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.
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…