Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast

In Episode 26 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast the Tenkara Angler crew discuss the intersection of tenkara fishing and foraging with special guest Ari Rockland-Miller of The Mushroom Forager. Ari's unique background as a professional mycophile who has a growing passion and knowledge for tenkara lends itself to an interesting conversation we're sure you'll enjoy.

We talk with Ari about the world of mushroom foraging, discussing the safest mushrooms to start with on your foraging journey (and those to stay away from), the best seasons for combining foraging and fishing, the diversity of wild foods including edible greens, and delicious cooking and effective preservation techniques. Throughout the interview, Ari not only ties the two hobbies together, but focuses on the importance of sustainable harvesting practices and the joy of connecting with nature.

Show Notes & Links:

0:00:05 - Introductions
0:02:00 - Ari Rockland-Miller & The Mushroom Forager
0:07:12 - Ari & Tenkara
0:09:25 - How to Start Foraging Safely
0:13:04 - Beginner-Friendly Mushrooms
0:18:27 - Poisonous Mushrooms & Phone Apps for ID
0:25:13 - Foraging in Tenkara's History
0:31:06 - Ari's Approach to Foraging & Fishing
0:35:31 - Ari's Recipe for Trout & Mushrooms
0:37:19 - The Seasonality of Foraging & Fishing
0:44:57 - Golden Oysters & Invasives
0:47:42 - How to Harvest Mushrooms - Trailwaters Mesh Foraging Bag
0:55:40 - Smurfs & other Mushroom-based Creatures
0:56:35 - Story Time with Bill
0:59:00 - Ari's Biggest Mushroom Haul
01:03:23 - Ari's Final Thoughts
01:06:28 - Contacting Ari
01:16:32 - Closing Remarks

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In Episode 25 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast the Tenkara Angler crew explore five fishing destinations, including Spring Creek in Pennsylvania, warm water fishing opportunities in Southwest Wisconsin, brook trout in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Northern Portugal's native brown trout, and North Georgia's "trout town", Blue Ridge. They share tips for fishing in these areas, and discuss the unique characteristics of each location, including accessibility, types of fish, and local culture through personal experiences. You'll be sure to want to add a few of these locations to your fishing travel plans!

Show Notes & Links:

0:00:25 - Introductions
0:01:15 - Upcoming Community Events
0:07:45 - Pennsylvania's Spring Creek
- TCO Fly Shop
- Flyfisher's Paradise
- Keystone Fly Fishing
0:27:28 - Wisconsin Warmwater Smallmouth
- Dodgeville, WI
- Smallmouth Alliance
0:40:34 - White Mountains of New Hampshire
- White Mountains Tenkara Campout
- Lost River Valley Campground
- Squaretail
- North Country Angler
0:50:04 - Portugal
- Antonio Rodrigues / Minho Fly Fishing
- Monção, Portugal
- The Last Old Place
1:03:14 - Blue Ridge, Georgia
- Blue Ridge Trout & Outdoor Adventures Festival
- Cohutta Fishing Company
- Toccoa River Outfitters
- Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods
- Sabor a Puebla
- Expedition: Bigfoot
- Trout Fishing in North Georgia
- Fly Fishing for Peach State Trout
- Doin' Stuff with Zane
01:16:32 - Closing Remarks

Want to see more? Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tenkara Angler

In Episode 24 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line podcast Mike, Anthony, Bill, and Matt discuss their preseason preparations for the upcoming spring tenkara fishing season. They cover essential topics regarding the three major categories of gear - rods, flies, and lines - focusing on rod care and preventative maintenance, storage solutions, cleaning techniques, common causes of rod breakage, and best practices for new anglers. Once done with gear, the conversation turns to fishing preparation, including scouting techniques, knot tying, journaling, and personal goal setting.

Show Notes & Links:

00:07 - Introductions

00:34 - Pre-Season Preparation Overview

02:03 - Rod Care and Maintenance Practices
- Anthony's Video: Tenkara Tips - Tenkara Rod Maintenance
- Bill's Air Blaster

12:34 - Preventative Maintenance and Spare Parts

14:29 - Common Causes of Rod Breakage

20:30 - Best Practices for New Anglers

24:17 - Dealing with Stuck Sections

26:26 - Rod Socks and Lost Tip Caps
- Universal Tip Caps

27:37 - Fishing Stories of Broken Rods

33:09 - Flies, Tying, & Organizing Fly Boxes

44:02 - Line Management and Preparation
- Level Line Podcast: Exploring Tenkara Lines
- DRAGONtail Line Winders

48:58 - Scouting Water & Gathering Intel
- onX for property lines

51:16 - Renewing Your License, Bill the Outlaw

52:12 - Keeping a Fishing Journal

55:30 - Setting Personal Goals for Fishing

57:55 - Understanding Insects and Ecosystems
- The Bug Book
- Hatches II
- Upper Midwest Hatches

01:04:35 - Which Way Did Bill Go?

01:06:17 - Practice Casting and Knot Tying

01:10:33 - Closing Remarks

Want to see more? Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tenkara Angler

In Episode 23 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line podcast Anthony, Bill, Dave and Tom discuss various tenkara presentation and fly manipulation techniques. Dead drift, upstream & downstream pulling, tomezuri, and "pon pon" are covered emphasizing their effectiveness in catching fish and the best equipment to use to execute each.

The podcast isn't meant to be a comprehensive seminar on tenkara techniques but rather an introduction. The idea is to familiarize anglers with the basic concepts of active fly manipulation. The Tenkara Angler crew share their personal takes on how they use active fly manipulation in their own fishing. The goal is to help anglers add to and develop their own tenkara tool boxes.

Show Notes & Links:

0:00:08 - Introductions

0:02:41 - Books & Resources
- Tenkara by Daniel Galhardo
- How to Fool Fish with Simple Flies by Paul Gaskell & John Pearson
- Super Clear Level Line Tenkara by Dr. Hisao Ishigaki

0:05:00 - The Importance(?) of Dead Drift

0:16:40 - The Pause and Drift Technique

0:21:00 - Pulling Presentations

0:25:05 - The Importance of Gear Selection

0:31:45 - Understanding the Upstream Pull

0:37:13 - The Concept of Tomezuri

0:47:30 - Exploring the "Pon Pon" Technique

00:57:57 - Strategies for Catching the 'Gatekeeper' Trout

01:01:55 - Bill's Book Club
- Understanding Trout Behavior by John Goddard & Brian Clarke

01:04:51 - Lifting and Swinging Flies
- Leisenring Lift

01:10:17 - Final Thoughts

Brand Affiliates Mentioned in this Episode:

In Episode 22 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line podcast, Amanda, Anthony, Bill, Matt & Mike discuss current events in the tenkara fishing community, including online kebari tying classes, new rod releases, and upcoming events.

The conversation then turns holiday gifts that anglers really want. No "Big Mouth Billy Bass" wall decorations here. The team shares humorous and practical takes on fishing gifts they'd wouldn't mind giving or receiving. Our discussion wraps up with some memorable fishing experiences from the past year as well as an announcement of a special art contest ,"Paint Matt's Adventure Van" with great prizes that you don't want to miss!

Show Notes & Links:

0:00:06 - Introduction

0:01:37 - Current Events
- Online Kebari Tying Classes
- Rocky MTN Compa Rod
- Taunki Kunoichi Rod
- White Mountains Tenkara Campout
- Wisconsin Driftless Tenkara Campout
- Tenkara Angler Events Page

0:17:24 - Holiday Gifts Tenkara Anglers Really Want
- Nippers
- Orvis Fishing Shirt
- Fly Winder Pro Mag Mount
- DRAGONtail Furled Lines
- Miss Mayfly Waders
- Airbnb Gift Cards
- Tenkara Angler Gear on Amazon
- John Galligan Books
- Tippet Guide Spools
- Trouthunter Tippet
- Gift a Fishing License
- 2024 Tenkara Angler Gift Guide

0:35:18 - Meandering Conversation
- Gas Station Food: Wawa, Sheetz, Kwik-Trip, Kum & Go
- Christmas Trees
- Name Anthony's Irritable Betta Fish

0:38:44 - Looking Back Fondly on 2024

0:52:09 - "Paint Matt's Adventure Van" Contest

0:55:08 - Closing Remarks

Brand Affiliates Mentioned in this Episode:
DRAGONtail, Tanuki, Rocky MTN Tenkara, Red Brook Tenkara

In Episode 21 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast, Mike, Anthony, Matt, and Bill discuss various topics related to tenkara fishing, including current events in the tenkara community, the significance of Tenkara USA's 15-year anniversary, and personal experiences with tenkara over the last decade and a half.

The conversation then swerves briefly to the 'Overrated Underrated Game,' before Anthony leads our primary discussion into the various types of tenkara fishing lines, reviewing their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. We explore level lines, furled lines, floating lines, and tapered monofilament lines, providing insights for both beginners and experienced anglers.

Show Notes:

0:00:13 - Introduction
- A View of Tenkara in Austria

0:05:30 - Tenkara Community News
- Tenkara USA 15 Years
- Men's Health 10 Manliest Hobbies on Earth
- New DRAGONtail rod / Japanese Salamander
- Zen Hachi Closeout - $80!
- Tanuki 2025 East Coast Boot Camp?

0:26:08 - Overrated / Underrated
- Midcurrent Barbless Hooks Article
- Tim Traver's - Lost in the Driftless: Trout Fishing on the Cultural Divide

0:47:00 - Tenkara Line Discussion

0:49:19 - Level Lines
- Nissin PALS Oni Line / Varivas Special Nylon / Cortland Indicator Line
- Shooter FC Sniper BMS / Seaguar Tatsu Clear
- 1.5 YGK ULTRA Sight & Sakura Markers

1:03:00 - Furled Lines
- DRAGONtail Furled Lines / Nissin PALS Line SP

1:12:24 - Floating Lines
- Daiwa PVC Floating Line / Cortland Monocore Euro Line

1:17:37 - Tapered Monofilament Lines
- Fujino Tapered / Daiwa Tapered

1:21:50 - Tenkara Angler Housekeeping
- Level Line Podcast T-Shirts & Gear
- 2025 Print Magazine Deadline - November 29th

Brand Affiliates Mentioned in this Episode:
DRAGONtail, Tanuki, Tenkara USA, Zen Tenkara

In Episode 20 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast, Amanda, Anthony, Matt, & Mike hold our first ever Tenkara Fantasy Draft - picking rods, lines, flies, locations, and a special "wild card" item. The clock was ticking and strategies were abound. It's such a fun conversation!

Be sure to comment ON OUR YOUTUBE VIDEO and tell us who "won" the draft... who dropped the kebari... or what YOU might have picked instead for the opportunity to win a tenkara-related prize!

Show Notes:

Anthony's Inspiration: Bandsplain Podcast

Want to see more? Visit ⁠⁠⁠Tenkara Angler

In Episode 16 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast Anthony Naples talked with Jonathan Antunez about his style of active wet fly fishing that is inspired in part by H.C. Cutcliffe and other anglers of bygone eras but which is being given new life by utilizing modern state-of-the-art fixed line tenkara rods.

In Episode 19 Anthony revisits this topic with Jonathan. We hope that you catch the bug like he has and you give this style of fishing a try.

Show Notes:

In Episode 18 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast, Matt, Amanda & Anthony discuss the recent White Mountains Tenkara Campout, stream etiquette, terrain and tenkara style, and more.

The White Mountains Tenkara event hosted by Red Brook Tenkara happened recently in New Hampshire and Tenkara Angler team members Amanda, Matt and Mike were in attendance. Amanda and Matt share their thoughts on the event and the area.

Then the team discusses a little bit about stream etiquette and expectations inspired by frequent Tenkara Angler contributor Dennis Vander Houwen's recent article The Unwritten Rules of Fishing Etiquette.

Matt Sment poses the question about how terrain and background affect tenkara fishing style. And finally, there is some discussion about everyone's upcoming plans.

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Show Notes & Links:

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Gear Mentioned in this podcast:

Tenkara USA Satoki

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Want to see more?

Tenkara Angler: ⁠https://tenkaraangler.com

In Episode 17 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast, Mike, Matt, & Anthony touch on some current events in their fishing lives.

Anthony discusses some learnings he's made fishing the same water consistently in May. Matt recaps the Driftless Tenkara Campout. Mike frets over where the "too much vs. too little" line is drawn when it comes to packing for an upcoming trip.

Finally, Anthony spends some extended time with Roanoke, Virginia based angler, Mike Garrison. Mike discusses his entry into tenkara, why he enjoys it so much, the similarities (and differences) between a euro-nymphing & fixed line (tenkara) nymphing setup, as well as the value in fishing with guides.

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Show Notes & Links:

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Mike's Blog: Guide Waters: Exploring Fly Fishing & Life

Mike's Instagram: @blueridgeflyguy

Mike's Business: Strategic Referral Team

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Want to see more?

Tenkara Angler: https://tenkaraangler.com