NOW I SEE THE SECRET OF MAKING THE BEST PERSON, IT IS TO GROW IN THE OPEN AIR AND TO EAT AND SLEEP WITH THE EARTH.
—Walt Whitman
With tenkara rods telescoping down to sixteen inches and weighing as little as two-and-a-half ounces, a backpacker can take fishing gear without weight penalty, doubling their fun in the backcountry.
Having been a backpacker all my life, it is clear to me that fine-tuning your equipment is a continuous and important aspect of the sport. When carrying everything you need on your back, not only does the gear have to be reliable, but you need to consider the utility of what you carry. A good backpacking trip boils life down to its bare essentials. Every ounce becomes a burden that can affect the distance you cover and your comfort while doing so.
These past few years have seen a transformation in commercially available camping gear. The advent of ultralight camping has spawned a new industry of lightweight packs, shelters, and cooking gear. Indeed every aspect of backpacking equipment is being scrutinized for its weight and utility.1
Over the years, prior to tenkara, I was able to whittle down my fly-fishing outfit to a five-piece fly rod (breaking down to twenty-three inches), a four-ounce reel, and associated gear and gizmos, bringing my total, angling-gear weight to just under a pound. My tenkara rod with gear, however, comes in at an amazing six ounces! For the backpacker, tenkara is a revolution.
Moreover, given that my gear is much simpler and more accessible, I am more likely to fish. My five-piece required first putting the rod and reel together, then rigging the line through guides, and finally tying on a fly. It certainly was never at the ready. My tenkara rod can be stored fully rigged, including a fly, which allows me to fish spots that I would have previously passed up due to the inconvenience of rigging. I have even fished with my pack still on, something I had never done in the past.
Tenkara fishing is a perfect fit for backpacking. Its accessibility, storage, and utility will certainly appeal to the backpacker who scrutinizes and tweaks his or her gear toward efficiency and reliability.
Having your rod well protected but accessible is important, especially when crashing through chest-high brush, rock hopping, and scrambling across scree. I like keeping my rod in a lightweight plastic tube under the tightened side straps of my backpack. About five years ago I purchased a box of shipping tubes for four dollars. The tubes are closed on one end and have a screw top on the other. To the tube I attached a small piece of cord, which I tie to my pack as added insurance. I have also seen rods packed in the cellulose acetate tubing used for storing fluorescent lightbulbs. This is very lightweight and usually comes with end caps. If you are a real ultralight fanatic, packing your tenkara rod without a case at all will still likely work, as the rod handle is, in fact, a serviceable case.
My setup allows me to store the rod fully rigged, however, which in turn lets me take advantage of impromptu decisions to fish a little pool while I’m hiking. I wind my line and rigged fly around a cast winder of foam core stored with the rod inside the tubing. I can pull the fully rigged rod out and fish in seconds. If I know I won’t be fishing during a walk (for instance, hiking the length of a ridge), I add one more layer of protection by storing the rod tube inside my tent pole pouch.
Using a packing tube also allows me to lash my packing tube to my trekking pole with a simple shear lashing as an alternative or when hiking to a stream from base camps. I start with a clove hitch on the trekking pole, wrap both with at least five wraps of small diameter cordage, then frap (a winding between the tube and pole that serves to tighten the cord wrappings) between the two, three or more times, ending with another clove hitch. (If that’s not clear, ask any Boy Scout to show you a shear lashing.) This allows me to carry my rod close at hand completely rigged and does not interfere with the use of the trekking pole.
In camp, it is a good idea to keep your rod in its protective tube, safe from missteps. My packing tube has a small bottom vent for drying, and the attached slip of cord can be used to hang it from a branch stub. I’ve also written my name and cellphone number on the case with permanent marker.
Pack rafters will be interested in the experiences of Ryan Jordan, the ultralight backpacking author. In addition to using, endorsing, and selling tenkara rods, Ryan has had success storing his tenkara rod inside the paddle shafts of his pack raft, a nicely protected spot.
If you carry a small chest pack or fanny pack for fishing, a very accessible and secure place to carry it is simply belted around your pack. Clip it under the pack’s hood straps for added security.
With your rod rigged and at hand, a hiker can easily fish for a few minutes while his friends take a streamside lunch break. With tenkara you can fish your way into a campsite rather than first dropping your gear and then going back out to fish. Tenkara allows you to fish later into the evening too. If I’m fishing tenkara, I don’t need to worry about navigating back to camp in the semi-dark with a rigged rod or breaking down my gear at streamside and risking lost sections. Tenkara rods can quickly be collapsed for easy navigation during night travel or bushwhacking, and sections remain secure.
As mentioned, tenkara rods are ideally suited to the waters encountered while backpacking. Many of these smaller streams and headwaters are often shadowed by brush and limb. Tenkara rods can more easily bow-and-arrow cast or tip flicked into tight spots. And while most anglers unfamiliar with tenkara are worried that their rod length makes them unsuitable for these tight streams, the tenkara rod can be partially collapsed for really tough spots (though your grip should move forward to the extended sections). Given the light weight, I will carry a tenkara rod even when I am not sure I will find fishable water, often discovering a beaver pond or stream worth a cast or two.
If you’re planning an extended fishing trip into the backcountry, considerable thought should be given to your wading gear. Some wading boots are not all that heavy and can be tied to the outside of a pack when wet. They assure good footing but require putting on a damp shoe every morning (unless you want to risk drying them beside a campfire).
Neoprene fishing booties, like flats shoes or diving boots, don’t really offer enough support or foot protection. Rocky stream bottoms can become pretty uncomfortable. And changing shoes means you have to carry or stash your hiking boots while you fish, and the latter option means a backtrack.
While fishing in your hiking boots is okay with some, I don’t like walking in wet boots and I think the water takes a toll on the life of the boot. Furthermore, rock hopping along streams really restricts access to fish-able waters, especially in wilderness areas with no trails.
Some fishermen favor Crocs, but I find that they can pull off easily in mud. Sandals have similar problems unless designed for wading, and usually have little toe protection. And both of these options make for cold wading in alpine waters and mountain streams.
My favorite wading gear is the NEOS River Trekker. Made with durable denier nylon, covering nearly the full leg, and with a rubber cleat sole, they pull on right over your hiking boot, giving great support in the water and allowing for a more comfortable hike in. They are decent rain pants, can crash through the brush without tearing, and add an effective layer in snow too. Comfortable enough for all-day wear, these hippers offer a quick place to put the butt of your rod when needing both hands. I often stuff my raincoat down my trekker leg, too. While they add about a pound to my load, I find the additional weight worth the sacrifice.
In accordance with the philosophy of ultralight backpacking (and thus, in the spirit of tenkara), I often like to supplement my meals with the fish I catch along the trail. (In heavily fished water or tender ecosystems, of course, I practice catch and release only.)
Generally I will try to catch middle-sized trout for supper, dispatching the fish with firm raps at the base of their heads (harder than you think), followed by opening them from vent to throat with a sharp knife. I remove the viscera and then scrape the bloodlines from the spines. (I like to drop waste back into the stream, where the entrails will be quickly recycled—this also helps avoid attracting bears.) A field stringer is as simple as a forked-stick passed through the gills.
I will almost always cook the fish whole, either on a green stick spit or directly in the fire coals. Pan-frying breaded trout requires hot oil and a cast iron skillet, fine for canoe camping but necessitating too much gear for backpacking.
Since trout will cook to easily flaked flesh in ten minutes or so, no more than a twig fire is generally needed for a couple of fish. I like to carry seasonings (salt, pepper, lemon salt, garlic, True Lemon, or seafood seasoning) in a screw-top plastic test tube of the type used for water testing. Onion grass, ramps (wild leeks), and sage can be added from the local flora too. Season the fish inside and out.
When using foil, leave some room when you seal it. You don’t want it airtight around the fish. (If done carefully you can burn off the fish’s remains and reuse the foil.) Coating the fish with oil or butter is helpful but not necessary. Be very careful to use only a reliably sealed container for any cooking oil you carry in your pack.
If cooking on a spit, sharpen a green stick with a fork in the smaller end. Thread the larger end from the body cavity through the mouth. You’ll need to leave about four or five inches of stick exposed. Then force one leg of the forked stick through the body cavity and out the tail so that the fork holds and hangs the fish. After rubbing liberally with coarse salt, force the big end of the stick into the ground of the fireplace under the coals, vertically (tail up). Scoop more coals around the fish.
Cowboy style is the easiest. Simply lay the fish in the coals, turning once. The skin should be charred well when ready. I wait till after cooking cowboy style to add seasoning, if at all. This style of cooking gives the fish a bit of a smoked flavor.
To remove the bones, simply remove the flesh with a fork or knife working down from the backbone. When one side is gently fed off the bone, separate the ribs and spine by lifting the entire tail and spine while using a fork to tease the flesh loose. This is easier than it sounds, and almost always the remaining ribs and spine can be removed in one piece.
Poaching trout is another, surprisingly easy way to cook fish. Cut the trout into pieces small enough to fit into the pot, adding the chunks to boiling water a piece at a time. The cooked flesh falls easily from the bone and skin.
Relish and mayonnaise packets can turn leftovers into trout salad. Add some raisins too. Rolled up in pita bread, this makes a great streamside lunch. Taco seasoning with some cheese packets and a shredded carrot is an alternative.
A trout chowder can be made with just a few ingredients too. Simmer two packs of shrimp-flavored noodles and one pack each of dehydrated corn and peas and cook until soft, then simply add cooked trout. Garlic powder and Tabasco sauce are optional but sure add some zing.
The ultralight tenkara rod makes an ideal backpacking rod. Along with a couple flies and a spool of tippet, there is never a reason to leave it behind. No matter whether you’re taking a day hike, or geared up for a week in the mountains, a tenkara rod adds to the adventure. It offers an entirely different approach to nature. Relying on your fishing skills to supplement your food supply adds seriousness to your sport. Preparing and cooking fish completes the circle of our food acquisition. Most of all, tenkara asks you to slow down and observe, with little interfering between the angler and his element.
1. See www.backpackinglight.com.