I recently did an impromptu podcast with my old friend and mentor Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA after we had an early-morning conversation about some ideas swirling around in our heads. Some of them may be controversial and I know some of you may not be receptive to them, but they’re the products of being…
Being a fly tyer is part of my self-identity. I’ve often said that even if every river and ocean on Earth dried up, I would still tie flies. It’s one of my passions in life and I consider it a high art. As such, I’m always interested in learning about how other tyers practice the…
In case you missed it in my recap of the 2019 Denver Fly Fishing Show, I thought I’d repost my chat with renowned fly fishing author John Gierach. Every year, we bump into each other at our mutual smoking spot just outside the main entrance of the show and talk trash about the industry over…
You may have noticed I’ve been getting a lot of gear from Tenkara-Ya lately. It’s become my favorite tenkara gear site for a several reasons. For one, they carry some really unique gear that you can’t find anywhere else and are always adding new products. I make it a point to check the site regularly…
In this video, I interview my long-time friend and fishing partner Karel Lansky about some of the differences between tenkara fishing in England and the States. Karel was one of the earliest adopters of tenkara in the U.S. and is the author of Tenkara on the Fly–one of the first tenkara blogs in the English…
This 4th of July Weekend, I had the pleasure of having a guest at my house who is a tour de force in tenkara–Brian Lindsay. Brian is an avid tenkara fisher and tyer with a unique perspective on fly design. Here’s a quick video about his philosophy on tying that I think you’ll enjoy and…
Not too long ago, I wrote a post about how I rediscovered the Teeny Nymph and why I think it’s a good pattern for tenkara. While I have a fairly long history fishing this venerable pattern, I wanted to hear more about it directly from its creator, fly fishing icon Jim Teeny. Here is…
A couple of days ago, bamboo tenkara rod case maker Richard Kolodny came by Tenkara Talk H.Q. to show me some of his new designs. Richard is truly an artist and his cases (inspired by samurai sword sheaths) are simply gorgeous. I asked Richard to tell us a little more about their history and what…
Fresh off the heels of his trip to Japan, John Vetterli of Tenkara Guides gives us a glimpse of what tenkara is like in its native country. I asked John 3 quick questions that highlight some of this differences and similarities between American and Japanese approaches to tenkara fishing. Jason: You recently returned from a trip…
If you’re an American angler and love bead head flies, you have one man to thank: Theo Bakelaar. While bead head flies have been fished in Italy for as long as 100 years, Theo was the first person to introduce them to the United States, earning him the nickname “Mr. Goldhead”, and sparking a revolution…
I know a little about fly rod design from working in the industry for a few years. But the other day, it occurred to me that I know absolutely nothing about what goes into designing and building a tenkara rod. So out of curiosity, I turned to Tenkara USA founder Daniel Galhardo to get a…
You won’t get far in your research on tenkara without coming across the Tenkara Bum website. It’s one of the best resources for learning about tenkara and one of the most popular online stores with a wide range of gear. But many might not know much about the man behind it. Chris Stewart was one of the…
You may not have heard of Go Ishi, but you owe him a “thank you”. He is a Japanese tenkara angler who has quietly been the “invisible hand” opening up a great body of tenkara knowledge to the English-speaking world. Ishi-san translated the English language version of Tenkara no Oni’s Tenkara World website, as well…
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…
In my early reseach of tenkara, one of the first sites I came across was Trout and Seasons of the Mountain Village. The site has vast amounts of information on tenkara techniques, and streams and fish species in Japan. But I was particularly impressed with the vast collection of Japanese fly patterns there and to…
Anyone who frequently visits the Tenkara USA forums has probably seen posts by someone named “Eddie”. What some may not know is that “Eddie” is actually Eiji Yamakawa, an expert tenkara angler from Japan. We first came into contact when he helped me get my Nissin Prosquare tenkara rod and we have kept in contact…
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 called Masami Sakakibara’s World of…
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 list of my own questions…
