A tenkara season ends

Since my return from Isère we have entered the summer and it has quickly taken on canicular paces, to the point that given the very rapid rise of the temperature of the water of the rivers (up to 26 ° on some) the fishing authorities have decided to close the trout fishing in all streams whose width is less than two meters.

For myself in the last three months I went fishing only for very short sessions, one hour maximum, and always very early in the morning, the only time of the day when the trout show a little bit of activity.

I left at home the 13 feet rods and more to use only the 360 Nissin Royal Stage offered to me by Fuji sensei during our meeting and also one of his furled fluorocarbon lines.

I have fished the whole summer with a single kebari which is nothing but a "reduced size" version of my Yamato Kebari. The grizzly cock feather has been replaced by hen pheasant and the head has changed from rusty brown to fluo orange.

The month of July was excellent, the temperatures were high but the stable weather allowed me to go fishing every morning knowing beforehand the state of the river; it was very different in August during which the storms were numerous. The month of September began in the rain and storms and fortunately for the trout the level of the rivers began to rise. 

Because of these heavy rains the end of the trout season for me was about two weeks before the official closure but I had no regrets to have since I had fished a lot during the previous months.

The hot summer and the rainy beginning of autumn  have at least a positive aspect: a very good vintage for mushrooms!

Tenkara Moments

June has started like May has finished which means cold, temperatures hardly rise up to fifteen celsius but as the week was over I really wanted to visit one of my favorite local streams and check the conditions and perhaps, i.e. probably, fishing it to give the weekend a good start. The area has hopefully escaped the torrential rains of the week. 

The water is still very cold and greyish but once standing on the edge I did see that this cold weather did not interfere a lot with the insects, mainly mayflies and caddis, emerging and flying away regularly. Trout are very discreet, much more than usual at this time of the year but I rigged my Nissin Zerosum Oni rod and started fishing the spots most likely to shelter some trout that would bite on my Yamato kebari.

To fish these shallow spots, not more than a foot deep, I use the current to sink my kebari. Carried by the stream it easily takes a natural drift, different sasoi manipulations can help to make a recalcitrant trout bite. 

Like my previous tenkara outings I could not expect fishing until the evening rise because the temperatures were going to drop, we really are far from the typical June's fishing until complete darkness with high temperature. Fortunately accurate casts, controlled drifts and a little bit of concentration did give very good results. 

Trout adapt to the new spots created by the trees fallen across the stream. Downstream natural drift revealed to be the most effective technique today. 

Downstream fishing with a single fly is a very simple technique and that is why it is so effective. I already had experienced this technique when I was still (western) fly fishing but a tenkara rod drift control is even better. 

There were a good number of trout on the spot created by this submerged tree. 

I finished this nice tenkara outing downstream the pillars of a long disappeared ford oxen where I also did catch some brown trout thanks to the same downstream fishing technique.

It is a great pleasure to fish with finesse and improving your technique. Rod, line, kebari; it is not only a simple principle but a guarantee of effectiveness. 

After releasing the last trout of this brief tenkara outing I did turn back carefree and happy to have been at the place at the right time.