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Tenkara Rod Caps Are EZ To Lose

April 30, 2012 by · 3 Comments

Tenkara anglers know that the most likely thing to lose when you go fishing is the end cap on your tenkara rod. The end cap protects the rod when it is housed and keeps things from falling out or getting in.

Dang handy little item.

But there in lies the challenge. Little. Like easily misplaced little.

So having spent some time thinking about ways to keep the little rascal from disappearing I came up with this idea.

Since I have a lot of old fly line lying around I decided it could be put to good use.

I grabbed my power drill and a 1/32 drill bit and made a slight modification to the end caps of my collection of Tenkara USA rods. Then I slipped a short length of old fly line through the hole and tied a figure-eight knot at the end.

Here is how it turned out.

Tenkara USA end cap MK 1 Mod 1

Since I wear a Fly Vines lanyard, I will just stash it there. If I drop it, the bright green line will be much easier to find as well.

Hopefully this will keep the rod caps from wandering off…

Filed Under: Featured, Tenkara, Things that work · Tagged: , , ,

There’s an App for Olive

April 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I am a big fan of the Olive the Wooly Bugger series. If you haven’t seen these wonderful books, they chronicle the adventures of Olive the Woolly Bugger as she introduces kids to the great outdoors through fly-fishing. Now, author Kirk Werner is taking Olive to iPad.

Werner set up a Kickstarter campaign for Olive to spread the word and raise some money for this new project. Olive’s stories are critically acclaimed and a big seller in the traditional format. But as Werner explains “apps” are now common place and the iPad offers provides interactive opportunities for kids to learn.

A key point of the Olive books is to get kids interested in learning about fly fishing, and outside away from video games, cell phones and yes, iPads. So, you may be asking, ‘why jump on the bandwagon and become part of the nature-deficit problem?’  I don’t see this as becoming part of the problem at all, rather adopting the technology that kids (and everyone) have already embraced, and using it to communicate the value in getting outside. If kids are going to be sitting around playing with their iPads, they may as well play with something educational and entertaining that still encourages outdoor activity. There’s no app for actually going out and exploring a stream, turning over rocks to look at bugs, and wetting a line—but soon there will be an app that celebrates that.

Help Get Olive on iPad!

There is not much time so I hope you will join me in backing Olive’s project.

You can learn more about it and make a pledge on Olive’s Kickstarter page.

Go ahead, every little bit helps!

Thanks!

Filed Under: Conservation, Fishing, Things that work · Tagged: ,

Starting a Blog? Read This!

February 29, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

If you are thinking of joining the growing number of outdoor bloggers you’re in luck!  Read F.A.Q. For the New Outdoor Blogger first, you can thank me later.

Tips, Tricks and Tools of the Trade

Because of some very hard work by some very dedicated people, most notably the charming and talented Outdooress, there is a place to hang out and most importantly learn some tricks of the trade. The Outdoor Blogger Network was created by Rebecca Garlock, the aforementioned Outdooress and Joe Wolf  (Flowing Waters)  as  a web-based portal for people to find the best Outdoor related blogs. OBN is a great place to learn from others, see the extensive range of outdoor bloggers and find join a community of bloggers who share a passion for the outdoors.

Go ahead, start that blog. There are a lot people waiting to cheer you on!

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

Creative Craftsmanship

January 8, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

One of the things I really like about the tenkara community is how creative it is. Here are three FOUR good examples (See below for a recent addition).

trying to get creative...

Check out the moose antler tenkara line holder at The North River: The Magnificent Moose. This little beauty holds the line and a fly and has the inherent rustic charm of the moose antler. Hopefully Kiwi will resume his carving hobby and put a few on the market.

The second example is from My Leaky Waders: Do it Yourself Tenkara Line and Case: Go Furl Yourself. David took the “roll you own” or in this case “furl your own” challenge and produced his own line. He really showed his creative chops with the line case! Check it out. I have been working on some level line ideas and I am going to try his idea out.

Last but not least is from Tenkara USA via Angling Trade: Tenkara USA Updates Product Line for 2012. There are four notable items.

First an expandable rod: “the Ito is a rod that can be fished as a 13ft long rod or a 14ft 7inches long.”

How about going in the other direction and shortening the rod? “We have decided to play a bit with the telescopic functionality of tenkara rods, where segments collapse into one another and can easily be removed or replaced. For 2012 we have decided to offer an add-on option to our customers looking for a shorter tenkara rod.”

They reworked the traditional tenkara furled line. “We have greatly improved our traditional tenkara lines for 2012, making them more supple, easier to cast and importantly tweaking their design so they don’t “recoil” back when freed from a snag.

The tenkara nets are wonders of craftmanship. “We have improved the design of our original tenkara nets and added a new size to the lineup: now available in 9inches or 10.5 inches diameter.”

NEW 02/16/12: Take a look at this exquisite Tenkara fly box that Joel from A Year On The Fly recently completed. Check it out at My New Tenkara Box and wish him luck on his tenkara adventures!

Tenkara is gaining a following because of things like this. There is a rich history of creation and innovation in the fly-fishing segment of fishing and Tenkara is part of that history. Now it is showing how it adds to the fly-fishing in the future.

Filed Under: Featured, Tenkara, Things that work · Tagged: , , , , , ,

The Best Fly-Fishing Blog Roll

December 18, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Blog rolls are like a fly box

Blog rolls are a treasure trove whether you are a seasoned blogger or just getting started. You can surf around from site to site and quickly find many informative and entertaining blogs. Our favorites usually wind up in a blog roll on our site.

On of the problems with blog rolls is their static nature. No more! thanks to The Outdooress you can find the most entertaining blog roll you will have have the pleasure to peruse! Check out Fly Fishing: The Confectioness!

Filed Under: Fishing, Things that work · 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: , , , , , , ,

A Natural Artist

June 18, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

I get some pretty cool gigs as a fly-fishing instuctor and one of my favorites is teaching the MSU Fly Gals each year. Just spending time with these wonderfully accomplished ladies is a joy in and of itself.

This year, one of my former students, Corey Higley, dazzled me with a very special gift!

A C. Higgles hand crafted bird house

Corey crafted this exceptional work of art with all natural materials. The detail is stunning!

Rising trout and mayfly

A midge and a trout

 

mayfly detail

 

 

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Filed Under: Antics, Simple Pleasures, Things that work · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Montana Fly Company Focus Group

June 18, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Last month I was asked to participate in a focus group for Montana Fly Company. The focus group was organized by those clever Outside Media folks who ran it on Facebook. It was a very entertaining way for those of us in the group to look at pictures, answer questions and make comments. Our moderator, Sammi, did a great job of keeping us on task while offering some very amusing commentary.

The chance to look behind the curtain a bit at some future offerings from Montana Fly Company and have some fun with Sammi was a treat in and of itself, but the deal got a whole lot better when MFC sent us some really nice tools as a reward for our participation. The gift box that arrived at The Middle River Group world HQ included a set of gold end nippers and a zinger (already attached to my Fly Vines lanyard); a stonefly/nymph box and a large waterproof fly box.

 

Some great swag from Montana Fly Company

While I can’t tell you what we worked on, you just might want to keep an eye on MFC to see what the fruits of our labors produced.

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Disclosure: Neither MFC nor Outside Media asked me to write this post.

 

Filed Under: Antics, Fishing, Things that work · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Things that Work: Fly Tying Tools from Montana Fly Co.

May 3, 2011 by · 3 Comments

OK, so I am not much of a fly tyer. But I chipped in a comment on OBN and wound up winning some sweet tying tools from Montana Fly Company.

They sent me three spools of premium thread, a River Camo Hair Stacker, and a River Camo ceramic Bobbin. They also sent me some Scissor Forceps and a fly box that immediately got put into service.

the tools

More after the jump [Read more...]

Filed Under: Things that work · Tagged: , , , ,

Llama kissing avoided!

April 23, 2011 by · 2 Comments

For those of you following the Stormy Kromer cap saga, the good news is the llama has been spared.

Just another reason we love our SK caps.

More details as they become available. Stay tuned!

In the meantime check out this episode of Under the Radar Michigan. The Stormy Kromer caps story starts at about the 11 minute mark

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Filed Under: Antics, Things that work · Tagged: , , , ,
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