This weekend wrapped up the 2014 Denver Fly Fishing Show and while I didn’t see much there that was innovative, I wasn’t disappointed. This was for two reasons. First, vendors have pretty much the same gear every year. I rarely see anything new or anything that surprises me so I go with pretty low expectations.…
In tenkara, a fairly esoteric group of anglers subscribe to the “one fly” approach where they strictly fish only one specific pattern (or slight variations of the same pattern). A larger group adheres to the more liberal “any fly” approach, meaning that they don’t necessarily restrict themselves to one particular pattern, but feel that any…
I just had an interesting exchange with a friend who is heading down to the San Juan River soon. He told me about how he was planning to fish a tandem rig with the river’s namesake pattern (the San Juan Worm) and a beadhead dropper. I relayed the story of how when I fished the…
I just got back from a trip to Mexico where I had a chance to do a little bonefishing. You might be wondering why I’m posting about bonefishing on my tenkara blog but strangely enough, even though fishing for bones with a saltwater rig seems like a world apart, I had an experience that is…
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…
Today I got a chance to try out the release box that Karel from Tenkara on the Fly made for me. I really like it because it gives me plenty of time to take pictures of fish without having to worry about suffocating them or slipping out of my hands. Plus, I can pour them…
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…
[/caption] I just got back from the Denver Fly Fishing show where Tenkara USA made its first official presentation. I usually go to the show every year and it’s pretty much the same old stuff so I was really excited to see people learning and talking about tenkara this year! Tenkara Rigs Fly…
For the fly angler that has everything… If you have a fly fisher in your life and want to give them a fly fishing gift, you probably have the same dilemma every holiday season: they already have EVERYTHING so what can I get them? Even though fly fishers tend to be gear junkies and obsessively…
A while back, I wrote about a simple fly fishing setup for backpacking. As fly fishers, we have an intrinsic advantage when it comes fishing on overnight and multi-day backpacking trips. Unlike other styles of fishing, we aren’t condemned to carrying heavy, bulky tackle like spinning reels, weighted lures, etc. However, fly fishers also tend…
To me, one of the most interesting challenges of fly fishing on multi-day hikes is coming up with a system that allows you to carry all of the essentials without lugging a 15 lb. vest up the trail. Although my system is constantly evolving, here’s one that I found works well. Total weight (including rod): …
For the backpacking fly fisher, choosing flies that are multi-use allows you to save space and carry a lighter, more packable fly box. I can’t think of a better, more versatile pattern than the humble hair-wing dun. It’s easy to tie, can represent a variety of species, and is convertible. Leave the tails on and…
There’s been a lot of buzz around Vicuña dubbing lately and I was lucky enough to get a box from DRAGONTAILtenkara. I’ve probably got hundreds of packages of dubbing dating back 20+ years, but I can tell you, I really like this stuff. First of all, it’s hand-dyed alpaca wool so it’s scraggly, but still…
Well, I’m still “reeling” 😉 from this year’s Tenkara Summit. Usually when I cover such events, I try to put together a cohesive recap for those who couldn’t make it. But this year, it was quite intense and I’m not sure I’m up to that task. So instead, I’m just going to post a few…
On a couple of recent fishing trips with my friends Daniel and Dennis, I was struck by something–actually, I was struck by the absence of something. While I was donning my beloved Yonah Tenkara Simple pack, they were carrying nothing. And I mean nothing (save their rods). No chest packs, no backpacks, no sort of…
If I had to name one tying material that rivaled the versatility and universal fish-catching properties of the venerable peacock herl, it might be Jaimeson’s Shetland Spindrift Yarn. And lately, I’ve been tying the majority of my “working” flies with it. Why? It’s fast and easy to tie with. Just a few wraps of yarn…
Back in 2012, I wrote an article about how I came to know and develop a fondness for a version of Frank Sawyer’s Killer Bug pattern which had become a quick favorite among tenkara anglers: the Utah Killer Bug. The Utah Killer bug was developed by the Tenkara Guides as a modern answer to Frank Sawyer’s…
It’s been a long, dismal winter fishing season for me this year. The few places with open water were crowded with desperate anglers trying to get a drift before their fly snagged a miniature iceberg or jagged ice shelf. Most of the time, I was so frustrated by the crowds, low water, and lack of…
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…
Like many of you, I am continually striving to improve my on-stream carry system and I feel like I make small increments of progress with every iteration. For years, I’ve been carrying a Fishpond San Juan chest pack and it’s served me well. Every so often, I browse sites like eBay, Amazon, and Etsy, searching…
Update: This contest has ended. The winners have been announced on the TenkaraTalk Facebook page. If you want to be notified of future posts and upcoming giveaways like this one, please sign up for email notifications here. Original post: It’s simple. Copy and paste the following message to your Facebook page and you’ll be entered…
Sling packs have become all the rage in fly fishing over the last few years–and for good reason. They’re light, compact, versatile, and offer a unique hybrid alternative to wearing both a backpack and a fly fishing vest without sacrificing the convenience and functionality of either. And the intrinsic ethos of their design is especially…
I recently had to send a tenkara care package to a friend and thought it might be a good opportunity to clean up and organize some of my gear while I sifted through what to send–kill two birds with one stone. By the time I emptied the first bag (of several bins, bags, boxes and…
My friend Randy and I worked together in the same fly shop in Western New York for several years and we had kind of a running joke between us. Customers would always make comments like, “I wish I could work in a fly shop. You guys must get to go fishing all the time.” The…
A few weeks ago, I went fishing with my good friend Dennis Vander Houwen. Neither of us had been out in a while so we were really looking forward to a much-needed day on the water. Everything started off fine–we were in good spirits, the weather was good for February–all indications pointed to smooth sailing and…
How can you improve on something as simple as a tenkara line spool? After all, it’s nothing more than a spindle to wrap your line around for storage and transport, right? Think again. Tenkara USA has literally just reinvented the wheel with their latest innovation–The Keeper. The Keeper’s most important innovation is that it features…
The second volume of Tenkara Magazine has just been published, further anchoring tenkara as an established form of fly fishing in the West. In 96 pages, this latest issue explores a wide spectrum of tenkara-related topics including presentation techniques, tenkara in Japan, trout cooking techniques, tenkara with kids, interviews with Japanese tenkara anglers, and more. One…
Quick post today. I’m often asked about my go-to setup for tenkara so I thought I’d just list it out. After years of testing and refining, I think I have finally come up with the combination that’s perfect for me. Rod For about the last year and a half, I’ve fished almost exclusively with an…
This year, Tenkara Santa wants to give you some neat stocking stuffers! He’s giving away a nice little package of tenkara gear, including the following: 1. A wooden fly box hand made by Boulder Artisan and avid tenkara angler Dave Burchett. 2. A 13′ horsehair tapered line made by me. 3. A cork line spool…
Imagine listening to a symphony where the conductor put their baton back on the podium in between every motion they made with it. With the music stopping each time the baton is laid down, it would be painful to sit through. There would be no flow and the piece would probably take twice as long to…
