This past weekend was perfect, well mostly. I went to Seneca Creek in West Virginia with my older brother to camp, but most importantly to fly-fish. We hiked in and set up camp on Friday evening. It didn't take us long to get our fishing gear out and pick a fly that would work.
After a few small trout here and there we changed things up. We quickly found what the trout wanted and they went nuts! We only were able to fish for an hour or so before the sun went down, but I did land my first trout on tenkara with my handmade net with a killer bug (pictured left). Thanks Chris Stewart a.k.a. Tenkara Bum! (http://www.tenkarabum.com). Is it big? No, but it is a gorgeous natural rainbow trout. I'd rather catch a natural trout over a stocked one any day. There's just something about it that makes holding one that much better. Plus they are very strong! Anyway...we ate some granola bars for dinner and called it a night.
The second day started off with a bang. I was fishing tenkara (Fountainhead Stonefly 330 with level line) and my brother was using my 3 weight fly rod. Though he caught tons of fish, tenkara was the perfect method for the small side pockets and cuts in the stream. I could fish ANY pocket on the stream. Why fish the tiny pockets? That's what I used to think since I couldn't keep my fly in the long enough with regular fly-fishing. After two casts into one, I pulled out an 8 inch rainbow that looked as though it could barely fit! We switched off so I could cast and he could get the hang of tenkara. He never said it, but he loved every second of it. Pictured Right is one of the super dark brook trout he caught on the tenkara rod. You truly learn how to read the water and where fish hold in every inch of the stream. This helped us catch countless trout. Literally, we lost track after about 3 hours. One thing I wish I could have done better. Nymphing. I'm just not very good at it. I caught a few fish with a killer bug, but missed several hook-ups. The worst part is knowing that I missed more than the fish that were temporarily hooked because I couldn't see the strikes. Any suggestions for strike detection on tenkara? Or even in general? Please help!
Since we were catching so many fish, mother nature tried to throw a wrench or two in our plans (pretty much mine). We were fishing a hole that was actually big enough for us both to cast. I was fishing just ahead of him when I hear a stick fall or break behind me. Curiously, I looked expecting to see nothing. To my surprise I see a little more than a falling stick. This stick was short and stocky with black fur. Yes, it was a black bear! No more than 25 yards away from me. I yell for my brother and he froze when he saw it. I turned back around to get another look and it took off. It tore through the woods like its tail was on fire. Absolutely ridiculous! Really wish I could have snagged a photo of it.
Later that day, we hiked back to camp after dinner and found that we had some time to head down stream to hit a few small holes. I fished down further than my brother. I reached a nice cut and started casting. I took two or three casts with no rises. All of a sudden there was, or what seemed like, an explosion in front of me! "Holy sh*t!" I yelled as a fawn sprints away up the mountain side. It was asleep in the grass only inches away from my foot and I had no idea. Apparently neither did it. I could have reached down and touched it if I wanted. Again, absolutely ridiculous.
More pictures to come!
Later that day, we hiked back to camp after dinner and found that we had some time to head down stream to hit a few small holes. I fished down further than my brother. I reached a nice cut and started casting. I took two or three casts with no rises. All of a sudden there was, or what seemed like, an explosion in front of me! "Holy sh*t!" I yelled as a fawn sprints away up the mountain side. It was asleep in the grass only inches away from my foot and I had no idea. Apparently neither did it. I could have reached down and touched it if I wanted. Again, absolutely ridiculous.
More pictures to come!
UPDATE
Here are some pictures and a link to a video. I made it with some video clips my brother and I took of one another. It also has some pictures in there as well. Check it out HERE!