Tenkara Goals

I want to put into a document the feelings I have with catching a brook trout in 16 states that they are native on the East coast of the US. But, honestly, I am not actually sure how to describe my feelings. I have reached goals before. I became a nurse. I work in a unit that I love. I am just not sure how I have felt about this accomplishment…

Here are a few pictures of a wild tiger trout. I didn’t really consider this a goal, but I really, really wanted to catch one and here we are. I caught it with my good buddy Nate Camp in Connecticut during one of the Backcountry Hunters and Angler’s Armed Forces Initiative and Heritage Tenkara Project free veteran’s tenkara 101 classes this past June.

The Goal

I wrote an article for Heritage Tenkara project which includes a picture of one brook trout from each of the the 16 states. That will be posted soon if it isn’t already. My goal was to use a tenkara rod to catch these char in every state of their native territory on the Eastern Seaboard. Why am I so certain to make that clear? “Eastern seaboard of the US”. I say that because they are still native and found in the Midwest as well. These states include Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. I have caught them in Wisconsin, but, honestly, when I first made this goal I only really was thinking they were only found on the coast. My ignorance I guess; so, here we are. I had a goal and I completed it.

Feelings

It took me 3 years to complete this goal. I finally caught a brook trout in West Virginia in June. I would have found them myself through research, but I ended up “phoning a friend” and getting to fish with someone I have talked to online for a couple of years. He even enjoys tenkara and ended up winning a Timber and Fins leather fly wallet from me in the past. I got to see it in the wild in its full glory and I am so thrilled I got to fish with him.

I actually never liked fishing with people. I guess my feelings on that have changed. I enjoy watching and being with other people as they fish. I am always learning and am a student of others. Jacob, my friend from West Virginia, fished with a much longer level line that I am used to. I am not even consistently throwing a level line. It was great watching his casting stroke and seeing him fish with a tenkara rod. He broke apart the river just as I would and he was even able to do it with barely getting his feet wet. For me, I am always in the water. Always. I was and still am impressed and would love to fish with him again.

But what are my feelings of accomplishing my goal of fishing this many states and catching my favorite fish? I still don’t know. What does my future hold with tenkara? I don’t feel scared that I don’t have another goal in mind, but where do I go from here?

Next Up

With fishing in West Virginia in June, I have now caught fish in 25 states. I guess for a future goal, I want to catch a fish in every state with a tenkara rod. I enjoy my native species as they tend to be, especially the smaller ones, indicator species of the water and environment and more delicate to changes. However, catching a fish in all the states will also be an accomplishment and I am halfway done.

Should I also try and catch native fish in each state? That would be fun, but I am not in particular too fond of fishing for warm water species and not all states have cold water species, like trout, native to them. It just isn’t my thing and it doesn’t tickle my fancy like the trout and char species.

With that being said, I would absolutely love to end up catching all the redeye bass species that are endemic to the Southeastern US. They have become very special to me after catching the Bartram’s bass in South Carolina. They have a certain rugged allure and badass physical characteristics that remind me of trout and I would love to chase them in the Southeastern rivers and streams that surprisingly resemble a waterway that I would be fishing for trout.

There is also a Western Native Trout Challenge that looks particularly interesting to me. There are rewards and certificates after catching so many. I have not looked into it specifically down to each state and fish, but I do know that I have caught some fish on its list so far. Lahontan cutthroat trout, golden trout, and Gila trout were all caught by me in their native range just to name in a few. I look forward to researching more on these fish and learn more about their habitats and behaviors.

ALL of that to say that I did this by my 37th birthday. Happy birthday to me.