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…
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…
Anyone who fishes with me for the first time invariably makes the same comment: I move. A lot. I pretty much take a few casts in a spot and if I don’t hook up, I move on. Part of this is practical. Like Dr. Ishigaki and many other tenkara anglers, I’m of the philosophy that there are…
There’s an interesting phenomenon I’ve observed on many social media fishing sites. It basically goes something like this: Someone posts an idea. Maybe it’s a new fly tying technique, a DIY project, a new way of rigging, etc. Someone else responds to it saying that it’s too complicated, or takes too much time, and they’d…
Ever since a I can remember I’ve been doing something that might be considered strange and have always wondered if I’m the only one, or if other anglers do it as well. Basically, I “cull” flies from my fly box. That is, when I take a fly out of my box to fish it, that’s…
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 work well for tenkara. And…
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 of the sport. I’ve been…
In western fly fishing, a lot of emphasis is placed not only on the fly pattern, but also on fly size. It’s considered standard practice to carry both a wide variety of patterns and a variety of sizes of each pattern. The mentality seems to be that if you don’t have a good selection, you’re…
In Japan, tenkara has been very narrowly defined in terms of gear, technique, and application. The gear part of the definition includes using a long rod, no reel, and simple, unweighted flies. The technique part includes things like using rapids and waterfalls to sink flies rather than weight, watching the line rather than using a…
Ever since I started tenkara fishing, I’ve been fascinated with those who subscribe to the “one fly” approach. Imagine an angler so confident in their skills, having so much faith in one fly, that they choose to carry only one pattern with them. It seems almost mythical. Yet, there are some practical reasons why this…
As tenkara takes hold in the West, many people are experimenting with different techniques, rigging, and DIY gear modifications. As someone who has a deep passion for innovation, I think this is a good thing. But there are many voices criticizing certain types of experimentation in an effort to preserve the intrinsic simplicity of tenkara.…
Sitting on the bank during one of those all-too-familiar fishless days on the South Platte, I started thinking about rod design. With my current favorite in my hand (the Tenkara USA Ito), I began to think about what makes a rod “good”. I’ve done a fair number of tenkara rod reviews and if you’ve followed this…
