Chicago Creek

by The Tenkara Ambassador

While on vacation in Colorado a couple weeks ago, I took the opportunity to drive the Mt Evans highway, a spectacular drive to the 14,130' summit, all on paved road. As I exited I-70 at Idaho Springs, highway 103 paralleled Chicago creek, one of those typical western high gradient freestone streams. Bankside canopy was dense, and owning only one 12' tenkara rod, I tried shortening my line/tippet by about five feet compared to what I would normally use on a larger, more open stream.

Surprisingly perhaps, this combination worked quite well. I kept the reach of the longer rod but was able to control the shorter line very well. I believe this was probably preferable to a shorter rod and line, because the longer rod enabled me to keep the tenkara line off the water more easily due to its length.

Casting in dense vegetation is, of course, always going to be more challenging, regardless of rod type, be it spinning, western flyrod, or tenkara and will require some adaptation, and there are probably several solutions to any problem.

If you, like me, are a frugal (some would say cheap), before you invest in another rod, try the shorter line/tippet method.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.