Tag: tenkara tanuki

R-Ranch: A Warmwater Fishing Getaway in the Sequoia Forest

R-Ranch is one of those places that feels like a true getaway.

June 11-14, 2026

The ranch is about 45 miles from Kernville. The road winds through Kern River Canyon, following the Kern River most of the way. For anglers,If you are interested, please RSVP as soon as you can through the Tanuki website. Payment should be made to Thomas Paulson so he can book the cabin.

The cost is $120 per person, which covers the shared cabin for 4 days and 3 nights.

The ranch is about 45 miles from Kernville. The road winds through Kern River Canyon, following the Kern River most of the way. For anglers, even the drive becomes part of the experience. Along the route, there are many fishing access points where you can stop, walk down to the river, and look for beautiful Kern River rainbow trout.

even the drive is part of the experience. There are many fishing access points along the road where you can stop the car, walk down to the river, and look for beautiful Kern River rainbow trout.

The area around the ranch is also full of hiking trails. For hikers, it is a chance to explore the quiet beauty of the forest, the river, and the mountains. It is the kind of place where you can fish in the morning, hike during the day, and sit by the lake in the evening.

At the heart of the ranch is a quiet 10-acre alpine lake. The lake is full of bass, bluegill, and crappie. For warmwater fishing, it is a lot of fun. On a good day, an angler fishing with a tenkara rod can catch a surprising number of fish. Thomas told me that catching 250 fish in a day is possible. When fishing two flies, catching two fish at the same time is also common.

I have been to R-Ranch several times. My friend Thomas Paulson is one of the ranch owners, and he has kindly invited me to stay and hang out whenever I have an event nearby. Last year, Thomas and I organized a Tanuki warmwater event there. Unfortunately, I missed the event because of a family schedule conflict. But the idea stayed with me.

On my last trip, I finally had more time to fish the lake. I caught several double hookups. Some were double bluegill. Some were bluegill and bass. Some were bluegill and crappie. I have caught almost every combination except a double bass. Maybe that will be the next challenge.

For me, it was a thrilling experience. Warmwater fish are not the same as trout. Bluegill hit hard and fast. Crappie can be subtle. Bass make you slow down and wait before setting the hook. Each fish has a different character, and each one teaches something through the rod.

But R-Ranch is not only about catching fish.

Some of my favorite moments were in the early morning and evening. In the morning, before the wind picked up, the lake was smooth like a mirror. The mountains reflected on the surface. In the evening, the golden sunlight touched the water and the surrounding hills. It was quiet, calm, and beautiful.

For photographers, it is one of the best times to take pictures. For fly fishers, it is also the perfect moment to make a long, romantic cast in the air, with the lake, mountains, and warm evening light behind them.

Staying at the Ranch

R-Ranch has a number of cabins owned by different ranch owners. Each cabin is a little different, but most have a kitchen, living rom bed rooms, and bed and bunk beds. Some cabins can sleep more than 10 people, which gives the ranch a friendly group-getaway feeling.

The ranch also has shared spaces, including a lecture hall, bar, and other gathering areas. It feels more like a small mountain community than a regular campground.

During my last stay, I stayed in a three-bedroom cabin. We drove down to Kernville to restock food and, for convenience, picked up ready-made meals from the Kernville market. After long days of fishing, that simple choice made life much easier.

I also liked having Kernville about 45 minutes away. The drive itself became part of the experience—a quiet break, a scenic ride along the river, and a chance to pick up supplies before heading back to the ranch.

That rhythm felt just right. Fish during the day. Return to the cabin. Share food. Talk about the fishing. Tie flies in the evening. Then wake up early and fish the lake again.

R-Ranch has fishing, boating, hiking, warmwater fish, nearby trout water, and beautiful scenery all in one place. You can chase numbers on the lake, explore the Kern River for native rainbows, or simply slow down and enjoy the ranch.

For anglers who want a few days away from daily life, R-Ranch offers something simple and memorable: good water, good fish, quiet mornings, golden evenings, and the kind of place that makes you want to come back.

April 29, 2026
How the Tanuki 375 Began to Take Shape

I felt good about my first rod. It was labeled Fatmonk 360—360 cm in length. The name Fat Monk symbolized something simple and joyful, which felt right for where I was in my journey.

I took the rod to Utah, where I met Eric Ostrader of Tenkara Guides LLC in Salt Lake City. We headed up to Little Cottonwood Canyon, and in just one day on the river I learned a tremendous amount from Eric.

About half an hour into fishing, Eric suddenly picked up his phone and called John Vetterli. John showed up roughly an hour later. The two of them spent a long time talking on the riverbank, then John took the rod and fished with it. He landed several fish—around six to eight inches—before returning to the bank. More discussion followed.

The whole stretch of river was essentially mine.

“Just keep fishing,” they told me.

By the end of the day, we had become good friends.

Before John headed out, both Eric and John said something that caught me off guard:

“This is the rod. You should make more of these for the Tenkara community.”

At first, we all wondered if it might simply be another “me-too” rod.

“What’s a me-too rod?” I asked.

Eric explained that when Tenkara was first introduced to the U.S. by Tenkara USA, many people jumped on the bandwagon—buying generic OEM rods from Alibaba, relabeling them, and selling them as their own. Those became known as me-too rods.

That conversation stayed with me.

From my background producing CD-ROM games, I already knew that making something for the market is difficult—but selling it is a hundred times harder. It takes time, energy, and a completely different mindset. I wasn’t ready to turn this into a business. I still saw it as a hobby—but I was willing to test the water.

Eric also invited me to attend the first Oni Tenkara School that June. I was thrilled. It would be my first opportunity to meet the Japanese rod maker Masami Sakakibara—a living master whose influence on modern Tenkara is second to none.

Around that time, I posted about my fishing experience with Eric on Facebook. We were nymphing—the weather was cold, there was no hatch, and at that point I was still transitioning from traditional fly fishing, where I mostly fished dries or nymphs rather than kebari.

The response surprised me.

A storm of comments followed:

“Tenkara rods are not for nymphing.”

“Tenkara is only for kebari.”

I was confused.

I kept asking myself a simple question:

What does the rod have to do with it?

To me, a rod is just a tool—an extension of the angler’s arm. The goal is simple: present a fly, connect with a fish, and enjoy the moment on the water.

Still, fishing with kebari began to spark my curiosity. At the same time, I wondered what I was supposed to do with the thousands of flies I had tied over the past twenty years. Even so, I was happy to explore this almost mythical approach to fishing.

After watching countless Tenkara videos online, one thing became clear: kebari demanded a softer, more responsive tip. Building a completely new rod would be expensive and would mean starting from scratch. Instead, I decided to experiment.

I began by extending the first few tip sections of the rod. But changing length alone risked throwing the rod out of balance. The challenge was to keep the lower sections stable for casting and fish control, while allowing energy to flow through the rod smoothly.

After many trials, the best solution I found was to extend the first three sections by about five centimeters each and subtly adjust the taper of sections four and five.

I temporarily kept the original 360 label, covered it with Tanuki, and treated it as a prototype. The result was a 375 cm rod.

I took the Tanuki 375 prototype to Oni Tenkara School to learn kebari fishing in the traditional Japanese style—and to receive feedback directly from Sakakibara-san and the community. It was the first time the rod was tested beyond my own hands.

That experience became the turning point.

The feedback I received—on the water and in conversation—was unexpectedly affirming. The rod had moved beyond experimentation and into something real. That moment marked the official birth of the Tanuki 375 and the beginning of the Tanuki rod journey.

January 21, 2026