Tenkara Fishing in the Amawalk Outlet - the beginning of autumn

When we left home for the Amawalk Outlet yesterday morning, the rain had already started.  It was on-again and off-again all the way.
Once we got there, it stopped.  The weather turned out to be fine, a pleasant day for fishing.

Yesterday for my tenkara line, I cut a length (same length as the tenkara rod) of my salt water shooting line - the Airflo Miracle Floating Shooting Braid.

In the last couple of times, I had tried the fluorocarbon level line. I got frustrated sometimes because it was difficult to maneuver in this small stream with many tree branches hanging over it.

The braided shooting line is preferred in this stream for it is easy to handle.  I just enjoy fishing with it.

 

  
Autumn color has started to show.  The official fishing season in Amawalk Outlet will end in 9 days.

Tenkara and Fly Rod Fishing in the Amawalk Outlet, New York

We spent a whole day fishing in the Amawalk Outlet again yesterday.

Most of the time this season I have used tenkara rods.  Now the season is almost over, and I'd like to see what the different fishing experiences are between a tenkara and a fly rod, so I used a fly rod yesterday.

My wife did it again!  She caught a 14-inch and several good size browns with a tenkara rod.
She enjoys tenkara fishing with its simplicity..

With my fly rod yesterday, I caught more fishes than last week because I could cast farther distance in some pools. I had a such a good time.

Tenkara and fly rod fishing have advantages and disadvantages.  It is their advantages that appeal to fishermen and are part of their characters, so I think a comparison is not really meaningful. Both give fishermen the joy of fishing.




 I'll back to tenkara fishing next time. It is still new to me and I will enjoy the challenge.


Here is a video of my wife tenkara fishing .                        
                                                                              

Tenkara Fishing in the Amawalk Outlet -- Cormorant

We fished in the Amawalk Outlet yesterday and it was my wife's turn to have her day.
We started fishing upstream from the Wood St bridge.
She immediately caught a close to 14-inch brown.

A man-made waterfall upstream stands out in this small peaceful stream.
The pool looks promising to hold big fish, but we didn't catch any.   

In the evening we fished downstream.
When I was walking further downstream from my wife, suddenly I saw a large black bird diving into the water just a little away from her.  It looked like a cormorant.
Continuing walking downstream, I saw it again.  It was riding on the rapid water and passing by me.
This stretch of the stream looks nice.  But I got only one chance and failed to net it.
My wife, fishing further upstream, caught several small browns.
I wander if this fishing bird (my competitor) scared the fish away in this stretch of water.


It is my first time seeing a cormorant in a small stream like this.
I see these birds all the time along the sea shore.
They are a good sign for striper fishing because their presence also indicates the presence of bait fish which stripers are after.
A cormorant in a small stream is a different story.
How can a fisherman compete with it?

Tenkara Fishing in the Farmington River, CT（Ⅱ）

We went to the Farmington River again yesterday.
We fished in several places in the upper section of the river, but we didn't catch any until evening when we went to the Church Pool as our last hope without getting skunked.
Fish are always rising in the Church Pool in the evening even when other pools are quiet, though most of the fish are small.
We caught one brown each.
Mine was a beautiful 16+ inches which was the largest trout I ever caught with a tenkara rod.



I casted my largest elk wing caddis when it was getting dark and I started losing hope of catching any fish.
Then suddenly a fish took my fly with a splash.  I had quite a battle with this fish until I finally netted it.  
I always want to experience catching a large fish with a tenkara rod. Here in Farmington River, I got the chance to catch a good size one at last.
 

 

Most of  the upper section of the River below the dam is inside CT state park - People's State Park.
Fishermen (lure/fly) of all levels can enjoy fishing here because of the park's easy access.  They can find varieties of water to suit their fishing levels.  
The Park is well maintained and provides convenient facilities such as large parking lots, picnic tables, barbecue grills and clean toilets.  There is also a camp ground.
People can enjoy hiking, cycling, canoeing and tubing etc, here.  It is a very nice park.

Tenkara Fishing In Amawalk Outlet and the Croton East Branch（Ⅱ）Monster-size Walleye

My wife and I fished the Amawalk Outlet and Croton East Branch yesterday.
We fished only a short section in the downstream from Wood Street bridge in Amawalk Outlet.
The stream flow and water temperature are good even in summer.
It seems each pockets of water hold a fish or two, though most of them are tiny.

We failed to hook many, but we caught a few small brown trouts.
This stream has plenty of small fish and is beautiful.  It is surrounded by many tall trees.



In the late afternoon, we went to the Croton East Branch.
I caught one brown trout . It seemed yesterday the trouts were in hiding  although the water temperature and the flow were okay.




A spin fisherman, fishing some distances from my wife upstream, caught a monster-size fish with his minnow lure.
He told my wife it was a walleye and the largest one he had ever caught in the East Branch.  My wife took some pictures and scaled it at least 27 inches long, 6-7 lbs.
When I saw the fish in the pictures, I was really amazed by its size. I have never seen such a big fish there except carps, and I have fished there over 20 years.
Just a thought:  This monster-size walleye probably ate a lot of trouts.  Thanks to Walter, it is gone!
 

   

Tenkara Fishing in the Farmington River, CT

We fished in the Farmington River, CT yesterday.
As summer is advancing, the condition of most streams in the Croton Watershed has become not so good for fishing.
Then Farmington River has come to my mind.  Why shall we not fish in the Farmington with tenkara rods?
We used to go fly fishing there quite often and had a good time, even in hot summer days.
The water was cooler than the water in the Croton Watershed, and there were an abundant of insect hatches.

I tried to fish the section of water between the Hogback Dam and the Beaver Pool, which is the first major pool downstream from the Dam. This section consists of mostly rapid and riffle with a lot of large stones which make good pockets of water.  So it might be a great place for tenkara fishing.  Many brookies are supposed to be there too.

In this section, a lot of tree branches hang over the bank.  It caused big problem for casting near the bank, so I had to wade to the middle, but wading was difficult because of the large volume of fast water.

The flow of Farmington was more than usual and the water temperature was higher than what we had experienced in past summers.

I will try this section again when the condition is better.



We fished some other rapid in the downriver, and I managed to catch  a few fish.

We had a great expectation of good fishing in the Farmington yesterday.
Let's hope for a better day next time.
                                                            

Tenkara Fishing in Amawalk Outlet and the Croton East Branch

My wife and I visited the middle section of Amawalk Outlet for the first time.
However, we did stop by this stream just below the Amawalk Reservoir more than 20 years ago.
At that time the stream looked not much better than a small ditch to my eyes and I never gave it a second look until now.
Since I have started tenkara fishing, I get more interested in small mountain streams.
So I read the TU guide book, "FISHING THE CROTON WATERSHED" about Amawalk Outlet again.
I realized the image of this stream in my head seemed not the same as the descriptions in the book.

Though it was raining last Saturday morning, we went to see the stream.
Once it caught my sight, I felt I wasted 20 something years not knowing such a nice and beautiful trout stream exists in the Croton Watershed.  It is also the closest to our home among other streams we often visit.
Well, I had this feeling of loss even  though only recently we have been interested in these types of streams.

I caught a small brown trout downstream from the Wood Street bridge.
We were late for lunch, so we left.  But we have to explore this stream more next time.

















In the Croton East Branch, we caught several trouts.
I used Nissin 13-foot tenkara level line rod which has a very soft action.
This rod can be casted with the fluorocarbon level line to its maximum length when one can cast the line with the right casting speed and right timing of the start forward cast.

Also, because of the line's light weight, the level line doesn't pull the fly toward the fisherman when the fly is drifting.  The fly can keep drifting in the far distance current.

But the rod's softness can cause big problem.  It is difficult to control a hooked fish, especially a larger one.

I lost my last and the largest fish of Saturday when I grabbed the line, and the tippet broke off.
I guessed the tippet became weak when I couldn't net the fish right away, and the fish was struggling wildly to escape weakening the tippet.
To grab the line and land a larger fish is like a gamble to me.  I don't know if the tippet is strong enough or not.  I must find some good ways to land a larger fish.

  

Tenkara Fishing in the Catskills Mauntain（Ⅲ）

My wife and I spent last weekend in the Catskills fishing a mountain stream and the West Branch of Delaware with tenkara outfits.

It was her first time fishing the Catskills mountain stream and she caught a nice brookie.  I caught a few brookies too.













I would be satisfed just seeing a few of them.  
I felt continuing catching them would be harassing these pretty little fish.

                                  

We fished the West Branch of Delaware on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
We tried several fast water stretches that were good for tenkara fishing.
The water level was 400~600 cfs.
Wading in this level and fast water was a little bit difficult for us, especially for my wife.
 I concentrated on drifting my fly along the undercut of the grassy bank at Shehawken, and I caught a 13- inch brown in the early Sunday morning.






















Later I also caught 3 more browns in Hale Eddy when I drifted the bead-head soft hackle flies swinging below me.
I didn't catch any 20+ inches trout which is not unusual in the Delaware.
Even if I caught one, I wasn't sure if my tankara rod could handle such a fish.
I find fishing in a big river with tenkara rod is not more difficult than nymphing with a fly rod.

                                                                                                                                                                                 












So far I only have experience in tankara fishing in the fast water.  I wander if tenkara fishing method (twitching the fly) in slow water of a large pool, such as Upper Game Land Pool, is effective.

The video below is a tenkara master fishing in a slow water pool.

Tenkara Fishing in the Catskills Mountains（Ⅱ）

I fished in a Catskills mountain stream yesterday.
It was the first time I fished this section of the stream.
The stream bank and stones are covered with thick green moss.
When I was walking upstream, I felt as if I were strolling in an old Japanese garden.

The stream has many nice pockets of water holding brookies.
They are small, but vigorous.
When they attacked my elk wing caddis, they jumped five inches above the water.


Despite the beauty of the stream and fantastic fishing, I had to flee after walking upstream for about a quarter mile.
There were just too many mosquitoes that didn't leave me alone.

I look forward to visiting this stream again in the fall when all these annoying mosquitoes have gone.
I can imagine the stream will be more beautiful as the leaves change to their autumn color.