The Middle River Group, LLC

fly fishing, conservation and politics.

tenkara, conservation, communications, politics

Key grip and trout wrangler at the Middle River Group, LLC. Playing Doc Holliday to the Wyatt Earps of the fish and wildlife conservation world. Deputy Director, Marine Fish Conservation Network. Guide and instructor, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing. Freelance outdoor writer.

Tenkara Is A Technique

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With Tenkara USA owner Daniel Galhardo at the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, NJ

There has been a fair amount of discussion of late about whether tenkara is a fad. Labels are funny things, the minute you apply one someone wants to fight with you about the appropriateness of the label. Posts started flying on the blogs, questions popped up on Facebook and Twitter and a new tenkara controversy was born. Of course it has raised the profile of tenkara and in my book that is a good thing.

The fans of tenkara offered up some great commentary. Some of my favorites include: Field and Stream’s Fly Talk: Is Tenkara Fly Fishing a Fad?, Eat More Brook Trout:  The Fad that’s Built to Last… Tenkara Bum: Is Tenkara a Fad?,  Troutrageous! Enough ‘Tenkara Is A Fad’ Already… Unaccomplished Angler: Lefty Kreh declares “Tenkara is cool!”

When asked about tenkara my answer has been, “It is a fly-fishing technique that is very effective. It has pro’s and con’s like all techniques. Give it a try and see what you think.”

By the end of last weekend I was hoarse from repeating that response to curious anglers at the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset NJ. I spent time explaining tenkara in the Tenkara USA booth and selling rods at the Mossy Creek Fly Fishing booth.

The Mossy Creek Fly Fishing team

Explanation was more important than labels. Folks wiggled the rod, saw you could cast with it, visualized the way it would drift a dry or nymph or twitch a streamer and often enough decided to buy one.

Is tenkara a fad? Who really cares? I am going to continue to fish and guide with my tenkara rods and enjoy my time on the water.

If you want to know more about tenkara check out the Fish Tenkara section.

If you have questions or want to fish tenkara, drop me a comment.

Welcome Lily!

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Lily is the newest edition to Clan Sadler.

The black pup is Lily

Photo: Deep Run Farm

She was born at Deep Run Farm on January 12, 2012.

Right now she is still with her mom and litter mates at Deep Run.

We hope to bring her home in mid-March.

Her mom is Deep Run Three Card Monte, JH, aka Cara.

Her dad is UKC CH Deep Run Commander in Chief, JH, aka Chief.

Click here to see their pedigrees.

Up the Revolution!

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UPDATED 1/22/12:

From the Hill: In fight between lobbyists and the Internet over piracy bill, techies won

Original post:

Thanks to the power of new communications tools and people caring enough to learn, share and take action, Congress has be forced to rethink its position on SOPA and PIPA!

From Roll Call this morning: Leaders Weather SOPA Revolt 

Don’t let anyone tell you new media is a fad. Don’t let them tell your voice doesn’t count!

This was a fight between old and new. New is winning.

From Jeff Jarvis’ Buzz Machine: We are the Lobbyists

You are the Revolution!

Keep up to date via Open Congress: http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/2463-PIPA-Protest-Roundup-and-Whip-Count-Summary

Up the Revolution!

UPDATED 1/22/12: From the Hill: In fight between lobbyists and the Internet over piracy bill, techies won

Oppose SOPA and PIPA

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The legislation currently before Congress is the latest in an unfortunately long line of examples of Congress trying to fix something they don’t understand. It will lead to the inevitable result of producing a myriad of unintended consequences.

Don’t know what SOPA and PIPA do? Educate yourself. Take action. That is what the internet is here for. At least for now…

Here are some links:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Google: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/sopa-pipa/

Web Ink Now: http://www.webinknow.com/2012/01/stop-sopa-silliness.html

Cato Institute: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/the-internet-is-not-govs-to-regulate/Life Hacker: http://lifehacker.com/5860205/all-about-sopa-the-bill-thats-going-to-cripple-your-internet

Discovery News: http://news.discovery.com/tech/why-the-web-is-sick-of-sopa-120118.html

Protect Inovation: http://www.protectinnovation.com/

How Stuff Works: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/sopa.htm#mkcpgn=fb6

Mashable’s Lance Ulanoff: http://mashable.com/2012/01/18/sopa-dark-ages/

Mashable’s special coverage: http://mashable.com/follow/topics/stop-online-piracy-act/

Funniest link so far> The Oatmeal: http://theoatmeal.com/

MPAA’s statement, which is so out of touch on so many levels: http://mpaa.org/resources/c4c3712a-7b9f-4be8-bd70-25527d5dfad8.pdf

By the way if these bills passed adding links could be a thing of the past…

Sunday Hunting Bans

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I have always thought bans on Sunday hunting were wrong and should be repealed, so when a local reporter contacted me for my views on the ban on Sunday hunting here in Va, I was only too happy to oblige. The reporter, Spencer Dennis, had found my name on the Facebook group Legalize Virginia Sunday Hunting For All. We had a long conversation and I was looking forward to reading his piece in the News Leader; Sunday hunting may be coming, like it or not.

Can't do this in Va. on Sunday

The excuses for banning hunting on Sundays don’t wash with me. It is discriminatory. Why should only one group of outdoor users be prevented from enjoying their sport on Sunday? You can hike, bike, climb, fish, canoe, ride, or birdwatch on public land on Sunday. But not hunt.

The ban also impacts conservation.

Anyone who reads this blog knows my conservation mantra; conservation creates recreational opportunity that drives economic activity. Having more people hunt, more people buying licenses, that’s what contributes to the conservation of game and wildlife in Virginia, is what I told Dennis. If we put up barriers to participation in hunting that can only have an adverse impact on license sale and excise tax contributions. When those revenues are down, conservation suffers, local businesses suffer and other outdoor users suffer.

Is Sunday hunting going to fix everything? Nope. There are too many factors bearing on participation, but allowing hunters another day afield is certainly one way to help.

Blogger River Mud does an excellent and comprehensive job of looking at the pro’s and con’s of Sunday hunting bans. Give these a read.

What’s the Sunday Hunting Ban Really About? (Part I).

Will Sunday Hunting Make it Unsafe to Go Outside?.

What’s the Sunday Hunting Ban Really About? (Part II – Supporters of the Ban).

If you live in Va. and want to contact your elected representative you can go to the National Shooting Sports Foundation web site and send an email.

 

Creative Craftsmanship

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One of the things I really like about the tenkara community is how creative it is. Here are three FOUR good examples (See below for a recent addition).

trying to get creative...

Check out the moose antler tenkara line holder at The North River: The Magnificent Moose. This little beauty holds the line and a fly and has the inherent rustic charm of the moose antler. Hopefully Kiwi will resume his carving hobby and put a few on the market.

The second example is from My Leaky Waders: Do it Yourself Tenkara Line and Case: Go Furl Yourself. David took the “roll you own” or in this case “furl your own” challenge and produced his own line. He really showed his creative chops with the line case! Check it out. I have been working on some level line ideas and I am going to try his idea out.

Last but not least is from Tenkara USA via Angling Trade: Tenkara USA Updates Product Line for 2012. There are four notable items.

First an expandable rod: “the Ito is a rod that can be fished as a 13ft long rod or a 14ft 7inches long.”

How about going in the other direction and shortening the rod? “We have decided to play a bit with the telescopic functionality of tenkara rods, where segments collapse into one another and can easily be removed or replaced. For 2012 we have decided to offer an add-on option to our customers looking for a shorter tenkara rod.”

They reworked the traditional tenkara furled line. “We have greatly improved our traditional tenkara lines for 2012, making them more supple, easier to cast and importantly tweaking their design so they don’t “recoil” back when freed from a snag.

The tenkara nets are wonders of craftmanship. “We have improved the design of our original tenkara nets and added a new size to the lineup: now available in 9inches or 10.5 inches diameter.”

NEW 02/16/12: Take a look at this exquisite Tenkara fly box that Joel from A Year On The Fly recently completed. Check it out at My New Tenkara Box and wish him luck on his tenkara adventures!

Tenkara is gaining a following because of things like this. There is a rich history of creation and innovation in the fly-fishing segment of fishing and Tenkara is part of that history. Now it is showing how it adds to the fly-fishing in the future.