I just finished watching the Bugs of the Underworld DVD from the California School of Fly Fishing. The video was filmed by award winning videographers Ralph and Lisa Cutter over the course of 11 years in 3 different countries and shows the complete life cycles of mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, and other aquatic insects of…
DetailsFor Christmas, my lovely wife got me a horse hair tenkara line kit from Tenkara Bum. I’ve always wanted to try to make my own horse hair line and since I have this whole week off for the holidays, I immediately started furling away. The results were very interesting. So far, I’ve made two lines.…
Details[/caption] Every fly tier has their favorite hooks for certain patterns and I’m no exception. I’ve tried a lot of different hooks for sakasa kebari and wanted to tell you about my favorite ones and why I like them so much. My favorite hook for sakasa kebari is the TMC 2499SPBL. Almost all of my…
Details[/caption] It was a beautiful bluebird day this fall on the South Platte when the revelation hit me like a miscast 4/0 Clouser to the forehead: I have never really tenkara fished! Now, before you use my own words against me and bring up the impotence of labels, let me explain. I was fishing with Daniel…
DetailsI just got my Tenkara USA Yamame and wanted to share my initial impressions. Keep in mind, I haven’t fished with this rod yet but I’ve cast it and gone over every detail of its workmanship. I will have more info. after I’ve had it on the water but from what I can tell so…
DetailsIn the last few years, there’s been a lof of buzz around fishing blue-colored flies. A while ago, I tried to incorporate blue into a tenkara pattern I called the Ninja’s Victim. The blue wire body and starling hackle seemed to work well but I’m always looking for new ways to use unique materials…
DetailsI’ve seen this question come up in social media again and again (with some pretty heated debates). I’m not sure why people seem to focus so heavily on labeling tenkara as “fly fishing” or not. After all, we don’t obsess about the many, more incorrect labels and misnomers we use in our in our…
DetailsHere’s an excellent mini-documentary on tenkara starring the Tenkara Guides. I think it captures the essence of tenkara very well. There is a full length documentary in the works that is being produced by Brian Flemming of Learn Tenkara that is slated to be released in about a year in which yours truly will briefly…
DetailsIn my ongoing experiments with hackle and materials for sakasa kebari, I’ve found an unlikely source for hackle that looks promising: jungle cock. When most tiers think of the prized jungle cock, they think of the gorgeous yellow and black “nails” or “spears” often used for the cheeks of classic salmon fly patterns, streamers,…
DetailsToday, I got the first ever TenkaraUSA print catalog in the mail. Daniel was kind enough to not only autograph it for me, but also write a nice message. This is a truly special item and as soon as I opened it, it reminded me of something I’ve been thinking about for quite some…
DetailsHere’s a quick video showing how the new Kevlar furled lines from Tenkara USA don’t tangle after being snagged like the traditional monofilament furled lines did.
[/caption] Why is it that some people instantly embrace tenkara while others reject it outright? I have been wondering this for a long time now. I’ve read dozens of social media posts where people have written downright malicious comments about tenkara and tenkara anglers. The funny thing is, by their own admission, most of…
DetailsSince I can’t go fishing right now, tying flies is the next best thing. In the past few months, I’ve been playing around with some unorthodox body materials for tenkara flies but recently felt the urge to tie some with the more traditional thread bodies. I saw that Tenkara Bum was selling Pearsall’s silk…
Details[/caption] Ever wonder what to do with your line when you’re moving from spot to spot? If you need to go through brush, the best thing to do is collapse the rod and either remove the line and wind it around a tenkara spool or around your EZ Keepers. But sometimes, you don’t need…
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