Everything is complicated, it just depends upon when

I had the great blessing to be able to fish twice in the past week on very different water.

The first trip was with my great friend, client and my personal financial advisor Matt Barrette on the Smith River in VA. We tried some new spots and had a great time exploring.

The water was running at 280cfs and the fishing was (in different spots) pretty good. They were biting underneath.

I had been to a presentation on the Smith the day before at the Roanoke TU chapter and the statement was made that often the more south you go the fewer the fish and the bigger the fish. I would definitely agree with the latter statement.

The trip was the maiden voyage of my new Hardy 9’9” 4wt fly rod and it did not disappoint in the least. Truly a wonderful fly rod to fish the mono rig for tight line nymphing and being versatile ‘Troutbitten’ style. Tip of the cap to my friend Dom for recommending the rod.

I found it to be very accurate and was without a doubt the best ‘euro’ rod I have used yet for hook sets at depth.

I will be back to those spots. The Smith is a really cool fishery with tons of public access. Take a look on Google earth or, my personal favorite, TroutRoutes and you will find tons of spots to fish south of the dam.

I also got to head into the mountains for some time fly fishing as well. A beautiful morning testing out some new wading pants (Orvis Pro LT). Really comfortable and I liked them a lot. I have always used waders and/or wet waded.

These were a very nice option…and will challenge in the ‘marginal’ months between the dead of winter and blazing heat of spring for a space in my rotation. Still not prepared to give up on my backcountry Skinz neoprene leggings and my Orvis Jackson pants.

This trip I fished with a tenkara rod (the Tanuki 325) and caught two wild trout and had a few others swirl on the fly. Didn’t feel like I was ‘on my game’ that morning but the natural beauty was worth the trip and since I didn’t fall in I called it a win.

So why the title of this blog?

Rod and reel fly fishing to be truly versatile is complicated in how much you need to bring with you to be prepared to adapt to whatever is happening that day with one rod. Tenkara, on the other hand, is complicated in how you need to fish in order to overcome the limitations of a fixed rod length and line. Technique is equally important for both ways of fly fishing and neither is better than the other.

It all comes down to how you want to fish that day.

All the best and tight lines,

Mike