"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

Bugdoc said:
Nice Trout Trout(hound);)

I do not fish flies, but as I was reading I thought about an interview I heard this week with a proponent of Tenkara. His thesis was that this method, relying on simple flies and good technique instead of matching the hatch, keeps your line is in the water more, resulting in more fish. While not yet retired we are recent empty-nesters. I thus found this apparently simpler method of fly fishing intriguing as we begin to enjoy this newly found freedom.
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This is the first I've heard of Tenkara. I've just googled it, anti seems like a high-tech version of the old cane pole fishing. I used to do cane pole fishing, and loved it!!!! No reels to worry about, no tangled line, less junk to lug with a tackle box that would fit in a back pocket. But for some reason Never thought about trout on a simple pole.

I may have to try the Tenkara!.
 
Bugdoc said:
Nice Trout Trout(hound);)

I do not fish flies, but as I was reading I thought about an interview I heard this week with a proponent of Tenkara. His thesis was that this method, relying on simple flies and good technique instead of matching the hatch, keeps your line is in the water more, resulting in more fish. While not yet retired we are recent empty-nesters. I thus found this apparently simpler method of fly fishing intriguing as we begin to enjoy this newly found freedom.
Click to expand...

jackknife said:
This is the first I've heard of Tenkara. I've just googled it, anti seems like a high-tech version of the old cane pole fishing. I used to do cane pole fishing, and loved it!!!! No reels to worry about, no tangled line, less junk to lug with a tackle box that would fit in a back pocket. But for some reason Never thought about trout on a simple pole.

I may have to try the Tenkara!.
Click to expand...

I first came across it in a Trout magazine article a couple years back, and it just made a ton of sense for the type of fishing I normally do. It wouldn't be suited to large rivers, at least where long casts are needed, but on the small streams I fish, I honestly spend the whole time using about 8' of leader, and maybe a few inches of actual fly line. I don't think I've ever touched the reel to fight a fish on those streams, even the time I caught a 19" wild bow. And, while I understand all of the entomology, the truth is that approach and presentation are 99% of the equation on Southern Appalachian streams. I've spent a lot of days fishing with a buddy where we used very different fly patterns, and we both caught fish all day. If it looks like food, and gets presented properly, it gets eaten.

It took me a while to save up enough nickels and dimes for the rod, but I really love it, and I was able to ditch my fly vest for a homemade neck lanyard and an ultralight day pack, which seems to suit this style of fishing better. That bow you see in the picture had to be fought carefully, but he was easy enough to bring to hand without taking too long to do it. I highly recommend it, and I also recommend checking out the TenkaraBum website. That's where I got my rod and gear.
 
Bob and Randy, I have at least some understanding of where you are. My Dad had to retire at 59, due to Alzheimer's. He can't drive safely, and he has also had some heart issues, which have affected his stamina and ability to get out and around. On top of that, his eyesight has never been the best, and it's getting worse. There's just not a whole lot the guy can do, besides watch TV. Even reading is hard because of the eyesight issue. I dug him a vegetable garden when this all started, but he doesn't always have the stamina to work for long, so he helps Mom when he can. Any type of craft projects are just frustrating to him, because of the motor skills involved. I try to go take him on "field trips" as often as I can - we're going to a gun show later today. I will continue to take him trout fishing during the delayed harvest season as long as I can, but I have to pick spots very carefully, where we can get from the car down to a good fishing hole in a minimum number of steps.

In short, I feel for you guys. Prayers and best wishes for you both.
 
Trout Hound Trout Hound I tried Tenkara some years ago when it was first introduced in the US. I never found much use for it in the rhododendron tunnels I fished for brook trout. It's hard enough to wrangle a short fly rod in there to dap a fly, much less a 10 or 11 foot rod. It's a great technique for some situations, very easy to get a drag free float and casts beautifully.

Sorry to hear about your Dad, we are dealing with my FIL and his Alzhiemers, he's 86 and thinks he can still drive and take care of himself. It's a devastating disease.
 
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jc57 said:
They should let us all be retired from ages 20 to 40, then have to work until we die. :D
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It ain't all it's cracked up to be! :eek:

In my 30s, viewing all the [skilled, eager, younger] whippersnappers coming out of the gate and into the workforce, I could tell myself, "But, I have maturity and perspective they do not, proven stability, etc." Now? There's nothing I can offer over someone in their 30s, or even 40s, with similar aptitudes. Okay, 'nothing' is a little strong, but it's a tough sell. Theirs is the upside of youth.

(I wasn't 'retired,' and did front a home business through the middle section, but there's no going around the reality that I invested the heart of potentially career-establishing years to raising, teaching, and nurturing my children. Gratefully so, but I'm now standing in a fearful place when it comes to current and future prospects. Also I would like to now STOP and enjoy having accomplished what I did, the youngest just now finding her wings. Like, even just be home without 'em all instead of out getting worn down every day? Er, no.)

I joke about it all the time:

"The general paradigm is to work and work and work, and then hopefully Stop;
I stopped, and now will work and work and work."

That's if everything goes well!


my-retirement-plan-hinges-entirely-on-one-of-my-kids-3733767.png


o_O

~ P.
 
Bugdoc said:
Nice Trout Trout(hound);)

I do not fish flies, but as I was reading I thought about an interview I heard this week with a proponent of Tenkara. His thesis was that this method, relying on simple flies and good technique instead of matching the hatch, keeps your line is in the water more, resulting in more fish. While not yet retired we are recent empty-nesters. I thus found this apparently simpler method of fly fishing intriguing as we begin to enjoy this newly found freedom.
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Tenkara is just the tip of the iceberg.....

There are many techniques used by Japanese fisherman for mountain streams. The array of tackle available in Japan for trout fishing is staggering. Ultralight spin fishing in Japan is just as sophisticated using high technology XUL spinning rods and JDM reels.
 
pertinux said:
It ain't all it's cracked up to be! :eek:

In my 30s, ...

"The general paradigm is to work and work and work, and then hopefully Stop;
I stopped, and now will work and work and work."

That's if everything goes well!


my-retirement-plan-hinges-entirely-on-one-of-my-kids-3733767.png


o_O

~ P.
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P, Id say you are doing quite well! from what I know of what you have shared with us so far, your kids are successful!
 
JB in SC said:
Trout Hound Trout Hound I tried Tenkara some years ago when it was first introduced in the US. I never found much use for it in the rhododendron tunnels I fish for brook trout. It's hard enough to wrangle a short fly rod in there to dap a fly, much less a 10 or 11 foot rod. It's a great technique for some situations, very easy to get a drag free float and casts beautifully.

Sorry to hear about your Dad, we are dealing with my FIL and his Alzhiemers, he's 86 and thinks he can still drive and take care of himself. It's a devastating disease.
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I actually bought a little 9' rod that is built specifically for small streams. Despite what some companies claim, I also can't see trying to deal with an 11' rod on such a small stream, and collapsing sections seems to be difficult to manage. There were times yesterday when 9' seemed a little long, but it's probably about the minimum length to have enough fighting strength.

Thanks for the kind words.
 
Trout Hound said:
I actually bought a little 9' rod that is built specifically for small streams. Despite what some companies claim, I also can't see trying to deal with an 11' rod on such a small stream, and collapsing sections seems to be difficult to manage. There were times yesterday when 9' seemed a little long, but it's probably about the minimum length to have enough fighting strength.

Thanks for the kind words.
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I have a 190 cm Nissan rod that I use for some streams, at about six feet it works well (I use it for live bait too). It will only handle a 7X tippet so anything much over 6" is a real tussle.

I had a discussion with our SCDNR trout biologist some years ago about fishing a stream that had been restored for native brook trout. He told me to be sure and take some fish from this particular stream. The biggest I caught was about 9" but I put him back, he was painted up like a little fire truck. The tiny streams won't support a large population and are seldom fished. I never see another angler. These little guys will hide under a rock for hours if you spook them, so I never wade (it's maybe 5' across). If you can sneak up on them, they'll knock a size 16 parachute adams out of the water.
 
These mugs had a prominent place on my desk when I was working. Now that I can fish pretty much whenever I want, I find myself doing other things many days.
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When I do get out, it's dry flies for me. I fish small streams close to my home in Central NY. I use primarily an 8', 3 wt rod I had made some years ago, with an appropriate Lamson reel and dry fly line/ leader etc. I find that in many spots I'm not really casting but flicking the leader and fly to the target spot. I'll have to investigate this Tenkara. It might be to late to teach an old dog new tricks though.

Always remember ... " A bad day fishing is better then a good day at work!"
 
Peregrin said:
These mugs had a prominent place on my desk when I was working. Now that I can fish pretty much whenever I want, I find myself doing other things many days.

Always remember ... " A bad day fishing is better then a good day at work!"
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Isn't it funny how all the things we thought we would be doing in our retirement days end up not exactly what we thought.
 
r redden said:
Isn't it funny how all the things we thought we would be doing in our retirement days end up not exactly what we thought.
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Very true, Randy. My wife and I retired at the same time, so I have a companion to do stuff with. She's not a big fisher person but comes along once in awhile, she has her own interests too, and I have mine. We spend a fair amount of time out on the trails (which I like) or at the mall (which she likes). We travel a couple of times a year. We also help out our youngest son, and his wife, by watching our 15 month old grandson 2 days a week. It's a pretty big commitment but we love it when he's with us. It does mean rising earlier then we'd like though and we feel like we ran a marathon by the end of the day.
The bottom line is between the child care, spending some time together, taking care of two acres and a house, and having a little me time, I don't always feel like I don't work anymore...:D

All in all I have no complaints. I feel blessed and am very grateful to have my health, a great family, some good friends, enough money to not have to worry too much, and a porch to hang out on.
 
I grew up fishing on lakes, starting out with a little push-button Zebco reel when I was a kid, then graduating to spinning reels and baitcasters as I got older. We lived on Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas from the time I was 8 years old until I moved out of the house for college (and even then, I was only a short distance from home). In high school, I took a yearly trip with a friend and his dad to Minnesota, where my friend's uncle lived, and we'd spend a week lake-hopping, fishing for walleye (and anything else we could catch when the walleye weren't biting). But for all the fishing I've done in my life, I've never been fly fishing, and some of the vernacular sounds like a foreign language to me! :D

I took a class in high school called "Outdoor Education," which was a two-hour class that was half ecology course (which counted for a science credit) and half physical education course where we got to do a variety of outdoor activities. The class included several field trips: hiking, spelunking, canoeing, and we were supposed to take a fly fishing trip, but it got snowed out and we never got to go. So the closest I've come to fly fishing was practicing casting out on the grass outside the high school. :confused:
 
As a city slicker, we dont get much good fishing here. Sure there is sheepshead bay, and the fishing by the shore path, but due to the pollution not very wise to eat. Gotta drive quite a bit to get to some good fishing spots.
 
JB in SC said:
Peregrin Peregrin try a couple of grandkids (5 and 7)....worn out takes on a new definition. But I wouldn't trade the time for anything, they keep us young :D
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I'll bet, Jerry. Makes me tired just thinking about it. My wife likes to say our grandson is advanced, since at 15 months he's already exhibiting what she remembers from our boys terrible twos.
 
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