You may have noticed lately that Zen has been quieter than usual on the social media airways. That’s because we’ve been in deep contemplation and very busy planning an exciting new year. As the 2015 fishing season gradually winds down, Zen is revving up! Our first three years as a company have been an incredible journey and we have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the tenkara movement. Educating others, thinking outside the box, and defining American Tenkara has been our mission.
As we move forward and close this year we’ll do it in a celebratory fashion that begins with an announcement: Zen is proud and excited that the highly respected, and extremely knowledgeable, Paul Vertrees will be joining our team. With great enthusiasm, we introduce Paul, our new Vice President of Public Relations and Product Development. The timing of this couldn’t be better and quite frankly, we’re stoked!
A fifth-generation native Coloradan, Paul grew up in the shadow of the Mt. Evans Wilderness, in Colorado’s Front Range. From an early age, he started exploring remote backcountry and chasing trout. Paul has been fly fishing for thirty years, and in 2009 he embraced Tenkara. He has extensive experience in lightweight backpacking and backcountry angling on remote streams and high lakes. In 2012, Paul became one of only a handful of certified professional Tenkara guides in the state of Colorado, and he guided both tenkara and western fly fishing trips for four seasons in the San Juan Mountain backcountry in Colorado for RIGS Fly Shop and Guide Service (Colorado’s first tenkara guide service). His writing and photographs have appeared online on his personal blog, Tenkara Tracks, with guest articles for Tenkara USA, on Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, in Backcountry Journal, and most recently in the book Tenkara Fly Fishing: Insights and Strategies, published in April 2013, to which Paul was a contributing writer/angler. He has also provided tenkara presentations and demos for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers’ national rendezvous, on behalf of Zen Fly Fishing Gear at the 2015 Tenkara Winter Series, as well as tenkara presentations at The Fly Fishing Show in Denver. Paul lives with his wife and three daughters on the banks of the Arkansas River, in Canon City, Colorado, where he guides tenkara trips for Royal Gorge Anglers.
Please welcome Paul, give him a SHOUT-OUT, and a round of applause. We’re pumped about working with Paul and know he’ll be an incredible addition to Zen Fly Fishing Gear/Zen Tenkara. Keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground for news, events and happening from Zen. 2016 is sure to bring good things!
