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Willie Bear
For ten years I have the honor and privilege to teach an outstanding group of women, the Michigan State University Fly Gals, how to fly fish. In the spaces between learning to fish we talk a lot about conservation and leadership. I am humbled, intimidated and awestruck but the women who participate in the Fly Gals program. They are intelligent, focused, confident and eager to learn. They have pushed or are pushing the knowledge envelope far beyond anything I ever cared to and I learn a great deal from each group. These are entertaining over achievers and that makes it fun, but I know they can smell bullshit a mile away so I have to be prepared to be challenged which is always good for instructors.
This May marked the tenth year we got together and there was a little extra celebration and a wonderful gift.
Willie the Tenkara Bear.
Willie came to me pretty much as you see here with a small addition.
Willie was an instant hit and has already become an important traveling companion. Folks who stumble across this blog or are Facebook or Instagram connections know that for a time my Mossy Creek Fly Fishing hat was the subject of a travelogue.
Willie is the successor to the hat.
Let the adventures begin…
#tenkarabear
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They will write songs about you
Most readers will not have heard of Alex Diekmann, and that is not a surprise. Alex did not seek the spotlight or recognition; he let his work speak for him. But if you fish in Montana, tenkara or otherwise, you have seen or benefited from his work.
Alex and I worked together at the Trust for Public Land (TPL); he was a project manager, and I was a lobbyist. He found the places to protect, and I helped find the resources to try and protect them.
When I accepted the job at TPL, Alex called me. We had never met, and he was already getting me involved in his work.
“Hey, do you know where Three Dollar Bridge is on Madison?” Alex asked.
“I wouldn’t be much of a fly fisherman if I didn’t,” was my reply.
“So I have a chance to put an easement on the ranch where it is and create a trail connecting Three Dollar to Raynolds (Raynolds Pass Bridge). I need to generate some support for it, do you think your fly-fishing buddies would care?”
“Alex, you pull that off, and they will write songs about you.”
If you have fished at Three Dollar Bridge, you know that trail exists. And now you know to thank Alex Diekmann for getting it done.
He was infectious in his love of the land, gifted in finding unique places and tenacious in their protection. He was an artful dealmaker, at finding the right measure of charm, passion and incentive to keep people at the table and make a deal work. A testimony to Alex’s skill is how many friends he made while putting these deals together.
Alex’s friend Jeff Lazlo had started restoring the wetlands on the Lazlo family’s ranch. Alex was there to help, and O’Dell Creek is now a haven and breeding ground for native cutthroats in the Madison River. And yes, O’Dell is where Craig Matthews, Yvon Chouinard and Mauro Mazzo famously practice the gentle art of tenkara as noted in their book, Simple Fly Fishing.
A little further down the Madison Valley, before you get to Three Dollar Bridge, look to the east and see the Sun Ranch. Along with its Madison River frontage, it includes mountain creeks providing critical nursery habitat for native cutthroat. That was Alex’s handiwork.
Alex took me to the Taylor Fork during one of our trips together showing me a secret garden of prime elk and grizzly bear habitat in the Gallatin National Forest. Whenever I fish there, I think of Alex and how that magical fishing spot would not be what is today but for his tireless efforts.
Alex’s work is a gift to fisherman, and all who love the outdoors.
On February 1, 2016, nine days short of his 53rd birthday, Alex Boris Diekmann, died peacefully at his home in Bozeman, Montana. He leaves behind his wife Lisa, his sons Logan and Liam, family, friends and colleagues who will sing his song for years to come.
These other talented writers have shared Alex’s song. Please take a moment to read their wonderful tributes to this fine man and conservation hero,
By Todd Wilkinson: http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/opinion/columnists/the_new_west_todd_wilkinson/public-land-protector-was-an-unsung-hero/article_76a2a2fb-c441-57c1-95f0-30198241f235.html
By Michael Wright: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/friends-colleagues-remember-passionate-conservationist/article_08acdcc5-97cf-5052-8c2b-e66f356dd10a.html
By Jeff Lazlo: http://www.flyrodreel.com/blogs/tedwilliams/2016/february/madison-loses-friend
His legacy in pictures: http://portal.tplgis.org/arcgis/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=a0b0a71a55aa4ddb97498cf089dc5e31
Author’s note: This article first appeared in Hatch Magazine.
The Confluence
When my friend Bill Conway asked me to read and review a book he had coauthored along with our mutual friend Norm Richter and six other Dartmouth friends, David A. Van Wie, L. Philip Odence, Robert Chamberlin, Edwin Baldrige III, David Klinges I honored and delighted. They have collaborated to bring forth The Confluence, “A collection of essays, art and tall tales about fly-fishing and friendship in the Dartmouth College Grant.”
I can’t say enough good about the thoroughly entertaining collections of stories that make up The Confluence. Suffice it to say this is so much more than a collection of fishing stories. It is a revealing look at friends fishing that span nearly a quarter century. It even has a chapter on tenkara much to my delight.
Each chapter has its own unique point of view and gives the reader a charming glimpse of times afield thoroughly enjoyed. I’ll let you discover the gems and jewels contained in its pages and not spoil the fun. But it delivers something for the novice, the adventurous and the accomplished angler alike.
If you know in your soul that fishing with friends is one of the great joys of fishing and that the experience is enhanced by wild places, then don’t miss the chance to add this book to your library.
The Confluence is scheduled to be released May 3, 2016.
You can keep up with news of the book and the Boys of the Grant on Facebook.
Lefty on tenkara
Last July at the International Fly Tackle Dealer show I had the chance to sit down with Lefty Kreh and talk tenkara. Visiting with Lefty is one of the great experiences in fly fishing. Despite all of his notoriety, he is generous with his time and a very entertaining raconteur. His wealth and breadth of fly fishing history and knowledge are astonishing.
As I sat chatting about tenkara with him, I was struck by his genuine interest in the method and how he sees it in the larger fly fishing world.
ONE FLY? MAYBE NOT.
We talked a bit about how tenkara has been both marketed and portrayed and it was clear that he doesn’t have a lot of patience with the “one fly only” crowd, a position we have in common. He suggested that the notion that a tenkara rod and one fly was always going to bring about a satisfying fly fishing experience was overblown.
“If someone buys one tenkara rod, uses only one fly, and doesn’t catch fish — they are going to be disappointed. Tenkara is a technique; you have to learn a procedure or technique and use it properly,” Kreh said.
A MAN’S GOT TO KNOW HIS LIMITATIONS
He also was concerned that the tenkara style of fly fishing not be oversold. He pointed out there are limitations with tenkara, just as there are with any other type of fishing gear or approach. We all know it makes no sense to fish for brook trout in mountain streams with a Spey rod.
“I think we need to make people aware that there are limitations to tenkara just like any other kind of tackle,” he said.
That said, he was quick to point how well it works in the right scenarios.
“In trout fishing, if the water is moving and you can keep the fly moving at the same speed as the current, you catch trout. Tenkara is absolutely the finest way to trout fish in something like that,” Kreh said.
“There isn’t one thing that is going to do everything. Basically, that is the way I feel about tenkara.”
A GREAT GATEWAY TO FLY-FISHING
I asked Lefty if he thought tenkara could be a way to bring more newcomers into the sport of fly fishing.
“I think it has the potential to add a lot of anglers to the fly fishing world. Fly fishing isn’t about catching a lot of fish. It’s about reading about it, learning about the insects if you are a trout fisherman or learning about the tides if you are a saltwater fisherman. It’s learning to select the right tackle and learning to tie the flies,” said Kreh.
“After they start catching fish, a lot of people are going to want to taste more than just the appetizer or the first course,” he said. “They are going to want to do more; they are going to want to catch bonefish, or striped bass or albacore. So now they are going to have to go to a rod, they are going to have to go to a reel, and they may tenkara fish in some area, and that is what I am thinking is going to happen. They are going to use tenkara where it ought to be fished.”
“I think eventually a lot of people that get into tenkara are going to find there is more to it than catching fish and decide ‘I’m going to become a fly fisherman’.”
He pointed out that tenkara should be attractive to many folks who are not fly fishing now.
“There is an opportunity here for backpackers, people in kayaks, people in canoes — there is opportunities for all types of people,” he said.
THE TAKE AWAY
I admire Lefty for who he is and what he means to the sport. He is a true ambassador who calls things as he sees them. The sport is richer and more enjoyable for having him in it and when Lefty speaks, whether it is about tenkara or life, we can all learn something.
Author’s note: This article first appeared in Hatch Magazine.
Freedom and responsibility
Todd Tanner writes in Hatch Magazine and points the spotlight on what we as anglers and lovers of the outdoor need to do to be sure we don’t lose what we treasure.
In order for freedom to take seed, and for it to endure, we need to recognize the deep, abiding, morally and ethically informed imperative of personal responsibility. For with the freedom to visit a Montana trout stream comes the responsibility to protect it; with the choice to fish a Louisiana tidal marsh or a backwoods Minnesota lake comes the necessity of caring about those waters.
Read Freedom to Fish.