for a few I removed the rod cap and proceeded to extend the rod, first to its 13' length and gave it a few false casts and then extended it to an impressive 14'7". 

At both the 13' and the 14'7" lengths I was extremely impressed by the balance and responsiveness of the rod. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about a rod of this length losing some of the qualities that I have found in both my 11' Iwana and my 13' Amago. But I was not disappointed in the least bit by what I was feeling from this rod. I even took it outside and gave it a few casts sans line and tippet just to get a feel for it and I was definitely getting my imagination fired up about the fish I intend to catch with this rod.

That being said, at this time I really don't have any complaints about the rod at all other than one very tiny detail. I am a bit of a detail freak and wanted to see what the individual sections looked like without being part of the extended rod. The butt cap was on so tight I had to use a pair of pliers with a piece of leather on the jaws to open the cap. Once I did that the cap now moves easier yet is still firmly attached to the rod and I feel safe in the security of the structural integrity of this component.

Now all I want to do is get out and fish it! Anyone care to join me for a day on the water?