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Tenkara Fishing out West: Fish Creek and Crystal Creek

September 22, 2011 by · 5 Comments

“The road goes on forever and the party never ends” or so I texted friends back home as we continued our tenkara tour of the Jackson Wyo. area.

After a sensational day on Flat Creek (click here for that story) we were pretty stoked to fish more smaller streams in the area.

A quick check in with our friends in a couple of local fly shops gave us da beta we needed.

Our first stop was Fish Creek, and a chance to put a big bend in the tenkara rod.

Fish Creek Cutthroat

 

During our last visit to the Jackson area we had fished the Gros Ventre and wanted to give it a try again. We headed up that way and decided that Crystal Creek, water we hadn’t fished before was worth a look. Crystal Creek was prime tenkara water and we roamed about trying a variety of spots.

 

After spending two weeks with a tenkara rod in my hand fishing a variety of water and catching some pretty decent sized fish I am more convinced than ever of both the effectiveness and versatility of tenkara fishing.

If you want to learn more I encourage you to check out the Tenkara Guide section of Dispatches, just click here.

 

Filed Under: Fishing, Tenkara · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Worth the Read: 20 ?’s with Craig Mathews on Eat More Brook Trout blog

September 18, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

My good friend Chris Hunt who blogs at Eat More Brook Trout has started interviewing some fly fishing notables. Last week he interviewed another good friend, Craig Mathews.

Chris writes:

“In addition to being one of the country’s fly fishing elite, Craig is a staunch conservationist who, over the years, has been able to speak truth to power in a way that is constructive and helpful. And he puts his money where his mouth is–in partnership with Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, Craig helped start the “1% for the Planet” program, where businesses and industry could earmark 1 percent of their profits to conservation-centric the non-profits of their choice.”

Click here to read the entire interview: Eat More Brook Trout: 20 Questions: Craig Mathews.

Craig is responsible for my getting me started on tenkara and it was a treat to spend some time with him at the tenkara summit last month.

He also shares a very special place in the Sadler household having officiated at our wedding 5 years ago.

Craig, Beth and Tom at $3 Bridge 08/09/06

 

Filed Under: Business, Conservation, Fishing, Tenkara · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Tenkara Fishing out West: $3 bridge, Yellowstone NP and Flat Creek

September 13, 2011 by · 1 Comment

After the tenkara summit in West Yellowstone, MRS and I took off for Wyoming and some tenkara fishing in the Jackson Hole area.

Before we left West we made a trip to the Madison River and some fishing at $3 Bridge.

tenkara in the shadow of $3 bridge

Five years ago Beth and I go married at this spot and we were excited to be back.

we stood right here 5 years ago

We worked our way down through Yellowstone National Park, fishing as we went. Ok I fished, Beth took pictures…

Trying it out on the Yellowstone

MRS goes artsy on me

We wound up in Hoback, WY. for a couple of nights with the Rivers of Recovery crew. BTW: If you don’t know about RoR then click here and check it out.

Be sure to watch the two videos, start with the one on the right. If you are unmoved by them, check your pulse.

We made a foray to the headwaters of Flat Creek. It was a spectacular 4×4 drive into the backcountry.

Flat Creek headwaters

Getting set up

a pretty Flat Creek pool

Mr. Cutthroat checks in

the tug is the drug...

success!

The chance to visit the headwaters of Flat Creek and to do it in the company of good friends made the trip special.

That they have served our country with honor and distinction makes me proud to be in their company.

headed to beer 30

As they say the road goes on forever and the party never ends.

Stay tuned for more pictures in episode two. Coming soon.

Filed Under: Antics, Fishing, Tenkara, Travel · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Tenkara Summit

September 9, 2011 by · 5 Comments

Last month I traveled to West Yellowstone, MT for the first Tenkara Summit. More than 100 hundred people showed up to hear presentations, talk tenkara and see an on-stream demonstration.

Here is part of the write up by Daniel Galhardo on the Tenkara USA blog:

Originally we had expected, optimistically, that about 70 people would show up. The conference room was setup to accomodate 100 people, but that was not enough. Over 100 people showed up yesterday. People came from 23 different states, and from 3 different countries specially for the Summit (well, they did come to fish in Montana…). I’d really like to thank all those who came and helped make this an extraordinary event; it was the best crowd ever. Thank you!

The Tenkara Summit had the presence of special guests Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, the leading authority on tenkara in Japan; Chris Stewart of tenkarabum.com; Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies who gave a very passionate presentation about tenkara in Montana and showed some great clips of large fishing being caught; Ryan Jordan of backpackinglight.com as well as ryanjordan.com; and Tom Sadler who spoke about the advantages of using tenkara as a guide and as a way to introduce new people to fly-fishing so they can continue conserving the environment in the future.

Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, "Tenkara King"

Dr. Ishigaki is known as the “Tenkara King” in Japan. His presentation was a wonderful insight into the world of tenkara. He is a warm and charming story teller lacing his presentation with witty anecdotes of his tenkara exploits.

Chris Stewart, Daniel Galhardo and Dr. Ishigaki, share a panel discussion.

Ryan Jordan of Backpacking Light

Craig Mathews talks Montana tenkara

 

 

It was a special honor to part of the summit and to learn from fellow tenkara enthusiasts!

One personal highlight was to have lunch with Craig Mathews and Yvon Chouinard. Those two were the reason I got started with tenkara so it was a special treat to spend time with them both at the summit.

Dr. Ishigaki showed his tenkara chops during an on-stream demonstration.

gearing up for some fishing

 

Watching Japan’s Tenkara King put a tenkara rod through it’s paces was fascinating. It was also reassuring to see that my on tenkara technique was not so bad.

Tenkara King does his thing

Double team tenkara

 

 

Filed Under: Antics, Fishing, Tenkara · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Tenkara in Garden & Gun

August 1, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

One of the really cool things about getting involved in something new is seeing the recognition grow.  When I picked up a tenkara rod for the first time I had no idea it would become such a part of my life.

On the cover: Flyfishing Without A Reel

Since then I have had the opportunity to introduce tenkara to people who then do a story about tenkara. Of course I appreciate the coverage of tenkara and naturally since I am a bit of a ham, enjoy seeing my name and face in print.

The article and photo’s in Garden & Gun August/September issue may very well be my favorite. It gave me a chance me to introduce two new friends to tenkara, fish in my favorite places and because of their excellent craftsmanship, share tenkara with Garden & Gun’s readers.

First stop was Ramsey’s Draft with the article’s author Donovan Webster.  Don was an accomplished fly fisherman and he was a quick study with the tenkara rod. As you will see, Don did an outstanding job of capturing the essence of tenkara in his article Whisper Fishing.

Michael J.N. Bowles is an extremely talented photojournalist and no slouch with a fly rod as well. He was a bit reluctant to pick up the tenkara rod since he was supposed to be shooting images not fishing. When he finally did and caught a fish, his excitement was infectious. You can see his marvelous photos from our trip to the Rapidan River in Fly Fishing Without A Reel.

Garden & Gun is a favorite in our house and has been long before I was fortunate enough to grace its pages. If you want great writing and beautiful photography steeped in southern charm, then do yourself a favor and subscribe.

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Filed Under: Fishing, Photos, Tenkara · Tagged: , ,

First Follower Theory

July 3, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

I am a student of leadership so when this showed up in my @tenkaraguide twitters this morning:

I hit the youtube link and watched. You can too. It is 3 minutes, worth watching, very entertaining and visually delivers an important leadership lesson.

There is no movement without the first follower

A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But what he’s doing is so simple, it’s almost instructional. This is key. You must be easy to follow!

Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it’s not about the leader anymore – it’s about them, plural. Notice he’s calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.

A little more research took me to Derek Sivers. He put up the video and narrates it. It is on his blog along with the transcript: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy.

The take aways for me:

1) someone has to be the dancing guy. that is leadership but it is overrated. we can’t all be leaders.

2) the first follower is courageous and is the real ignition for the movement.

3) it takes time to build a movement and followers may come and go (read the comments).

Sivers summation works for me:

The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.

When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.

Tenkara? Sure.

The whole tenkara thing fits the first follower model hence @tenkarausa’s tweet to a couple of us early adopters.

Important keys to success in creating a movement are the leader embracing the followers as equals and the first followers showing others how to follow.

While calling the adoption of tenkara in this country a movement may be a stretch at this point, it clearly is gaining followers. The lessons of the Dancing Guy are pretty evident. Most importantly those early followers are showing others how to follow. Tenkara will continue to grow because of this willingness to share the knowledge and encouraging others to try tenkara.

There is a lesson here as well for those of us in the fly-fishing business:

  • Are you making it easy to follow you?
  • Are you welcoming them into the movement?
  • Are you sharing the knowledge?

From what I have seen the successful fly-fishing businesses can answer yes to these questions. Those who don’t look at new ideas and ways of doing business are not helping to build the fly-fishing movement.

Tenkara may be a good case study on how to help fly-fishing grow. It starts with the first follower theory.

What do you think?

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Filed Under: Business, Reflections, Tenkara, Things that work · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Tenkara on Ramseys Draft

May 9, 2011 by · 3 Comments

One of my favorite places to fish with my favorite person to fish with.

Check it out:

 

Filed Under: Fishing, Tenkara · Tagged: , , , ,

Best tenkara quote of the day

April 26, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Ok so the review, Stuff We Like: Simms Harbor GORE-TEX Shoes, was about fancy new kicks but it was Kirk’s observation on why shops should sell them that caught my attention:

Reason 1:  Small stream fishing is the new vogue.  Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.  I can tell you, from a media/writer’s perspective, small streams–places where you can wet-wade, use Tenkara and fiberglass rods, and catch wild fish (on dry flies)–will be the subject matter of many stories in the next 12-18 months.

Looks like that tenkara thing might just be catching on…

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Filed Under: Business, Fishing, Tenkara · Tagged: , , , ,

Tenkara Net Auction to Benefit Japan Relief Efforts

March 13, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

This was going to be a well crafted post about the outstanding fishing trip I had with my good friend Chris Hunt who writes the ever informative and very entertaining Eat More Brook Trout. But that will have to wait.

Tsunami

The tsunami that struck Japan continues to leave havoc in its wake. Half a world away, the connection to fly-fishing may seem tenuous at best.

But tenkara has deep roots in Japan. And tenkara fishers can’t help but look to Japan for tenaka inspiration, instruction and traditions.

Daniel Galhardo, owner of TenkaraUSA, has very strong ties to Japan and while thankfully the tragedy has not directly effected his family or friends those connections have inspired his to help with the relief efforts.

UPDATE: the Auction has closed and it netted more than $900 for Japan relief efftorts!

original post continues after the jump > [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reflections, Tenkara · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Speechless

March 3, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

I was stunned. She wasn’t really going to do it was she? I mean why? Why subject your self to the agony.

Some things just need to be seen to be believed.

Eat More Brook Trout guest blogger Liza Raley, in her position as a Classy 97 radio DJ here in Idaho Falls, attended the Idaho Falls Police presentation at the Idaho Falls Rotary Club today, where she volunteered to help the police demonstrate the effectiveness of the taser.

About 50,000 volts later, Liza could be hear muttering, “I’d rather be fishing Warm River with my Tenkara rod…”

It is a stunning performance that you just have to see to believe it. Jump over to Guest Blogger Gets Tazed for a Good Cause and see for yourself.

Filed Under: Antics, Tenkara · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
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