I recently got a Fujino Soft Tenkara line from Tenkara-Ya which is exactly the same as the other Soft Tenkara Lines I own, but, it’s “white”. I was curious to know what “white” meant. Is it 100% opaque? Is it really just clear? Before I ordered, I asked Keiichi-san (owner of Tenkara-Ya) and he said…
Every angler new to tenkara will inevitably face the age-old question: should I use a level line or a furled line? Often, it’s phrased, “which one is better?” My answer is (of course) it depends. But that answer can seem somewhat dismissive and disappointing. Instead, I thought I’d offer a more definitive answer–outlining the pros…
When it comes to lines, perhaps nothing is more iconic of tradition than the horse tail line. To me, its mere mention conjures images of picture-perfect days and buttery smooth casts to discerning trout worthy of a presentation with such classic tackle. In 2011, I made a few of my own. It was easy, but…
ATTENTION: I was inundated with orders on these and it became too time consuming so I am no longer making them. Sorry. I posted on Facebook about a line sighter (strike indicator) that I developed specifically for tenkara and the level of interest was not surprising. One of the biggest complaints that I’ve heard from…
graphic by Anthony Naples I was struck recently by a comment I read from Chris Stewart in a Facebook group. I can’t remember the exact wording, so I’m paraphrasing. It was to the effect of, “remember in western fly fishing when we were all concerned about having a well-tapered leader? Whatever happened to that?” It might…
One of the things I love about tenkara is that it lends itself to DIY gear and experimentation–especially when it comes to lines. If you think about it, people don’t really do much in the way of DIY lines in mainstream fly fishing. Most people just buy something off the shelf and while they might…
A guy came into the shop the other day and was filling his basket with handfuls of tippet material. We got to talking and he told me he replaces all of his tippet every year with “fresh” tippet. It was his ritual. I know the old argument–heat, UV exposure, and water absorption all degrade tippet…
Yuzo Sebata. AKA, “Tani no Okina“, or, “the old man of the valley”. I recently shared some pictures of his tenkara flies. But just as each Japanese tenkara angler has their own signature fly patterns, many also have their own lines–as unique as their own thumbprints–and settled upon by years of experience and experimentation. Sebata-san…
I was recently contacted by my friend and veteren tenkara angler Paul Vertrees who told me about a new tenkara line he was developing with Royal Gorge Anglers. He offered to send me one to try and of course I accepted because I love to try out new gear, but honestly, I wasn’t really expecting…
We’ve all been there before. You’re fishing your favorite line and it’s the perfect color for the spot you’re on. You can see the tip perfectly and detect even the gentlest strike with ease. But then, things change. Maybe you move slightly upstream where the lighting conditions are completely different, or the sun suddenly disappears…
One of the advantages of having a diverse background in fishing is that there can be some interesting crossover among the different genres. I’ve borrowed many tips, tactics and techniques from spin fishing, bait casting, deep sea fishing and (of course) western fly fishing that I’ve been able to incorporate into my tenkara fishing over…
A few weeks ago, I met up with Karin Miller from Zen Flyfishing and she let me try out her new floating line along the banks of the Fall River in Estes Park, CO. I pretty much exclusively fish level fluorocarbon lines; however, there are situations in which I find a floating line works better…
When we think of tenkara lines, we tend to think either of tapered, braided monofilament lines or level fluorocarbon lines. Undoubtedly, those are the two most popular kinds used today; however, there is another type of line you may not be familiar with that’s a little more (shall we say) “esoteric”. There’s a small number…
In my last post, I wrote about some new hooks from Moonlit Fly Fishing. Moonlit isn’t a tenkara-specific company. They mostly sell conventional fly rods, leaders and accessories, but seem to be increasing their offering of gear relevant to the tenkara angler–and they’re doing it well. I recently received two of their lines, the Katana and…