Greetings. My name is Gary and I am a student of tenkara, a form of fly fishing originating in the mountains of Japan. My affinity for tenkara blossomed into a passion as a result of the superb match between the local trout waters in my home area of the Iowa Driftless and this special fishing technique.
The channel offers a series of video logs of trout fishing trips in the Iowa Driftless as a historical record of locations, times, equipment used, and outcomes, and for which I am the intended consumer; however, I offer them to the public as a sharing of personal experiences and in the event someone else finds value in them. I explore an entirely new section of water in each video log. I do not care about monetization or entertainment value.
I appreciate traditional tenkara. I emphasize a simple, limited selection of flies and single-fly presentation techniques rather than "matching the hatch." I often employ contact nymphing when conditions dictate.
@@AdventuringWithSylwia Thanks for your nice comment. I’m definitely looking forward to going back in the cooler months when the creekside vegetation has died off a bit!
Another enjoyable video. Thanks. In early June, I spent the better part of a day fishing Little Paint Creek. Similar to you, it was predominately rainbows closer to the campground and browns farther upstream. I didn't see any brookies on that day. I'm hopeful we can establish native strain brookies on more streams in NE Iowa.
Thanks for the comment Steve and for adding another valuable data point to the discussion. I'm not sure what the right answer is. I think the South Pine Creek habitat of Iowa natives should get the most attention as far as protection, even if it means leaving the brood stock alone for periods of time. The Ash Creek (WI) Strain brookies in Pine Creek seem to be doing okay.
Nice video, enjoyed watching!! I’ve been trying to catch a brookie there ever since I found out the DNR released some fingerlings a few years back. I haven’t tried with my Tenkara rod yet, maybe this fall 🤔
@@tenkaraintheiowadriftless I love brookies…so dang hot here that I am just waiting for relief…maybe in October I will be able to get on my beloved mountain streams with my ONI
@@tenkaraintheiowadriftless no you would be surprised how many appreciate this. ( no silly music, no long explanations…felt like I was casting and presenting that fly).Make another one sometime it was amazing.
Watched a video on RU-vid about the stream modification. Fished there a few years ago so I thought I'd give it another try hoping to land a Brookie. Not even one take and didn't see any fish. Only the front section has been modified, the further upstream I went the more difficult it was, steep banks and shoulder high growth to bushwack. Had to move on. You had better luck with the Browns. Good Vid, nice work in an awkward/difficult position.
Another enjoyable video. Thanks! Way back in May, 1976, I got up early to fish Casey's Spring before spring finals at Luther. At that time, the sections above and below the bridge were privately owned cattle pastures. The stream didn't look like much but it held some very nice "put and grow" browns. I didn't own waders at that time but was young and nimble enough to jump over the stream when necessary. I caught my first brown trout that morning---a 22.5" beauty---and was back at Luther in time for an 8am exam. I continued to fish that stream on and off for several years until its ownership changed. Fast forward to a few years ago when the WCCB acquired most of the section above the bridge. I attempted to fish from the bridge to the upper reaches of the public owned section. I was deeply saddened to see the erosion and sedimentation that had occurred. It didn't look like the same stream. I'm glad that some renovations have been done. I'll check it out the next time I'm in the area. Thanks again.
@@stevehorswell2371 Thanks Steve! Love your little glimpses into the area history books. That dragon of a brown must have been a memorable event! Appreciate the comment.
Well done Gary and Dre! You two cleaned house and I’d say 1/3 were brookies! Great to see! That last lil guy was hiding in that little bit of water and undercut! So fun! Thanks for another great video!
Those were some pretty impressive browns. I had no idea that stream held anything that big. Too bad you did not land a brookie. That would have given you the Iowa grand slam! Brown, brookie, rainbow, and creek chub.
@@MrKindermusik Thanks! Yeah, that “slam” thought went through my mind too! Also wished I could have done a better job with those other big browns that got the best of me in that bank grass. Thanks again for commenting!
Nice video, enjoyed watching. I found this on the DNR website. I hope the brooks thrive in the future. “Sampling in 2017 showed a population of Brown Trout at 398 fish per mile with Brook Trout at 234 fish per mile. Brownies ranged in size from 2-15 inches while brookies were 3-12 inches.”
@@jblocker6613 Thanks for the comment. Yes, they tried to get the South Pine strain established in ‘03 and ‘04 and it seemed to work. No more interventions since, probably due to the encouraging 2017 numbers. But they sure ripped up the place two years ago. I sure wish the numbers were like they were in 2017!
@@tenkaraintheiowadriftless I think a brookie intervention is needed over at Pine Spring. The ratio of brown trout to brook trout has shifted dramatically toward the brown trout.
Holy cow Gary! Those big browns were just waiting along those slim banks to mail your kebari! 🎉 Well done! I bet there are some brookies still in there! Did you make it through the wall of wild parsnip?!
Thanks Jared! If there are any surviving brook trout I don’t think there are very many of them. I actually had to stay feet wet and retrace my steps about 200 yards to find my way out of the parsnip jungle. It was impassable where I ended up!
Gary, that was a honking brown trout in that little creek. Pretty amazing trying to control that fish in that narrow zone. That wild parsnip didn’t look to friendly to me
Thanks for your nice comment. I was able to drift the fly near the bank but as you saw, those browns seem to know how to use the grass to their advantage when hooked!
Gary that looks like a great creek and you both killed it while it was chocolate milk! That last brown was so beautiful with the spots so spaced out! That’s another part of tenkara I love so much, seeing each individual amazing fish! Well done my friend!
@@tenkaragenki Thanks Jared! Actually the stain to the water wasn’t too bad but the browns weren’t real interested in eating. I definitely learned a lesson not to forget my wading boots at home, I know how much you hate crocs. 😂 Thought I’d include that footage of me falling on my a$$ as a reminder!
Thanks for another enjoyable video. It's interesting how the color patterns on the brownies vary from stream to stream. The ones shown in this video seemed to have fewer black spots and more orange spots than many I've seen. When the DNR first acquired it in the mid-70's, that section of Trout River had been open pasture and corn fields---not many tree gremlins then. I caught my first brown trout on my first fly rod at Trout River in the fall of my junior year at college. I try to spend at least a little time fishing Trout River whenever I'm in the area.
Thanks Steve. I wasn’t aware of that history, very interesting. I’m always amazed at the diversity of the brown trout in the area, even out of the same creek. It’s curious that of the few browns we did catch out of there, they were all very sparsely spotted. Missed you at the Wisco campout this year.
Glad you find value in them Mike! I confess I don’t have any experience with the Type-3. It’s marketed as being more appropriate for less experienced anglers so I’m guessing some of the sections are a bit more robust.
I commend your "sporting" use of a shorter length rod given the smaller size of this creek. You demonstrate nice mastery of the cast, hook sets, fight and subsequent release of such beautiful trout with the Nissin Zerosum 360 6:4. Worth noting, pay close attention and you will observe many contemporary Japanese Tenkara Masters in their videos favor use of the Nissin Zerosum 360 and 320 models. Again excellent rod and its use on your vlog. Thank you.
Thanks Jared! Yeah, the bite was definitely “on” while we were there. Haven’t even got to the feeding frenzy-that’s in Part 2. Can’t wait to get it finished so I can watch that monster video you just posted!
I wasn’t bothered by the gnats and noseeums but I was using Bug Soother. There were a few biting flies I could have done without, they always seem to get me on the neck.
Hello - just saw this video. I noticed the wading staff you used. I really like and wondered if you could show it off and talk about it (where you got it or what you made it out of). Thanks!
Thanks Jim! My wading staff started out as a standard wooden walking stick. The lanyard is made out of parachute cord, my spouse did all of the macrame and I use a carabiner to attach it to my belt. The hook is a piece of brass fancy work I picked up at an antique store and I use it to pull down tree branches (in hopeful attempts to retrieve my fly!). I’ll try to remember to describe it in a future vlog. Thanks again for your comment!
Great videos Gary, I've been subscribed and enjoying the content for quite a while. I've been to most of the locations on your vlog during my visits to the Iowa Driftless area over the last couple of years. During most of the 4 or 5 day trips I made to the Decorah area the weather was outstanding with very little to no rain. I'd like to ask, about how long after a day or night of rain of say 0.50 or more, or after night of thunderstorms roll through, how long does it take for the the creeks to clear up and run clean again? I've noticed and you've commented on the water clarity being cloudy and stained in your last couple of videos. How long did those conditions last? Thank you again for the awesome videos and for your time and consideration.
Thanks for your nice comment. The amount of time it takes for the local creeks to clear is heavily dependent on the size of the watershed. The smaller, spring-fed creeks can look pretty good after a few days. The bigger creeks like the Bear complex, Waterloo, Paint, etc. can take a week or more. Paint seems to take the longest for some reason. Hope this helps!
Bummer that the creek was stained, but you still found them! 🙌 That creek looks great! I love how it widens and then bottle necks! And the quest for a brown was a success! See you next week Gary!
Thanks for commenting Jared. I got the impression this creek gets a lot of pressure from spin anglers looking to fill their creels with stocked rainbows. Though, I'm glad I checked it out. See you in a few days!
Type - l Hermosa caña! Siempre es un gusto ver anglers como tu desempeñando una muy buena técnica. Acá en México también se pesca Tenkara con Oni Rods 😃👌 Saludos cordiales! 👋
Once again a showcase of friendly fire. Delightful duel between paired Premium Japanese Oni Type-1 Tenkara ! Prologue: The ageless saga synchronicity of angling buddies. Cast, hook up, fight and the gentle release of all quarry for another day; good size 'Bows & Browns. No small trout on this adventure. Concluding with the proper epilogue, " This will be my uh, my Swan Song here". Kudos, nicely done.
Thank you for your lovely words! Until recently I would have left my Type-I at home in fear of hooking into a fish that might be too much for it, but now I think that’d be pretty hard to do. I’ve caught several trout (and so has Dre) in the high teens and the rod handled them just fine. I was glad when I called that final pool and it produced, it just looked too good to not have a fish in it. Thanks again for your kind comment!
