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Tag Archives: tenkara flies

tenkara flies

One Fly: An Experiment in Color

The following is a guest post. I almost never do them, but when someone as prominent in the tenkara community asks for one as Jason Sparks, my ears perk up and I listen. Here are a few more of his great theories on fly design and presentation … There have been several points of conversation…

March 28, 202014 CommentsFliesBy Jason Klass

Glass Bead Takayama Sakasa Kebari

How to Tie the Glass Bead Takayama Sakasa Kebari

The Takayama Sakasa Kebari is one of the most iconic patterns in tenkara and has always been a good producer for me. My version incorporates two glass beads at the head which add sparkle and just enough weight to get it down when needed without getting snagged on the bottom the way brass or tungsten…

March 4, 20193 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Flies with Kevlar Thread

Bulletproof Kebari

This is one of those “I already know someone’s thought of it (before I even say it)” ideas, but I had the thought last night to tie some simple stiff-hackle tenkara flies with Kevlar thread. I don’t normally use Kevlar, but I had some left over from my days tying bass and saltwater flies and…

February 1, 20192 CommentsFlies, Fly TyingBy Jason Klass

Hirata Tenkara Kebari

Hirata-san’s Kebari

Yesterday, I posted some pictures of my recent acquisition of some kebari from Yuzo Sebata for my tenkara fly collection, and today, I wanted to share some flies I got from Hisanobu Hirata. Hirata-san might not be a household name to many western tenkara anglers the way Dr. Ishigaki or Tenkara no Oni are, but…

January 31, 201913 CommentsFliesBy Jason Klass

Combination Midge and Blu Winged Olive Fly

Jason’s Molive

Midge and blue-winged olive hatches often coincide and two fish in adjacent feeding lanes could be keyed in on one or the other. So why not fish a fly that covers both? The Molive (“midge” + “olive”) is a crossover pattern that can be fished during such hatches and can be mistaken for an olive…

November 8, 20187 CommentsFlies, Fly TyingBy Jason Klass

Half-palmer Sakasa Kebari

Half-Palmer Sakasa Kebari

Probably the thing I love most about fly tying is that there are limitless possibilities for experimentation and how each experiment builds on the lessons of previous ones. You take a certain technique or style you’ve tried in the past and blend it with another (previously disparate one) to create an entirely new avatar. You…

October 10, 20187 CommentsFlies, Fly TyingBy Jason Klass

Brian Lindsay Kebari

Brian Lindsay on Kebari Fly Design

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…

July 3, 20174 CommentsInterviewsBy Jason Klass

FC Crackleback Fly

The Crackleback Fly

Although I mostly fish sakasa kebari now, every once in a while, I rediscover a pattern from my pre-tenkara days that I think is perfect for tenkara in its ethos. I recently remembered a somewhat esoteric one I used to consider a staple when I was only western fly fishing: the FC Crackleback. Think of the Crackleback…

November 30, 201619 CommentsFlies, Fly TyingBy Jason Klass

Creekside Kebari & Fly Company

Today, I got a nice care package in the mail from Robb over at Creekside Kebari & Fly Company. We initially agreed to just do a simple sticker swap for one of my new stickers, but Robb also sent a sample some of the flies he sells on his website and I thought they were…

August 30, 20163 CommentsFliesBy Jason Klass

Simple Flies by Morgan Lyle

Book Review: Simple Flies by Morgan Lyle

For many, just dipping their toes in the sport of fly fishing is daunting enough–forget about getting into tying their own flies. I imagine it’s something like trying to rewire the Space Shuttle before learning to actually pilot it.  And if you peruse the fly selection at your local fly shop, you can see why. There…

August 24, 20158 CommentsBooks & MediaBy Jason Klass

Fulling Mill Hooks

I have to confess, I’d never heard of Fulling Mill hooks until I saw them on Anthony Naples’ site, Three Rivers Tenkara. There are a million hooks out there today and I’ve tried a lot of them–not just for tenkara, but for many other applications as well. I usually don’t get too excited about hooks…

May 10, 20151 CommentFly TyingBy Jason Klass

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The Heraclitus-fly Approach

I’ve mentioned on many occasions that I don’t adhere to the tenkara “one fly” approach simply because I would quickly get bored tying the same pattern over and over again. To me, fly tying is as much fun as fly fishing and the monotony would ruin one of my favorite aspects of the sport. So,…

April 18, 201513 CommentsPhilosophyBy Jason Klass

Sakasa Kebari on an Umpqua competition hook

360° Sakasa Kebari

If you’ve been into fly fishing for any length of time, you might have heard of a pattern called the “Brook’s Stone“. It was invented by Major Charlie Brooks to imitate the big stoneflies on the Yellowstone River. It’s a simple pattern. Unlike most stonefly patterns, it doesn’t even have a wing case. It’s basically…

February 13, 20153 CommentsFliesBy Jason Klass

Caribou Captain Dry Fly

The Caribou Captain

The other day, I found myself thinking about a forgotten fly introduced to me by its creator, Gordon Wickstrom. I can’t remember how we first met, but I do remember our meandering chats in Boulder coffee shops talking fly fishing history, fly design, language, and how Garrison Keillor is a great storyteller but should never, ever, be…

January 9, 20159 CommentsFlies, Fly TyingBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Sakasa kebari

Sparse Vs. Heavily-dressed Flies

I got an email today from a reader who had the following comment: “While crawling around the web researching the subject, I ran across some Japanese websites, and noticed the flies they have seem to be more sparsely tied than the American versions. Is there anything to this?” It was an interesting observation–though (I think) not…

December 14, 20149 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Flies

Transitioning to Tenkara Flies

When I first started fishing tenkara, I didn’t give much thought to traditional tenkara flies. The initial allure was really the tenkara rod itself and by default, I assumed that I would just use my standard patterns like the Elk Hair Caddis, Stimulator, Bead Head Hare’s Ear Nymph, and so on. And I did. And…

November 25, 201421 CommentsTenkara 101By Jason Klass

Tenkara Sakasa kebari

4 Reasons to Fatten up your Flies

When I first started tying soft hackle flies, the conventional wisdom was that you should make the body as slender as possible. I practiced a lot to achieve perfectly smooth, anorexic bodies that were literally no more than a few silk strands thicker in diameter than the hook shank. They definitely worked great and were…

August 22, 201422 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Silk cord for eyeless tenkara hooks

Persimmon Silk Cord from Tenkara Bum

When I first started tying tenkara flies on eyeless hooks, I thought I had found a goldmine once I discovered that silk bead cord was readily available on eBay in a myriad of colors. It took a little trial & error but I finally found what I considered to be the right diameter (#2) and…

August 5, 20146 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Picket Pin

The Picket Pin: A Good Fly For Tenkara

Over the centuries, countless fly patterns have been lost to history. Some have made brief resurgences in popular fly fishing culture, only to disappear and hibernate again, waiting for their next 10 seconds of fame. Still, it’s fair to say that there are probably dozens (if not hundreds) of once-popular patterns that modern fly anglers…

June 11, 201411 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Tenkara no Oni Flies

Tenkara no Oni’s Flies

I just got a care package from Japan from Masami Sakakibara (a.k.a. “Tenkara no Oni”) which included some of his flies. His patterns are simple, but very versatile and buggy looking. I’m not sure of all of the materials, but thought I’d share some pictures of the flies one of the greatest tenkara anglers in…

May 14, 201414 CommentsFliesBy Jason Klass

Sakasa Kebari

Mismatching the Hatch

As a beginning fly tier, one concept was thoroughly drilled into my brain by the cronies at the local fly shop: match the hatch. The “goal” of fly tying was to imitate specific species of insects and the more realistic the fly was, the better it was. It made perfect sense. The trout are eating…

March 27, 201429 CommentsPhilosophyBy Jason Klass

Maribou Sakasa Kebari

Maribou-bodied Sakasa Kebari

The more I fish tenkara the more I’m starting to think about flies in terms of “paradigms” rather than “recipes”. Instead of specific patterns like an Oki Kebari or Takayama Kebari, I’m starting to think more in terms of the general characteristics a fly has such as movement, silhouette, attention point, and size. One of the…

March 7, 201415 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Fly

The Clear Creek Kebari

I’ve been meaning to share this fly for some time but for whatever reason, haven’t gotten around to it until now. It’s one of my most productive flies and although tenkara flies typically don’t intentionally match the hatch, I call it the “Clear Creek Kebari” because it’s a top producer on my home river of…

January 23, 20149 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Sewing Thread for Tenkara Flies

Sewing Thread Tenkara Flies

When I started tenkara and first learned that many tenkara flies were tied with sewing thread, I was appalled. I mean, anything other than 8/0 Uni thread was sacrilege! And sewing thread was just plain crude. This was mostly because I was used to tying more complicated flies where sewing thread would be too thick.…

November 24, 201325 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Fur-hackled sakasa kebari

Fur-hackled Sakasa Kebari

One of the main reasons the sakasa kebari style fly is so effective is because the hackle moves underwater making it look alive (click here for an underwater video to see one in action). Like most flies, tiers use feathers for the hackle on their sakasa kebari. This is because the fibers are usually soft…

November 20, 201311 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

Release the Bracken!

I haven’t tied a lot of tenkara flies with yarn bodies but Chris Stewart of Tenkara Bum certainly has.  In fact, he’s inspired a whole subculture of yarners with his recent blue fly challenge.  Chris sent me some samples of some of the yarns he sells and I can immediately see their advantages:   1.…

October 2, 201310 CommentsFly TyingBy Jason Klass

barbless flies

3 Reasons to Fish Barbless

For over 20 years, I’ve been fishing exclusively with barbless flies.  And not just for trout–for bass, panfish, steelhead, salmon, and even saltwater fish.  In fact, even before I started fly fishing, I used to crimp down the barbs on my spoons, spinners, and crankbaits too.  Why?  3 simple reasons… 1.  Better Hooksets A barb…

July 20, 201321 CommentsStreamcraftBy Jason Klass

A Cozumel Bonefish

Confidence in Fly Selection

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…

July 11, 20137 CommentsPhilosophyBy Jason Klass

Takayama Sakasa Kebari Tenkara Fly

Takayama Sakasa Kebari

The Takayama sakasa kebari is a classic tenkara fly that is tied in many color variations.  But basically, it’s characterized by having a thread abdomen, a peacock thorax, and forward facing hackle.  My first encounter with this fly was the red version so that’s what I chose to base my interpretation on.  Here’s my recipe…

June 17, 20139 CommentsFliesBy Jason Klass

Blue tenkara fly

Smurfette

After reading about Chris Stewart’s blue fly challenge and receiving some of his blue yarn by happenstance, I thought it would be fun to experiment a bit with blue.  So, I came up with this pattern.  I haven’t tried it yet but I’m sure it will catch fish.  And even if it doesn’t, I like it…

May 7, 20139 CommentsFliesBy Jason Klass
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About Me

Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide & casting instructor based in Colorado. He was an early adopter of tenkara in the West and has been fishing the method for a variety of species since 2009. Read more >>

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