Visitors to this blog know I wear a lot of hats.
If you have visited our home you know there is quite a collection in our guest room.
So in order to share what has become somewhat of a Sadlerian trademark, Dispatches will celebrate Haturday with an visual homage to some of those many hats!
Enjoy.
[Read more…] about Haturday
Mossy Creek Fly Fishing
Fly Fish Virginia – Rapidan
When I started Five Great Virginia Streams for Tenkara on March 5th I had hoped to get all five covered in a couple of weeks. Now here we are on May 4th and I am just getting to number 4, the Rapidan River. Sorry about that, but life and new job keep me away from this chronicle.
The Rapidan is probably my favorite brook trout water. I have spent more time and logged more miles on the water then any place else on earth. It truly is my home water.
The Rapidan, located in the Shenandoah National Park, is a high gradient mountain stream with a variety of riffles, pools, runs, and falls. You can drive right to the water but you will be on a dirt road of varying quality much of the way. It doesn’t require a 4×4, but a sports car is not recommended.
To reach the Rapidan take state route 29 to Madison. Head west on route 231 toward Banco. Bear left onto route 670 toward Criglersville and Syria. Go about 2 miles and turn left onto 649/Quaker Run Rd. Follow Quarker Run Rd. until it becomes a dirt road. Stay on the dirt road and you go up on over the ridge, crossing a fire road and head down into the Shenandoah National Park. You will bottom out at the Rapidan with a 4-5 car parking area on your left.
You can start fishing up or down from here and there are miles of water either way. If there are more than two cars, I would continue on the road until you find a pull off that suits you and start fishing.
If you continue on the road you will cross the first of two wooden bridges. There are 4-5 car parking areas near each bridge. When you cross the first bridge you will be entering the state’s Wildlife Management Area. You can camp in this area if you want.
Continue past the second bridge you will pass an in-holding (not open to the public) and further along you will come to a locked gate. If you hike up the trail you will reach Rapidan Camp, President Hoover’s summer getaway. This is where the Mill Prong and the Laurel Prong form the headwaters of the Rapidan. The U.S. Park Service maintains an interpretive operation at Rapidan Camp. It is an easy ½ hour hike and worth the trip if only for the historic value of seeing a rustic presidential retreat.
If you have read the other posts then you already know what flies work in these mountain brook trout streams; a dry or dry-dropper rig either Adams or BWO parachutes. For nymphs try a Pheasant Tail, Gold Ribbed Hare’s ear or Copper John. A few Quill Gordons, March Browns and Sulfurs for mayfly imitations; little black stoneflies, yellow sallies and some tan and olive caddis round out the assortment. Of course if you want to go the full tenkara route then try an Oki or Ishigaki. Check with Mossy Creek Fly Fishing to get the latest on what’s working.
Because the Rapidan has more gradient it offers more complexity to the water. You can spend a lifetime fishing the Rapidan and will always find interesting water to fish. I have fished it in every month of the year and covered most of the water and still look forward to fishing it again.
Give the Rapidan a try and let me know what you think.
Fly Fish Virginia – Skidmore Fork
In part 1, I wrote that I would be sharing some notes on five of my favorite tenkara streams. All are public water, three in the George Washington National Forest, and two in the Shenandoah National Park. This is the second stream in the series, Skidmore Fork
Skidmore Fork
Skidmore Fork is a tributary of Dry River that flows into and out of Switzer Lake. The section below the lake is the easiest to get to and fish so that is what I will focus on.
Skidmore Fork is easy to reach. From Harrisonburg, Va. take 33 west. About 6 miles from Riven Rock Park is a moderate sized parking area on your left. If you start-up the hill you went to far.
Skidmore is a soft gradient stream with the typical pools, riffles and runs. You can fish up from this first ford all the way to the base of Switzer Lake or down to where Skidmore meets Dry River. If you fish up, a logging road runs along the stream and makes access and egress very easy. The logging road crosses the stream four times before it gets to Switzer Lake.
Skidmore does not offer the wide open casting that you will find on Ramsey’s Draft or the Dry River. I fish a shorter rod like the Patagonia Soft Hackle or Tenkara USA Rhodo.
Here, like Ramsey’s draft, a dry or dry-dropper rig works well; either Adams or BWO parachutes. For nymphs try a Pheasant Tail, Gold Ribbed Hare’s ear or Copper John. A few Quill Gordons, March Browns and Sulfurs for mayfly imitations; little black stoneflies, yellow sallies and some tan and olive caddis round out the assortment. Of course if you want to go the full tenkara route then try an Oki or Ishigaki. Check with Mossy Creek Fly Fishing to get the latest on what’s working.
Skidmore can easily occupy a full day of fishing, offering plenty of variety to keep you entertained the entire time. By the way, on your way to Skidmore you will be driving along the Dry River, which is also an excellent brook trout stream. No one would blame you if you yielded to temptation and stopped at the many pull-offs along the way to give the Dry a try.
If you go let me know what you think.
Tenkara Summit Info
The 2013 Tenkara Summit will be in Harrisonburg, Va. on May 11 and 12, hosted by Tenkara USA and Mossy Creek Fly Fishing.
The plans are coming together and the details are starting to shape up.
Here is some early information you can use for your planning.
Registration
Open online at: http://www.tenkarausa.com/product_info.php/products_id/157
Follow the directions carefully to be sure your registration is complete and accurate.
DAY 1 – May 11, 2013
$25 for event and lunch
Location: Holiday Inn Harrisonburg – 1400 East Market Street, Harrisonburg.
Schedule:
9AM – 5PM: Main event – presentations, casting, tying demos and more.
6PM – 10PM: Tenkara Social with band at the hotel.
DAY 2 – May 12, 2013
$75 for lunch and guided afternoon clinics.
Location: Riven Rock Park, 6 Last Left Lane, Hinton, VA.
Schedule: 10AM – 12PM: more demos outside at the park (no charge, included in Day 1 fee)
12 PM on: Lunch and guided clinics.
Riven Rock Park information
Accommodations
There is a block of rooms available at the Holiday Inn. You will want to stay there if you are from out of town so you can enjoy the tenkara party that evening.
Room rates have been negotiated for $89.
To book a room please call 540-433-2521 and tell operator you’d like to book rooms under “Tenkara Summit 2013” room block.
Or visit the Holiday Inn website, enter dates, and group code TSB.
Please note the last day for reservations under the room block is Friday, April 26th, 2013.
Camping options will be posted on the Mossy Creek Fly Fishing website soon.
I will post updates as they become available, so please check back.
Hope to see you at the summit!
The Tenkara Roundup Vol. 1, Issue 3
The jungle drums are beating, With the tales from late last night, Cause stories bear repeating, For everyones delight. – from Jimmy Buffett’s Coconut Telegraph
Well the virtual coconut telegraph is certainly filled with tenkara tales and as the man says, “stories bear repeating…
Here is what caught my eye recently:
- The best news first! Mark your calendars! The 3rd Tenkara Summit will be in Harrisonburg, Va., May 11-12, 2013. Mossy Creek Fly Fishing will be co-sponsoring the event and everyone in the shop is excited about the chance to show off the great tenkara fishing opportunities here in the Shenandoah Valley! Day 1 will feature indoor clinics and presentations and a chance to socialize. In the morning on Day 2 there will be free outdoor demonstrations on a local river. There is a $25 registration fee for the event. Guided clinics with lunch the afternoon of Day 2 is available for a $75.
- Those of you who have started to accumulate tenkara rods will be interested in this one. Troutrageous! has a great post on a DIY rod rack project that is tenkara worthy because it a) simple and b) customizable. Check out Tenkara Rod Rack on the Cheap. Jason over at Tenkara Talk made one, check it out. You can bet that the Tenkara Guide will have one in the near future.
- Don’t have enough rods? Need to know which rod works best for the type of fishing you do? Then check out How to Choose the Right Tenkara Rod from the Tenkara USA Blog. Remember you can order Tenkara USA rods from Mossy Creek Fly Fishing and there is no charge for shipping.
- Winter is a slow fishing season around here. We get out, but is not the hectic pace of the other seasons. For me it is R & R time; reorganize and repair. He is a great post on cleaning those tenkara rods before they sit out the season in your new rack. Check out Winter Maintenance of my Tenkara Gear.
- Tenkara Talk hits the nail on the head when it comes to tactics in his recent post on tenkara tactics, Be a Heron! Jason notes, “One of the things tenkara anglers place a lot of emphasis on is the idea that skill matters more than gear. As Dr. Ishigaki says, “you can’t buy skill in a fly shop”. And to me, concentration is just another skill we need to hone if we want to be masterful tenkara anglers (or any type of angler for that matter).”
Couple of non tenkara items but worth your time and attention…
- The always worth reading Erin Block has a book out, The View from Coal Creek. No it is not a tenkara book, but if you are into bamboo rods and great writing then you need to get a copy. As the Whitefish Press noted;“The View from Coal Creek is a reflection on fly rods, fishing, and life seen from the vantage of a canyon in Colorado, but these are props in a larger story about life, love, and tradition. Erin Block is a young, powerful voice carrying the torch and passing on lessons, values, and history of this great, literary and vibrant sport.”
- American Angler released an iPad App. I gave up all but a very few magazines subscriptions and was thrilled that American Angler made the jump to iPad. See The iPad App is Live in iTunes! “We built this in house,” explains Morris Sporting Group general manager Steve Walburn, “so we started with the most recently available print edition, which at the time was the September/October issue. As soon as we catch up to our print schedule, we’ll begin offering subscriptions.”Among other rich-media elements, the first issue includes a classic audio recording of Norman Maclean, at age 82, reading selected passages from A River Runs Through It, digitized exclusively for American Angler iPad readers. “It’s just one example of how we can stretch the boundaries of content in this new medium,” says Walburn. The next available issue will be January/February 2013.
Fishing Tenkara With Daniel Galhardo
When Tenkara USA founder, Daniel Galhardo was in town we had a chance to hang out, fish and talk tenkara.
Daniel was at Mossy Creek Fly Fishing on Saturday October 20th giving a presentation and casting demonstration.
That afternoon we took a group of avid tenkara anglers to Mossy Creek for a hands-on clinic.
Folks had a chance to get some fishing time with Daniel as well
Mossy Creek Fly Fishing co-owner Brian Trow, shot some great video of the tenkara action.
In the video, Daniel and Brian see a fish rise and start stalking it. Just as Daniel is set to cast, another fish rises and he turns his attention to that fish. He uses the “pause and drift” method to catch the fish. You will also see how he handles landing a large fish. Daniel fished a T-USA Ito, about 15ft of 3.5 level line, 4ft of 5x tippet and a Ishigaki Kebari.
Brian and I wanted to learn more about the “one fly” practice that Daniel and the tenkara anglers in Japan embrace so after our guests left, Daniel, Brian and I did some fishing on our own. Brian and I had committed to Daniel that we would only fish this way when we fished together. We took the opportunity of Daniel’s coaching to become more skilled in the tenkara style of fly-fishing.
At one point, while doing a downstream “pause and drift”, a fish bit the lilian on my tenkara rod. I was so shocked I jumped back screaming and fell down laughing like a fool. After breaking off a 20″ rainbow because I was to slow to move despite Brian and Daniel telling me to…
I at least found redemption with a nice brown a few casts later.
After a day on the Valley spring creeks we headed up to the George Washington National Forest to fish for brook. We fished only tenkara flies on level lines using tenkara techniques.
I will confess to being somewhat skeptical of the “one-fly” method but after three days with increasing success I can say with confidence that it works. As a guide who specializes in the tenkara method it was especially rewarding to get first-hand coaching on tenkara fishing.