Trip Report

Backcountry Tenkara near RMNP • Fall 2022

By Ryan Jordan

November 18, 2022

Country	United States
State	Colorado
Area	Rocky Mountain National Park
Trip Month	(10) - October

Report / Notes

There is magic at the end of the road.

I live in a town where the number of summer tourists is more than six hundred times the year-round population. So going to the end of the road, leaving the car behind, and going as far as possible away from crowds and noise and shopping is not just a “nice thing to do” but a mental salve.

In the fall of 2022, my backcountry focus was twofold:

hike far
find trout

The video above shows one of my ongoing experiments in finding trout underneath the water’s surface using my trekking pole, some Lawson Glowire, a fishing swivel, and a GoPro Hero 11 Black set to 4k 24p @ 120fps.

This little camera has opened up my eyes to the underwater world and has launched a new hobby that’s going to involve underwater housings, underwater lens filters, and post-processing techniques that will at least make me feel a little like Jacques Cousteau (who incidentally once said that just because fish are cold-blooded does not mean they do not feel pain, and that recreational fishermen only say so to reassure their conscience).

Caveat: I do think about this. My conscience is not reassured. But I also remain grateful when they slither out of my hand back into their deep.

Here are a few photos from my backcountry trout hunting this fall in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Indian Peaks Wilderness, the Comanche Peak Wilderness, and Arapahoe/Roosevelt National Forests. Also, one chummy shot of a sunfish on an aberrant trip to Dahlonega!

Tenkara gear and techniques I’m using and things I’m thinking about right now:

Tenkara Hane rod
Tenkara Rhodo rod
Tenryu TF39TA rod
Euro-nymphing with shorter, level lines and variegated leaders
Czech nymphs tied on tiny (#18-22) jig hooks, lots of quill/epoxy bodies
Still searching for a nice, lightweight net. I don’t think they really exist

Discussion

This topic has 10 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 3 months ago by Andy McReynolds.

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)

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Nov 18, 2022 at 12:17 am #3765512

Ryan Jordan
Admin

@ryan
Locale: Central Rockies

Companion forum thread to: Backcountry Tenkara near RMNP • Fall 2022

There is magic at the end of the road…

Nov 18, 2022 at 5:25 am #3765518

David Noll
BPL Member

@dpnoll
Locale: Maroon Bells

Ryan, very nice. Not much is being written about Tenkara on this forum anymore. Thanks.

Nov 18, 2022 at 4:51 pm #3765609

dirtbag
BPL Member

@dirtbaghiker

I love those pines behind you in that first picture!

Dec 11, 2022 at 8:28 am #3767461

Scott Cerreta
BPL Member

@sdcerreta

Thanks for sharing the post. I just discovered this type of fishing this year. I still enjoy the pleasure of a spinning rig and have been trying to find the lightest option, but could not resist the tempation to try something new. I added a Tenkara extension to a Ruta Locura trakking pole and some Tenkara line with their keeper and a dozen flies. Everything wieghed in around a 1/2 pound and it was so fun and fast/small to pack. I’m hooked. I did not have any luck catching fish with this rig at Bright Angel Campground and the Colorodo river, but I can’t wait for the next adventure.

Dec 11, 2022 at 10:12 am #3767463

Bryan Taylor
BPL Member

@bryantaylor-2

Thanks for sharing your fishing with us, Ryan. It’s a good reminder that it’s not the miles you cover, but the quality of the adventures you have that count. The more ways we can experience the beauties of the wilderness, the richer we will be.

I haven’t yet tried Tenkara, but I’ve been considering the rod you listed: the Tenryu TF39TA. I’m curious how you would compare it to the Tenkara USA rods and how much value it adds to the experience. And do you find that you use the zoom length or would a fixed length rod of similar quality be all you need?

Regarding the lack of lightweight nets available, what are the drawbacks of simply fishing without a net?

If you decide to go farther in playing Jacques Cousteau, you may be interested in a woman who pioneered underwater videography in hundreds of inland lakes and rivers. At the age of 90, Nancy Washburn just passed away this year. but you can see some of her work at http://www.snorkelingmichigan.com. I was inspired by her to start taking snorkeling gear on some of my trips, which opened up a whole new way to explore the backcountry.

Dec 11, 2022 at 11:27 am #3767464

W I S N E R !
Spectator

@xnomanx

(who incidentally once said that just because fish are cold-blooded does not mean they do not feel pain, and that recreational fishermen only say so to reassure their conscience).

Caveat: I do think about this. My conscience is not reassured. But I also remain grateful when they slither out of my hand back into their deep.

These are the most interesting statements of the article, especially when combined with the exploration of underwater imaging. I often wonder if catch and release is potentially the most cruel/strange way to interact with animals, more so than taking life for food. Intelligent public discussion on the topic would be interesting, but at the end of the day, maybe there’s not much to discuss… as it all hinges on whether an individual (myself included) is willing to seriously entertain/live by certain concepts- or not.

But I also wonder if underwater video/photography offers the potential to “catch” trout without actually harming them. Perhaps a culture could be created in which a premium is placed on an image of a brook trout swimming in its natural environment as opposed to the traditional fish-in-hand, “look what I caught!” trophy shot (which I am also guilty of).

I enjoyed your video.

Dec 11, 2022 at 7:43 pm #3767485

Dan M
BPL Member

@dan4337

@ Brian Taylor – the main advantage of using a net is that it’s much easier on the fish, especially if you use barbless hooks. Unless you need the fish for dinner, net the fish as soon as possible, keep it underwater, follow the tippet to the hook with your hand, pinch and lift the hook at an angle and the fish will often flip off into the net. Lower the edge of the net in the water and the fish swims free. If necessary, face the fish in your net upstream for a bit until it recovers and then release it.

On the “light” net issue, I’ve had good luck just using a “replacement” rubber net (no frame) and then collecting a forked stick near the lake or stream and slipping the forks through some of the net loops. The fish in these small streams aren’t often lunkers so it’s worked fine. It also packs down pretty small.

Great video Ryan!

Dec 12, 2022 at 2:12 pm #3767536

Ryan Jordan
Admin

@ryan
Locale: Central Rockies

Bryan – I like the flexibility of a zoom rod for general use on streams. The less you have to move around to reach fish, the less likely you’ll spook them. I find myself staying in one spot to fish several different lies and that’s where a zoom rod comes in handy. I use it most when fixed-line nymphing (Czech style), the zoom makes it easy to reach different lies and keep the line tight.

In addition, for backcountry use, being able to have a short rod for creeks and a long rod for lakes and rivers offers nice versatility.

The Tenryu TA39 series rods have quite a lot of fiberglass in them, which means they load better when casting. That’s a really nice feature if you use level lines that have virtually no weight to them. The line can’t load the rod, only the cast can, and fiberglass allows you to feel that loading more than pure carbon without having to watch the rod tip.

Dec 12, 2022 at 5:01 pm #3767552

Mark Jones
BPL Member

@hibisk55
Locale: The Back of Beyond

Ryan, it is interesting to see your catch of tiger trout. My daughter and I caught some tiger trout in the Wind River Range this year. It was a surprise. Neither of us had seen them prior to that encounter. They are bizarre-looking creatures, quite ugly compared to a brook trout, cutthroat trout, or brown trout. I suspect that they may have been introduced as we caught them from a lake within three miles of a major trailhead on the last day of our eight-day backcountry hike. Thank you for the post.

Jan 1, 2023 at 2:27 pm #3768955

Greg Pehrson
BPL Member

@gregpehrson
Locale: playa del caballo blanco

Wisner, I appreciate your comment above. I am not a hunter (nor a meat eater) yet I love listening to Seek Outside’s podcasts because of the frequently beautiful descriptions of being immersed in nature on a hunt, watching the behaviors of animals for hours “while the sun glints off the dew on the aspens,” as went one episode. When I first learned to bushwhack here in New England in the White Mountains, after having been an on-trail hiker, it was like discovering backpacking for the first time again, in a brand new way of interacting with the landscape. The forest here is so dense, bushwhacking is a full body experience where your line of sight is hyper localized, you get branches stuck in your pack pockets and you rip your pants as you pull yourself up the slope through the trees. Sometimes you can find game trails for a little relief. But the movement of hunters through the landscape sounds to me to be even more deeply connected, as your path is guided by wildlife instead of a summit. I’ve often thought that I’d enjoy going on an unsuccessful hunt because everything about it is attractive to me except the taking of an animal, but it’s kind of a funny ask to make of hunters. To be clear, while I don’t hunt, I respect those who get their food this way instead of outsourcing it, and some of my earliest memories are of my grandfather teaching me to fish and tasting his venison stew at the cabin he built himself in Canada.

Thanks for the video, Ryan. Very well done.

Jan 2, 2023 at 6:45 am #3768996

Andy McReynolds
BPL Member

@mcreynol

I have never seen a trout like the #5 picture. Very interesting, thanks for sharing!
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