With a nod to tradition and a passion for Tenkara Americana, the Tenkara Talk Blog features hundreds of gear reviews, fly tying tutorials, DIY hacks, and presentation techniques.
I was ecstatic when Masami Sakakibara (AKA, “Tenkara no Oni”) recently agreed to do an interview with me. Tenkara no Oni is not only a tenkara master but is known for his amazing casting style which is often referred to as “magical”. He recently put up an English language website
Don’t be put off by the title. I’m not about to incite a heated debate about what is or isn’t a “tenkara” fly and delve into an infinite loop of semantic minutia. Instead, I thought I would simply list out the criteria I use when selecting patterns that I think
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve probably seen some changes over the years. So I thought it would be fun to give a little history on the site, and where it is now. 1. This website started out as backpackflyfishing.com. Originally, the main focus was on
No matter how many times I see a sakasa kebari underwater, I’m always surprised on how alive they come underwater–with even the slightest twitch. No wonder they’re such effective flies. Here’s a quick video I shot today in both normal speed and slow motion to show how well the hackle
I recently posted about Masami Sakakibara’s (AKA Tenkara no Oni) new English-language website and how it opened up a world of information to the western world. Well now, I’m pleased to announce that Sakakibara-sensei has agreed to do an interview with me! My first reaction was to send over a
Tenkara line spools seem simple enough. After all, they’re basically just spools. And this might lead on to believe that they’re all pretty much the same. But I’ve found that some actually better than others. I’ve mostly been using spools from Tenkara USA and Leica and have been very happy
I recently wrote that I’ve been tying and fishing palmered flies for tenkara lately. My theory is that if the hackle is spread out over more of the body of the fly, it will give the pattern more movement and, thus, be more attractive to fish. So I started tying
Today, there was big news in the tenkaraverse. Tenkara master Masami Sakakibara (AKA “Tenkara no Oni”) launched a new, English website, unlocking a treasure trove of information about tenkara to the Western and English speaking world. The site is still under construction but already features a wealth of information including
Tenkara Times is a relatively new player in the rapidly growing tenkara market and I recently had a chance to field test one of their rods. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly on it… Specs Length: 365 cm (12 ft.) Closed length: 56 cm (22 in.) Weight: 73
While the majority of my tenkara fishing is done with a sakasa kebari, I’ve also been experimenting with some hybrid flies that combine the fish catching qualities borrowed from my days steelhead fishing and classic British palmered flies. “Palmered” just means that the hackle is wound through the body of
I know this isn’t a great video but I’ve been getting a lot of interest in Eiji Yamakawa’s furled tenkara lines since my recent post. This is footage I took at the 2012 Tenkara Summit and while it was difficult to get a good shot because of all the people
It might sound strange, but I have come to believe that fishless days can actually be a good thing (well, every once in a while, that is). And I’ll even take it a step further and add that ultimately, I think they make us better anglers and deepen our appreciation
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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