I didn’t have time this weekend to do much fishing. The last few weeks have been hectic. Lots to do and plan which leaves little time for anything else; however, I did manage to get a few minutes to myself where my dad and I could walk the creek behind their house.
I always keep some flies handy in case an opportunity arises, and this weekend it really paid off. I was able to gather some used mono I found laying around the garage, and Dad and I tied the used line to a bamboo stick with some floating beetle flies I tied a few weeks back.
We trounced around the creek and found some deep holes. There was no real need to cast since the holes weren’t that wide. Also, you could let the creek’s current carry the fly to just about spot as long as you placed it right. A few twitches of the “rod” to give the bugs action, and the fish were getting hooked left and right.
I know what you’re thinking, and yes the fish were small. But catching fish, no matter what size, on a small bamboo pole with flies that you tied is a lot of fun. If you ever have an ultra-light rod (sticks, line, and hooks will do fine) and are near a creek then I suggest looking for some deep holes. You’ll be surprised what you can catch.
UPDATE: Apparently our homemade reel-less bamboo technique is called Tenkara fly fishing, an old Japanese form of fly fishing. I had a feeling we weren’t the only ones to think about it. Needless to say, after several readers/tweeps have pointed this out to me, I must admit I’ve become very intrigued by Tenkara.
I’m looking forward to seeing if I can work a little on our homemade rigs (I knew building guitars would pay off at some point) and emulate current Tenkara rods on the market. It probably won’t happen, but I’m fairly confident I can come up with something that will work just as well as they did last weekend and something that’s a bit prettier to look at.
Tales from East Yahtam 