Smurfette
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
The 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 MoreOki Sakasa Kebari
Many of the streams tenkara anglers fish in Japan are fast flowing mountain streams. In those streams, fish have very little time to “inspect” food. If they hesitate, it’s gone–lost to the swift current or a competitor. A good fly for these conditions is a larger, easy-to-spot fly like the Oki Sakasa Kebari.
Read MoreThe Silk Merchant Soft Hackle
Gold Silk Merchant Soft Hackle
Silk bead cord–it’s not just for eyeless flies anymore! Silk bead cord is a popular material to form the loops on eyeless tenkara flies. But did you know it can also be used as a body material?
Read MoreNew Flies from Tenkara Times
Sakakibara Kebari
A while back, I posted some tenkara flies I got from Tenkara Times. I recently got another sample pack from them and thought I would share. I really like the look of the Sakakibara kebari and might start tying some up.
Read MoreKiller Bugs by Paul Vertrees
I came home from this year’s Fly Fishing Show with a few flies from Paul Vertrees and thought they were good ties so wanted to share a few pictures.
Read MoreAn Unnecessarily Complex Tenkara Fly
Most tenkara flies are simple. But they don’t have to be. In fact, some can resemble miniature Atlantic salmon flies. Here is an example of a fancier tenkara fly to show some possibilities. I normally tie simple flies for fishing, but let’s face it…if you’re a fly tier at heart, a few turns of hackle and a thread body gets old after a while. For those of us who consider fly tying an art and a passion (not just a utilitarian endeavor), pushing the boundaries of sakasa kebari design fuels our enthusiasm and connection to the sport.
Read MoreThe Japanese Lantern Sakasa Kebari
Most of my flies are pretty bland. I typically don’t incorporate a lot of synthetics or flash into my patterns. But after taking a closer look at some of Masami Tanaka’s flies, I’ve come up with a pattern that is a little flashier than my usual ties: the Japanese Lantern.
Read MoreMasami Tanaka’s Tenkara Flies
Tanaka-san demonstrating how he ties his flies
For me, the biggest highlight of the 2012 Tenkara Summit was meeting and being able to fish with all the Japanese anglers that attended. It was great to learn about tenkara from people who practice it in its birthplace. As you might imagine, there was a lot of talk and trading of tenkara flies. It was interesting to see what each angler uses for their “one fly” and even get to watch them tie them. One of the anglers I was fortunate enough to meet was Masami Tanaka, a member of the storied Harima Fishing Club. His flies were very interesting to me because he incorporates a lot of flash into them using sparkle braid.
Read MoreSakasa Kebari from Tenkara Times
I just got a new tenkara rod today from Tenkara Times (review to follow) and it included a free sampling of some of their sakasa kebari. I didn’t think much of it at first until I opened up the packaging and saw the quality of tying. These are good tenkara flies. Here are some closeups if you’re looking to buy (or inspiration to tie) some different sakasa kebari.
Read MoreViva Sakasa Kebari
No, I’m not trying to start a revolution (yet). “Viva” is a color scheme for fly patterns that is extremely popular on the UK Stillwater scene. The original Viva was a wet fly tied by Victor Furse for reservoir fishing but has since become a template color combination of black, chartreuse, and silver and is now applied to myriad of patterns such as buzzers, boobies, buggers, and other wet flies. I used to do a lot of still water fishing and read many UK magazines which is where i first heard of the viva. Since then, I have used it for trout, bass, panfish, steelhead, and salmon and it’s proven to be an effective color scheme all around. So, why not apply it to a Tenkara fly?
Read MoreWhat makes a fly a “tenkara” fly?
Don’t be put off by the title. I’m not about to incite a heated debate about what is or isn’t a “tenkara” fly and delve into an infinite loop of semantic minutia. Instead, I thought I would simply list out the criteria I use when selecting patterns that I think work well for tenkara. And to be clear, I mean fishing traditional tenkara techniques–not “tenkara as a tool” or some hybrid of western fly fishing and tenkara. Basically, I mean fishing one fly but using different techniques to present it different ways without changing patterns.
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