From 09/05/2025
I woke early and drove to the Silver Creek Outfitters in Ketchum. That is where I met Brian Richter after talking to him on the phone the previous night about today’s guided trip. I was hoping he would be open to me fishing tenkara and would teach me about the area.
He gave me a few options in terms of fish to catch and places to fish and we ended up going to a pretty lovely secluded spot where we were the only anglers and only saw one person who was working for someone building a house on some land that was along the water. Unfortunately, there have been people moving to the area that have caused some ruckus when fishing. It isn’t the prettiest thing when you expect to see mountains, the sky, and water flowing in and out of view from the dirt road. Now, there were construction vehicles and loud noises. It was funny to note that these soon-to-be residents thought they owned the waterways, when, in the state of Idaho, it is law that the high water mark is the public’s domain. So, as long as you enter the water from public land, and walk the water, then you are surely within your limits to travel that walkable path and fish.
I enjoyed fishing this day with Brian. He boosted my confidence in fishing in a larger waterway than I am used to and put me on fish. I believe I also inspired him to possibly have a tenkara rod in his arsenal.
Many people ask why I book a guided trip if I am an experienced tenkara angler. I have booked trips in several states now and also in Austria and Slovenia and I enjoyed each one for different reasons.
Here are a few reasons why I book guided trips…
– Boost the local outdoor economy that will accommodate me as a woman in the outdoors and tenkara anglers
– Aid in my knowledge of finding fish quickly without having to do much research on the area and spending too much time looking and not catching
– Pick the guide’s brain for future local fishing trips in the area and exactly where to fish
– Learn about the new-to-me fish behaviors and bugs
I am sure there are other reasons I am forgetting, but these are the ones I can and will invest in a guide for that I can think of when fishing in an area that I am most certainly out of my realm in. Brian also encouraged me to fish in the river I fished in the next day! I cannot thank Brian enough and encourage any experienced tenkara angler to look up Silver Creek Outfitters when wanting to fish in the Ketchum/Sun Valley area. I say “experienced” because Brian is a stellar guide, but is not a tenkara angler. His expertise is best utilized and expected to bring other elements to fishing to the table for you besides educating you on fishing with a tenkara rod.
My Tenkara Journey 