In my last post, I wrote about some new hooks from Moonlit Fly Fishing. Moonlit isn’t a tenkara-specific company. They mostly sell conventional fly rods, leaders and accessories, but seem to be increasing their offering of gear relevant to the tenkara angler–and they’re doing it well. I recently received two of their lines, the Katana and…
As a fly tyer, I’ve always appreciated a good hook. I’ve tried a lot of them over the years and (as anyone else who ties) definitely have had my favorites. As with pretty much everything else in fly fishing, technology and engineering have made everything better in some way. And hooks are no exception. They’ve…
French company Tenkara Pyrenees just announced the release of their new product, the TWIN Adapter. The Adapter allows you to connect two spools of level line, allowing you to cut down on the number of spools cluttering up your fishing bag by 50%. They’re available in different colors, allowing you to devise a color-coding system to…
After seeing the success of such tenkara e-magazines as Tenkara Angler and Tenkara magazine, I felt it was time to fill in yet another niche within a niche in the tenkaraverse with new rag–one that appeals to those of us who have a passion for the most direct link between us and our quarry–the fly. What is…
Tenkara USA is launching a new line. Not a new product “line”, but an actual “line”. It’s tapered nylon which is a departure from from their traditional offering of fluorocarbon level lines and furled tapered lines. They’re made by Fujino (one of the industry’s most trusted brands) and will be available in various lengths under…
I recently had to send a tenkara care package to a friend and thought it might be a good opportunity to clean up and organize some of my gear while I sifted through what to send–kill two birds with one stone. By the time I emptied the first bag (of several bins, bags, boxes and…
Where I come from, nymphing meant two things by default: 1). a heavily weighted fly and 2). a high-floating strike indicator (usually the bulky teardrop type with a toothpick stopper). That was an effective rig on a 5 wt. It’s the perfect balance between sinking the fly and getting a visual indication of the take…
Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA swung by my new house today and gave a great forecast of the future of tenkara. Let’s listen …
When I first started tying flies, I didn’t have a dedicated space to do it; let alone tools or materials. I literally took snelled hooks, smashed down the baitholder barbs on the shanks with needle-nose pliers, and secured them in the corner of my dad’s tool vise on his workbench in the basement. For materials, I…
Six months. That’s how long it’s been since I’ve posted anything on Tenkara Talk. That was poignantly pointed out to me today by one of my long-time readers. Actually, during that time, dozens of you have written to me asking what’s going on. My digital marketing hero, Seth Godin, always says that if you want to…
For the last several years, I’ve been fishing level lines for tenkara almost exclusively. While tapered, furled lines are a pleasure to cast, level lines (due to their almost anti-gravity weight) make it much easier to keep your line off the water and maintain a good dead drift. Usually, I fish fluorocarbon level lines since…
When I first heard that Chris Stewart of Tenkara Bum teamed up with Japanese rod maker Suntech to design a new rod, I was really excited. Chris has been fishing tenkara longer than pretty much any American angler I know and through his vast store inventory over the years, has gained an intimate knowledge of…
My friend Randy and I worked together in the same fly shop in Western New York for several years and we had kind of a running joke between us. Customers would always make comments like, “I wish I could work in a fly shop. You guys must get to go fishing all the time.” The…
The nice thing about being an early adopter of a newly introduced niche sport is that you get to observe its evolution—kind of like watching a child grow up and witnessing all of the “firsts”. You get to see the first smile, hear the first words, record the first time they walk on their own.…