Kentuckiana Fly Fishing Show 2015

The 10th annual Kentuckiana Fly Fishing Show was on January 24th. I was happy to be able to attend and learn about local fly fishing. I have been to a few fly fishing shows, but most of them had more of a tenkara theme for me, specifically a Tenkara Guides theme. I have even helped watch the Tenkara Guides booth when all the guides were busy giving seminars and casting demonstrations. Did I 100% know what I was talking about? No, but I was able to pass out Tenkara Guide business cards! Haha.

Being a Tenkara Groupie back in the day ;)

When I walked through the doors into the Kentuckiana Fly Fishing Show and started passing the vendors and retailers I was slightly startled. Tenkara was no where in sight. I wasn't completely in shock, because I have found that when I mention tenkara in Kentucky I am mostly met with blank stares. The awesome guys at The Lexington Anglers shop in downtown Lexington know what tenkara is, but they are professionals.

I also have to admit something. I don't know how to say this, but... I have never attempted reeled fly fishing, or Western fly fishing, or whatever you wanna call it. I fully confess that I am actually a little judgmental and snobby when it comes to Western fly fishing. So who am I to judge when someone doesn't know what tenkara is all about!?  Overall, I think we can agree that just do what makes you happy! Reel or no reel. 

I changed my mind frame from tenkara to Kentucky fishing. I was going to take this time to learn about the KY community and fishing landscape. They had some good seminars on local fishing spots and resources, providing information about conservation and local fisheries. The booths that interested me were Casting for Recovery, Kentucky Fish & Wildlife Services, Project Healing Waters, and WKU Fly Fishing. Let me repeat that last one... WKU Fly Fishing. Yes, Western Kentucky University offers a class in fly fishing! Crazy. I noticed numerous men over the age of 50 standing at the WKU booth contemplating quitting their day jobs and going back to school! I also learned that WKU will have a viewing of the International Fly Fishing Film Festival on February 21st. If you are in the Bowling Green, KY, area you should check it out! 

I had a fun time and hope that next year I might get the chance to introduce a different species of fishing to some KY anglers - tenkara. In closing, I have no closing. So I will just leave you with this kick ass poster I scored: 

Trees, Trout, and Nothing

Over the last month I have been lucky enough to have some extra time to try out some new fishing spots. However, I wasn't as lucky when it came to actually catching anything. Here is a brief overview of a few of my Tenkara outings. I am still a beginner - so any helpful tips are always welcome! 

#1 - Indian Creek at Red River Gorge, KY. 

Full of excitement, after hearing about Indian Creek, I hop into the car with my KY fishing license and my Tenkara fishing gear.  Rob drives me, my father-in-law, and our dog, Baloo, the hour from Lexington to the Gorge. 

Now, I am of a stubborn nature. When we get to the stream, I immediately disregard any advice Rob may have and set out in my own direction!  I find myself alone on a stream that seems foreign. Indian Creek is nothing like the streams I know in Utah. I try to read the water but this yields no results. I hurriedly walk through large pools and stir up the water. The only thing I seem to be catching are clumps of leaves and trees! Grrrrr. I turn into the Hulk and stomp around the water every time I hook another tree. I finally catch up to Rob and his father and sit on a log to gain composure. They have caught fish. Lots of fish. I slowly count to ten. Did I mention I am competitive? 

Untangling line, even when I am just sitting the line got tangled! haha

I am missing something, but at this point I am tired and just happy to sit and watch them fish. Right now they are in deep stagnant pools (places I would have normally walked right by) and they are watching for glimpses of rises in the water. I take note.

Baloo being a very good dog! 

This doesn't apply very often, but when you're fly fishing and your husband is a fishing guide, it might actually pay to listen to him. Please, if you know Rob, don't tell him I said that.

#2 - Otter Creek, KY. 

It is a cloudy day and I am prepared for the rain. We pull into a parking lot. Two other anglers are there, sorting their rods and reels for a day of fishing. We park, get our waders on, grab our Tenkara rods, and start walking toward the stream. The Western anglers are still getting ready - another reason I love Tenkara! 

A five minute walk leads us to a cloudy, muddy, off color stream. "Uh Oh," I think to myself. But I follow Rob and take my time looking for any signs of fish. We walk, wade, and walk some more until we finally see an area where fish are rising. I cast to this area multiple times with no luck. I keep moving upstream and catch a little minnow. I barely felt the little guy on my line! 

We keep plowing ahead with no luck. We turn around and pass the area with the multiple rises and the fish are still in action! Rob reminds me to take heed of my back cast because I tend to be too forceful, and after (finally) taking his advice I catch a 12 inch Rainbow! I am so happy I am pretty sure I scared every fish in the stream as I dance around/land the fish.  I go home happy.

#3 - Back to Indian Creek

I literally catch nothing. Not even a tree, or a rock, or a log. Nothing! I notice how low, calm, and clear the water is compared to our last trip to this creek. We spot fish, holding deep in clear cold water.  They quickly scatter each time our tippet hits the surface. Rob doesn't land a fish either, so it makes me feel a little better.

The only thing I do that day is take stream selfies with my Sato rod. (I know, I know... enough with the selfies!)  I had fun, so it was a good day with or with out a catch! 

Bourbon and Horses and Tenkara? Oh, my!

So far, Kentucky has revealed to me the traditional staples of the state like horses, basketball, bourbon, coal, and climbing.  I have done the distillery tours, hopped on the bourbon trail, placed a bet at Keeneland, and had a blast doing it all! However, months after returning to the Bluegrass State I had not found a stream to fish Tenkara.  I started day dreaming of living in Utah once again where trout streams are seconds away from Salt Lake City. Ok, so maybe I wasn't day dreaming, but I was pretty mad at myself for not taking advantage of the easy access I had to ideal Tenkara fly fishing while in Utah.

And then it happened! I went on a hike that happily turned into a fishing trip. I found my own "honey hole" that was pretty amazing located in . . . well, that's my secret. But I can share pictures of the unexpected joyous occasion:

Casting alongside Baloo, the best fishing partner I know!

 I went out with Tenkara USA's Rhodo. I like using the Rhodo because it is so light in hand and, like all Tenkara rods, it is very easy to take on a hike. The kebari, or fly, I used was a purple and blue affair called a Dinky Dye. The best part of the trip was successfully reading the water - casting to any place I would live if I was a trout!

The fun didn't stop there! Unfortunately, I dropped my iPhone in the stream* attempting to take some pictures. Luckily, this was followed by the discovery of a wonderful gourmet hot dog and beer joint on the way home! Overall, it was a great day!

Even though they featured amazing local and craft beers I had to go with some Dr. Pepper!

*No iPhones were harmed in the making of this post.

Appalachian Tenkara Jam - A Tenkara Awakening!

You love Tenkara, don't you? You love grabbing a rod and getting outside, right? You love the simplicity of rockin' out with your rod out, huh? Oh wait, you don't know what Tenkara is? Well you are missing out!

I discovered Tenkara through, ahem, a guy. At first I resisted picking up Tenkara because Rob, my husband and Tenkara Guide, had found it first. But I was secretly interested. For those of you who don't know, Tenkara is fly fishing with just a fly, line, and rod. Don't freak out, but there is no reel. It is an elegant and wonderful way to get outside and catch fish. The first place I started researching Tenkara for myself was on the Tenkara Bum and Tenkara USA websites. Tenkara Bum was developed by Chris Stewart, and Tenkara USA was founded by Daniel Gallhardo. Both were early adopters of Tenkara, and responsible for introducing it to the USA. I was happy to meet both Chris and Daniel at the Tenkara Summit in 2012. However, at that time I was still suppressing my interest in Tenkara. I would occasionally go fishing, and when interrogated by my husband would comment, "I am having an okay time," or, "This is fun, I guess." Here is a photo from those dark times of Tenkara in my life:

Then, in 2014, something changed. Maybe it was was love, or maybe it was pure hate and the desire to out-fish Rob. Or maybe it was a personal quest to stop avoiding new chances and trying new things. Whatever it was, it made me come out of the Tenkara closet.

Rob came to me in September and asked me if I wanted to have a Tenkara weekended together in October. I jumped at the chance! I pictured a romantic weekend of camping and fishing as I schooled him in the art of Tenkara. Then I found out it was the Appalachian Tenkara Jam (ATJ). I thought to myself, "Even better. I can ditch Rob and meet other Tenkara fans." So we packed up the car and headed to the beautiful mountains of North Carolina for the first ever Appalachian Tenkara Jam!

Day one of the ATJ was packed full of interesting presentations, vendors, and fellow fisher men and women!  I was happy to see so many vendors in one place, like Badger Tenkara, Tenkara Customs, Riverworks Tenkara, Zen Fly Fishing, and old standbys like Tenkara Bum, Zimmerbuilt and Tenkara USA sold by Mountain Tenkara. I was also impressed at the lengths the ATJ founders, Jason Sparks and Lance Milks, took to make sure you felt comfortable joining in the fun and learning new techniques. I loved all the presentations and took away an important unified message from all of them - make Tenkara yours! What I mean by that (and what I think they meant) is that you should pick the rod that you like, the fly you prefer, and the line you want and just get out and have fun. Tenkara isn't about a perfect combination of rod, line, and fly but is more about what works for you.

For those of you who missed out here are a list of the presenters:

Jason Sparks - gave a great introduction to Tenkara for all of us beginners, and I was able to learn more about Tenkara's history.

Adam Omernick - Zen Fly Fishing Gear - Lines!

Lance Milks - Kebari (fly) - He may have inspired me to tie some flies - maybe.

Tom Sadler - Mossy Creek. Now I want to become a Tenkara pirate. Enough said.

Al Alborn - spoke about the wonderful organization Healing Waters and his favorite fishing in VA.

Matt Sment - Badger Tenkara. I learned about fishing in Wisconsin and reading the water to find fish. Also, Wisconsin has a major cow problem :)

Robert Worthing -  Not sure about this one... I kinda fell asleep. Just kidding, interesting presentation on landing big fish!

I particularly enjoyed learning how to build your own Tenkara rod with Tenkara Customs.  I enjoyed it so much that I bought my own Tenkara rod kit as a gift for a family member, but have since decided to keep it for myself. I can always buy another. 

Day two of the ATJ provided a chance to see Tenkara in action with casting clinics and on stream help. Matt Sment from Badger Tenkara took the time to show me and some other beginners how to rig the line, tippet, and fly to the rod. This was important to me so I could be independent on the water. Matt was also a great teacher when showing me how to cast and land fish. After day two, I felt truly self sufficient and even went on to catch three fish that day!

Overall, I had a great time at the Appalachian Tenkara Jam. I feel confident that I can go out to any stream by myself and fish Tenkara. I hope to find some streams in my home state of Kentucky to fish and have more Tenkara posts in the future.