Spent some time with my Dad fishing a new pond this Easter. More or less we were just trying out his new rod, an 8 weight TFO TiCr X, that my family gave him for his birthday. The rod was way more than required for these fish, but it is always fun to cast a new stick. 

I had been debating trying Tenkara for several years now, so I finally took the plunge. Following Michael's advice over at the blog Troutrageous (be sure to check out his blog if you haven't already), I decided on a 12 ft Iwana. 

As with all things new, the first attempt is a mix of frustration, excitement, and an ever present learning curve. All three described yesterday. First impression: the system of knots I found to be innovative, the casting fairly intuitive (had to be careful not to overpower it though), but what struck me as must peculiar and difficult to get use to was the lack of any line near my hand to manipulate the fly with. In moving water I think I would have been more okay with this but fishing for warmwater species it was difficult to manipulate a 12 rod while trying to think what the tiny fly on the other end was doing. On top of this the rod was a tad heavier than expected. 

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself greatly. I see great potential in small streams in rivers while trout fishing, but in a stillwater situation like a lake or pond I just wasn't completely sold on the idea yet. I like to manipulate the fly more and have a more direct connection. That said I am going to give it a couple more shots and hopefully catch some bigger bluegill and some crappie. I only had one willing participant this outing and lets just say he barely put a bend in the rod. I am still excited to try this new style of fishing (new to me) but still unsure what the utility will be for Bluegill and Crappie in ponds, which was my hope. Needless to say, the jury is still out but I will keep you up to date on future outings regarding how my opinion has changed or not. 

Visited a local farm with my cousin, threw line for a little bit until the temps fell below 40*, for which we were unprepared. Didn't have much luck, but we weren't skunked, so I will take it for what it is. Generally this pond is great at producing both Bass and some monster Bluegill, caught one of each over the course of a few hours, nothing remarkable or really even postable, but what the heck, I thought I would share anyhow. Overall the conversation was better than the fishing but sometimes those are the best days. 

An absolute dink of a Bass… 

Decent, but pretty 'Gill

As we near the end of this year I took a moment to reflect on my experiences growing up fishing. Needless to say this included looking through dozens of old pictures while at my parents house over Christmas. I thought I would share them with you guys, as it is interesting to see what our origins are as anglers. The pictures skip a few years… as I couldn't locate those photo albums and purposely stops about 4 years short of my starting the blog: right about the time I went from being a casual angler to it becoming a serious hobby and passion. The pictures are a mix of me and my relatives and taken in Iowa and Minnesota. Enjoy!