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Eyeless Tenkara Hooks

February 7, 201212 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass
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:

 

Tenkara Eyeless Fly Loop

 

 

A couple of first attempts:

 

Tenkara Eyeless Fly

 

Eyeless Tenkara Flies

 

Now that I’ve got these very unique hooks in my hands, expect a flurry of mad-scientist patterns to come…

About the author

Jason Klass

Jason is an avid fly angler and backpacker. As a former fly fishing guide originally from Western New York, he moved to Colorado and became an early adopter of tenkara which perfectly suited the small, high altitude streams and lakes there. He has not fished a Western-style fly rod for trout since.

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12 Comments
  1. February 8, 2012 at 7:15 am
    Chris Stewart

    Nice fly! Please do an update after you’ve had a chance to fish with it. I’ve got to think the brookies ing RMNP will be all over it!

  2. February 8, 2012 at 9:25 am
    Anthony

    I like it – the action in the water ought to be nice with that type of “eye”. Do you know where you can get the proper silk cord for these flies?

  3. February 8, 2012 at 1:49 pm
    Brian

    I love the idea of loop to loop for tying a fly on, and with that size eye, I won’t even need my glasses!

  4. February 8, 2012 at 3:03 pm
    loften

    Nice fly. I got some of those hooks a month or so ago from ebay and they are a lot of fun to tie with. I have been using 210 thread though for the eye. It seems to hold up fine, I’ve caught a couple bluegill and bass on them.

  5. February 8, 2012 at 9:16 pm
    Jason Klass

    Anthony, check out this thread for some sources. Looks like some craft stores carry it.

  6. February 10, 2012 at 9:09 pm
    Brian

    So that’s how you do flies like that! NICE!

  7. February 13, 2012 at 6:16 pm
    Tom

    Jason, I would like to see a video of you tying one of the eyeless hook.

  8. February 13, 2012 at 7:11 pm
    Jason Klass

    Hi Tom, OK, I’ll add it to the list!

  9. March 18, 2012 at 1:14 pm
    smokey jo

    I have a question for anyone on this site. What thread should I use to add on a loop? I want to make sure a fish won’t break it off of the hook. Thanks.

  10. March 18, 2012 at 2:14 pm
    Jason Klass

    I just use whatever thread I normally use. Usually 8/0 or 6/0. Probably the thinner thread is better because you can make more wraps which will make it stronger. Also, you can add a small amount of superglue just to make sure it won’t come off.

  11. August 10, 2013 at 12:05 pm
    Jason

    Are there any sub-surface flies in the Tenkara realm?

  12. August 10, 2013 at 12:29 pm
    Jason Klass

    Hi Jason, traditionally, probably all flies were fished sub surface. And the iconic sakasa kebari style flies are basically wet flies so, yes. In fact I’d say tenkara anglers in Japan probably fish more sub surface than on top.

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About Me

Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide & casting instructor based in Colorado. He was an early adopter of tenkara in the West and has been fishing the method for a variety of species since 2009. Read more >>

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