I just got my new T-shirt from Adam Trahan over at Tenkara Fisher. It’s beautiful and will make a great addition to my growing tenkara T-shirt collection along with my four Tenkara USA shirts and Tenkara Talk shirt. The back features “tenkara” written in katakana with an amago, brook trout, and rainbow trout framed by…
“Traditional Japanese Fly Fishing”. That’s the tag line of this site. But lately, I’ve been wondering how accurate that line really is. In terms of the tackle we use, there seems to be nothing that is really “traditional” about it. Early tenkara anglers fished with bamboo rods, lines, and hooks fashioned from needles. Today, we…
Silk bead cord–it’s not just for eyeless flies anymore! Silk bead cord is a popular material to form the loops on eyeless tenkara flies. But did you know it can also be used as a body material? Many classic soft hackle patterns use silk floss for the body. It sure does create some elegant looking…
As I sit here looking at the aftermath of the recent snowstorm through my office window, I’m reminded of the cruel joke nature sometimes plays on anglers: the thwarting of fishing plans. You know, those days where you could go fishing, but the rivers are frozen over, or blown out. It’s a bitter irony and…
I recently posted pictures of some tenkara hooks I got from a friend in Japan. I finally had a chance to tie with one, the Owner Hera Sasuke and just wanted to briefly share my thoughts on it. The Hera Sasuke is both eyeless and barbless (which is not easy to come by) and features…
I see a lot of photos on the internet of people casting tenkara with their arm fully extended. While it might seem like a good idea at the time to gain a little extra reach, it can actually be detrimental to your presentation, and on stream stamina. The better alternative is simple: take a few…
Ah, memes. Those ironic, sarcastic, or dichotomous pictures with allegedly clever slogans overlaid upon them, or the over-the-top videos (think Gangnam style) that go viral overnight are all the rage right now. They dominate social media these says. I happened to see one related to tenkara today and thought, “why not bring tenkara down to this…
For as long as I can remember, describing fly rod action has always been problematic. The typical adjectives used such as “fast”, “medium” and “slow” are not only inadequate, but also subjective. What does “fast” mean? And does it mean the same thing to you as it does to me? At some point, there was…
When I first heard Tenkara USA was redesigning their Ayu rod, it was a little disconcerting. I’ve seen it too many times before: a company has an excellent product—one that everybody likes. Then, they redesign it and it becomes pedestrian. I’m not sure what leads gear companies to do this but after a few casts,…
Ever since tenkara was introduced to the U.S., there has been quite a bit of discussion on whether or not it is legal on designated “fly fishing only” waters. There seems to be quite a bit of confusion over interpretation of the law–even among govenrment officials since the legal definition often includes language dictating that…
At this year’s Denver Fly Fishing Show, I caught up with Gary Borger after one of his presentations. I asked him if he had tried tenkara. He hadn’t, but told me that his son, Jason, had done quite a bit of tenkara. So, I took Gary over to the Tenkara USA booth, let him wiggle a rod, and offered…
I recently had a chance to field test the new Yamatoyo level lines available from Tenkara Times. There has been a proliferation of fluorocarbon lines on the market over the last few years–especially good ones. And this line is no exception. When the new yellow level lines came out from Tenkara USA, I was one of the…
David Dirks had a great idea for a book: put together a list of tenkara topics and get a range of tenkara anglers to give their opinions on them. And that’s exactly what the soon-to-be-released Tenkara Fly Fishing: Insights & Strategies is. You’ll recognize a lot of the names in this book (including yours truly)…
Over the last few years, I’ve read some pretty harsh criticism on the marketing of Tenkara. I find this curious because all of us are surrounded by marketing in nearly every aspect of our everyday lives, yet those same critics don’t seem to complain about it (at least not with the same vehemence). We’re…