While I'm not the worst tenkara rod collector out there, I've still got more than my fair share... and honestly more than I can ever use on a frequent basis. However, when this rod popped up in the "Tenkara Trading Post" a little before Christmas at a killer price, well, I couldn't pass it up. And thanks to the USPS, it arrived yesterday!
Red like a Sith Lord's lightsaber, sexy like an Italian sportscar, and packs down small like a... um... I don't know, whatever else packs down small. After last year's nonsense, heck we all deserve something nice, right?
So this Tenryu Furiabo TF39 zoom rod has found a way into my quiver, alongside my other 13 tenkara and fixed-line rods. If it proves enjoyable to fish with, perhaps I'll have a little garage sale on a few of the lesser handled models. If not, I don't think I'll have a problem re-selling it at a fair price given it retails new at well over $500.
So now I'm looking forward to getting it bent. The question is if I should take it to the neighborhood pond and catch a bass or 'gill, or perhaps wait for my first run up to North Georgia or North Carolina for trout. I have a feeling it'll be the former, simply because I won't be able to wait that long.
Related Note:
The individual I bought this rod from was Tom Davis, you know the guy that does all the tenkara rod reviews and fishing videos at Teton Tenkara. The same guy Matt Sment & I did a video interview with over at Tenkara Angler last year.
Anyway, I thought it might be worth adding that Tom recently released an e-book called "Teton Tenkara Flies and Kebari Collection, Volume 1." As such, Tom got a little more of my money on Friday as I picked that up as well.
Example screenshot borrowed from Teton Tenkara
In paging through the pages of the 20 flies, recipes, and notes on how to fish them, this is proving to be a very informative resource. One I think anybody that has an interest in tenkara, or even fly fishing with wet flies might enjoy. Check it out!
If you haven't viewed Big Land, a wonderful film from the folks at Tight Loops yet, now is a great time to take it in. It was some of the best fishing story telling I've ever watched. Definitely worth the 45 or so minutes. Brook trout, History, Labrador, not much more needs to be said.
I've lived on the East Coast my whole life. When I've fished it's been in trout streams, freshwater lakes, or even the ocean. I never really did the river thing, at least not like they do in the Midwest, even though I've lived near a few nice sized waterways over the years.
So, I was watching this "Cal's Week In Review" short from the MeatEater crew that put a spotlight on invasive Asian carp overtaking the local waterways of Tennessee...
But none of those references focus on how good the carp evidently taste. I've always thought they were trash fish, but Ol' Cal, and some of the folks featured in the video all seem to believe they're excellent table fare... possibly better than catfish.
Intrigued, I Googled a few articles, and they all say the same thing. They're apparently delicious. Why don't people ever mention this? Why are carp not more commonly found on menus? It's like a dirty little secret or something. Is it just because they have a bad reputation, or perhaps not as visually appealing as a trout or salmon?
Now, while I have no interest in pursuing them with a fishing rod for sport (why would you if they jump in your boat), if anybody ever wants to have a fish fry after this social distancing thing is done, let me know... I'll bring the coleslaw, tartar sauce, and beer.
I haven't blogged in a little over a week, mostly because work has kept me pretty busy, (I can't believe I'm going to say I can't wait to go back to the office... whenever that is). Over the weekends I've been dedicating my "computer time" to putting together the next issue of Tenkara Angler magazine... so it's kept me away from these familiar confines.
I'm still putting some finishing touches on the magazine, so the next issue probably won't release it until Monday the 13th, but here's a sneak peek of the cover, for those of you who have interest in that sort of thing.
The cover photo (like many others in the issue) was submitted by Joao Mota, who interestingly enough is a fly fisherman & tenkara angler who lives in Madeira Island, Portugal. In doing some research, turns out this absolutely beautiful place has a rainbow trout stocking program... of which wild populations have taken root. Who knew? I certainly didn't.
I did a little more research, (I find stuff like this fascinating) and found a few of these articles and videos floating around out there on the subject. Even found a video with Joao in it (the first embed below...)
One of my tenkara buddies mentioned he actually had the opportunity to fish Madeira Island as well while he was visiting on a business trip a few years ago. Talk about a small world! Appears he used the same guide service as above, so there's even video proof - how did I miss this?
The quarantine continues... and so I write... and I'm excited to say there's going to be a little bit of fishing content in today's blog post!
Tuesday, March 24
Yet again, today was a blur when it came to work. Nonstop from 8 to 8. I won't even get into it because I have so many other things to recap... so we move on...
K.C. decided to sneak out today and head to BJs wholesale club to try and find some food as we ate through a lot of our "two week supply" in about a week and a half. While her trip was fairly successful on the food front, she shared this interesting observation regarding personal hygiene supplies when she returned.
"The employees were telling people they were out of toilet paper, and directing them to buy napkins or coffee filters instead and just don't flush them."
Thank you BJs for that sage advice. It was too good not to pass along. And since we're not flushing them, will probably make for a tasty cup of coffee.
One of the foods she acquired, more like a junk food, is this chocolate covered S'mores mix. Let me tell you something, if we come out the other side of Coronamania 2020 a post apocalyptic society, grab as many bags of this stuff a you can now. It is so ridiculously good it will replace all forms of currency. I think this handful is being traded for more than any shares of airline stock right now, although that isn't saying much.
Before I get to some fishing content, can we talk about the elephant in the room for a second? Or should I say tiger? Stop whatever you are doing, log on to Netflix and watch Tiger King. Or at very least the first two episodes. For real... I'm not joking.
Everything about this docuseries is totally mind-blowing... every time you think you have some idea of what's going on... it takes another unforeseeable twist. Come for the chaos, stay for the country music. We started watching this on Tuesday night. It's Academy Award worthy television, and you can't even win one of those for tv shows.
On to a bit of fishing. I received a thank you note from the folks from the Pittsburgh Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing for a donation I made for a raffle. I'm not using this to pimp out the donation, but to call attention to the fact that they raised quite a bit of money at the event which goes to a really awesome cause. If you're not familiar with PHWFF, you should really check it out. Thanks to Nick Cobler (who also happens to be the designer behind the Tenkara Angler logo) for pulling me in, and for Howard's Tavern for hosting the "Tie One On" fundraiser.
Last but not least, on Tuesday evening I acquired a few pieces of folk art from good friend of the blog, Owl Jones. Yes, you remember... that guy. He's not fishing as much these days, but he's still passionately creating art. Unfortunately, he had a few showings cancelled due to recent events, so check out his Facebook page, where you might see something you'd like to add a little cheer to your quarantine headquarters. I can't wait for these technicolor birds to come home to roost in Florida.
Wednesday, March 25
Woke up to see the there's finally a Coronavirus Stimulus Package on the table to be approved by the Senate. It's crazy the numbers being tossed around in it when you read some of the details. I know there's been a lot of haggling over making sure there's not too much "pork" hidden inside the proposal... hopefully there's some positive movement, one way or the other.
For the first time since we started working from home, things slowed down to a manageable pace. I actually had time to catch up on some neglected emails and didn't feel totally frazzled by the end of the day. I really hope this is a turning point, at least for a few more days. The first week or so was really tough.
Today was also an interesting day for some fishing things. First off those Tenkara Rod Co. guys are doing a Kickstarter for a mini Beartooth rod. They've already raised $35,000 in like a day and a half. I'm not the biggest fan of their rods, but they certainly do have this fundraising thing down pat. That much, that quickly in a tough economy? Wow!
Personally, I'd recommend sending your biz to Tenkara USA, or TenkaraBum, DragonTail, or several other vendors first, but I've got to tip my cap to the TRC guys... well done.
I'm also looking forward to watching Rolf Nylinder's new video short. Nobody is really making fly fishing movies quite like him these days. I really enjoy pretty much everything he does, I'm sure you will too.
Finally, happy to report some really speedy delivery from The Rogue Angler. Mentioned in a prior post that I ordered a few things from them the other day. The box arrived today, better than expected. I didn't realize the brook trout book was almost a coffee table sized hardback (and it's autographed)! I've only paged through it so far, but it looks amazing. Can't wait to dig in.
To end the night we binge finished Tiger King. I cannot reiterate how good this is. The "out of left field" craziness from the first few episodes does subside a bit, then it turns into a full on episode of Dateline NBC or something... I had no idea "big cats" were such a cut throat business. I'm sure the fly fishing industry is exactly the same behind the scenes... am I right or what Angling Trade?
Side note, there's a great article on the MeatEater websitewritten by Sam Lungren about the effects on the fishing (& hunting) industry during this virus-induced recession. It's a must read if you're into the business side of the outdoors.
Depending on how Thursday goes, I may write a totally "normal" fishing blog post on Thursday for Friday publication and catch up on quarantine posts following (sort of like today). We'll see...
Was popping around the internet yesterday and found a few articles/nuggets that might be of interest. Sure, this isn't a post of original content, rather a compilation of fishy shares, but they were good reads, so figured you might find them as such too.
So Much Water in Pennsylvania...
I was a dummy when I lived in Pennsylvania. I fished a lot, but I fished the same 4-5 bodies of water all the time. If I could only do things over again. Trout Unlimited recently published an article about how the state has been trying to document and assess its 86,000 miles of flowing water in the interest of finding wild trout and protecting the watersheds from developmental impact. While they've made great process, you find in reading there still a long way to go.
Wasn't necessarily expecting this post from Chris Stewart, but it's a great read into the merits of long line, long tippet tenkara. Tenkara as many practice in Japan. He had a recent fishing session with Adam Klagsbrun that opened his eyes to this technique. A nice departure from fishing killer bugs, micro spoons, and overhand worms with tenkara rods.
Discovering Small Streams...
After a bit of a hiatus, the Discover Tenkara guys are back with a new Tenkara in Focus episode over on YouTube. It's a great little dive into approaching smaller water (which happens to be my favorite). Regular fly guys should give it a watch too, because the manipulations used in the video could certainly be applied with rod & reel. There's also an accompanying blog post that's really worth reading too.
Best of IFTD...
Sage Trout Spey HD
If you follow any fly fishing media online it was tough to escape all the IFTD references a week or so ago. The annual industry trade show moved back to Denver this year, making it far more accessible than when it was in Orlando. In any event, there were a lot of new product highlights, and I found this article over at Gear Junkie that summarizes them well. Spoiler alert: Simms sweeps the wading categories.
I was listening to the Orvis Fly Fishing Guide podcast on the subject last weekend (HERE) and my mind just started wandering, thinking about standing in a river, morning mist rising off the water, rolling out casts, swinging wets and streamers... most likely coming away skunked. Predicted result aside, I think could really get into that. It could be the larger water yin to my beloved small stream yang. Plus, not being a steelhead or salmon guy, there's a ton of terminology to learn... Scandi... Skagit... etc... and new flies to tie and fill fly boxes with...
Seems like it'd be a lot of fun to play around with for trout, and in a warm water setting, smallmouth bass. Could even be a blast on the shad run... and yes, we have them down in Florida.
Anyway, here's to daydreaming a bit. If nothing else, it's always fun to window shop for new gear.
Sight fishing for huge browns in New Zealand's gorgeous landscapes and crystal clear waters. Monster takes, BIGGER fish. It's the stuff dreams are made of... at least the dreams of anybody who's even somewhat familiar with the prolific fishery.
But did you know those browns (much like in the United States) don't really belong there? Nope, they were introduced by settlers a little over 150 years ago... Want to learn more? Well, then I'd highly recommend the recent "Anchored with April Vokey" podcasts where she sits down and speaks with Jack Kos, a New Zealand angler who studied the subject for his PhD thesis and gives a relatively deep dive into the brown trout's rich Kiwi history.
Or even better, especially if podcasts aren't your thing... check out this 20 minute video. It was also written by Jack and maintains much of the same story and theme.
Now that's the way to start the work week, am I right?
Man, it's a great time to be a tenkara angler. With folks emerging from their winter hibernation, there's been a lot of great content floating around the internet recently to really get you stoked to go fishing. In today's post, I'll do a quick spin through some of the things that have caught my eye...
Blogs Reborn
It's been cool to see some of the better tenkara-friendly blogs release a stream of new material after periods of silence. First off, Jason Klass has been on a roll lately pumping out new posts over at Tenkara Talk. A lot of the recent entries have been gear-oriented - flies, packs, boots, accessories - so before you hit the water, head over to do some serious reading so you can figure out what you may (or may not) need to bring along.
Additionally, Anthony Naples has resuscitated his Casting Around blog. I always enjoyed Anthony's writing and the latest installments are no different. A few new entries on flies and fly tying have been extremely informative reads.
Fantastic Instructional Video
Discover Tenkara's John Pearson and Paul Gaskell have done it again with their new DVD/download release, "Manipulations: The Illusion of Life in Fly Fishing." There is nobody out there right now producing the kind of high quality instructional product these guys do, and this video is phenomenal. It does a really deep dive on using fly manipulation to entice unresponsive fish... but the best part is it's not just intended for tenkara anglers, but standard fly anglers as well. Check out the beautiful camerawork in this short video excerpt...
Two Tenkara Reads
This week, two tenkara-themed e-magazines were released, so if you're into that sort of thing you're in luck!
The first, the February issue of mounTEN, Tenkara USA's zine, is wonderfully composed with a feature on Katsutoshi Amano. There's also a fascinating look back at their "launch" video... you know the one that got everybody asking, "but where's his reel?", and of course, the fantastic artwork of Jeremy Shellhorn. Heck, you might even see a familiar name or two in the article about Tenkara USA's best-selling rod, the Sato. Check it, you won't regret it.
Oh, and I'd remiss if I didn't mention the newly released "Best Of" Tenkara Angler Warm Water Fixed-Line Mashup issue. Yeah, due to popular demand, I pulled together all of the great warm water content (think bass, panfish, carp, etc...) from the past three years and compiled them into one (re)issue. The response has been pretty favorable so far, so if you're interested in pursuing any of those species with your tenkara rod, you may want to give it a look...
So, looks like you've all got a lot to read and watch now... I hope you enjoy it all as much as I did!
Guess they're not called "Bassmasters" for nothing. This past weekend, the B.A.S.S. Bassmaster Elite Series kicked off their 2019 season about forty five minutes from my house in Palatka, Florida. The anglers ran down to nearby Lake George the past four days and put up some really amazing numbers.
I decided to head down to the event grounds in Riverfront Park on Saturday afternoon. The sponsors of the tour such as Berkley/Abu Garcia, Toyota, Carhartt, Power Pole, Mercury, Nitro Boats, and Academy Sports set up tents and gave away freebies while the anglers are out fishing.
Even though the anglers were competing miles down river, you can watch the actual fishing action live on a big screen, (with NFL style play-by-play & analysis) and then there's a weigh-in once they all come back to the stage area. Saturday was the "cut-down" day, as the top ten cumulative weights from the three prior days would compete on Sunday for the championship.
Now, I'm not really a fan of professional bass fishing, I kind of went out of novelty, but evidently Saturday was one of the more memorable days of bass fishing in recent history... The catching was pretty much rapid fire, and the St. John's River fishery produced some beasts.
Anglers bring back their best 5 fish for weigh-in, and there were several "bags" weighing in the high-twenties, and two well over 30 pounds! It was rare for somebody to come up to the scales with less than twenty pounds of largemouth bass, which is usually considered a good day.
In any event, here's a few photos from the weigh in. The largest bag was caught by Clifford Pirch at over 34 pounds. The day three leader was Chris Johnston with a weight total of over 75 pounds.
Clifford Pirch's huge haul
Patrick Walters also broke 30 pounds,
including the largest fish of the day at over 9 pounds
Amazingly, none of those anglers won the event. Veteran tourney angler Rick Clunn evidently had a HUGE Sunday and outfished almost everybody by 10 pounds to take home the trophy. Here's Mr. Clunn hoisting two from his 23 pound Saturday haul.
Despite some pretty crummy weather, it was a pretty fun way to spend an afternoon. There was a surprisingly large crowd at the weigh-in and there was just enough to do to kill the time in the lead up. While it's not a substitute for actual fishing, should you ever get the chance to attend one of these events... do it. It's always fascinating to watch people who are arguably the best in the world at what they do, regardless of what it is.
This video has been making the rounds on social media over the last week, but I thought it would be an absolute shame if I didn't share it here as well.
The Great Shaku Hunter, a 20 minute watch from Rolf Nylinder is absolutely stellar. (And if you can stream it to a full-sized screen, do yourself a favor and enjoy it in that fashion).
Forget the fact that I enjoy tenkara which is of Japanese origin, this video has zero tenkara in it, rather focuses on a small group of Japanese fly anglers who target native trout, the iwana & yamame, in excess of 30.3cm... or "shaku" sized.
It's much more than that though, I'd highly recommend you carve out some time and give it a watch. Superior storytelling is so rare in the world of fly fishing films these days, and this video combines a compelling narrative with beautiful camerawork extremely well.
In addition, there's much more to be learned about Shaku Hunters HERE.
I love travel and destination fly fishing. You may recall last year I posted about a guide service in the Pyrenees (Spain). Heck, one of my readers even took them up on a guided outing! Recently, I was contacted by Aitor Serrano, a guide from Slovenia to share some information about his home waters. After seeing what Slovenia has to offer, I couldn't help but allow him to post about his country and services as well. The following is in his words...
Fly Fishing in Slovenia Marble trout, grayling, and emerald waters on the sunny side of the Julian Alps
We at Alps Fly Fish would like to introduce you to the fishing fly fishing destination of Slovenia.
Slovenia is a small European country located between Italy, Croatia, and Austria. It is located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea and at the foot of the Alps. Slovenia is a country formed from the former Yugoslavia and is currently modernized in its entirety. Our alpine country has the largest population of brown bear in Europe, beautiful national parks such as Triglav, and pretty turquoise-blue rivers such as the Soča River.
Slovenia, together with the Spanish Pyrenees, are considered the two most beautiful and spectacular destinations in Europe to practice fly fishing.
The three great treasures of Slovenia are:
Rivers with Emerald Waters
Slovenia, despite its small size, has many rivers in a very small radius of action: mountain streams with small, wild marble trout, medium rivers with large rainbow and brown trout, chalk streams in the plains with exceptional populations of grayling and where we can find incredible mayfly hatches…
Perhaps the most beautiful river is the Soča, with its famous emerald waters:
Marble Trout
The marble trout (or marble fish) is a kind of brown trout who lives in the basin of Adriatic sea.
It is characterized by its tabby color, aggressiveness, and by being able to reach sizes greater than one meter in length. Sometimes they have side stripes very similar to those of the zebra trout.
The big marmorata trout feed on small fish. The best time to fish them are April and May when they are caught using streamers in the big rivers.
Adriatic Grayling and Hucho
The grayling is a fish that is characterized by its large dorsal fin and small mouth. Dry fly fishing for graying is very fun. It is a fish that serves as food to the Salmon del Danubio or Hucho which is a fish very similar to the Taimen of Mongolia that sometimes exceeds the length of 1.5 meters. The hucho are caught at the end of autumn and winter.
Slovenia, Fishing, and Much More...
In Slovenia, non-fishing companions can also enjoy a multitude of activities such as visits to castles, horseback riding, guided tours through wine cellars, or hiking in National Parks...
Our operations center is located in the Valley of the Soča River, where Ernest Hemingway's novel "A Farewell to Arms" was centered. It was based on Hemingway's experiences as an ambulance driver in the first World War.
Fishing Guides in Slovenia
We hope you enjoyed this article and would like to thank Michael Agneta for giving us the opportunity to tell the readers of the United States more about our fly fishing guide service in the destination of Slovenia.
If you are interested in taking a fishing trip to Slovenia, do not hesitate to write us at info@alpsflyfish.com and/or visit our website alpsflyfish.com.
It's crazy all the information that's out on the internet. What do rice fields & salmon have in common? I'm not talking about sushi either.
I absolutely love the videos that California Trout posts to Vimeo. The New Way Forward: Wetlands, an almost nine-minute short from River Garden Films is no exception, and is definitely worth the watch if you're into the inner-workings of ecosystems.
Without giving away the whole narrative, when California changed the way rice farmers had to turn over fields at the end of the season back in the 1990's, it created some interesting positives initially for waterfowl, but now trout and salmon.
Check it out... if nothing else the nature footage is stunning.
