One of the things I look forward to each spring is the opportunity to get out and meet (& fish) with fellow tenkara anglers. But for reasons somewhat out of our control, the Tenkara Angler team was not able to organize our annual TenkaraCamp in the Smokies this year. Certainly a bummer, but where there’s lemons, there’s an opportunity to make lemonade.
Somewhat in it’s place, a small gathering was organized by Victoria Smith through the Appalachian Tenkara Anglers Facebook group at the Davidson River (North Carolina) campground for the last weekend of April. I recently reached out to a few of the attendees to get their feedback on this event. Not only to let our readers know what’s going on in this corner of the tenkara community, but also to show how fun it is to hang out with fellow tenkara anglers.
Can you give a brief overview of the campout & format?
Pete & Cindy Lee – Victoria was an informative and gracious arranger and “host” of the event, and provided ample opportunities for folks to gather and get to know each other, with evening gatherings at a local brewery and at the campsite. We were new to the group as well as to fly-fishing and tenkara altogether. Everyone was very welcoming and we enjoyed our conversations and getting to know the other participants.
Ben Lambiotte – The Davidson River campout was a wonderful opportunity to fish some pristine high elevation Appalachian mountain creeks for native wild char, as well as for stocked and holdover bows and browns in the freestone riffles and pocket water of the Davidson itself. The event was rather unstructured, which frankly I liked. But we got together at a nice brewpub for a meet and greet on Thursday evening, and then on the last night (Saturday) we we treated to an informal talk and “show and tell” by Ben Colonnese, an Asheville artist and fixed-line fishing guide.
How was the atmosphere?
Pete & Cindy – The people were great! A very friendly, welcoming and encouraging group to us “newbies.” We were very happy to learn from and pick up tips from the experienced folks attending. In addition to time and tips, we were also given some helpful items – a tenkara book (from Victoria), rod tip protectors, flies that Ben L. tied himself and brought to share with the group, and also some jigs and assorted items from Ben Colonnese, who also spoke.
Ben L. – It was a real pleasure to put faces to some of the names of folks with whom I have enjoyed interacting on the Appalachian Tenkara Anglers Facebook page. I cannot express how generous and gracious Victoria – the spearhead of this event – was. She made me feel very welcome, showed me her guarded “secret” spots, and introduced me to the others who came. Each and every person was very nice, friendly and easy to get along with. I guess the highest praise I can offer is that everyone I met I would love to fish with again!
Ben Colonnese – I was asked to speak a little about tenkara and my unique style of fixed line guiding here in North Carolina. (I fish primarily unscented soft bait nymphs, worms, and bugs on hand tied jig heads.) My experience was nothing but welcoming. Though I was new this year, it seemed like I was with my closest friends. The vibe was very relaxed with group fishing during the day followed by music and camp cooking at the campsite in the evening.
How was the fishing?
Pete & Cindy – Being new – but having done our research and obtained some new equipment – we were simply hoping to “get started” and learn from the others what we could. We could not have anticipated how gracious one participant was to invite us to fish with him on Friday in a location he was familiar with. We had a blast, dressed in our new fishing boots and hip waders, etc., with our new tenkara rods… doing some boulder “hopping” and creek crossing and putting our lines in the water for the first time, with some guidance from our new friend. Neither he or we caught anything that day, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. It turned out to be a similar result for most of the crew on that overcast day.
Ben L. – The fishing was good enough. Everyone in our little fishing breakout group caught a few native brookies each on each of the two days I went up into the hills. You had to work for them, and they were a bit on the small side, but they were the beautifully colored true native char that have occupied these upcountry wilderness creeks since the retreat of the glaciers in the last Ice Age.
Ben C. – I had a great time taking our host Victoria up to fish some great pocket water high up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There were at least one or two hungry native brookies in every hole. Just an amazing setting being in spots where only wild brook trout can call home.
Victoria – What a great day (with Ben Colonnese)! Did I miss a bunch of fish? Heck yeah! Did I learn some new to me techniques? Yep! Did I crawl all over what felt like miles of rocks? Indeed! But I couldn’t have asked for a better day and a totally mind blowing experience.
What was the highlight of the weekend?
Ben L. – My favorite moment was the 20 minutes or so I spent on day two just sitting quietly and observing the run and pool I wanted to fish, after arriving at the creek and rigging up. The brooks were plainly visible against the bright goldenrod bottom, bright white outlined lurid scarlet fins giving them away. Seeing where they went when spooked, how long it took them to come out again, where they were holding, how and where they bunched up, how the the smaller ones reacted to the behaviors of the larger dominant ones and vice versa; all of that gave me a lot of data for future use in understanding their behavior. But it was also just plain fun to watch. I don’t often run across that many native char visible so clearly in a habitat they own so completely.
Pete & Cindy – There were many! Fishing on Friday for the first time with an experienced member. Learning about micro fishing from JJ – just wow! Sharing in a meal around the campfire, hosted by Victoria. Hearing from fixed line / tenkara guide Ben on Saturday evening – excellent and encouraging info and sharing from him.
Ben C. – My highlight was Saturday night, after an awesome dinner and talk, getting to gather around all sorts of rods and gear and just talk shop! We discussed knots, techniques and even did an impromptu fly swap, which went on long after dark!
Victoria – After chili with new friends and a solid night sleep, a small group of us headed to higher elevations (5800 feet) to look for native char. This is a spot I’ve fished during three seasons and knew it was legit. No lie, when we got to the trailhead, I thought it was going to sleet. So our group made plans to hike down to the stream, evaluate and bail out if the weather conditions were bad. Just the opposite. It turned into an amazing day on stream. 10/10. I think everyone was impressed.
Any closing thoughts?
Pete & Cindy – Overall, the event seemed to be a great success for everyone involved. We definitely appreciated it and will look forward to future outings with the group!
Ben L. – I think these campouts are an excellent way of bringing our virtual communities out into the real world, and affording dedicated tenkara practitioners the opportunity to explore new waters with friendly like-minded folks with invaluable local knowledge. I’ve learned a lot and had fun on every one I have attended. This one was exceptional in terms of the warmth and generosity of the people who knew the ropes there and the amazing range of fishing opportunities. You could spend a lifetime fishing in and near the Pisgah Forest, and still not scratch the surface. Two days just wasn’t enough!
Victoria – It’s great being able to pull all these new and not so new friends together for a memorable weekend.
Ben C. – Though this was my first tenkara campout, it certainly won’t be my last. It was amazing seeing how similar our viewpoints and love for tenkara were. It was also nice to see folks with all sorts of experience levels. Anywhere from seasoned anglers and kebari fly tiers, to folks completely new to fishing all together. Not only was it a great time, but after the weekend, I left with a whole new group of fixed line friends!
Interested in creating your own local tenkara gathering?
Check out this post by Dennis Vander Houwen on how easy it can be.
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