IT'S STILL WINTER HERE MARCH 2023

“Let the waves carry you where the light can not.”
-Mohit Kaushik

And the winter continues. I never get used to Colorado winters. They only creep into spring in subtle waves. We will have some really wonderful weather in the mid 50s and even 60s. Then a sudden drop in temperatures and suddenly snow. Then warmer weather again, to melt the snow and create the months of "mud season" where my dogs track in paw prints across the hardwood floors and up onto the couch. It is a little like watching a tide come in and go out again, each time getting a little less severe and less oppressive on my psyche. So I sit quietly and watch each wave and see the season of spring coming in.

I love this Japanese winter scene. Click on photo if you want to purchase a print.

Until then I sit in my little shed and tie flies, work in my shop and make spools and other cool things, visit a friend and spend hours on my laptop making plans for the warmer seasons ahead. 

I hope that you will enjoy the features I have put together for you this month. We have a "FEATURED ANGLER" from Italy, some fun flies to try in "TIE THIS!" and I did a slight rewrite of an old blog post of mine on how to turn a wine cork into a rod tip. If you want to wander into my world of "TENKARA AS PRACTICE" you can explore some thoughts I have on nurturing silence in your life to be better at angling and living day to day too.

This Month's Features

To visit each feature, just click on the photo and be teleported to the fun.

READ THIS!
Sitting around between snow storms I found this article by Tom Davis on Tenkara Angler to be motivating enough to get me off my butt and go and practice casting in the middle of the street. Yes, the neighbors think I am crazy but it is good to exercise those casting muscles. To reduce the stares, maybe go to a local park instead?

WATCH THIS!
A nice video about the basics of trout behavior, dry fly rises and more.  Whether you match the hatch or not, this short video gives you a little something to think about.

PATH NOTES
No matter how hard I try I lose end caps. Today I am rewriting a older post and showing you how you can make your own rod cap by repurposing a wine cork.  You probably have all you need to do this fun DIY in your garage or junk drawer. 

FEATURED ANGLER
Meet Aldo Menghenini A.K.A. "Tenkaldo". Aldo is as passionate as you can get about fishing tenkara and he is lucky enough to have some great waters in the mountains of Central Italy.

TIE THIS!
Jason Klass takes on a fly tying journey with his "Silk Road Sakasa Kebari". If you already saw this post on his blog tenkaratalk.com, this is still worth checking out again. It is such an elegant and beautiful fly that it really deserves a second look and a shout out.

TENKARA AS PRACTICE
An annual occurrence of a seasonal cold and sinus infection that lead to me losing my voice has given me pause to reflect a little on the practice of silence and how it applies to our tenkara angling.