"...there's not much difference between fishing and standing on the shore looking like an idiot"...
- Stephen Wright
... picked up a 'Tenkara' fly rod recently, so last weekend packed it up to 'Dunbar Creek' to try it out...
... not going to delve much into the mechanics of the thing; we were compelled more by the apparent simplicity and small stream capability... this particular model, a 'HellBender' manufactured by 'DragonTail Tenkara', telescopes out to a maximum rod length of 13ft (adjustable to 11ft) from a collapsed rod length of 24 inches (pictured above) straight out of it's metal carrying tube (not pictured)...
... it's ready to fish in about two minutes by simply attaching the furled fly line to the rod tip-end 'Lilian' cord by a simple 'girth hitch' knot...
... we pre-rigged the 4X 'tippet' to the fly lines small metal o-ring attachment with a simple 'clinch knot', and the same from the tippet to one of the three included fly patterns - we figured that we'd stick with their system for the initial trial run but got a few of our own nymph patterns along as well... when all is said and done, you're holding a 13ft, strong action, very light carbon fiber rig with 13.5ft fly line...
... the logic here is that you want to achieve a delicate "presentation" (fly angler talk) where only the fly contacts the water, the fly line itself remains suspended; the only difference we see unlike regular fly fishing... there's no reel involved either - they provide ya' with a foam line holder that slips over the grip end of the rod - we went to the hardware store and picked up a hand full of 1/2 inch plastic 'twist locks' and made a set of line keepers for securing the line when collapsed and moving about - our favorite function of the entire system...
... casting took a bit getting used to - had more than a fair share of tree and brush snags and wind knots, but after about two hours of goin' at it was able to plop the fly on the water "gentle as the falling autumn leaves" - was almost a work of art...
... didn't catch any fish, however - was out for around four hours - spotted a few medium-sized 'Brook Trout' here and there wallowing in the shadows - was droppin' the fly right in front of their noses but they weren't interested - if anything we probably should have weighted the line a bit - don't know what those 'Tenkara Flys' they provide are, but they were floatin' a bit light to our liking...
..."the fishing was good, it was the catching that was bad"...
- A.K Best
... ventured out again the following day...
... had been talkin' to a guy the day previous who was doin' OK catch-wise using a (large we thought) 'Wooly Bugger (to our surprise) - landed a decent size "Brookie" even as we were speakin' - so considering that we figured we'd tie on the old stand-by 'Muddler Minnow' - don't know why - had planned on only using nymph patterns right up until reaching the stream - usually only fish the 'streamers' in the river - and then didn't even weight the 'muddler' ta' boot (?)...
... fished upstream the whole distance from the 'Boy Scout Dam' up past 'Betty Knox's' meadow and saw more fish in the creek than ever - counted fourteen 'Brook Trout' up to that point - couldn't get one to strike...
... really like to fish the faster water and tailouts and got one large Brook interested enough to leave his hiding below a long rock ledge, but he'd only sniff around...
... got into some small natives up past the the large strainer dam in front of "Betty's place" that were a bit more active, with repeated strikes from one small guy who was feeding in some fast riffles, but it got to be obvious he was a bit too small to swallow the muddler - should have switched to a smaller nymph pattern then and there but by this time had been out for just over three hours, enjoy'n a nice day otherwise, and wanted to look around the area a bit; hadn't been up that way in a few years...
... lots of mushrooms and saw this 'Black Bear' track...
... strolled over to check out Betty's old pasture...
... supposedly Betty is still around spookin' the place - steppin' into that open meadow it can occasionally feel like a million eyes are watchin' from the surrounding woodland shadows...
... a pretty atmospheric area - can feel like dusk even in the middle of a sunny afternoon with the dense softwood tree canopy of the stream hollow casting a heavy shadow... and there is always the one instance where ya' hear a sudden loud twig snap directly behind ya' only to turn around and see nothing - happened this day as well - turned just in time to catch sight of a small dead sapling falling for no apparent reason about twenty feet behind... Betty's way of havin' fun with "visitors" we guess...
... no fish, no ghosts (we think) - otherwise a good day... on the way out snuck back in to one pool where a large swimming Brook had ignored us earlier; hoping he had forgotten by now - dropped in several perfect casts unseen and unacknowledged from the stream bank - watched and inspected the crystal clear water for several minutes but never saw him this second stop - so decided to call it a day, intermittently casting random pools and riffles on the way back downstream
..." If you fish the wrong fly long and hard enough, it will sooner or later become the right fly"...
- John Gierach
... not today...
