Most of the folks I’ve “Caught Up With…” to this point were rod & reel fly fishers. However, those that know me, know I dig some tenkara too. And one of the early-adopters of tenkara in the United States was Karel Lansky. At the time Colorado based, Karel penned a blog titled Tenkara on the Fly where he wrote about anything and everything he was doing in tenkara. It was a destination many of us visited often as we were all trying to “figure things out” together.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Karel in person a few times in my travels to Colorado, but one of the most memorable was a fishing trip he & I took to the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park back in 2014. The weather was beautiful, the fish were numerous, and he even pointed me in the right direction to catch my first greenback cutthroat (one can debate if it was pure if they want, but for this Pennsylvanian, it was still super cool to me). We talked about anything and everything – fishing, families, Star Wars – on the water and during the ride to and from that day, cementing a long-term friendship.
Now, let’s catch up with Karel Lansky…
Karel, what have you been up to over the last ten or so years?
The last 10 years included a lot of significant life changes for me and my family which also influenced the way I see tenkara today. The biggest change was our move from Colorado to London, UK, in 2015. The first two years were quite an adjustment and hard on our family. We all missed Colorado, our friends, community, the outdoors and the comparably easier life and space (both outside as well as living arrangements). The 3 of us – my wife Rachel and our daughter Gray – had to re-invent ourselves to varying degrees.
I think I hadn’t been out fishing the first 2 years, it was quite daunting to navigate local rules in the UK and find opportunities to fish tenkara. I think my breakthrough was the year when I was invited to an event in the Peak District with Discover Tenkara which sort of reignited the drive in me to “make an effort” to go fishing. It was then also quite an adjustment from Colorado’s high gradient creeks with eager trout to the UK’s more temperate flows and very wily, wild brown trout. I had to up my game significantly which has paid off in the long run, even when fishing in areas where trout are more “cooperative”.
I visited a few times Colorado since moving here and always made a point to connect with my dear friends in the tenkara community such as Dennis Vander Houwen, Jason Klass, & Graham Moran and build new friendships such as Jonathan Antunez.
Before COVID hit, I was a member of the Discover Tenkara Syndicate for a couple of years which I tremendously enjoyed. The wild trout up there are beautiful, buttery dark shadows in the tannin stained creeks of the high moors. I also forged new friendships in the UK, namely with David West Beale which in my eyes is the consummate angler – not just tenkara but any kind of fishing – and a very skilled wordsmith who frequently contributes to publications such as Fallon’s Angler.
In the last few years I traveled less to Colorado and more so to Europe, namely alpine Italy and Austria. The fishing there reminds me a lot of Colorado and makes me feel at home. I think one of my all-time favorite fishing trips was last year where David and Dennis joined me in Austria fishing waters where I started my fly fishing career in the late 90s. I will go back for a week this fall, albeit without the great company.
Do you miss the fishing blogging community at all? Have you kept in touch with anyone from that bygone era?
You may have noticed that my blog has suffered a bit of neglect over the last few years, I sort of lost the passion to write about every fishing outing. That doesn’t mean I abandoned the community, I am fairly active online, mainly in various Tenkara Facebook groups, on Instagram, and on reddit here and there.
As mentioned above, I am actively in touch with my Colorado Tenkara friends and early adopters Dennis, Jason, and Graham as well as with David in the UK. When I do post in those communities, I try to be helpful and point newcomers into the right direction – and when I say that I mean help them steer towards traditional tenkara 😊. I struggle sometimes with self-appointed experts’ posts labeling fixed-line fishing with a tenkara rod “Tenkara” and can’t help commenting and banter online.
Are you still fishy? Do you still find time to fish? If so, how often, where, and for what?
Fishing is a very important part of my life and my mental well-being. I often joke that my wife “sends” me fishing when I am cranky, stressed or in a bad mood. I think I am quite lucky to have a partner who understands my passion and supports me pursuing it.
Being outdoors in nature allows me to de-stress, find some quiet and calm in my head, and get re-energized. I don’t get to fish as often as I like, this has to do with work, family obligations, logistics (we are a one car family) and also weather. In a good year, I think I may be out 20-25 days on the water. I am at the age where I prefer to go out fishing when the weather cooperates. Yes, you can call me a fair weather angler 😊.
Tenkara is still my biggest passion, but I do enjoy UL spin fishing for perch, pike and chub which I picked up during the pandemic as there are more opportunities to fish closer to home. I have recently also picked up my old 9-weight I built many years ago to hunt pike with big streamers!
I found most people wrote their blogs as a personal journaling exercise or a creative outlet. What’s your creative outlet today?
I think I wouldn’t label myself as creative but rather a pragmatic. My blog was initially intended as a journal of my tenkara journey. I did write about my fishing trips as well as some gear review and DIY stuff such as furling tenkara lines, building my own transparent fish box, etc… but also about tying tenkara flies.
I think that is where I was most creative initially but nowadays, as I keyed in on my most trusted and favorite flies, I usually only tie to replenish my stock rather than to experiment.
I’m interviewing you today. Is there anybody from outdoor blogging’s past you think I should track down and interview next?
Maybe not tracking down but I think an interview with David West Beale would be super interesting.
Finally, assuming you’d want to be found, where can some of your old blog friends find you today?
In addition to my personal Facebook page, I still have a Tenkara on the Fly Facebook page as well as on Instagram. I don’t plan on posting on my blog much if at all, I just keep it around for reference.
- @tenkaraonthefly
- www.tenkaraonthefly.com
- email: tenkaraonthefly@gmail.com
Many thanks to Karel Lansky for “Catching Up With…” us today.
Post Script: If you’re wondering why I’m interviewing these random people, or just what “Catching Up With…” is all about, visit this page for a brief backstory.
