[/caption] I managed to make it to the Denver Fly Fishing Show last weekend despite the snowy roads (thank you Jeep!). I’ll admit that I brought certain expectations with me. I’ll also admit that they were not met. Overall, I didn’t see much real innovation–just a lot of overly complicated, overpriced superfluous gear design. Not…
[/caption] I almost exclusively fish dry flies for trout—not because I’m a “purist”. I just love to see fish rise to a fly. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with nymph fishing and I don’t look down on anyone who fishes nymphs. It’s just not my style. I’ve been thinking a lot about the “one…
Today, I got something very special in the mail–a copy of “Tenkara: Radically Simple, Ultralight Fly Fishing”, by Kevin C. Kelleher, MD and Misako Ishimura. Why is this book so special? For starters, it’s the first English Language book on Tenkara fly fishing. Secondly, it is autographed and came with a personal letter from the…
[/caption] Tenkara fishing is gaining (OK, exploding) in popularity in the U.S. and around the world, yet there are still some misconceptions that many people seem to have about this unique method of fly fishing. Here are a few that I commonly hear and my responses: 1. Tenkara is not “real” fly fishing, it’s basically…
All of us who tie flies have our own unique spaces dedicated to the craft. Whether crammed into the corner of a tiny apartment or sprawled out over the entire expanse of a finished basement, they are sacred places. Here is a quick video of my current one and some of the materials I’ve collected…
For the fly angler that has everything… If you have a fly fisher in your life and want to give them a fly fishing gift, you probably have the same dilemma every holiday season: they already have EVERYTHING so what can I get them? Even though fly fishers tend to be gear junkies and obsessively…
A lot of people have asked me what I carry in my pack for UL fly fishing and backpacking trips so I thought I’d do a quick video about it. It’s called the Trico and I’d be curious to hear what others carry and see if it’s similar to my setup or what other gear…
We’re excited to finally offer the perfect fly boxes to compliment the elegance and tradition of Tenkara fly fishing. These hand-crafted wooden fly boxes are not only practical, but add a touch of style to your Tenkara outfit and give you options to customize your fly organization experience without adding extra weight. Click here to…
Tenkara USA level lines are now available in the gear shop! If you’ve been using traditional, furled lines, click here to see why you might want to give level lines a try.
As a semi-minimalist who likes to combine outdoor sports (yeah, you guessed it: backpacking and fly fishing), I’m always on the lookout for multi-purpose gear to enhance my outings without adding a lot of bulk and weight. Enter the RIBZ front pack. Wear it up the trail to balance out your load and make your…
Ever since I got into ultra-light backpacking and fly fishing, I have been constantly thinking about which pieces of gear I can do away with and which ones I find multi-use and indispensable. Recently, I turned my attention to my hat. Sure, on the surface, hats might not be as sexy as a new, shiny…
I’ve started a new Facebook group for people in Colorado who like to Tenkara fish. It will be a place where we can share information about good places for Tenkara fishing in Colorado, upload pics and videos, and ask questions. Also, I plan to schedule regular Tenkara outings where we can meet up, fish together…
While fishing this weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park, I happened across another Tenkara fisher on the Roaring River. This is rare for me as I usually get stared at or accosted out of curiosity for not having a reel rather than out of Tenkara fellowship. To my surprise, it was none other than Karel…
If you’ve been following this blog, you might know that I’ve been playing around with some different methods of line management for Tenkara lines. I’ve tried more traditional gadgets such as aged bamboo line holders, cheaper solutions like foam spools, and even some outside-of-the-box ideas like adapting add-ons from the spinning and bait casting realm. …
I just got back from field testing a prototype of an ultralight leader wallet I’m designing. The idea is to create a super light, super compact wallet that will store 3-6 leaders and keep them from tangling. I’ve been looking for ultralight ultra-compact leader wallets for a while and found that like ultralight fly fishing…
Meet my wife. Her name is Guadalupe. She’s from Argentina. She’s never fly fished before. In fact, she’s never even fished a day in her life. I took her out to the Roaring River below the alluvial fan in Rocky Mountain National Park, put a Tenkara USA Ayu in her hand and gave her some…
[/caption] As Tenkara catches on more and more in the U.S., I have yet to see one description of it lacking the following adjective: simple. Mainly by virtue of not using a reel, Tenkara is certainly simpler than what most Western fly fishers are accustomed to–and that is probably its main appeal. Ironically though, many…
[/caption] While Tenkara fishing is often pigeonholed as being only for small streams, I’ve recently fallen in love with Tenkara fishing in lakes. Just as the lack of a reel and the ability to shoot line force you to change your technique on rivers, so too does Tenkara force you to adapt your method…
This was a fly fishing pack I always wanted but didn’t exist. So I designed it myself. PLEASE NOTE: The Trico is no longer available as I’ve been unable to secure a new sewer to produce it. If you’ve got a lead on someone who will and help me put it back into production, please…
While I appreciate (OK, drool over) innovation and technological advances, sometimes, tried-and-true traditional gear has a certain allure that I just can’t resist. I recently posted about a tenkara line management system that is very practical and functional, yet lacks the quaintness and charm of what I got in the mail today–a pair of bamboo…
The Ebira is a rod quiver for tenkara fly rods such as Tenkara USA rods and the Backpacking Light Hane. It features a removable pocket to hold a fly box and tippet spools that can be accessed without taking the quiver off. “Ebira” means “quiver” in Japanese and while they were traditionally worn over the…
After my recent blog post on how to tie the balloon caddis, a lot of people emailed me asking if they could buy them somewhere because they don’t tie. Today, I’m happy to announce that the Balloon Caddis is in the gear shop. For now, I’ve only got it in size #10 (which is a…
A while back, I wrote about a simple fly fishing setup for backpacking. As fly fishers, we have an intrinsic advantage when it comes fishing on overnight and multi-day backpacking trips. Unlike other styles of fishing, we aren’t condemned to carrying heavy, bulky tackle like spinning reels, weighted lures, etc. However, fly fishers also tend…
If you’d rather fish a #14 fly during a heavy Trico hatch than a #22, check out the Traffic Jam
How to Tie the Traffic Jam Trico Cluster from Jason Klass on Vimeo.
Many of us who have fished Trico hatches probably have a love-hate relationship with them. These notoriously prolific hatches bring a lot of fish to the surface but it can be impossible to pick out your #22 imitation from the thousands of others on the surface. A fish could strike your fly and you wouldn’t even know it because there are so many rises surrounding it. Probably many of us have wished we could fish a larger, easier-to-see pattern that we could distinguish from the mayhem during these exciting hatches. This led some people to design double and triple Trico patterns that were a littler easier to see, but were unrealistic because of the way they are tied in perfect alignment (trunk-to-tail so to speak). After years of observation, I had an epiphany that led to the creation of the Traffic Jam.
A Simple Tenkara Line Management System from Jason Klass on Vimeo. If you’ve ever wondered what to do with your Tenkara line when you collapse your rod to move from spot to spot, here’s a simple, cheap DIY solution that might work for you. BTW, if you’re not fond of the red color, the Fuji…
De-Fishing Soap from Jason Klass on Vimeo. Anyone who has fished on a backpacking trip and retired to your tent for the night has probably had a thought lurking in the back of their mind before drifting off to sleep: Am I going to end up as bear dinner? Luckily, this biodegradable soap takes the…
To a Western fly angler who is used to a nail knot or handshake connection (loop to loop) to connect their leader to their fly line, connecting a Tenkara fly line to the rod can seem a bit baffling. Here’s a quick demonstration on how to connect a Tenkara fly line to your new Tenkara…
The Balloon Caddis is one of my favorite all-time caddis flies (and dry flies for that mater). It’s versatile, durable, and easy to tie. This innovative pattern designed by Austrian fly fishing mogul Roman Moser (one of my fly tying heroes) belongs in every fly box (especially for the backpacking angler). Materials Hook: Partridge Mike…
Anyone thinking about getting into Tenkara fishing should visit Tenkara Bum. Chris Stewart has put together one of the most extensive collections of information on Tenkara gear and techniques in the English language (no Kanji required!). As an early adopter of Tenkara fly fishing, his in-depth reviews will not only help you decide which rod…
For those of you who couldn’t go fishing today, here’s a little Tenkara porn. At 1:57 you’ll see one method I use to store my like when moving between spots where it might be brushy. Sometimes, I wrap it around the rod instead. What do you do with your line when you have to move…
