Tenkara in The Yukon

Category:
Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing for Beginners, Fly Fishing in Canada
Added Date:
Tuesday, 15 Nov, 2016
Summary
Like a lot of fly fishers with a few decades on the water, I’m not much for change. I should mention up front that even though my wife will insist that I’m closed minded; it’s not true.
 
Content
Like a lot of fly fishers with a few decades on the water, I’m not much for change. I should mention up front that even though my wife will insist that I’m closed minded; it’s not true. I’ve just always prescribed to the old adage “if it’s not broke don’t fix it.” Yes, I know my philosophy is old school. With my attitude explained, it should come as no surprise that I didn’t pay much attention to the early chatter about Tenkara. That all changed when I ran into Daniel Galhardo, at the Denver fly fishing show. Daniel founded Tenkara USA in 2009, and is responsible for bringing this ancient form of Japanese fishing to the west.  

Daniel was giving a presentation at the show, and I was immediately intrigued by the pure simplicity that Tenkara fishing offered. Tenkara is the Japanese method of fly fishing, which uses only a rod, length of line, and fly. Tenkara is very intuitive. I watched beginners learn casting techniques in just a few minutes under Daniel's tutelage.


As I learned more about this style of fly-fishing, I became convinced that Tenkara would be a great way for us to introduce clients to the world of fly-fishing. Every year we meet anglers who have always wanted to try fly-fishing, but didn’t know where to start. The simplistic nature of Tenkara would make it easy for us to get clients out on the water catching fish in no time.


As it turned out Tenkara proved to be the perfect set-up for novice fly fishers; and arctic grayling proved to be the perfect species for this style of fly fishing. These fish are abundant in the Yukon Territory, and here at Grizzly Creek Lodge we are lucky to have one of the best grayling fisheries in the north. Clients often mention that their quest for arctic grayling was the highlight of their trip. There is just something about standing in a wild stream watching these beautiful fish break water all around you that you don’t forget.
Simplicity has become attractive in our modern world, and nothing is easier to understand than a rod, a length of line, and a fly.

Continue Reading More Tenkara News: Cross Pollinating Fly Fishing with New Techniques a Good Thing?
 
Reading Time:
5minutes
Featured:
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Destinations
 (1)
It’s fair to say that for anyone who enjoys the great outdoors, the city of Bend should be on your radar screen. Once known as a logging town on the Deschutes River, it is now hailed ... moreas premier destination for anyone that likes mountain biking, hiking, skiing, camping, white-water rafting, horseback riding, paragliding, golfing and of course, fly fishing! Lumberjacks may now be hard to find here, but adventure tourists and outdoor sports lovers are in great abundance.

One look at what the city has to offer and it’s easy to understand why Bend is a magnet for athletes and rugged sports enthusiasts. Among many other events, the city has hosted 2 USA Winter Triathlon National Championships, several national cycling competitions, 2 XTERRA National Trail Running Championships and is home to a men’s division 3 Rugby club, a women’s flat track team and a West Coast Collegiate Baseball team. 

Not far from town, is the 1.8 million-acre Deschutes National Forest that contains parts of 5 designated wilderness areas – Mount Jefferson, Mount Thielsen, Mount Washington, Three Sisters and Diamond Peak as well as six National Wild and Scenic Rivers. Great waters to trout fish near Bend include the Crooked River, the Fall River, the Metolius River and the Deschutes River that runs through town. The town also boasts the Old Mill Casting Course, the first and only, 18 station fly casting course where anglers can hone their fishing skills.

If you like to grab a cold one after fishing, Bend has over a dozen microbreweries and offers beer seekers bus tours, horse-drawn carriage tours and bike to beer trails. It even has a “find a beer” phone app. In keeping with other historical tourist towns, Bend has several museums, shopping areas, art galleries, live entertainment, and a wide range of restaurant and lodging choices.

There are several options for traveling to Bend, including:

Fly into Portland International Airport and drive for approximately 3 hours

Fly into Eugene, Oregon Airport and drive for approximately 2 ½ hours

Fly into Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport and drive for approximately 5 ½ hours

Fly into Boise’s BOI Airport and drive for approximately 5 ½ hours
Fishing Waters
Toobally lakes are the largest two lakes in the southeast corner of Canada's Yukon Territory. These two lakes are known locally as 'Upper" and 'Lower" Toobally. They are connected ... moreby the upper Smith river. Both of these lakes are superb lake trout, and northern pike waters. With a depth of 250-feet and many shallow shoals, they offer great fish habitat. The Smith river is a great arctic grayling fishery in its own right.
Makhabn is a Peigan tribal name meaning “river where the bow reeds grow.” When settlers began to arrive in the area the river became known as the Bow, although Big Fish River may have ... morebeen a more appropriate name since this is the reason why the Bow is so famous. Anglers in pursuit of 20+ inch trout need to put this on their bucket list, for the wild rainbows and browns in this river have one of the fastest growing rates to be found on any river system in today’s world.

The Bow rises in the Canadian Rockies inside Banff National Park near the foot of Mount Gordon and flows from glacial Bow Lake southeastward through lush mountain terrain. After passing past the towns of Lake Louise and Banff, the river exits the park and heads eastward and flows through Calgary. Its journey continues for a total of 365 miles before joining the Oldman River and forming the South Saskatchewan River. 

While the river is open year-round for fishing, the optimal time to fish is after the spring runoff from mountain snowmelt. Runoff usually occurs in late May or early June, and in a typical year the river is ready to fish by late June. Most guides agree that the months of July, August, September and October are prime for catching trophy trout.

Downstream from Calgary are 40, highly coveted river miles of great trout fishing. This blue ribbon water is where the really big trout are concentrated and where snagging a trophy is most probable. Most parts of the river are not easily waded, so most guides suggest floating or drifting. If you hanker for a wilderness experience and decide to wade or fish from the banks, tread softly. Wildlife is abundant and active; bear spray is highly recommended.
Game Fish Opportunities:
The Klickitat River, located in south-central Washington, flows generally south from its origin on Mt. Adams in the high country of the Yamaka Indian Reservation to its confluence ... morewith the Columbia River in the Columbia River Gorge. The designated segment is the lowermost 10.8 miles of the river. At the upper end of this segment, the river flows through a broad canyon. As it drops toward the Columbia at a steady gradient of 26 feet per mile, the canyon tightens and small rapids spike the channel.

At about river mile 2.5, the Klickitat drops into a tight, rock-walled gorge. The water cascades and crashes through the rocky channel where the tribes and bands of the Yamaka Nation have used dip-net fishing continuously for generations to catch salmon and steelhead. Of the mid-Columbia tributaries, the Klickitat is one of the favored fishing sites, due to both the number of fish and the narrow canyon with its high water volume.

In addition to the river's outstanding hydrology, the geology of the gorge between river mile 1.1 and 2.5, and the dip-net fishing sites, the river is also the most significant anadromous fishery on the Washington side of the Columbia in the stretch from Bonneville Dam to the Snake River. It supports steelhead trout, Chinook salmon and coho salmon, with six distinct runs.

The lower Klickitat offers a variety of recreation opportunities, including boating, fishing, hiking, camping and sightseeing. Boat fishing is popular when the salmon and steelhead are running. There is an undeveloped boat put-in/take-out on Klickitat County Park land just below the Pitt bridge, and river access at several places along Highway 142, including a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fee camp site. The take-out is before the fish screw trap at about river mile 5, just above the Klickitat canyon gorge. Ongoing construction of the fish bypass at the top of Lyle Falls requires boaters to take out at this point. The falls also marks the beginning of the tribal in-lieu fishing sites and no boating is allowed through this area.

The only permits required are from commercial outfitters; existing commercial outfitters include beginning kayak schools and fishing guides.

The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad built a railway linking Lyle and Goldendale in 1903. This branch line was abandoned in 1992 and is now the Klickitat Rails-to-Trail. The trail parallels the river's east bank from the Columbia River to Fisher Hill Bridge, where it crosses to the west bank and continues to the town of Pitt. It crosses Highway 142 and continues along the west bank leaving the wild and scenic river portion and continues for many miles upriver.
Trips
$
4,895
/ Angler
Days:
Daily
Duration:
7 days
Destination:
Enjoy a week in the rugged Yukon wilderness. Our 2 to 1 fisherman-to-guide ratio means you'll have the guidance and expertise you expect from a worldclass Canada Fishing Adventure. ... moreYou can spend your day catching trophy canadian lake trout and giant norhern pike on flies, or go on the pursuit of arctic grayling to reel in an amazing catch. Our guides have the experience and patience to help you catch your next Trophy Fish. Come as clients, leave as friends.
$
495
/ Angler
Capacity:
1 angler
Days:
Daily
Duration:
1 day
"Jack Mitchell - The Evening Hatch built THE STEELHEAD RANCH on a plateau above the valley of Washington's Klickitat River. The beautiful home is both lodge and the centerpiece in ... morea complex of new buildings for clients and guides. Unique among non-wilderness lodges, the superb guides are on site 24/7. And they find steelhead; angler success is astonishingly high. Accommodations can be brochure boilerplate, but here fly fishermen live large with new friends. I don't know of another steelhead river served so well. See you there!" Trey Combs

Multi-day trips We operate 'The Steelhead Ranch' at full operational level from August 15 until November 30. Prior to that, The Steelhead Ranch Lodge can be scheduled based on a trip by trip basis.

Come and join us at our 40 acre ranch for a 2-4 night/day fishing pkg. Enjoy fishing for summer run steelhead on the wild and scenic Klickitat river daily and our conveniently located ranch nightly which features a beautiful double mountain view and 'Bonanza style' ranch like comfort - the nearest neighbor is 1/4 plus mile.

Notes

Requires double occupancy
$
1,100
-
$
1,600
/ Boat
Capacity:
1 - 2 anglers
Days:
Daily
Duration:
2 days - 3 days
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This is our 2-3 day, personalized introduction to fly fishing. You will learn knots, fly selection, how to find where the fish are and soooo much more. Our guides have been fishing ... moreall of their lives, they know what they're doing and are excited to share that knowledge with you! We offer this on the water, individualized, class in two and three day sessions. Besides another great day of fishing in Montana, booking the three day intro will give you a chance to: ask more questions as you learn more and start knowing what questions to ask, see more of a variety of water and better learn to adjust your fishing to different situations, get a better understanding of bug life (entemology) and what part that plays in your fishing plans, as well as more intricate fishing knowledge from one of our professional and experienced guides. The rivers you learn this wonderful sport will be determined by the guide and where he/she thinks you will be most successful. However, if there is a certain river (i.e the Madison) you would like to spend some time on, let us know and we are happy to accommodate.
Outfitters
Grizzly Creek Lodge offers world class fishing adventures in Canada's Yukon Territory. We take a limited number of anglers each year, and our specialty is fly fishing for big lake ... moretrout, arctic grayling, and northern pike.
Type:
Fishing
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