Early Summer Tenkara in Wisconsin's Driftless
Perfect tenkara rod water; a beautiful plunge along a limestone anchored LUNKER structure. I've been on a "shakedown" cruise for a few weeks, getting into the rhythm of van life by wandering and fishing the Driftless. It's also been a time to "shakedown" my tenkara rod fishing style a bit before I head for the mountains. Last week I got into some some superb trout fishing along the way!
"Summertime, and the fishin' is easy..."
Not exactly. Grass that was waist high 10 days ago is now nearly above my head in most places. The banks are thick with sharp thistle bushes, poison ivy, and wild parsnip. The gnats are traveling in swarms that resemble an invading Mongol horde. Driftless springwater creeks are clear as freshly cleaned glass, and sun on the water automatically raises the difficulty level for stalking and casting alike.
Despite this, it's my favorite time of year to tenkara rod fish the Driftless. The trout are hungry and more oriented towards the surface, so I can focus on fishing wet flies. I like to target the top 6 inches of the water column. While I can drown the fly and let it sink deeper and out of sight, I usually don't. Instead, my goal is to draw a surface strike. To me, there is nothing more exciting than watching a trout appear out of nowhere and smash a fly!
Despite this, it's my favorite time of year to tenkara rod fish the Driftless. The trout are hungry and more oriented towards the surface, so I can focus on fishing wet flies. I like to target the top 6 inches of the water column. While I can drown the fly and let it sink deeper and out of sight, I usually don't. Instead, my goal is to draw a surface strike. To me, there is nothing more exciting than watching a trout appear out of nowhere and smash a fly!
TOP LEFT:
TDB "Typical Driftless Brown" pushing 14-inches. Caught in the head of the run pictured to the right.
TOP RIGHT:
The TDB pictured "top left" was holding directly below the tiny plunge at the left side head of the pool in about 6 inches of water. I put a "fly only" cast just above the plunge and let it dead drift into the target zone for a quick take. The fish made a few short runs, then did what I both expected and feared it might do - ran hard and made it under that log on the lower left bank. I countered by dropping the tip parallel to the water and down to my right. This loaded the rod at the power curve and gave me the leverage I needed. From there, I could draw the fish back out into the pool while protecting my tippet section; I put the tenkara rod to work against the fish and kept the line clear of a potential snap-off on the structure.
BOTTOM LEFT:
Stream side conditions in the Driftless are..."lush" this time of year.
BOTTOM RIGHT:
1-3 feet wide and 6 inches deep at the head. Caught two TDBs from the faster water near the bank about a foot below the plunge. Line-tight, fly only dead drifts through the target zone got the job done. If I am fishing water that I suspect may hold more than one trout, I do my best to pull the fish away from it's lie for the fight. In many cases this allows me to catch multiple fish from small target zones.
GEAR & TACTICS
Last week, I tried an experiment with fly selection. I had a couple dozen basic soft hackle kebari left over from our retail days. They are a variant of the commonly seen Takayama Kebari pattern, featuring a black, red, or white thread body, a small wrap of peacock herl, and a somewhat embarrassingly large grizzly style soft hackle. All of them are size #12. Any time I rigged a new fly last week, I simply grabbed one at random and fished it.
Over the course of 3 days of fishing I easily broke north of 60 trout to hand fishing tenkara rods. The conventional anglers I was camping with were using size #16-#20 patterns and were surprised I was having success with "big patterns". My experience is that putting a generally buggy looking meal in the right position of the water column is of more critical importance than the fly pattern being used. While there are some highly pressured fisheries that require meticulous fly pattern selection, the Driftless as a whole isn't one of them. It's much more important to "hone the zone" by targeting specific lies with appropriate presentation at depths where the fish's attention is oriented. This experience has been consistent on most waters I've fished in other regions, too.
I primarily fished the surface, catching most of my fish in the top few inches of the water. Precise tip control and definitive casting stops can produce devastatingly effective fly-only drifts with tenkara rods. Developing consistent "stop control" in the forward cast allows the angler to adjust the potential depth the fly can sink to. A shorter tip arc stops the line system from giving the fly enough slack to sink when it lands, instead producing a tensioned line that only allows the fly (or a few inches of tippet) to reach the water. The properly tensioned line grants you clean drifts, increased control over the fly, and clean hooksets.
Over the course of 3 days of fishing I easily broke north of 60 trout to hand fishing tenkara rods. The conventional anglers I was camping with were using size #16-#20 patterns and were surprised I was having success with "big patterns". My experience is that putting a generally buggy looking meal in the right position of the water column is of more critical importance than the fly pattern being used. While there are some highly pressured fisheries that require meticulous fly pattern selection, the Driftless as a whole isn't one of them. It's much more important to "hone the zone" by targeting specific lies with appropriate presentation at depths where the fish's attention is oriented. This experience has been consistent on most waters I've fished in other regions, too.
I primarily fished the surface, catching most of my fish in the top few inches of the water. Precise tip control and definitive casting stops can produce devastatingly effective fly-only drifts with tenkara rods. Developing consistent "stop control" in the forward cast allows the angler to adjust the potential depth the fly can sink to. A shorter tip arc stops the line system from giving the fly enough slack to sink when it lands, instead producing a tensioned line that only allows the fly (or a few inches of tippet) to reach the water. The properly tensioned line grants you clean drifts, increased control over the fly, and clean hooksets.
WRAP UP, What's next?
It's been a great few weeks getting things sorted out on my home water, but now it's time to head for the Mountains! I'm launching out to fish Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. Stay tuned this week for a "Tenkara rod test drive" and more. Catch you soon!
- Matt @ Badger
- Matt @ Badger
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