The Middle River Group, LLC

fly fishing, conservation and politics.

Fly Fishing

Tenkara fans stay tuned!

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Looks like those of you who want to learn more about tenkara fishing are going to get a treat. My good friend Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies has been hinting in his newsletter about a tenkara adventure:

I will fish today. After a week of brutal cold windy conditions it looks like the weather might be favorable to spend a few hours on the river this afternoon. Tomorrow Phil and I will be fishing and filming using Tenkara rods. My good friend, Yvon Choiunard, called last week and asked for some Tenkara footage for the Patagonia website but due to the nasty weather we’ve not been able to get out. The forecast looks favorable so make sure you check out our blog for the fishing reports we will file on our next two afternoons of midge fishing on the river.

I have been waiting to see if Craig and Phil get their tenkara on. It looks like they did and we are in for a treat!
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Tenkara Myth Buster

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Here at the Dispatches news desk we are always on the look out for helpful info to share. We are especially quick to rise to the defense of Tenkara fishing.

Jason Klass over on Backpacker FlyFishing Blog did a fantastic job of answering some of the questions about Tenkara style fishing. His post 5 Tenkara Myths Busted is well worth a read and for sharing with friends who scoff at the notion of Tenkara fishing.

Counting coup

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Fall

It is not always the best time for fishing, at least in the mountain streams here in Virginia. The water levels can be iffy and more importantly the brook trout are going about their biological imperative. Don’t want to upset that apple cart!

So with time on my hands I like to go scout out some of my favorite streams or pick a new blue line to investigate.

When I am fishing I tend to get a little tunnel vision. I am looking through the water so hard that I sometimes forget to look around and enjoy the view. I probably know my location on many streams by what the bottom of the stream looks like rather than what the banks or surroundings look like.

For me fall is a great time for hiking and sight (site?) seeing. I still look at the water but I really have a chance to see what is surrounding all that water. A chance to see where I am fishing not just what I am fishing.

Of course I tote my tenkara rod and a few flies. And while I am not looking to fish, if the brookies happen to be rising then I just might decide to float a dry their way. But in the fall I like to just count coup on them.

How to count coup

During the year some of my flies will get the hooks broken at the bend. I keep the Adams’, BWOs or  Wulffs  and use them in the fall. I am not trying to catch the fish, just trying to get them to take the fly.

Counting coup.

Kind fun and let’s them get back to the more important business of reproduction.

almost like a neon beer sign

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Shin Deep

My copy of Shin Deep by pal Chris Hunt arrived this week. Haven’t read very far but not surprisingly there is already a turn of phrase about brook trout that deserves quoting:

In the last few moments of the day’s light, I was able to glimpse the brilliance that makes brook trout, no matter their size, so wonderfully rewarding to the fly fisherman. Its deep colors seemed to provide a beacon of light in the near darkness of the evening, almost like a neon beer sign in a dank, dark, but wonderfully familiar tavern. You can’t help but stare at it.

Yup, brook trout water does have that familiar tavern feel, is it any wonder we care so much for these fish?

R2 bellies up to the bar