Middle River Dispatches

A gumbo of fly-fishing, conservation, politics and days afield, for what it is worth....

Spring Creek Tenkara

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I am an inveterate mountain trout stream angler, always was, always will be. I love the intimacy of a small pool and run watercourse. And the brook trout that inhabit them are nature’s living jewels. Mountain streams are custom made for tenkara.

On the other hand…Big fish taking big flies on spring creeks is pretty hard to beat!

Tenkara and spring creeks are made for each other

Mossy Creek, south of Bridgewater, VA.

Tenkara USA Ito

 Our preferred rod is Tenkara USA’s Ito. The ability to zoom it out for added reach is big advantage.

A Mossy Creek brown fell to a size 8 PMX

Another Mossy brown at twilight

Another Mossy brown learns a tenkara lesson…

Mossy Creek Fly Shop owner Colby Trow with a nice ‘bow.

Want to join the fun?

If you want to give spring creek tenkara a try, book a guided tenkara trip at Mossy Creek Fly Fishing.

We will be fishing big drys and terrestrials all summer.

Don’t miss out, give us a call at 540.434.2444 or drop us a line at store@mossycreekflyfishing.com and book a trip!

The Tenkara Roundup Volume 1, Issue 2

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Wow, there is a lot going on in the Tenkara world…

Pretty much every day I find some intresting tenkara news as I peruse the interwebs. The more the better as far as I am concerned. What has been especially rewarding for me this year is the increasing interest in tenkara.

I not talking about the silly stuff about fads, cults or the haters on the forums. That stuff doesn’t advance knowledge, it’s mostly noise. Most of those folks never use a tenkara rod before they spout off. Of course that noise does help with name recognition and SEO.  Like my grand pappy, with his sharp political mind, used to say about name recognition, “I don’t care what they say about me as long as the spell my name correctly.”

There is clearly an increase in curiosity and desire to learn more about the tenkara technique. So far this month I have given tenkara presentations to the  Massanutten, Rapidan, and Potomac/Patuxanat chapters of Trout Unlimited, done a tenkara demostatation at the National Capitol Chapter of Trout Unlimted and have a four day and a couple of 1/2 day tenkara guiding gigs lined up.

And if the number of articles about tenkara is any indication than more people are giving tenkara a serious look. Give these articles a look.

Tenkara Fishing Video

My good friend Chris Hunt of Eat More Brook Trout put together a terrific video: Tenkara Winter.

Tenkara and Marriage

A great post with wonderful photos on Bug Chuckers about the many advantages of tenkara: Tenkara

What Tenkara and “Fixies” have in common

Yours truly gets a quoted in this excellent article in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine: Tenkara fly fishing is gaining momentum in the United States.

Keeping the Tenkara Rod Clean and Dry

Here is a handy tip from Teton Tenkara: What I learned from band.

Diawa Tenkara Rod Review

The new Daiawa rod gets a test on Casting Around: Tenkara Rod Review: Daiwa LL36SF.

Tenkara USA Ito Rod Review

The Ito gets the Teton Tenkara field test: Tenkara USA Ito review.

New Tenkara Fly Box

Tenkara USA has a new fly box: Bamboo Tenkara Fly Box.

Handcrafted Tenkara Rod Plugs

Kiwi over at The North River works his magic again: Tenkara Rod Plugs.

Tenkara Level Line Comparisons

Tenkara Talk compares somes level lines from Tenkara USA and Tenkara Bum: New Tenkara USA Yellow Level Line.

 

 

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.