Tenkara and the Smoky Mountains

dcopas78

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Decatur, OH
I just got back from a week in the Smoky Mountains and trying out my new Tenkara outfit. I must say that this is a really, really fun way to catch fish. It is incredibly lightweight and compact. The whole outfit, including a small case for flies, tippet, and the hard case weighs around 14 ounces. If you just take the rod in the soft case, it would be reduced by around 5 ounces. It is a great back country option for someone looking. It is also easier to use than traditional fly gear if someone doesn't like fly fishing gear.

Anyways, back to the fishing. It was very slow compared to how I would normally do this time of year. The hatch was good, mostly little yellow sally stonefly, but the water was so low due to low rainfall totals that the fish were extremely spooky. I ended up spending most of my time up in the higher elevations chasing brook trout, mostly above 5000'. A big brook is 8 inches here and a big rainbow rarely exceeds 14 in the mountains, but they are wild trout. At a few of the lower elevation areas, I took the wife and boy with me. He enjoyed the water and all the rocks, sticks and dirt that went along with it. You give that boy a stick and he is entertained for hours.
 

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I think I need to pick one of those up for my kids... can you get a setup for less than $200?
 
I think I need to pick one of those up for my kids... can you get a setup for less than $200?

Yes, there are several kits under or close to that price range from TenkaraUSA and Temple Fork Outfitters. Nearly all of them collapse to around 20 inches. It would be a great way to introduce a kid to fly fishing and it sure beats packing around a full fly rod/reel in the back-country.
 
If Chouinard preaches Tenkara the masses will follow.:D with their wallets.

So why not tie twenty feet of line on the end of any flyrod?:)
 
If Chouinard preaches Tenkara the masses will follow.:D with their wallets.

So why not tie twenty feet of line on the end of any flyrod?:)

Why twenty feet? Oh, I know, so you can find it easier when the fish runs off with the top section of your rod :D.

It does seem like a bit of a gimmick, but a friend showed me one the other day and the rod is a lot longer (12') and lighter than a normal fly rod. It also collapses to 20". I think my son might find it less frustrating than a regular rod for small stream fishing.
 
A very cool report from mountains too old for fossils and a fish stranded in the Southern Highlands when the ice retreated the the last time. Cool combo if there ever was
 
New gimmick was wrong choice of words...obviously the cane pole has been around a very long time.Fishing has evolved a long stretch,for sure, and nothing wrong with simplifying. I get that.But in an industry that may have reached its pinnacle, finding/ designing the next best thing is getting to be a harder proposition.So,why not start a new(but old) twist with a one piece rod and a length of line.May I suggest the truly devoted commit to tying their own horse hair leaders....of course mind you...wet fly only.Isaak Walton would be proud.:D
I'm just funning you guys,carry on. Any variation of fly fishing gets my nod over gear . I'm my own version of a purist/snob.
 
I understand Hem. I have friends here in Ohio that only archery hunt with Osage orange homemade bows, homemade arrows, broadheads and buckskin leather. To each his own I guess. I still love my traditional fly gear, but I'm having an affair with tenkara for the summer :D
 
dcopas
Go gettum. By the way, I jumped the gun and didn't comment on your pics fishing with your boys.Nice to see. Have fun...all that matters.
Hem
 

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