Tenkara Has Graduated!
Every once in a while, I like to step back and take a look at the state of the tenkaraverse. This week, a couple of things in social media really made me pause and think. And I think it gave me a couple of insights into the current state of tenkara outside Japan.
Read MoreTakayama Sakasa Kebari
The Takayama sakasa kebari is a classic tenkara fly that is tied in many color variations. But basically, it’s characterized by having a thread abdomen, a peacock thorax, and forward facing hackle. My first encounter with this fly was the red version so that’s what I chose to base my interpretation on. Here’s my recipe for what I consider the Royal Coachman of tenkara flies…
Read MoreIs your Rod Giving you Away?
photo courtesy of Gram Moran from Tenkara Grasshopper
Years ago, a friend of mine who had returned from a fishing trip in Tasmania told me about an unusual practice that the local anglers did there. He told me that they sanded down the blanks of their fly rods with sandpaper. My first thought was, “why on earth would anyone take sandpaper to a $500 fly rod?”
Read MoreTenkara Times Motive Rod
Having already tested rods from Tenkara Times such as the 1st Step and Next, I was already familiar with their quality before receiving their their Motive Rod. In my experience, Tenkara Times makes very good rods with actions I like. And the Motive is no exception. Here is my review…
Tenkara USA Pink Level Line
A while back, I wrote a review of Tenkara USA’s “new” yellow line. It was supposed to have less memory and be more visible than the company’s previous level fluorocarbon lines (and it was). But Tenkara USA recently came out with a new line of lines that is supposed to be even better (and it is). Here’s my quick review…
Read MoreWhy Competition is Good for Tenkara
Some of you might have stumbled on to the recent tenkara litigation (maybe the first in the history of the ancient sport). While I knew about it some time ago, I decided not to write about it for a variety of reasons. But this case did spark an online dialogue that piqued my interest about one thing: competition.
Read MoreNew DIY Tenkara Forum & Gear Giveaway
If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t been posting lately, it’s because I’ve been working behind the scenes on a new project. I’m happy to announce that today, I’ve launched a new tenkara forum! Now before you say, “we already have too many tenkara forums”, let me point out that this forum is a little different. Rather than being a comprehensive forum, the Tenkara Talk Forum is completely focused on DIY tenkara!
Read MoreDoes Tenkara Line Visibility Matter?
A tenkara level line with a sighter
If you’ve been following tenkara for any length of time, you’ve probably seen some discussion on line visibility. For traditional, furled tenkara lines, this isn’t really an issue. They’re pretty thick and are often brightly colored so they’re almost as easy to see as western fly lines. But for the thinner, fluorocarbon lines many tenkara anglers prefer, it’s a different story. Not only does their comparatively anorexic diameter aid in on-stream invisibility, their color and transparent nature can make them impossible to track in different lighting situations. While it might not matter much for an angler fishing a dry fly or sight fishing, I argue that line visibility makes a big difference for those fishing wet flies in the more traditional tenkara method.
Read MoreWin a Free Copy of the New Tenkara Book!
This contest is now closed. The winner is Terry Farmer.
Congratulations Terry and thanks to everyone who participated!
The second tenkara book in English just came out and here’s your chance to win a free copy. The book is a collaboration of different American tenkara anglers’ perspectives on a variety of topics (including yours truly). As a contributor, I got a few free copies. So, I thought it would be fun to give one away. Here’s how to enter…
Read MoreHow to Fish Small Meadow Streams
Small, meandering meadow streams certainly make idyllic backdrops but they pose several unique challenges for the angler. Typically, these streams are very shallow with slowly moving, crystal clear water meaning the fish can see you coming a mile away and will scatter at the slightest shadow, vibration, splash, or sound. It’s not hard to imagine why. With little refuge, trout in such waters are easy targets for predators so they have to constantly be on their toes (or fins, as it were). Luckily, tenkara is perfectly suited for fishing these types of streams and will give you an advantage over conventional fly tackle. Let’s look at a few of the challenges skinny meadow water with skittish trout presents and how to overcome them.
Read MoreSmurfette
After reading about Chris Stewart’s blue fly challenge and receiving some of his blue yarn by happenstance, I thought it would be fun to experiment a bit with blue. So, I came up with this pattern. I haven’t tried it yet but I’m sure it will catch fish. And even if it doesn’t, I like it so it’s already caught me. I call it “Smurfette” because of the color scheme.
Hook: Owner Hera Sasuke, Gold #7
Eye: #2 White silk bead cord
Thread: Yellow 6/0
Body: Blue Fly Yarn from Tenkara Bum
Hackle: White Hen Hackle
4 Simple Hacks that Improved my Chest Pack
Right out of the box, I loved my Fishpond San Juan chest pack. I’ve had it for about 2 years now and during that time, I’ve discovered a few tricks that make this great pack even better.
Read MoreWhy I don’t Support My Local Fly Shop
It’s not that I don’t want to. Believe me, I used to work in a fly shop and understand the value of having a place to gather to talk shop, exchange info on conditions and tell some good old fashioned fish stories. And, I do want to support local businesses. But unfortunately, most of the shops in my area carry a mediocre (at best) inventory. They have a very pedestrian selection of fly tying materials and anything beyond that is considered “specialized” and has to be ordered (if they even can). And if they can order it, it usually has to go in with their scheduled orders which can add days to the shipment. A basic inventory might work for a beginner, but once you get a little more advanced, you can almost be guaranteed they won’t have the tools or materials you need and you’re better off going online.
Read MoreTenkara Presentation to the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers
Photo by Scott Ackerman
This weekend, I gave a tenkara presentation to a group from the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers organization in Rocky Mountain National Park. I give a fair number of tenkara presentations but this one was particularly fun!
Read MoreTenkara Line Length
Tenkara Line Length – Illustration by Anthony Naples
If you’ve fished tenkara for any significant amount of time, at some point, you’ve probably run into a situation where you wished you had a line that was either longer or shorter than the one you had on. But since tenkara is fixed line fishing, you can’t adjust line length as you would with a reel. Luckily, the connection between line and rod in tenkara allows lines to be switched out easily, allowing you to adapt to changing conditions (or, you can simply tie more line on or cut it off). Even the most experienced tenkara anglers in the world such as Masami Sakakibara use different line lengths depending on the water they’re fishing, so I think it’s worth every angler’s time to experiment with different lengths and see how they perform in various situations. I see basically three categories: short lines, rod-length lines, and long lines. Here is a brief summary of what I believe are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each…
Read MoreClear Creek 4/21/2013
I got to give my Oni rod and Tenkara USA Ayu II a workout today on clear creek again. This time, with avid tenkara angler, Phil Echelman. It was a great day with lots of fish caught, and some neat streamside discoveries.
Read MoreWin a Full Box of Tenkara Flies!
This contest is now closed
Congratulations to winner Chris Free!
What does a blogger do when they don’t have time to post any good content? Run a contest! This time, I’m giving away a brand new 6-compartment fly box filled with 20 awesome sakasa kebari from Tenkara Fly Shop. Here are the rules….
Read MoreTitanium Tenkara Line
Titanium Tenkara Line
That’s right. Titanium. As in the metal. Believe it or not, some tenkara anglers in Japan use lines made of thin titanium wire instead of fluorocarbon or nylon. This might seem strange, but titanium lines have some interesting properties that give them some distinct advantages. I recently got to try out a titanium line that will soon be offered by Tenkara Times and here are my impressions.
Read MoreTenkara Memes Round 2
My first post on tenkara memes didn’t quite satiate my sense of the absurd, so I decided to create a few more. Whether they make you roll your eyes or bring a smile to your face, I hope they at least bring some levity to your Monday…
Clear Creek 4/6/2013 & Oni Rod Field Test
My First Fish on the Tenkara no Oni Rod
A few posts ago, I wrote about my initial impressions of the Tenkara no Oni rod and this weekend, I finally got a chance to give it a workout on Clear Creek outside of Golden, CO. Not only was the fishing great, but my field test confirmed a lot of what I had expected of the rod.
Read MoreTenkara Techniques: The Downstream Twitch
Of all the tenkara tricks I have up my sleeve, this one is my favorite and the one in which I have the most confidence. As you’ll see in the video, it’s pretty simple, but it works.
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My Role in the Tenkara Scandal
How I really catch all my “tenkara” fish
Well, now that Daniel has let the cat out of the bag that tenkara was a hoax all along, I have no choice to but to come clean and admit my role in the scandal. You see, I’ve been on the Tenkara USA payroll for years as part of a sophisticated network charged with spreading the lies. I’ve never actually fished with a tenkara rod. Truth be told, I’ve never even cast one. You might ask where all of the tenkara photos I post come from then. Well, it’s simple, really…
Read MoreTenkara Level Line Conversion Chart
Japanese Rating Metric Diameter English Diameter
#2 0.235 mm 0.009"
#2.5 0.260 mm 0.010"
#3 0.310 mm 0.012"
# 3.5 0.3175 mm 0.0125"
#4 0.330 mm 0.013"
#4.5 0.3556 mm 0.014"
# 5 0.370 mm 0.015"
Math is definitely not my strong point but I did a little to try to answer some questions I’ve been getting about the Japanese line rating system for fluorocarbon level lines and what it translates to in diameter. Please note: lb. test is irrelevant. Diameter matters more for turnover than test. And, test per diameter varies from company to company so I narrowed it down to the most relevant and popular diameters for tenkara. Also keep in mind that these are approximations that seem to have consensus. But some companies’ ratings might slightly vary outside these diameters. Anything outside this range is specialty and I don’t think applies to most of us so I didn’t include it. I hope this helps.
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The Great Tube Debate
Companies like Tenkara USA and Tenkara Centre UK always include rod tubes with all of their rods.
Some tenkara rods come with a rod tube, and some don’t. Some anglers are hardcore tubers, some throw caution to the wind, and some are in between (like me). An included rod tube is a nice touch, but whenever someone laments the fact that a particular rod model doesn’t come with a tube, my response is that when collapsed, tenkara rods essentially become their own protective cases, so tubes aren’t really necessary. I almost never use mine, but there are a few situations where it’s probably a good idea to use a tube.
Read MoreOni Tenkara Rod – Initial Review
Tenkara no Oni Rod & Rod Sack
After several months of patiently waiting, my Oni tenkara rod has finally arrived! For those of you who don’t know what an “Oni” rod is, it’s the rod designed and used by Masami Sakakibara (a.k.a. “Tenkara no Oni”), who is widely considered to be the best tenkara caster in the world. He is notorious for being able to cast a very light level line (eg. a #1.5 or #2) in extremely long lengths with total accuracy and delicacy. While this is of course due to his great skill, it doen’t hurt if you use a rod with an action that facilitates this type of casting. And that’s exactly what he designed it to do.
Read MoreTraditional Bamboo Tenkara Line Holder
While I certainly appreciate the advances in technology that have allowed us to have high-performance fishing gear, I have always also had a fondess for rustic, traditional gear. There’s something special about traditional, handmade gear that I just can’t resist. It could be nostalgia, but I think for me, it’s more about aesthetics.
Read MoreAttractor Flies: Imitators in Disguise
Mayfly nymph (left) and a wet sakasa kebari (right)
“It doesn’t imitate anything”. That’s the response the 15-year old me got from a fly shop guy when I asked what a Royal Wulff was supposed to imitate. As a young fly angler, I was slowly learning entomology and trying to match up the different insect species with their feathered doppelgangers. Some patterns (like the Royal Wulff) just didn’t add up. They didn’t look like anything in nature. So what were they supposed to be? It was then explained to me that some flies aren’t meant to be imitations, rather, they’re “attractors”. On some level, it made sense. But I was left with the burning question of, “if they don’t imitate anything, why would fish take them?”
Read MoreBamboo Fly Boxes from Tenkara Fly Shop
Wooden and Bamboo Tenkara Fly Boxes from Tenkara Fly Shop
I just got a package in the mail from Tenkara Fly Shop and am so excited that I couldn’t wait to share it with you! If you want to see some of the coolest, most minimalistic, gorgeous fly boxes, read on…
Read MoreThe Tenkara Drinking Game
I’m sure we all could use some levity lately so…take a shot every time…
Read MoreThe Tenkara Talk Store is Open!
My Fly Patterns are now available
Lots of people have asked me if they can buy my fly patterns. But with a full time job, a wife with a full time job (who also goes to school full time), and a 9-month old baby, I simply don’t have the time. I always felt bad saying no to people, but have found a solution. I found a company that would tie them for me and created a simple e-commerce system on my site. So, if you’re one of the people I turned down to buy my flies in the past, now you can get them here. Even though I didn’t tie them myself, these are the same patterns I fish every time I go out and I stand behind them 100%.
Read MoreAbout Me
Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide who now exclusively fishes Tenkara for trout in the streams and lakes of Colorado...Read More