Gear Review - DVD Tying Tenkara Flies, Volume 1

I guess I am bit late with this review since I got a copy of this DVD at the Tenkara Summit a month ago (wow, already a month?!) and there is already a number of reviews out there. But that should not be a reason for me not to review it and not let you know what I think of it.

The DVD "Tying Tenkara Flies, Volume 1" was produced by Learn Tenkara's Brian Flemming (that's the guy who has been working on the feature-length documentary about tenkara in the US that is STILL not done yet) and co-produced by Ashley Valentine of LearnTenkara.com and inventor of the Punk Rock Sakasa Kebari which is also featured on the DVD, tied by Chris Stewart, the Tenkarabum.

The DVD is 2.5h long and features 17 patterns tied by no other than Dr. Hisao Ishigaki (Ishigaki Kebari), Daniel Galhard of TenkaraUSA (Amano Kebari) and Chris Stewart of Tenkarabum.com (Killer Bug, CDC & Elk, Sakakibara Sakasa Kebari and others). The content is very insight full and does not only show you in great detail and awesome quality how to tie the featured flies but also gives you an idea that each tenkara angler or tyer has a different approach and philosophy with which most of us can relate and learn from in one way or the other. A bonus is that this is not a fly tying only DVD but it also contains footage of the all 3 fishing with their flies as well as underwater impressions of the flies tied. There are also guest appearances of Rob Worthing and Erik Ostrander of TenkaraGuides.com and tenkara angler Dennis Galyardt.

The production value is very high, I don't think I have seen another fly fishing/tying DVD of similar quality. Whether you are a tenkara newbie or a seasoned pro, this DVD is a must have for your personal tenkara library. I am looking forward to see what Volume 2 will feature!

This DVD is a 'must have' for your personal tenkara and fly fishing/fly tying library. It is available for purchase for around $25 at LearnTenkara, Tenkarabum and TenkaraUSA.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with LeanTenkara or its staff (Brian Flemming and Ashley Valentine)  nor did I receive any compensation to review the DVD Tying Tenkara Flies Volume 1. However, I received the DVD free of charge as part of a press kit for review. 

Bear Creek March 16 2012

I still had some leftover vacation days from last year and decided to take a half day to go fishing while the nice weather lasts. Sunday's outing to Bear Creek was still on my mind and I thought that fishing would be now even better with since it was nice and warm the entire week. Boy was I right...

I made plans with Jason Klass of Tenkara Talk to meet early afternoon; Jason took the whole day off and started fishing earlier in the morning, having a pretty good day himself. And he caught his first trout of 2012! Congrats, Jason.

Jason changing a fly

He told me all his fish in the morning were caught with a Utah Killer Bug, so I tied one on myself but it didn't quite work out for me. I switched to my standard searching setup, a dry (olive CDC & Elk) & dropper (midge larva at first, then RS2) and things started picking up. All my fish were caught on the dropper, go figure. What I really like about the CDC & Elk in this combination that it floats well and that it is a really sensitive "strike indicator". The slightest hesitation will pull it under.

I fished today with two new pieces of equipment, the Ebisu of Tenkara USA and the new yellow hi-vis level line of Tenkara USA*. These are my fist impressions, I will do more testing for a comprehensive review of both.

The Ebisu is a 12ft rod with a 5:5 action. It has a beautiful glossy black finish with gold letters. The "special" thing about the Ebisu is it's handle - made of pine instead of cork. The rod fishes well, it is definitively much softer than the Iwana 12ft. It feels a bit "top-heavy", similar to the Ito when fully extended. I suspect this has mostly to do with the relatively short pine handle that measures 8" and is rather short compared the other rod handles in Tenkara USA's lineup. You notice the "top-heavyness" at first when switching from the Iwana but you get used to it very quickly - as you do with the different casting stroke with this slower stick (I really start to dig the slower actions). One of the larger fish I caught today put an awesome bend in it but I hope I don't have to wrestle fish larger than, let's say 16" in swift currents; the Ebisu doesn't have the same backbone as the Iwana does. Don't get me wrong though, I really like this rod, in particular how nicely it casts a level line - such as the new Tenkara USA yellow hi-vis line. 

This new line does cast really nicely, I used today solely the 3.5. It performs in the same way as Tenkarabum's orange hi-vis no. 3 line. In fact, I measured both with my caliper and they have the same diameter. Anyhow, the lines perform almost identical, personally my first impression is that the yellow line feels slightly softer than the orange line. I am not sure if that makes any difference how it casts but the yellow seems to have, as advertised, less coil off the spool, although I wasn't able to directly compare this to the orange line since I didn't store it one a spool (figures...). I will make sure to test this later. In terms of visibility, well, I have to do some more testing also. The orange line appears to be more visible overall by having more contrast with various backgrounds. The yellow line is slightly less visible against backgrounds of similar color, i.e. beige, dead grass of Winter and beige/sand colored rock. 

THAT BEING SAID, I was fishing most of the time with a dry and dropper and I didn't have to watch the line for strikes - the dry fly took care of that. I will need to do more back-to-back testing with both lines when I actually would watch the line to indicate strikes.

So, without further delay, I know that you also want to see some fish porn, here are some of today's beauties. I was quite excited having landed 3 rainbows of the total 7 trout landed, rainbows are in the minority on Bear Creek and are purely catch & release whereas you can keep some brown trout (how many does escape my knowledge since I practice 100% catch & release). One of the rainbows put a pretty nice aerial show on, jumping 3 times trying to shake the fly.

gotta love them orange dots!

*) The yellow hi-vis level line of Tenkara USA was provided to me free of charge, the Ebisu was bought by myself (used).

River Statistics:
Weather: nice & sunny, little wind
Air Temp: low 70ies
Water Temp: 44F at 1pm
Flow: 23cfs, clear water with very little discoloration from run-off
Day on the water in 2012: 5
Fish: 14 hooked, landed 7

PS: don't forget the "Your Tenkara Story" contest, submission deadline is March 31st.  

First Look: new yellow hi-vis Tenkara USA level line

Yesterday evening I received a package from Tenkara USA with their new yellow fluor carbon hi-vis level lines. The color appears to be truly hi-vis and I am looking forward giving them a try on-stream very soon. One of the advertised features is that they have reduced coiling (a typical characteristic of fluor carbon lines) so I was wondering how they look brand new right off the spool. Well they have some coil but they can be straightened-out very easily. I will let you know how the coiling is once stretched and then re-stored on a spool.

More to come once I have fished with them and compared them with Tenkarabum's hi-vis lines. Should be fun!

Tight Lines, -K

PS: don't forget the "Your Tenkara Story" contest, submission deadline is March 31st. 

2012 Fly Fishing Show in Denver

While living in the NYC area, I used to go each year to the Somerset/NJ Fly Fishing Show and the Fly Tying Symposium but felt each year that it is pretty much the same show with nothing really new and interesting to me. Once I moved to Denver in 2008, I went twice to the ISE just to realize the same. Actually, the ISE wasn't really my kind of a show since a large part of the ISE is about hunting and other outdoor pursuits than fly fishing that do not really interest me.

Fast forward to 2012: This is the fist time that Tenkara USA is represented at the Fly Fishing Show in Denver through RIGS Fly Fishing and in Somerset/NJ with their own booth, so Jason Klass of Tenkara Talk and I decided to visit the show and provide some support to Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA. I was curious how tenkara will be received at the show given some folk's hostility to it on forums and blogs.

Well, let me say that I was pleasantly surprised by the interest visitors showed at the RIGS Fly Fishing booth and Daniel's casting presentation. I counted something around 60-70 folks watching Daniel's presentation at Pond 2 and whenever I walked by the RIGS booth, someone was engaged in a conversation about tenkara and/or actually buying tenkara equipment. It looks like tenkara is starting to be accepted by the "establishment". I hope my observation is true and will continue with Daniel's presence at the Fly Fishing Shows in Massachusetts and New Jersey. 

Other than that, I was surprised by the number of booths and visitors since the Fly Fishing Show was in direct competition with the ISE that was taking place during the same weekend in downtown Denver. I have to say that I actually liked it better than my previous visits back in NJ. Walking the isles, I did not see any new earth shattering developments or products (other than tenkara of course). But I did take advantage of browsing some fly tying supplies and equipment that was to be found at a discount compared to regular retail prices, but at the end of the day I did not find anything that I "needed" to have, so I left the show with  some stickers, business cards and freebies (Allen Fly Fishing was giving out samples of their hooks). 

It was also a very nice opportunity to catch-up with some friends and make new contacts and introductions. Oh, and I finally got to meet a friend of Daniel's, fly fishing author and trout bum John Gierach:

your's truly and John Gierach, photo courtesy of Jason Klass of Tenkara Talk

Did you go to the show or do you plan to visit the upcoming ones?

Tight Lines, -K  

Denver Fly Fishing Show this weekend

I will be at the Denver Fly Fishing Show at the Denver Merchandise Mart this Saturday, Jan. 7th. It would be nice to meet some fellow tenkara anglers there, talk shop and make some new friends while there. Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA will be presenting that day at 12.15pm (Pond 2) and at 4.00pm (Destination Theater Room C, the rest of the time he will be sitting at the booth of RIGS Fly Fishing (currently the only Colorado Tenkara USA dealer). Oh, and Jason Klass of Tenkara Talk will be there as well.

Send me a quick email through the "Contact Me" tab if you will be there and want to meet. Otherwise, look-out for someone with a baseball cap with the Tenkara on the Fly logo:



See you there, -K

Tenkara USA Fly Swap V - Western Fly Tenkara Variants

One more fly swap was concluded over at the Tenkara USA Forum, the theme was Western Fly Tenkara Variants. I can't believe this is already the 5th fly swap... The cool thing about those swaps is that I have now a fly box that holds exclusively swap flies. The box is almost full (or has been) since I actually do fish with those flies and as you know, the elusive tree fish, stick fish and rock fish sometimes keep their fair share of flies.

This has been a smaller swap that in the past but I really like the results. All very nicely finished flies and most importantly, very fishy flies. Can't wait to try them at my local creek.

Enjoy & Tight Lines, -K

Pass Lake Wetfly Kebari by Anthony Naples

Glossosoma Caddis Nymph by "albertyi"

Adams Emerger by "aCheateaux"

Hare's Ear Nymph Variant by "aCheateux"

Brassie Sakasa Kebari by "Kuhlow"

Purple Haze by "ERiK"

Snipe & Purple by Ashley Valentine 

RC Sakasa Kebari by yours truly

Cheesman Tenkara

My most recent trip was to fish the South Platte in Cheesman Canyon with Jason Klass (of Tenkara Talk) and Daniel Galhardo (of Tenkara USA) while Daniel visited Colorado late October (click here).

This trip was special for me on many different levels, starting with finally meeting Daniel Galhardo and share some water with him, observing his techniques and strategies and exchange thoughts. But also by fishing the entire stretch of Cheesman Canyon. Having two cars, we were able to drop one car at the bottom of the canyon and park at the top, allowing us to hike and fish the full 3 miles of water. 

We got to the Deckers area around 8am and it was surprisingly cold - only 22F! However, the hike to the river warmed us up very quickly and the sun, once it crested, made it a very pleasant day to fish. The hike in was long and steep, the main reason why I don't hike to the river from the top - the return trip after a full day's fishing is just brutal (I did it once, pre-tenkara, during Summer when it was in the high 80ies, with my waders on and a fully loaded fishing vest).

Just below the dam of Cheesman Reservoir

Daniel in action

That's the hole I hooked with my first fish, after Daniel fished through it

Once we reached the water, Daniel was quick to start fishing and got a big brown trout to turn but unfortunately she did not take the fly. After I rigged-up with my new 14ft hand-tied line for the ITO from Tenkarabum, I got surprisingly quickly into a very nice rainbow, somewhere around 17", but I was not fortunate enough to land her (I really need to look into a tamo or landing net with a long handle!).

Daniel working some pocket water

Daniel with the only "landed" fish of the day

What seemed to be a good start proved soon to be pretty tough fishing, with the water level being very low (around 80cfs) and the river having lots of green, whitish and black algae. We were concerned that this would be Didymo, but a biologist of  Denver Water to who I reached out after the trip, confirmed, to our relief, that it's NOT Didymo. Over the course of the day, Daniel hooked two and landed one and I hooked two and lost both of them. I fished almost exclusively tenkara flies and both hook-ups were on a Sakasa Copperbari of Tenkarabum.

We had a great day on the water besides the "not catching many fish" part, the weather was great and the company was even better. Cheesman confirmed it's reputation to be a difficult river, but we were able to fool a few fish with flies that were not quite the "standard" fare for this technical tailwater, which really encouraged me to fish more with traditional tenkara flies.

new friends, tired but happy

Tight Lines, -K

Save the Date: Daniel Galhardo of TenkaraUSA will present on-stream in RMNP

Daniel Galhardo of TenkaraUSA will be visiting Colorado on Saturday October 22nd and offer an informal on-stream presentation in Rocky Mountain National Park. Please check event details here.

This will be a great opportunity to meet Daniel if you missed him at the Tenkara Summit this Summer in West Yellowstone and learn a thing or two. Daniel will also have selection of Tenkara rods and lines with him which you will be able to give a try.

Best of all, the event is FREE!

South Platte Sept. 16, 2011

After spending a week in California, I had one day of spare vacation time which I used to head to the South Platte to fish some more with the Tenkara USA ITO in pursuit of bigger fish than I would catch in RMNP or on BC, my other favorite spots to play around.

As I might have written earlier, the South Platte is a very different fishery (being a tailwater) than BC or any of the high country creeks. It's a mid-size river with good fishable flows from arond 150cfs to somewhere around 400 cfs. If the flows are higher, I consider heading to a different river or creek. It's also a river that is still recovering from the effects of the Hayman Fire that devasted the area around Cheesman Canyon and Deckers in 2002. The South Platte offers a lot of different water, riffles, pools, pocket water etc. and there is a lot of "decomposed" granite in the river looking like little rough pebbles. Many sections look like there is no cover for fish at all but thankfully there are many more sections that provide enough cover and holding places.

Anyway, I fished a section that I haven't fished before (there is a $5 parking fee), playing around and testing the ITO. The day began slow, it was in the 40ies when I got to the river in the morning. I started out with an nymph attractor/dropper rig at first but could only convice very few fish to be interested, most of them hit, of course, the small dropper, my mercury RS2.

As it warmed-up, I decided to see if any fish would be looking up; the section I fished was not too deep and at a flow of about 200cfs chances of getting dry fly action were ok (the SP is traditionally NOT a dry fly river). I tied on my trusted CDC & Elk (size 16) with an burnt orange body (October Caddis imitation) and soon I was able to entice a few fish to come up and take my fly. I was happy as a little kid in a candy store (well, I am always happy when I am actually able to get out fishing). The action was not overwhelming, but surprisingly steady. I focused on pocket water, eddies behind rocks and other structure such as trees, undercut banks etc. Basically any water that had structure and was not just decomposed granite.

I landed more than a dozen fish, most of them brown trout with the males already showing first signs of spawn colors and kypes. The highlight of the day was when I was fishing back upstream to where my car was parked, hitting pockets in the fast water and getting hits on almost every other cast, which didn't go un-noticed by two kids in their twenties nymphing further downstream. One of them actually came up to ask what I fly I was using and noticed that I had no real. I explained to him that this is Tenkara and he said, "oh, yes, Japanese nymphing!" I just chuckled and replied "yes, Japanese Fly Fishing". He nodded and headed back downstream, not being interested to learn more.

It was a good day on the river and my ITO got a nice workout. I didn't catch any monsters, but a few fish in the 12-14" range which the rod handled quite beautifully. I definitively like how the rod casts collapsed at 13', sometimes I extended it to it's full 14'7" to be able to cast to some spots farther away if I couldn't or didn't want to wade closer to. Once a good fish was hooked, I liked to extend the ITO to it's full length and use the added leverage for landing. The rod is soft, but I like it!

A few pix of the nicer fish caught, typical fare for the South Platte a few miles downriver from Deckers:

And yes, my underwater caption skills need improvement, I have to figure out how far away to hold the camera and what direction to point it....

Leaky Waders

After a rough work week - I can't remember I ever had to deal with so much crap at the same time - the best wife sent me off to a mental cleanse, Tenkara fishing!

I wanted to finally fish my new Tenkara USA ITO so I decided to head up to the South Platte around Pine Creek even though flows were above 300cfs and a bit high for my liking. I got to the river a bit later than anticipated, I just couldn't decide whether to stay in bed or go fish. I guess we all feel like that at some point.

The river was pretty clear with a darker green shade whether it was a bit deeper - the spots I was focusing on. I started off with a killer kebari and mercury RS2 and switched later to a CDC & Elk with the same RS2, all fish took the mercury RS2. I guess no surprise here.

I used a level no. 3 hi-vis line of TenkaraBum, cut to 13.5" which performed quite nicely on the ITO. As I mentioned in my previous post, I start to like level lines more, in particular on softer rods. For stiffer rods, I still prefer tapered lines though.

I hooked 6 rainbow trout, all but one on the smaller side for the SP but the last one was was around 16" and made the line sing! Unfortunately I wasn't able to land her, thanks to a long distance release. My guess that it was hooked in the upper lip like the other ones, and that was it.

What stood out today were my waders. Maybe 2 hours in, I suddenly felt water literally rushing in from below. I suspect that the seam between the waders and booties gave up and it filled up my left wader leg all the way up. The additional weight in the wader gave me quite a work out while wading. Later this week I will have to find the leak and try to fix it or it will be all wet wading for the rest of the season, brrrr.

I also was able to further test some gear that I am reviewing for OBN (the Flying Fisherman SunBandit - Rainbow Trout Camo and the Glacier Gloves - Ascension Bay Glove) as well as the Ti Net and the new Ebira Plus of TrailLite Designs that holds two Tenkara rods. More on those later, the reviews will be posted soon.

Stay dry my friends, -K