Cutting the gear down = Tenkara?

   If you follow the Fly Fishing online scene you no doubt have heard of Tenkara.  Tenkara, is what I'd call the traditional Japanese style of fly fishing.  At the very least I can say it is a simpler form of fly fishing.  Remember simpler or simplistic in design is never a bad, Tenkara is a prime example.

San Gabriel River, Saturday.

We had a craving for fast moving water and wild trout. That meant we were heading north to the San Gabriel river west fork.  For those that might not know it can be found off the of the 210 fwy heading north on Azuza.

Carefully wading up stream

SGR was a new experience for all five of us.  There were lots of high points to the trip and everyone was able to catch (and release) some beautiful wild rainbow trout.  The downside to the trip was sadly the impact from humans.  The massive volume of trash and graffiti absolutely infuriated me. In a few instances I saw a bag of trash complete with dirty diapers left on the ground and weighted down with rocks...  I couldn't FATHOM a situation were it made sense to bag up trash weight it down but not just carry it out?!

GCI Packseat

I love my packseat. Light (1.5 lbs) and portable it gets clipped to my fishing bag when I expect I may be without a seat on the banks of the water.




Just noticed Amazon sells this for 23.99, which is $4.00 dollars more than I posted in the video, still not a bad deal though.

Redington Crosswater Plus, my first rod review.

The Redington 9' 8wt. fly outfit was not only my first fly rod, but is also my first rod review.

Take a look!

A Boost To My Arsenal

Its only natural that once you get hooked on a new hobby you look for ways to expand it.  By grabbing more gear, learning/reading and getting out and having fun.  As I mentioned, I got bit by the "fly" and it's totally taken over.  A couple of posts ago I added pictures of my new fly boxes and the rod I've been using. Well the number of rods has grown to two and the number of flies has shot well up over my starting amount (thanks to a fellow board member on FishingNetwork).

First the rod.  Lets be honest fly fishing can be VERY expensive.  With that said, there are some tried and true high-value gems that can be acquired and cherished, one such rod is the Eagle Claw Featherlight.  I first heard about this rod through the blogs I read, mainly UrbanFlyVentures and FiberglassManifesto.  The later, the Fiberglass Manifesto recently posted a nice review of the featherlight series that is worth a read.


The Featherlight series of rods are fiberglass, which is a style that has fallen out of the mainstream popularity when compared to graphite.  However that does not in anyway mean these rods lack in functionality, and the bugdet priced Featherlight is a prime example.  For the price (roughty $25.00- $30.00) I believe it is the best high-value rod on market.

I outfit my particular Featherlight, the 7' model with an Okuma Siera 4/5 Fly Reel with WF4F line.  While the 7' rod is stamped with a 5/6 wt. however it easily casts the lighter 4 wt. line for the shorter casts I need for the locations I fish.

After I recevied the rod and setup the line I took it down to the local lake and had a pretty nice afternoon.


The little Bluegill in the lake may not put a full bend on the rod, but you know they are there!  I had a bass on momentarily, but I didn't set that hook fast enough and he got away!

Bluegill are a great fish when practicing casting I have found.  Even though I may cast a bit sloppy, the Bluegill remain eager to please.  Lot of heart for such a little fish.

Here is the largest catch of the day, still dimiutive, but fun nonetheless :)

As for the ever breeding and multiplying fly collection, the MVP of the day was this wooly tied up by a new friend, CityDad over at the FishingNetwork forum.

Contact him if interested in any flies.  His nymphs in particular are high detail and quality. 

-Josh

Gear Review - Meiho Fly Box

Ongoing series of review of everything and anything I can get my hands on related to fishing!

On the block today is a Meiho floating fly box I found at Bob Mariott's in Southern California.

Gear Review - Dr. Slick Fly Fishing Lanyard

Here you go!

All in all I rate it a "Try It" if this kind of thing is interesting for you.  Its sits in my trunk currently in case I can sneak in some fishing at some of the local lakes.

Why fish?

I started out on this blog with a lengthy post on what a beginner should buy for fishing and I thought, "Hey...  Lets talk about why".  At its core what is fishing? Its someone with a fishing pole standing/sitting on a boat, the shore, a kayak... ect. trying to coax a fishing into hurting itself by biting something like a lure or bait that represents food.

If all you do is look at fishing at that level, it seems primitive.  However it is so much more than this.  In its core it is both a sport and a sustaining skill that teaches patience, respect for nature and self reliance.  Its a sport that adapts with new technology and at its core is still wild and only based on how you appeal to the fish...

I fish because personally it is relaxing.  I like to take a rod and reel, some line, some kind of lure and represent it as a living (or dying in some cases) bait to my target.  There is a methodical process that goes into it all, anglers take time to understand the situation and prepare or improvise as needed to get to the goal; which could be a fish in the pan for some.

Fishing is a connection to a wilder time, a time when we depended on our selves for food.  Sadly back then we couldn't benefit from molded plastics but I'm sure even on the bad days its was always better then a day of hard work.

To the anglers keep living the dream and teaching anyone interested,  To the beginners, good news! The internet is a wealth of information that has certainly suited me well.  Also I'm available for questions to help you have the same enjoyment I have each and everyday I put any kind of line to water.


-Tight lines