From the Tenkara USA Blog:

“Tenkara is a fad and it won’t last long”, Lefty Kreh, the legendary fly-caster and face for TFO (a fly-fishing company) told me this morning as we walked toward the Marlborough Fly Fishing Show here in Marlborough, MA.”

Well, that’s an honest opinion from a fly fishing legend.  Right or wrong, its one Legendary Fly Fisherman’s opinion.  That opinion is ironically reaching many people with little knowledge of what Tenkara is about.  That comment will likely promote more interest in Tenkara, simply because Lefty said it.  Tenkara will owe Lefty big time.

I began fishing with a cane pole; moved up to a Zebco 202; dabbled with hand lining; actually caught some fish with my bare hands; fell in love with spinning reels; got way into bait casting, started building rods, picked up an old bamboo fly rod; bought a graphite fly rod;  bought more graphite fly rods; and now I’ve got a handful of spey rods.  I think one of the best things about fishing is that there are so many ways to enjoy it.  We can choose the best or easiest technique or try something more challenging; with the goal being to catch a fish a certain way.  There are many ways to be rewarded.

I don’t expect we’ll be seeing any Tenakara angling on the upcoming episodes of Buccaneers and Bones even though Yvon Choinard is a Tenkara fan.  I’m a big fan of YC and if he’s made room for Tenkara, then that’s saying something.  Tenkara is just one more way to exercise a fish under the right circumstances.  Heck, Tenkara even has a yearly Summit. I’ve heard of fly fishing shows and spey claves, but a summit sounds pretty serious; even kind of elitist.  While these guys may not be for reel, I think we will be hearing from them for awhile.

In checking out Tenkara USA, I’m behind their ideals:

“Tenkara USA will open the doors to many outdoor enthusiasts and backpackers who like the idea of fly-fishing but have always found western fly-fishing too complex or intimidating. Tenkara USA is dedicated to small-stream conservation, and committed to the Planet through the 1% for the Planetintiative. Tenkara USA  will donate at least 1% of its sales to the environment.”

As far as Tenkara goes, its pretty simple and that’s kind of the point.  These guys seem pretty harmless.  If all goes well, they will take over the market and everyone will move to smaller waters and focus on diminutive trout.  I will have all the casting room I need for double hauling 8 weights and swinging 2-Handers.  Can you hear my drag scream?  Tenkara…Tenkara….

What other bloggers are saying:

Roderick Hawg Brown

Unaccomplished Angler

Wind Knots & Tangled Lines

Field & Stream

Troutrageous

Fontinalis Rising

Eat More Brook Trout

Owl Jones

Tenkara Fishing Blog

Perfect Trout Spey Reel

In the Big R Fly Shop in Great Falls, Montana, we carry Nautilus Reels.  It was there I saw the FWX 7/8 for the first time.  Every few days, I’d open the case and play with it.  That’s pretty much how I choose a reel.  After I hold it a few times, I can tell if its the one.  I figured I’d play with the Nautilus until sometime this spring.  When I could stand it no longer without a fly line, I would likely get one.  Then low and behold, I received a package in the mail this past week.  In the package was the perfect trout spey reel along with a card from Paul and Johne.  Paul and Johne are two of my long time guests in Alaska and we’ve shared some memorable days on the Kenai River.  They must have decided I needed a nudge to continue putting them on fish or maybe they felt bad about the gifted Ross Canyon 3 that I’d had stolen a few years ago.  In any event, thanks very much guys. You were Spot On!

I set up the reel in the shop last week. For backing, I loaded the spool with 125 yards of 50# Spider Wire Stealth Braid.  Its super slick, super strong and packs down tightly on the spool.  It will also slice through the water easily if a big fish should run it out there.  To my backing braid, I looped a 33 meter shot of 30# Loop LTS flat nylon Shooting Line.  The LTS shoots incredibly well and adds little bulk to the reel.  It also slices through the water easily, which is great when a fish is already towing a skagit head and heavy tip.  I tie a non slip loop knot at both ends of my LTS.  To the terminal side, I added an Airflo Skagit Compact 390  grain head with a length of 22.5′.  To the Skagit head, I loop any of the tips in the Medium MOW series from Rio.  The 10′ tip with 7.5′ of T11 is my favorite for most trout spey conditions.  To my MOW tip, I loop on 3-4′ of 12# Sunline FC Super Sniper.  Then I tie on the fly du jour with a non slip mono loop.

Tying the Shop Sculpin

After launching it all with a Sage 6119 TCX…

The Nautilus FWX 7/8 is incredibly light in the hand and a pleasure to fish. With my backing/running line set up, there is plenty of spacing for a skagit head on the spool. I had a chance to get the drag pulled, and it was buttery smooth. This was the first time I’d tried the Skagit Compact 390 and it worked perfectly on the Sage TCX 6119. I have used the TCX now since last April and it is my go to 2 handed fly rod for trout spey swinging (*swey). The Nautilus really polished off the package.

*swey: Swinging and spey casting with a switch/spey rod between 11 and 12′ as described by Dave Henry of   2 Handed Trout.

Windknots & Tangled Lines

Howard Levett from Wind Knots & Tangled Lines has called for bloggers to:

Write a synopsis of your fishing timeline.

My earliest fishing experience was in the summer of 1969.  My father was going to law school at Michigan and working as the director of Camp Copneconic in the summers.  We were out on a pontoon boat that had been christened Freddy the Turtle in honor of me.  Hmm…maybe I was not a cute baby.  Anyway, someone handed me a cane pole and I lifted the line up to inspect the hook.  I was thrilled and exclaimed “I caught a worm!”  Any sunfish that came after were anticlimactic after the worm.  A few days later, I was on the camp pier with my mom waiting to get picked up for another worming adventure.  The captain came in a little hot and hit the pier, knocking me into the water.  I bobbed up turtle style, with a bloody forehead.  I have a scar to this day.  It was the first of many fishing related baptisms and several more scars.

After my father graduated from law school, he decided to remain a camp director and we moved to Camp Warren near Virginia Minnesota.  I got right after the panfish of Half Moon Lake.  I was shore and dock bound as a 4 to 6yr old, but I sure wanted to get one of those big bass I’d sometimes see.  Several years later, we moved on to Wisconsin and I never got a hand on one of those bass.

When I was 10, I went back to Camp Warren as a 2 week summer camper.  I remembered those bass.  I spent every non-structured moment down on this dock at the end of camp.  The dock was adjacent to a big reed bed. There were sometimes boats tied to the end of the dock.  I was standing in the boat, working a hula popper with my Zebco 202 when it happened.  I caught a 5lb bass.  I managed to wrestle the beast up and lip him.  Then I lunged from the boat to the dock, missing my mark as the boat bobbed and knocking my wind out on the side of the dock.  I skinned up my legs on the rough wood and floundered in 2 ft of water thinking I was dying.  The bass went flying, bouncing down the dock before splashing into the lake on the other side.  After catching my wind and realizing I was going to live, I slogged back to the cabin covered in blood and weeds. Before I could tell my tale, my counselor grabbed me and I got to spend the evening in the camp infirmary.

The next morning after breakfast, a cry went up from the water front detail.  A 5lb bass had washed up dead on the beach.  No one had ever seen such a fish and no one believed me when I claimed I’d caught it the day before.  It was the first time I realized that there are many doubters in this world and that lots of people just don’t understand those of us possessed by fishing.

Most of my formative fishing years came about at Camp Manito-wish on Boulder Lake.  At first, I used a big old inner tube with a snorkel and fins to explore South Bay.  I could spot fish and then jig them up with a Mister Twister on a hand line.  I was sight fishing for rock bass, crappie and walleye.  Once a big musky came in and attacked a little walleye I’d hooked.  I aspirated water through my snorkel and about choked to death.

During the school year, we lived down in Milwaukee.  I hated being away from camp, but made the best of it by fishing Lake Michigan.  It was the early 80s, and trout and salmon were being poured into the great lakes and getting big and fat on Alewives.  I started out fishing from Klode Park in Whitefish Bay.  It was a long walk from home, but I was optimistic.  It took several trips before I hit the water (temp and wind) just right for beach angling and landed two big lake trout.  After dragging them up a mountain of stairs from the beach, and over a mile down Lake Shore Dr toward my house, their tales had lost several inches.  After a few similar trips, I developed a strong catch-and-release ethic.

Back at camp, by age 12, I was checked off to take out my own canoe.  I’d paddle around the adjacent bay to our cabin when I was not biking over to Nichols Lake for panfish/bass or swimming around and chasing fish in the Manito-wish River.  By 15; I had a little motor boat. Soon after, I caught my first 32” “legal” musky on a brown bucktail. The entire lake was now my playground and Musky became my passionate objective.  Boulder Junction Wisconsin is the self proclaimed Musky Capital of the world.  By 17, I got a bigger motor and bought a 1973 Yellow Chevy Chevelle from my uncle.  When I was not playing Dukes of Hazard on the logging roads, I’d tow my boat (with the Chevelle) to other lakes in the area and chase musky.  A good friend’s dad sent us off on a trip with a real musky guide that summer and unknowingly set the stage for my future inability to get a “real job.”

I played football freshman and sophomore year, but once I had a driver’s license, I realized that I could quit begging my parents to drive me to fishing locations and drive myself.  My parents put up a few small battles, but then realized that I was a hopeless case and figured time would be better spent on my sister who was interested in horses and not fishing.

I made many trips up to Port Washington, plying the waters of Lake Michigan and chasing lake run salmon and steelhead up and down Sauk Creek.  Soon forays expanded to Door County and back up to Boulder Lake for late fall, early spring fishing trips with high school buddies.  On one venture, while my buddies were shouting from the dock, I took off to show off warm up the motor.  After making a hair pin turn and heading back for the dock, my prized Johnson motor, motored on past me; disappearing in a trail of bubbles and running full throttle to the bottom of the lake.

Johnson Outboard Motor

Apparently, I had not tightened the bolts securely.

Back in 2012 after a session of clearing out the cobwebs, I’m still stuck in the 80′s Howard.  Thanks for triggering the flashbacks.  I think I’m going to need a part 2.

Last year we were frozen and living with ice and snow.  This year, I’ve already been on the water several times.  Who knows how this winter will play out.  I’m sure there will be some payback.  For now, we are enjoying open water, fishing without gloves, active fish and 357 more days of fishing potential in 2012.

Fin Fetcher

On today’s afternoon outing, Brian “Fin Fetcher” Neilsen had seven eats on a dry fly and he landed several fish on a steamer.  I managed to get several fish while working the Trout Spey and our friend Paul C. hooked up while nymphing with a switch rod.  Strider wondered why we were ignoring the birds.  He found some nice dead stuff to roll in and was able to splash in on Brian and put down some rising fish.  Point taken Strider.

Paul C and Strider

Mark Raisler from Headhunters was out guiding today.  His clients got bent as they worked the drift.

Headhunter

I like fly fishing and its great to be on the water with friends, just taking it easy and catching some fish.  Its already been a great year.

Blogging about Fly Fishing in Alaska and Montana

Going back to December of 2010, I failed to put up a single post.  When the new year rolled around, I decided to become a more regular blogger and post on topics such as fly fishing on the Kenai River, piscine insights, a little humor, calls to action regarding fishery issues, fly fishing travel and a bunch more about fly fishing on the Missouri River in Montana.

In January, I posted some Kenai River Alaska videos about Rainbow Trout and Silver Salmon: A unique Alaska guide story: Some trip details from Missouri River Montana winter ventures: And I remained vigilant about Pebble Mine.

Ice Fish

In February, I posted some sage advice from client and friend Matt Ruck: Some words on the state of the fly fishing industry: And some Tips for Alaska Fly Fishing Success.

In March, I revealed 12 Ways to test your fly fishing guide: My personal encounter with Bigfoot: And why Bananas and fishing are never a good pairing: I’m often hard to reach by phone, so I apologized.

12 Step Guide

April was a busy month. My blog got a face lift thanks to Rebecca the Outdooress of OBN fame. I joined  The Best Fly Fishing State Debate started by Kirk Deter from the Field & Stream Fly Talk Blog and Editor of Angling Trade Magazine.  Kirk even stopped by for a comment.

April means fishing season for real in Montana and Simms Ice Out for fly fishing guides. At Ice Out, I met with Andrew Bennett of Deneki Outdoors and planned some hosted trips in 2012. Join me in Alaska or the Bahamas.

I also provided a guest post on Howard the Cofishers’ incredibly popular Wind Knots & Tangled Lines Blog. He said a bunch of people actually read it.

Islamorada Happiness

In May, I hosted a trip to Islamorada in the Florida Keys to chase tarpon.  We stayed at Roland Martin’s pad next to the Lorelei. I met and drank with some of the colorful guides and anglers from Islamorada and Key West. I even managed a side trip into Bahamian waters. We watched a Coast Guard plane chase a cigarette boat, while our captain started telling us about all the weapons he had on board in case we were attacked by drug runners or pirates.  I caught a big barracuda that burned my fingers and then watched it get vaporized by three sharks, seconds after release.

Kenai River Rainbow

In June, I got back to work living the dream as an Alaskan fly fishing guide for my 23^rd year.  The season started out pretty well with the landing of Troutzilla.  I also began posting over at my Kenai River Fishing Report Page.

In July, we experienced a pretty amazing sockeye salmon run and I got bashed for not posting fishing reports enough.

I got a bit more active in August and managed 8 posts on Mystic Waters and 5 on the Kenai River Fishing Report. It was much easier with a new lap top and WiFi connectivity at the Kingfisher Roadhouse.

Fish Alaska!

In September, I mentioned my love of trout spey and linked to my latest article in Fish Alaska Magazine. I also talked about how awesome the Kenai River is and kept on typing, rowing and netting fish, despite severe net elbow.

The Man

In October, I posted about a guides vacation over to the Naknek River while fishing with Stacy and Justin Crump from Alaska Sportsman’s Bear Trail Lodge. That was a pretty sweet side trip, capping off another great Alaska fishing and guiding season. I’d gladly go again and anyone who would like more information should contact me.

October is my yearly southbound migration time and my post was OBN Reader Approved.  My next post featured a video about the road trip back to Montana.

Save the Sacred Headwaters

November brought about a  new winter job at the Big R Fly Shop and I posted another Alaska guide story that developed an unexpected second part in Montana.  I also got an email from April Vokey, because I voiced my opinion to the Premier of British Columbia about the Sacred Headwaters.

In December, some of my guests made bold statements…I Really Must Protest and If beer, women and fishing aren’t the answer, then you’re asking the wrong questions.

I went back to talking about the summer solstice in Alaska in Kype Magazine (pg 12).

Giant Carp Hole

The year is ending with me staring wistfully at a small disc of water twelve stories below my parents urban condo in downtown Phoenix Arizona.  There are some huge carp down there on the other side of the Phoenix Country Club fence.  Hmmm…

Happy 2012.  Tight Lines, Great Fishing and Good Health.  Maybe we can meet on some Mystic Waters.

Yesterday morning I got up at 5am to wrap up  some breakfast burritos and help my wife and son out the door for school.  Just after 7, Paul Bloch scooped me and we rolled up the Missouri River for a quick trout attack before work at 11am.  It had sounded like a brilliant plan in the shop the day before, but it was 25 degrees and overcast when we pulled out of town. I figured we’d get nothing more than some exercise along with frozen fly lines and extremities.  We only had from sunrise til 10am to scratch our fishing need, but why not give it a try.

Paul Bloch on any given day fishing Montana

Swing...

We made it to work on time, pulling off our waders in the parking lot and throwing on a fresh shirt.  It was hard not to feel a bit smug working the fly shop floor as shoppers talked about fishing “next season”.  It was harder still, not being on the water.  Our outing was made possible by a schedule change.  I usually start work at 7am, but was needed for a later shift due to a big store event.  I work in the Fly Shop, but we have a general fishing, hunting and  sporting goods zone, along with clothing, hardware, tack, farm and boots to name some of our almost everything. We help out in all areas as needed, but have our own areas of expertise.  Not everyone in the store understands the difference between the fishing and fly shop departments.  Its possible to hear over the radios…”Fly Shop, your frozen smelt are in receiving, or Fly Shop, your worms are at the post office.”  Rather than be offended, I embrace the diversity of our unique operation.

Once the big sale began at 5pm, we had lines wrapping around the store.  Some shoppers were in fine holiday spirit and enjoyed the excitement of saving money on some really good items.  Others were harried and a bit short on patience.  While I was helping  a gentleman find the right Leatherman Tool, I overheard a lady on her cell phone….”He’s got this crazy list of things he wants for Christmas including a black bear tied to a tree, not on private land.  I wonder who can arrange that one?”  It took me a moment to register what I had just heard and then I could not help but laugh out loud while she glared at me and moved on, jabbering into her phone.  Good luck with that one pal.

I’ve been getting some interesting emails lately. This was another great closing line. “If beer, women & fishing aren’t the answer, then you’re asking the wrong questions” I posted the line on facebook and my brother-in-law Scott immediately noted that women should be listed first. I’m sure this is in deference to my sister-in-law Lisa and my wife Erin. Scott is a smart guy.

Mmmmmm

Another comment affirmed that beer should be first, because it never complains. I’m not going to touch that one, but I do like beer.

Kate Taylor is a hardcore fly fisher.

Kate Taylor can guide you to huge rainbows on the Naknek River in Alaska and afterward, she likes beer. 

My Happy Place

Any questions?

email to me during a Kenai River Fly Fishing reservation correspondence string…

No way! Where are you from? I bleed cheese and am a proud season ticket holder for about 25 years. Unfortunately I live up here in Viking country but get back over to GB a few times for games, and the playoffs of course. This is a magical year so far – you’ll enjoy this then…….

It’s Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood Now

“Hello, boys & girls. Can you say ‘ Twelve and zero’?
I THOUGHT you could.”

Regards,
Larry
“When its third and ten, you can take the milk drinkers; I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time.”
Max McGee, Green Bay Packers receiver

I grew up in Wisconsin and have always been a packer fan. I watched two Packers Superbowls in Alaska and am now hoping to watch my second Packers Superbowl from Montana. If the weather is right, I might catch a few fish first. If things go wrong and they don’t make it, I will definitly go fishing. Its a win win.

Intrepid angler and guest Mark Bonsack sent the following message as a comment. I replied with an email stating that I would like to use his comment for a post. It has taken Mark a little while to shake off the burden of being such a good sport on the river last June. This fish could have and should have (Kirk might have a different opinion) ended up on Mark’s line. Mark, lets hope you secured some serious Fishing Karma points for the future.

___________________________________________________

Mark's Protestation

Hi Fred,

Well, where to begin? I think we have been fishing with you and Stacy now for 11yrs and it is the highlight of our annual AK trip. As you know, the Middle Kenai is my favorite stretch for huge rainbows and one of the few places sight fishing is extremely effective. I think you and I may have altered the way you now approach the fishing from the very moment you gave me that ginormous, prehistoric, only a mother could love sculpin fly (if you can call it that) and the shark feeding frenzy commenced shortly thereafter. It was an epic day for rainbows over 24″. I lost count after 25 but place that as the #1 best fishing day ever and that’s a lot of days fishing. But I really must protest! Per your post June 16 on your blog, how do you let something like that happen?!

One of Mark's friends...Eric's son Troy...Showing how its done.

Each year I come up with 9 friends to fish and spend a week. You have been gracious enough to accommodate some of my most inexperienced friends both with expert instruction, and putting them on fish. I have watched as they try to cast, which resembles someone with a buggy whip swatting at flies more than fly casting and yet they come away all smiles at the end of the day. But come on!

On the day in question, one of my friends Kirk was all set to sleep in rather than go float the middle river. His whiny little school girl voice kept saying something to the effect of he was too tired to catch fish…yeah I know, if that’s not the stupidest thing ever! It has actually taken me this long to even be able to write about this travesty. But I digress. After much peer pressure and questioning of his sexual orientation, Kirk arose and grumbled his way out the door. The water was unusually clear as you will probably remember and the fish accordingly spooky, but we still were having a fantastic day landing fish. As we approached my favorite spot on that float, we observed the usual 8-10 big rainbows staged against the bank. Now this spot is my favorite because there is only room for one angler at a time to fish and the rest of the crew get a front row seat to the action. It is key for the observers to give directions to the angler as to distance, stripping etc as well as getting to watch the take. We let a good friend of mine Steve, from Boise, take the first cast as this was his first trip to AK and the Kenai. He promptly hooked a 28″ rainbow that went ballistic and hauled him downstream. Ok, good, my turn. After a couple casts, Steve’s fish was wrapped on a log so I gave up the “spot” to lend a hand and take pictures. By the time I got there you had Steve’s fish free and my job was camera boy. It was his largest rainbow by far and I still hear his story every time I see him. But what followed is clearly criminal. Kirk is yelling for us to come back upstream because he’s got a “big one” on. Yeah right. This is the guy who landed a 15lb king and swore it was 30lb+. So we headed back upstream after releasing Steve’s fish and got there just in time to see troutzilla porpoise 15′ in front of us! I think we all must have looked like deer in the headlights! After maybe 10 minutes, the question became whether you were going to be able to “fold” this behemoth into your Frabill. My hats off for a beautiful net job, although I must admit my inner selfishness was not on your side! Of course I’m kidding…Anyway that was 35″ of the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen, battle scars, hook jaw and all, landed by the most undeserving individual to have ever fished the state of AK. Again Fred, how did you let this happen?! Didn’t you tell him we have rules?! Doesn’t Kirk understand the concept of paying your dues? What about the countless hours of casting and refining your techniques to float the perfect presentation in front of those picky trout whales? And yet here comes this greenhorn from Idaho, whose fly casting prowess resembles a Swahili tribesman trying to keep the bugs away from his face, catching the fish of a lifetime! Sigh.

Well, as you wrote, the bar has been set high for next year. I am looking forward to improving my 31″ best with you and Stacy as are the rest of the guys. I think it is a testament to both of you that anyone from 7-70 can come up and fish with you guys with little or no experience and have a great opportunity to catch a fish that would make even the most seasoned angler’s eyes water. See you in 2012!

Tight lines.

Mark Bonsack
Seattle, WA

____________________________________________________

Thanks Mark.  We’ll see what happens.

These guys stayed dry.

This is an ironic and unplanned follow up to my previous post.  On Sunday, I was the Accidental Angler.  No, I did not catch lots of fish by accident.  I did manage to catch a few on purpose, but that was after my accident.  This post could also be titled: Spey Tips…”Cast, then watch your step”.

I like to walk my swings when I am fishing water where I know my fly needs a little help to get deep and move slow.  When one is walking down a well-lit gravel run, sand bar or water you know by heart, this is a legitimate tactic.  When one is working down a boulder strewn ledge, on the dark side of a canyon, in weak winter light, caution is due.  I let my fishing fever get the better of me and I stepped into a watery void.  I found the big hole in my Simms waders.  It’s on the top where you pull them on.  My feet found no bottom, but I managed to kick and flounder up the ledge and crawl out.  “Did you go over?” my buddies called.  “A little bit.” I hedged.  To my credit, I managed to finish out the run.  You must understand that a year ago, I had moved a brown off that run that appeared to be pushing 30”.  He’s been on my mind for a while and will likely remain on my mind for some time to come.

Not a good winter swimming hole.

I eventually hauled out on a big boulder like a dyspeptic sea lion and rolled down my waders to unload about a gallon of water.  I also peeled off my socks and fleece pants, to ring out as much moisture as I could, while standing barefoot on the snow.  I was damp in the middle and soggy below the knee for the remainder of the day, but we fished until dark.  Wearing 100% synthetic fibers under Gore Tex made my day bearable. I’m not going to lie and say that I was perfectly comfortable all day, but I’ve actually fished less comfortably many times.  I still relished the day which fortunately turned out quite mild for late November in Montana.  We had fun catching trout on the swing and that was no accident.

Fred’s Spey Tip:

Cast and then step should be modified to: Cast and then watch your step.

Fun Fact: Until Sunday, I managed to go 14 months without soaking a cell phone.