A while back, I posted some tenkara flies I got from Tenkara Times. I recently got another sample pack from them and thought I would share. I really like the look of the Sakakibara kebari and might start tying some up. Amano Kebari … Fuji Kebari … Olive Soft Hackle … To learn more about…
Today, I got the best piece of mail I’ve gotten in a long time. Japanese tenkara angler Hiroyuki Hasegawa (known as @kebarer on Twitter and Che Kebarer on Pinterest) sent me a great assortment of Gamakatsu and Owner hooks, plus a few surprises… Hiroyuki and I exchange a lot of tweets about tenkara (some serious,…
I came home from this year’s Fly Fishing Show with a few flies from Paul Vertrees and thought they were good ties so wanted to share a few pictures. For those of you who don’t know Paul, he is the tenkara guide for Rigs Fly Shop in Ridgeway (the first to offer guided tenkara trips…
Flat tinsel is a great material for adding flash and segmentation to a fly. Years ago, tiers basically had only two choices in colors: silver and gold. This is why so many classic patterns call for those colors. It was really more about availability rather than a conscious design choice. But today, flat tinsel comes…
Most tenkara flies are simple. But they don’t have to be. In fact, some can resemble miniature Atlantic salmon flies. Here is an example of a fancier tenkara fly to show some possibilities. I normally tie simple flies for fishing, but let’s face it…if you’re a fly tier at heart, a few turns of hackle…
Most of my flies are pretty bland. I typically don’t incorporate a lot of synthetics or flash into my patterns. But after taking a closer look at some of Masami Tanaka’s flies, I’ve come up with a pattern that is a little flashier than my usual ties: the Japanese Lantern. Rather than plain thread, Tanaka…
For me, the biggest highlight of the 2012 Tenkara Summit was meeting and being able to fish with all the Japanese anglers that attended. It was great to learn about tenkara from people who practice it in its birthplace. As you might imagine, there was a lot of talk and trading of tenkara flies. It…
Fly tiers have it pretty easy these days. Run out of red floss during a marathon tying session of Royal Coachmans? Head down to your local fly shop and pick some up. Need fluorescent pink guinea fowl for a killer new Spey fly? Order in online and it will be at your door in a…
I just got a new tenkara rod today from Tenkara Times (review to follow) and it included a free sampling of some of their sakasa kebari. I didn’t think much of it at first until I opened up the packaging and saw the quality of tying. These are good tenkara flies. Here are some closeups…
No, I’m not trying to start a revolution (yet). “Viva” is a color scheme for fly patterns that is extremely popular on the UK Stillwater scene. The original Viva was a wet fly tied by Victor Furse for reservoir fishing but has since become a template color combination of black, chartreuse, and silver and is…
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 moves in the water.
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 flies with hackle palmered through…
