About the Author

Joe Rotter

Joe is the "blogger in chief" here at Red's in addition to being our guide service manager and partner here at Red's. He is a father of 3 spunky children his wife Kelly can only be found fishing when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the fish are gobbling up dry flies.

In addition to being a fly fishing junkie, Joe is a hard core bowhunter, is a volunteer Hunter's Eductation Instructor, and loves riding horses with his kiddos. Joe still guides a small part of the time but spends most of his time working on web marketing, travel, and helping customers find the right tools and information for the job.

The Ultimate Backcountry Creek Fly Rod? - TFO Cutthroat Tenkara Rod

August 23, 2017

I absolutely love fishing small streams. I have so often said, "if I wasn't a pro-guide I wouldn't even own a drift boat". While I am not sure if this is true or not, I absolutely love wade fishing all the small water that pours off of our wild PUBLIC LANDS in the National and State Forests we are so blessed to call our own. The amount of opportunity is mind blowing. Remember, we are Public Land Owners and its a shame that more folks don't take advantage of some of these off the beaten path fisheries. Maybe the trout aren't big enough or something. They're big enough for me :). Based on what I have seen these spots are under-fished.

The Creek Slam is a Brook Trout (fairly rare in these parts), a Rainbow, and a Cutthroat. Often we get all three of these species in a single day. here is a nice enough Brook Trout.

On the topic of public land, I have found the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Group to be very vocal, active, and being a very good voice for the values that I believe in regarding our use of our public lands. I encourage you to give them your support.

There are so many reasons that I love fishing these little creeks at the edge of the mountains, but one of which is that I can go fish dry flies while most folks are using nymphs on the big river. Dry fly fishing is the heart and soul of our sport folks. Take advantage of the creek trout's hunger and willingness to eat dry flies.

I personally love hiking and bushwhacking into remote creeks, sometimes walking many miles. Once in a while we ride horses, sometimes perhaps a mountain bike ride up a logging road (did this a lot as a kid), but usually we just hike. It feels so good to get some exercise and enjoy nature. You see a lot of nature this way. Sometimes during hunting season I'll hunt in the morning, and fish my way home in the afternoon. One tool that I personally use is my TFO Tenkara Cutthroat Rod. Love it. If you too love going ultralight, hiking, and fishing small mountain streams then consider this rod.

Things to Understand About a Tenkara System

There is no reel. Just line, leader, rod.
There is no extra line to make slack, or cause distractions.
ALL of your focus is on the fly
You virtually eliminate all snagging of backcasts in trees because you know EXACTLY how much line you have out because it never changes.
I like these rods on small streams where 10'-20' casts are the norm.
Tenkara Rods 8'6" and shorter are the longest I personally like.
You learn to stalk fish, rather than getting more line which can get sloppy.
The reel isn't an issue since fish are being hooked at "point blank" range anyway.
They pack up quick and tight making them perfect for treks into the backcountry

Tenkara is a traditional Japanese method of fly fishing that has been proven effective for centuries in Japan's high-mountain stream.Fly anglers can be more selective than their quarry. Rig up with these simple fly fishing Tenkara rods, kits and flies at http://myfishingrod.com.Great tutorial about the basics of fishing with a Tenkara fly fishing.Thanks for your fascinating site. I have learned here new thinks.