Since introduced to the West, tenkara has taken on many flavors. Some call it cultural appropriation. Some call it assimilation. And there are many purists who have been trying to maintain the traditions of its Japanese origin. But one thing is certain: the use of tenkara gear in the West is more diverse than in…
DetailsLet’s face it, when it comes to fly fishing accessories, retractors (AKA “zingers”) aren’t the sexiest things. We tend to focus on rods, flies, lines, and other things that are more exciting. But when we get right down to it, we all rely on supplementary tools to help us with our streamcraft. And that so…
Details30 years ago when I started fly fishing, I never thought about sun protection and COVID-19 didn’t exist. But things have obviously changed since then. With the virus and global warming ramping up, it’s especially important to protect yourself (and others) from such things. I always look to finding simple solutions to complicated problems and…
DetailsThere’s been a lot of buzz around Vicuña dubbing lately and I was lucky enough to get a box from DRAGONTAILtenkara. I’ve probably got hundreds of packages of dubbing dating back 20+ years, but I can tell you, I really like this stuff. First of all, it’s hand-dyed alpaca wool so it’s scraggly, but still…
DetailsI’ve been an advocate of felt wading boots for years because I don’t believe the whole theory about felt transmitting invasive species and most rubber-soled boots just don’t have a good grip in the water. But I recently got a pair of Orvis Ultralight wading boots and think they’ve made me reconsider. The problem with…
DetailsI recently returned from a 4-day trip to the Rio Grande with my long-time friend Randy. He drove up there from Arizona and I drove down there from Denver. We both headed to Creede with high hopes. But, in fishing, the higher the hope, the easier it is to be dashed. The fishing was lackluster,…
DetailsLike many of you, this pandemic has been difficult for me. I sold my house right before it started and have been house and dog sitting for some friends who were in Guatemala for a couple of months. The library of fly tying tools and materials I’ve collected over the years (including my beloved roll-top…
DetailsMy experience with fly fishing gear (and gear in general) is that whenever something tries to be two things at once, it’s usually not good at either of them. Think fly/spin combos. I’ve never seen one that was both a good fly rod AND a good spin rod. It seems that there is always some…
DetailsI recently did an impromptu podcast with my old friend and mentor Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA after we had an early-morning conversation about some ideas swirling around in our heads. Some of them may be controversial and I know some of you may not be receptive to them, but they’re the products of being…
DetailsThe company that introduced tenkara to the U.S. has just launched a new online store. It’s a much cleaner, faster, way to shop and helps you make a decision on which rod to get based on your area and stream type. Plus, the navigation is more intuitive and you can translate languages and pay by…
DetailsThe following is a guest post. I almost never do them, but when someone as prominent in the tenkara community asks for one as Jason Sparks, my ears perk up and I listen. Here are a few more of his great theories on fly design and presentation … There have been several points of conversation…
DetailsEvery angler new to fly fishing and tenkara will inevitably ask themselves the question, “should I learn to tie my own flies?” Usually, the impetus behind this is a perceived cost savings over buying flies. And that certainly seems like a valid reason once you peruse the prices in the fly bins of your local…
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