A Tenkara Tackle Box For Those Thin Blue Lines

My new compact tenkara survival kit.

I am always trying to make useful compact kits for various tasks.  I have especially enjoyed the challenge of creating the smallest, yet fully functional, kit for tenkara fishing.  My first attempt at a tenkara "survival kit" has worked well for me but I like to keep experimenting.  My goal is to have the smallest tenkara kit that contains everything needed for a few hours to a day on the water.  I had purchased a couple of Tanago Tackle Boxes from Chris Stewart, the Tenkara Bum, a while back and decided to use them as the starting point for a new kit.

An opened box containing everything needed

There is one large compartment that I decided to use for my tenkara lines and tippet and five smaller compartments for flies and other items.

A foam tenkara line/tippet holder made to fit in the large compartment

A high vis tenkara line on top and 5x tippet wound into the bottom holder

This holder is as small as I can make it to fit but large enough to avoid introducing too much coiling and memory into the line.  In addition, a few slits added to the foam is all that is required to hold the tippet or line. This large compartment can also hold a mini tweezer to help remove hooks if necessary from a trouts jaw.

The other side of the kit easily holds a number of flies and a line nipper

I have found that I rarely use more than dozen flies during any outing on the water, including ones lost to fish and vegetation.  Therefore this box holds more than enough flies.  The nipper is pretty self explanatory and the this one from stream works is very compact and works well.

Compact nippers

Some Royal Sakasa Kebari and Killer Bugs are essential flies for any trip to the stream or pond

Overall this kit is not much larger than Altoids tin and has all that is needed to enjoy tenkara fishing for a day on the water (including line, tippet, flies, nipper and tweezer).  I have made this kit specifically for exploring those "thin blue lines" out in the woods but find that  it would be equally useful as small kit to keep in the car or in a backpack for those moments when the urge to cast a fly or two in the hopes of bringing  fish to hand needs to be met.

Cicada Sakasa Kebari

17 Year Cicada

I have not had a great deal to blog about lately.....probably does not help that I have had no time to blog either.  However, I have a moment now to write up a quick post for another sakasa kebari that was inspired by a relatively recent trip home to the Hudson Valley.  On my last visit home the periodical cicadas made their first appearance in 17 years. I know there are fly patterns out there specifically to mimic this biological wonder but my sakasa kebari was not meant to imitate but simply use the color scheme.

Cicada Sakasa Kebari

  Hook: Mustad C49S,, size 12

Hackle: Hungarian Partridge, grey

Head: Pearsall's gossamer silk, color red

Body: 6/0 Uni-Thread, color black

Rib: Pearsall's gossamer silk, color hot orange

I don't know how effective this pattern might be but I figure that the bright red head (like the cicadas red eyes) or contrasting orange rib (like the cicada's orange wing veins) might induce a couple of strikes.  I doubt  this pattern will replace any regular pattern in my fly box but it's always nice to tie something a little different and change things up.

Sunday Morning

The Millpond with some residents just enjoying the early morning sun.

 Sunday morning, nothing crazy , just a little fishing at the local millpond for some bass and bluegill.  More importantly it's some time to relax and let the stress of the week drain away.  Just a tenkara rod and a size 10 Killer Bug was all I needed to enjoy my morning.

First Bass of the morning

The bulk of my catch in any trip to the pond consist of  these bluegill

Mountain laurel in the morning sun

A closer view of mountain laurel

As with any trip to the pond, especially one this successful and peaceful I always have to make "one last cast".  My last cast for the day landed this respectable largemouth bass at 16".  In my opinion, a very nice way to wrap of my visit.

My Killer Bug was apparently not too insignificant for this guy to inhale

"Home again, I like to be there when I can..."

Moodna Creek

It's not just a line from a Pink Floyd song....it's the title of this post.  I thought it would be appropriate. Last weekend while my wife and Isabella were at a regional baton twirling competition in PA (where Bella took two regional championships....Couldn't help putting that in, Daddy is very proud) Alina and I headed up my parents home for the weekend following work. It was a chance to do some visiting  give my Dad and Mom a hand with a few items around the house and do a little fishing.

Fishing was a little slow.  I worked my way up stream on Moodna Creek to a small tributary called Woodbury Creek. Both streams are essentially put and take streams with browns and rainbows stocked in March and April.  I was hoping that there would be something left hanging around.  I did manage to land a small small mouth bass on a Killer Bug.

This guy put the "small" in small mouth bass

 The only other catch was a very shy brown who didn't care to have his picture taken. Overall it was a pleasant day on the stream(s).  The most notable thing about today's outing was the first emergence of the 17 year cicadas.  The "droning" that thousands to millions of them make is hard to mistake that sound for anything else even after 17 years.  They were everywhere....on every plant, tree, and rock in sight.  It may be a little irritating to have to 2 inch long bugs bouncing into your face every minute or two but from a biological prospective, they make an impressive sight.

Sycamore on Woodbury Creek

 The other notable observation was a something I spotted in the woods about 20 yards from the stream and at least 75 yards from the nearest road.

Yes, that is a dumpster.  It's unfortunate that people will dump garbage in the woods but this is not something  that someone would/could drag to this location....not to mention that they had enough energy to smash the bottom into a tree.  Everybody remembers Sandy but before Sandy there was Irene.  Irene wreaked some serious havoc and there was terrible flooding all through the Hudson Valley up into the Adirondacks and New England.  More than likely that is how this dumpster wound up in that spot.

Alina along the Coxing Kill

One of my highlights from the weekend was having a chance to take my youngest daughter, Alina up to the Shawangunks for a little Daddy-Daughter hike along the Coxing Kill.  It's always been my favorite stream to walk along but it's even better with Daddy's little girl.  I don't think things get much better than being able to spend time with your children sharing the outdoors. There is definitely something to be said for going home.

Patience & the Connetquot

The Connetquot

The Connetquot, historically, is one of Long Island's trio of premier trout streams. The Carman's River and the Nissequogue River being the other parts of the trio.  All three streams are spring fed creeks.  The Connetquot was the last one remaining on my "to fish" list until this morning.  With the long weekend here I thought I would give it a try.  The Connetquot is similar to many English chalk streams in the fact that it uses a beat system.  An angler reserves a beat for a specified time and has that section of the river to himself or herself.  In years past getting a good beat was difficult.  The Connetquot has it's own hatchery, or least had a working one until several years ago.  Due to an outbreak of trout infectious pancreatic necrosis it was closed and the numbers of anglers and trout dropped off.  However, this is still fish to be had if one wants to put in the time.

Typical stretch of water upstream of the hatchery

I started at beat 27 hoping to catch some native brookies but didn't have a whole lot of luck.  I wanted to use my TUSA 11' Iwana but it was too cramped for that so I went my 9' Shimano Kozuka. With no fish to be seen anywhere and no other anglers in sight I figured I would just work my way back downstream.  Fishing a stream like this can be challenging with it's dense mats of aquatic vegetation but there were other things to divert my attention.

A little muskrat having breakfast with his back to me.

There was quite a bit of wildlife out and about including muskrats, ducks, ospreys, and deer.  However, I was interested in trout. After an entire morning of not so much as a single rise I was just about ready to call it  a day when I finally caught a glimpse of something and figured what could I lose by a few more casts. So I tied on a brown soft-hackled yarn body fly and hid behind the only tree available and began to cast.  Three casts later I had a hit and then a jumper.  It was a handsome brown trout that put on a beautiful aerial display by jumping clear of the water three times.

15" Connetqout brown trout

I less than a minute I erased an entire mornings frustration by just exercising a little patience.  Though the Connetquot may not have provided the action seen in former glory days this trip proved to be well worth it and desreves another trip.

This respectable brown was caught just in front of the tree to the left in the picture.

Brown soft-hackled yarn body fly (originally tied by Chris "TenkaraBum" Stewart)

A Usual Trip That Was Not So Usual

The Millpond

 I have not had a tremendous amount of time to do any fishing lately but I did manage a trip this morning down to the local millpond to catch a few bluegill and bass.  It started out like any other trip I have made to the millpond over the last few years but today was to be a little different.  Usually I will not fish in the rain but I have waited all week and I was not going to let a little on and off drizzle deter me.

Northeast corner of the pond with a quiet cove

I thought today might also be a good opportunity to give my new TUSA Ito a work out.  Even though it can zoom to over 14' I choose to keep it at 13'.  So I tied on a tenkara level line as I have done for several years and started casting.  Just then a funny thing happened.  I am unsure if I had a fish or a snag but as I was bringing my line back in for another cast when the fly, tippet, and all 13' of my level line simply fell off and disappeared into the depths.  I stood there like an idiot with a "WTF?" look on my face.  Luckily I had another fly line so that my day did not come to an abrupt end.

Baltimore oriole in a tree behind me

Flowering dogwood

The unfortunate thing was that the line I had on me was a 12' horse hair fly line I made using a kit from the TenkaraBum.  Unfortunate, because the line is white and on a gray drizzly overcast day it was a little hard to see the line.  However, I definitely liked the way the line came out and how it cast. It also more than held it's own when pulling in decent sized bluegill.  The line I had made was a level line that had a 4 hair thickness throughout.

First bluegill of the day

Last bluegill of the day

I pride my self on not loosing flies when fishing.  At most I might loose two on an outing.  Today I lost two...what was more disconcerting was the fact that I lost two flies plus two fly lines as well!  One misplaced back cast and the horsehair line got buggered up in a tree and is now in sorely in need of repair.  Oh well...what can you do?  I brought a dozen good sized blue gills to hand.  A couple of flies and line is a small price to pay for a morning well spent.

Where the pond goes when it spills over the dam.

Thin Blue Lines

Just another thin blue line

If I had one and only one kind of place to fish it would have to be fishing those "thin blue lines".  Thin blue lines refer to the blue lines that represent small streams on a topographical map, many of which may not have names.  If you still do not know what kind of place thin blue lines are I refer you to Alan at Small Stream Reflections. In my opinion, there is no better blog out there that exemplifies what kind of places I love to fish.

Newly emerged Canada Mayflower leaves

 The only problem I have with this kind of fishing is that it's virtually non-existent on Long Island, where I live.  However, this past weekend I went home with the family to visit my parents.  I always manage to find a couple of hours early in the morning to get out and do a little hiking and fishing.

First wild brook trout to be brought to hand

When fishing in these places for wild brook trout you will seldom bring fish to hand that would qualify as a "trophy" by many other anglers but it can be challenging, frustrating, and rewarding all the same.  In many instances you will have an entire stream to yourself and you will get to see many things that generally go unnoticed by fisherman more concerned with bigger fish and rivers.

Partridge berry laying almost hidden on the forest floor

I was searching out brook trout but found trout of another kind.  The advantage of seeking this type of trout is that you don't have to crawl on hands and knees just to avoid spooking them.

Trout Lilly just about to bloom

Another trout lilly bloom I found "decapitated" on the ground

Trout Lillies add some color to the forest floor as the rest of the woods begin to "green-up" with the warming days of spring.  They get their name from the leaves that somewhat resemble the flank of of a trout.  Serendipity is something that always comes to mind when exploring and fishing these little streams.  While searching out those wild miracles of evolution that have managed to survive for millennia in in the cold and sometime harsh mountain waters one is able to come across other organisms that are equally adept at surviving.  This is something I have always found appealing and probably never grow tired of when exploring those "thin blue lines."

One of my wild trophies on the day