Time Keeps On Slippin', Slippin', Slippin'...

It's been far too long since I've had the time or energy to write!  I've been caught up in the whirlwind of family and my "real" job.  Well, one of those (The Job) is coming to its annual two-and-a-half month hibernation, and it couldn't come soon enough! 

I've spent the past few days preparing for a summer's worth of work guiding tenkara trips for RIGS Fly Shop and Guide Service, my second fledgling career, and my second season at RIGS.  There's much to do.  Gear to be packed, food to be dehydrated, last-minute household chores to complete, equipment to be mended, and new pieces of kit to eyeball for testing.

Ah, gear testing!  One of the little tasks that's always in the background.  I have a laundry list of gear that I'll be testing over the summer.  Gear that fits into backpacking and backpack angling, tenkara style.  Lightweight, compact stuff.  Purpose-driven, no-nonsense stuff.

First up is my new fixed-blade knife, an ESEE Izula II.  I've owned a Becker Necker (model BK11) for a few years, and it's been a great little neck knife.  However, even after adding a pair of really nice canvas micarta scales, it still was a little short in the handle and had a bit too much belly for easily slipping the blade into the smooth, wet bowels of a trout.

Enter the ESSEE Izula II.  This won't be the full-on review, but I just want to say that this little knife will receive a full summer's worth of testing in the backcountry.  It has already impressed me with the size and fit of the handle, which is longer and fits my hand better than the BK11.  Last night I started testing it in my kitchen, cutting up all the ingredients for a batch of Patrick Smith's Wild Casserole.  That was only the beginning, so stay tuned!  I have kindling to shave, trout to clean, fires to spark into life, snowshoe hares to dismember, and perhaps a cow elk to field dress.  The Izula II will be put to the task on all of that and more.

My new ESEE Izula II after cutting up two pounds of venison.

 

The Izula II sliced through veggies like butter.  Just right.

 

ESEE Izula II (bottom) alongside my Becker Necker (top) for comparison.

So, summer is starting, and so is my time guiding tenkara trips and living in the backcountry for a couple of months.  I have much to do, high country to explore, and quality gear to wring out.  Yahoo!

BHA North American Rendezvous!

I'm sitting in the Boise airport, waiting for a flight south to Colorado Springs, reflecting on my weekend at the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers North American Rendezvous.  This won't be a lengthy post, but I do want to let you know what a solid, hunter-angler conservation organization BHA is.

I've been a member for a number of years, and I've been able to watch BHA drow and develop.  Our own Colorado group, the largest state chapter, has grown from just a few members, including one of BHA's founders, author and hunting ethicist David Petersen, to a membership of over 200 in just a few short years.  Our state chapter now has every national forest in Colorado covered with a representative, and I am honored to represent Pike National Forest for BHA.

Last night I sat listening to Jason Hairston, founder of both Sitka and KUIU, speak at our banquet.  I was struck by both the diversity and depth of experience of our members.  Seated next to me was Carter Niemeyer, renowned wolf management specialist, and on the other side was master bowyer and traditional archery legend, Dick Robertson.  To sit in such company is both inspiring and humbling.

BHA's mission statement goes like this..."Backcountry Hunters & Anglers seeks to ensure America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands and waters."  The underlying principle is big country for big game and wild fish.  Protection of habitat.  Quiet use.  Boots-on-the ground activism.  That's good enough for me.

Yesterday I was honored to provide a seminar at our national rendezvous, focused on using tenkara on backcountry water.  I always enjoy sharing something as special as tenkara with folks, and I cannot thank Tenkara USA and BHA enough for providing this for the attendees in Boise.

 

 

To cap off the weekend, as if all of this wasn't enough, I got to spend a kick-ass lunch with my friend, TJ Conrads, editor/publisher/founder of Traditional Bowhunter magazine.  I think he knows at least half of Boise!  You rock, TJ!

Lastly...good news!  There's some discussion on next year's national rendezvous being held in Denver!

I Can Smell Spring

I sincerely hope I’m wrong, because we need way more snow in the southern Colorado foothills than we’ve gotten so far this winter, but I don’t really think I am.  I can smell spring.

Actually, I can smell the Arkansas River.  I smelled it yesterday.  You see, I do very few things in life, but the ones I do mean a lot to me.  Family, hunting, backpacking, backcountry skiing, tenkara, and…running.  I run often, mostly on trails, to keep my nearly 50-year-old body from getting big and soft.  I run to connect with the paleolithic past when folks had to run to survive.  I run because it makes me a much better hunter and angler.  I run to clear my head and think. 

One of my favorite places to run is along the Riverwalk in Cañon City.  I ran there two days ago while the sun sank in the western sky and the shadows grew longer.  I smelled spring.  Nothing in this world smells like that trail along the Arkansas River just before spring comes.  It smells slightly fishy, it smells like rotting cottonwood and water birch leaves, it smells like the thawing of riverside mud.  When I run along that trail I get to look at the water that holds those wonderful brown trout, and I get to breathe deeply while my heart, lungs, and legs do the work.

 

Spring isn’t here yet.  There are still patches of snow in the shady places and a skim of slushy ice or two across the Riverwalk.  It'll still snow a few more times.  But I can smell it, and it’s not far off.   I think I’ll go fishing tomorrow.    

Winter Tying and Getting Back to Basics

It's a little past the middle of winter in the Rocky Mountain foothills.  We've had way less snow than we should, and the only way I've been able to get in touch with it is to drive 90 miles north to Summit County for some winter camping.  However, it's high time I spent some evenings at my vise tying flies in preparation for next season.  It's also a time that I can reflect on how I spend what little free time I have, and the need to get back to the basics.

Over the years I've spent a considerable amount of time on Internet forums focusesd on hunting, fishing, and backcountry.  And while those years have been enlightening, educational, and have forged lasting friendships with like-minded men, I find myself craving more time spent outdoors and more time spent with my family.  There are only so many hours in each day, and once those hours are gone they will never come back.  I think it's time to get back to basics.

The basics...backpacking, hiking, hunting, backcountry skiing, tenkara fly fishing, self-reliance, taking my wife and daughters on long walks.  That's where it's at.  That's where my priorities need to be.  Less time online, more time outside.

What does this mean?  It means I will not go looking for more online forums.  It means I may not post as often as I have on the forums I have frequented in the past.  It means that I will continue to write meaningful posts to my own blog.  It means I can spend more time developing and testing new ideas for lightweight backpacking and tenkara fly fishing.  It means peace and time invested in my own family.

So, today I spent a lot less time online and more time at my vise in total silence.  I tied a dozen of a new pattern I designed recently that I haven't named or completely defined yet.  Time will take care of that.    

Tenkara Fly Fishing: A Sneak Peek!

The new tenkara book by Dave Dirks is nearing completion!  I am honored to be among the contributing writers/anglers on Dave's project.  This project has been in the works for quite some time.  I was contacted by Dave early last fall, and it's really exciting to know that it will be in print and offered as an e-book this spring.  According to Dave, the editor now has the manuscript, and the publication date is forthcoming.  Stay tuned for the release!  Just the cure for mid-winter cabin fever! 

Here's a sneak peek at the book cover!

Innovation

Innovation.  Webster's dictionary defines it as "something newly introduced" or "a change in the way of doing things".  There is a reason I contacted Tim Patterson, owner of RIGS Fly Shop and Guide Service, this past February, asking him if he would consider offering guided tenkara fly fishing trips.  RIGS has embraced tenkara from the get-go.  Not only did they introduce the first and only guided tenkara trips in Colorado (yes, they hired me in the process), they also grabbed the ball and ran with it.  In the ensuing months, the RIGS staff has done extensive R&D in the development of new and innovative tenkara lines, to include a floating line and a weight-forward nymphing line, as well as new tenkara fly patterns and techniques.  And I admire my team for their willingness to take chances and push the envelope.
One reason I feel fortunate to belong to the RIGS staff is that they respect the traditional tenkara methods, and at the same time are looking at new and different ways to offer tenkara to inexperienced fly anglers or experienced western fly anglers who are looking for something different.  One size does not fit all, and that philosophy is one that I've come to realize is very true.  We all fish different water and conditions.  We all come from varying backgrounds and experiences.  Having a fly shop and guide service here in Colorado that recognizes that diversity within the realm of tenkara is a godsend.

A case in point is the new tenkara nymphing line, designed and offered by RIGS...

Today I took a day off from my teaching duties and spent some time on the Arkansas River testing the new weight-forward tenkara nymphing line, a RIGS exclusive.  This 12'6" line is comprised of sections of high-vis multi-colored flourocarbon line, with a section of heavier line toward the tippet end of the line.  The hi-vis indicator sections, coupled with clear running line sections, allow for maximum depth control and added strike detection without sacrificing visibility.  I found the knots between sections to be a very good way to monitor depth, as the knots gather more light and are a bit more visible than the line itself, especially in low light conditions, which is common on mid-winter late afternoons on your favorite ice-free tailwater.  This line, teamed up with an unweighted to weighted nymph, turns over nicely, and delivers the fly to the water with ease and still allows you to keep much of the line off the water.

During my testing today, I partnered this new line with one of my self-tied Killer Kebaris.  The line performed as advertised, and the results speak for themselves.

The Rhythm of the Vise

There are those evenings at the fly vise when things just come together.  I've been tying a lot of flies lately, to the tune of at least a dozen a night lately.  It's all part of a larger project that'll come to fruition in early January at the Denver fly show.  What I'm getting at is that there's a certain "rightness" to spending an hour or two at the vise, getting everything right, and putting together some really great flies.  It's not like the planets have to align, and that you have to do this in the light of a full moon.  All it takes is an open mind, quality feathers, and touching turns of wire and Shetland yarn.  Some really good music and a glass or two of Colorado microbrew don't hurt either.  Allowing a perfect hen pheasant soft hackle to spread like a tiny flower around a barbless hook, wrapping with precision, and finishing that fly with care is time well spent.  May your winter tying be as rewarding as mine.