TanagoBumTanagoBum will be an offshoot of TenkaraBum for those who enjoy fishing for, and catching, very small fish. John Geirach once wrote: "Maybe your stature as a fly fisherman isn't determined by how big a trout you can catch, but by how small a trout you can catch without being disappointed." Replace "fly fisherman" with just plain "fisherman" and replace "trout" with just plain "fish" and that is what TanagoBum will be all about. To a large extent, tenkara is for anglers who no longer feel the need to make the longest cast or largest catch. With a fixed line, you can't cast very far, and there is a limit on the size of fish you can bring to hand. We being who we are, though, are experimenting with 30 and 40 foot casts and trying to catch bigger and bigger fish. Longer casts and bigger fish than tenkara was ever intended for. I don't know if it is human nature, but it is certainly the American nature. We always push the envelope. TanagoBum will push back. It won't specifically be about tenkara, and won't even always be about fishing with flies, but it certainly won't be about long casts and big fish.
Young of the year (YOY) Brown Trout Tanago is a type of fish in Japan (it translates to "Bitterling" in English). They range from small to very small. They are fairly closely related to carp, but then carp are actually in the minnow family! There are a number of species - and like many species of fish, the males take on distinct coloration during the breeding season and some are really quite beautiful. They are said to be the world's smallest game fish. Tanago fishing is a pretty small niche within a country that is crazy for fishing, but some tanago anglers are as fanatical as any trout or bass fisherman. I read one account of a successful tournament bass fisherman who sold all his bass fishing gear and took up tanago fishing. Basically sitting alone on a stool beside a ditch or canal, holding a short bamboo rod almost as if it was a single chopstick, and catching fish so small that some bass fishermen wouldn't even use them for bait. Some would say "strange," others "serene." Micro FishingI don't know if that would happen here, but there certainly are fishermen who specifically fish for small fish - micro fishing. Many of them are working on a life list - the fishing equivalent of bird watchers who want to see as many different species of birds as they can. People working on a life list try to catch as many species of fish as they can - and it turns out most species are pretty small.I am not pursuing a life list, trying to catch as many species as I can. I'm not actually going to be tanago fishing, although I did recently learn that there are (or at least were) bitterling in one of the streams just north of New York City. Apparently they were dumped from someone's aquarium sometime in the early 20's. They were reported in the late 20's, in the 50's and again in the late 70's. It may well be that no one has looked for them since. Once the weather warms up a bit I think I'll go take a look! Somehow, fishing for small fish, even very small fish - micro fishing - just appeals to me and has for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I used to fish a little pond right at the edge of town. It had lots of sunfish and bullheads and a few crappies. I don't remember catching any bass, but they were probably in there. It was stocked with trout each year for the town's annual "Huck Finn" day, in which all the kids dressed up as Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer or Becky Thatcher and paraded down Main Street. Being on the plains rather than in the mountains, the water was too warm and any trout that didn't fall to night crawlers probably did to the heat. I have a few good memories of fishing that pond, but the one that is the most distinct is wanting to catch the fish I could see. It was of no importance that the fish further out, that I couldn't see, were much larger than the ones I could. Of course the ones I could see were little sunnies that could not have been 3" long. It didn't matter. Those were the ones I wanted to catch.
TanagoBum will also be pretty familiar to people who know the TenkaraBum site well. In addition to providing basic information to people who are new to micro fishing, TanagoBum will offer gear, starting with micro fishing hooks, micro fishing line, micro fishing weights, and micro fishing floats, and micro fishing flies tied on the size 26 hooks (and those flip down magnifiers so you can tie those size 26 flies to your 10X tippet). For those just getting started, I have some Micro Fishing Kits that include hooks, a float, markers to indicate subtle bites, a bit of lead foil for a delicate weight, and a winder to hold it all. I am really excited about the Daiwa Tanago Rods. They are seriusly fun rods. I can't pick one up without getting a smile on my face. They are so light (roughly one to two ounces) and the tips are so soft. Those 3" sunnies of my childhood will put up a fight on these rods, and a 5" brookie, if it gets into the current and heads downstream, is going to put a deep bend in the rod. It's all about matching the equipment to the fish. Early reports from customers are very positive. John Gierach also wrote "If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong." I'll take that quote, and the first one, as the direction for TanagoBum.
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