Giant Sakasa Kebari
Maybe “giant” is a relative term for a size #8 sakasa kebari. After all, in Japan they regularly fish flies that large (or larger). But for me, a #8 is huge. You see, I got some grouse feathers from Tenkara Bum that were too large for the #12 and #10 sakasa kebari I normally tie, so, I decided to tie a few larger flies including this Amano inspired fly. I also tied some darker patterns and will try them out on the water tomorrow. I’ll be interested to see how these larger flies work as attractors in a smaller stream. Hey, I just noticed…that fly is in TenkaraTalk colors!
Read MoreTenkara in The Fly Fish Journal
I just finished reading the article “Japanese Dreams” by Daniel Galhardo of TenkaraUSA in Vol. 3, Issue 3 of The Fly Fish Journal. As someone who tries to consume every piece of information on tenkara I can get my hands on, I was prepared for another “more of the same” article that just rehashed things I had read a hundred times before. However, I was pleasantly surprised.
Read MoreTenkaraTalk Coffee Mug Winner Announced!
And the winner is….Steelieman. Congratulations Steelieman! I’ve sen you an email asking for your address. Not sure how well Pale Ale with taste in this mug but hope you enjoy it anyway. More gear giveaways coming soon…
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Tenkara USA Yamame Follow Up Review
A while back, I wrote an initial review of the Tenkara USA Yamame. But until now, I hadn’t actually had a chance to fish it. Now that I’ve had it on the water, I wanted to report back as promised. To read my more detailed review of the Yamame’s features and design, read my initial review here. This report is strictly about how the rod fishes.
Read MoreJoin Us for a Tenkara Google + Hangout
The first TenkaraTalk Google + Hangout was great and I was recently remind by a reader that it’s time to do another one. Here are the details…
Read More3 Tips for Getting from the Car to the Water Faster
Parking lot: the fishing time vortex
I’ll admit it. One of my pet peeves is standing in the parking lot ready to go while a fishing partner takes forever to get set up. It’s wasted time that I could be fishing. I don’t get to fish as much as I’d like so I like to maximize my time on the water as much as possible. Tenkara rods are intrinsically faster to set up than Western rods but there are a few things you can to reduce your setup time even more. If you want to spend more time in the water and less time in the parking lot, try these three simple tips.
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Western vs. Tenkara Casting: The Grip
In a recent post, I wrote about how the path of the rod tip in tenkara differs from western casting. In order to achieve the right angle, it’s important to use the right grip. Western anglers coming to tenkara might be tempted to use the same grip they alway have with their thumb on top of the rod; however, this will make it difficult to cast a tenkara rod well. Let’s look at the differences between the typical western grip and the tenkara grip and see why it’s so important to hold the rod a certain way to cast a tenkara rod.
Read MoreTenkara Setup in 45 Seconds
Here’s a quick video I shot showing just how fast you can get your tenkara rod set up and ready to fish. Actually, I’m being a bit generous. If you count, it’s really only 43 seconds.
Read MoreWestern vs. Tenkara Casting: Different Strokes
Western vs. tenkara fly casting - Graphic by Anthony Naples
A lot of people that come to tenkara are already western fly anglers familiar with the 10 O’clock/2 O’clock casting stroke. While this may be a comfortable casting style, it doesn’t really translate well to tenkara and some wonder why they can’t cast a tenkara rod well with their normal casting style. There are some fundamental differences between western and tenkara casting that one should be aware of in order to cast a tenkara rod well. Let’s take a closer look at one of the most important.
Read MoreFirst Fish of 2012 and a Strange Catch
My first fish of 2012!
Just got back from Bear creek where I finally caught my first fish of the year. I can’t believe I went this far into 2012 without catching anything but to be fair, this winter’s fishing conditions haven’t been great and I’ve been going to some tough places like the S. Platte. But today made up for it with gorgeous weather, nice water, and lots of fish…
Read MoreState of the Tenkaraverse 2012
Here is a an interesting chart I made using Google Gadgets showing the number of global searches for the keyword “tenkara” since 2004. Not surprisingly, no data shows prior to 2009 (the year Tenkara USA was founded). Keep in mind that the numbers on the y-axis are not the actual number of searches, but normalized data compared to the total number of searches done on Google over time. I’ll spare you the boring data analysis. Let’s just leave it at the fact that this is clear proof of the explosion in interest in tenkara over the last three years.
Look at the spike in the beginning of 2012 (don’t you wish that were your stock?). The climb directly corresponds with Tenkara USA’s recent participation in major trade shows. With the Tenkara Summit coming up in July, word of mouth spreading, an increase in mainstream media publications on tenkara, and Daniel’s marketing efforts at the trade shows, I predict 2012 will be a great year for tenkara. And if Google is any litmus test (do we even doubt that?) it will be interesting to revisit this data in 2013. Tenkara…the 2,000 year old fad. LOL.
Read MoreTenkara USA Bamboo Fly Box
Tenkara USA Bamboo Fly Box
I just got my Tenkara USA Bamboo Fly Box and it is beautiful. I got to see a sneak preview of one at the Fly Fishing Show in Denver a few months ago and couldn’t wait until they were for sale. I’m a sucker for wooden fly boxes so the day they went up on the Tenkara USA website, I bought one (I might have even been the first one). Here are some of the things I really like about this box.
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Two-tone Sakasa Kebari
Sakasa Kebari are great attractor patterns and most classic attractors incorporate some kind of contrast or bright colors. So I thought why not carry this idea to tenkara flies?
The idea is simple–the body is made up of two different colored threads. The brighter (contrasting) thread color covers 50% of the back of the hook while a more natural, dull color covers the remaining 50% leading up to the hackle. I think it makes a nice fly that draws upon the principles of classic western attractors while staying true to the traditional Japanese sakasa kebari design. This is just one example but imagine what you could do with different color combinations like olive/chartreuse, black/red, blue/pink, etc. Here is the recipe for the fly in the photo:
Read MoreTenkaraTalk Baseball Cap Winner Announced!
The winner of the baseball cap is Delane G. Congratulations Delane! I’ve sent you an email. Please respond within 48 hours with your address so I can send you the cap. More contests coming soon.
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The “Perfect” Tenkara Rod
Sitting on the bank during one of those all-too-familiar fishless days on the South Platte, I started thinking about rod design. With my current favorite in my hand (the Tenkara USA Ito), I began to think about what makes a rod “good”. I’ve done a fair number of tenkara rod reviews and if you’ve followed this blog for any significant length of time, you know I have a passion for good design. It struck me that there are a lot of variables that have to come together in just the right combination for me to consider a rod “good”. Let’s consider the Ito…
Read MoreTenkara is a Joke
A long time ago, I wrote a post about five common tenkara myths and busted them. With all that’s been written about tenkara since then, I still find it amusing when people tweet statements like this:
Let’s carry that statement to its logical conclusion, shall we?
- 4 weight rods are a joke because you can’t land sailfish with them
- Weighted nymphs are a joke because they don’t float when fish are feeding on the surface
- Spey rods are a joke because they don’t fish well in small, brushy streams
Yep, tenkara is a joke. It won’t even wash your car for you either. ;)
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New Tenkara USA Yellow Level Line
The big news this week for lovers of level tenkara lines is that Tenkara USA will be listing a new yellow fluorocarbon line on their website within the next few days. I recently had a chance to field test the line and here is my initial review.
Read MoreTenkara Line Spools
Tenkara line spools make both long-term storage and moving from spot to spot more organized and convenient. But just like every piece of gear, people will have their own preferences and demands. Today, we’re lucky to have a few different designs we can choose from to suit our individual needs. In this video, I cover just a few different designs and where you can buy them.
Read MoreNissin Prosquare Tenkara Rod Review
Nissin Prosquare Tenkara Rod
Today, I finally got to fish my Nissin Prosquare rod I recently got from Japan. While I wasn’t sure what to expect, at the end of the day, I was pleasantly surprised.
Read MoreFeeding the Tenkara Gear Addiction
Today, I came home to a small stack of packages on my doorstep. If you’re an unapologetic tenkara gear junkie like me, you know what such a site causes: an adrenaline fueled, single-minded mission to find the closest box cutter.
Read MoreFountainhead Stone Fly Tenkara Rods
Fountainhead Tenkara Stone Fly Series
I was recently able to test out the Stone Fly series of rods from Fountainhead and was actually surprised by the quality. By the price, you’d think that they are low end rods–and they are. But in this case, “low end” doesn’t mean “poor quality”. Here are some of my basic observations about this line of rods…
Read MoreMoose Antler Tenkara Line Spool
Today, I got my moose antler tenkara line spool hand carved by Chris from The North River Blog. This spool is a work of art reminiscent of Dr. Ishigaki’s wooden line spool and I just wanted to share a few photos…
Read MoreTenkaraTalk T-shirt Winner Announced!
The winner of the T-shirt is Curtis Ware. Congratulations Curtis! I’ve sent you an email to get your address. Thanks to everyone who participated and keep an eye out for upcoming tenkara gear giveaways.
Read More20 ft. Furled Line & DIY Line Spool Mod
20 ft. tenkara furled Line
Today, I got my long awaited Nissin Prosquare tenkara rod in the mail (review coming soon). A friend in Japan who bought and sent the rod to me was kind enough to also include a 20 ft. furled line he made himself and one of his flies. Thanks Eiji! The line looks a lot like the horse hair tenkara lines I recently made, with different snoods knotted together. After reading Daniel’s article on long line tenkara, I am really excited to try it out. I was a little surprised to see that he sent it on the same Meiho mini line spool Tenkara Bum sells. But upon closer inspection, I noticed an even better surprise.
Read MoreThe Best Hackle for Sakasa Kebari?
If someone asked my what the best all around hackle for sakasa kebari, I would answer (without hesitation) that it’s brahma hen cape from Whiting Farms. Here’s why…
Read MoreUnderstanding Tenkara Level Lines
There seems to be a fair amount of confusion among tenkara newcomers when it comes to level lines. People talk about level lines in terms of “lb. test” or “breaking strength” and people don’t seem to get the rating system used in tenkara so I thought I’d make a post to clear it up and hopefully shed some light on this mysterious line rating system.
Read More“Plain Jane” Sakasa Kebari
These flies might not win any beauty contests above water, but I’m sure they’ll be sexy enough down below. With some classic color combinations, nice contrast, and a bit of weight and movement, I can’t see how these “plain Jane” sakasa kebari wouldn’t catch fish. Here’s the recipe…
Read MoreUnderwater Comparison of Eyed vs. Eyeless Tenkara Flies
I recently got some eyeless tenkara hooks from Tenkara Bum and have been having a lot of fun trying out different patterns. But I was curious…are the claims about eyeless hooks having more action in the water true? So, I decided to do a (very unscientific) test and see. I tied two flies with identical materials, put them underwater, and took video so I coud compare.
Eyeless Tenkara Hooks
I got some eyeless tenkara hooks today from Tenkara Bum: the Owner Yamame and Gamakatsu Amago. They’re both great hooks with interesting bends and finishes that will surely make for some fun experimentation. In Japan, tiers would use a silk cord to form a loop “eye”. I didn’t have any silk cord so I’m just using Dacron backing in different colors for my experiments:
Read MoreFrogg Toggs Hellbender Wader Review
In terms of gear, waders are just about as sexy to me as socks. I’d much rather fawn over new rods, nets, or a really nice wooden fly box. But, waders are a necessary fishing tool. Many years ago, I became a breathable wader convert but I had one complaint–a lack of durability. Even after trying several different brands and models, I came to the conclusion that breathable waders were pretty much “disposable” even when babied. That plus the fact that many decent waders run $300 – $400 is not a good combination. Sure, there were cheaper ones but they were pretty spartan in the features area. So imagine my elation when I found a durable, feature-packed breathable wader for $150 in the Frogg Togg Hellbender!
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 Tenkara Summit 2012
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