Tenkara Fly Fishing

Congrats to Fredrik Loveus for correctly naming the fly in the last post… Not only did he correctly name the fly, but what this next post is about!

Tenkara Fly Fishing!

Tying the flies was my way of getting into the mood…

I have been reading up on Tenkara for a while now… and after finding a rod on sale, I jumped at the chance. Yesterday, it came in the mail… And of course, opening “surprises” is one of Little E’s favorite things to do!

And after the fun of opening the box wore off, then the next most important question was raised…

“What is it?”

Tenkara Fly Fishing

Tenkara is a traditional Japanese form of fly fishing. The TenkaraUSA company has recently introduced it to the US, and in the last three years Tenkara has become the hottest thing in fly fishing…

Tenkara is marketed as a “simplified” method of fly fishing. It uses a longer rod then standard fly rods, and most visibly noticeable is the lack of a fishing reel. Tenkara uses a fixed line system; where the line is attached to the end of the pole. In theory, the only thing you need to use to go fishing is the pole, line, and a fly… (Of course, I am sure I will find other “necessities” to bring with me to the water…)

The lack of a fishing reel seems to be what throws most people; from what I can tell in my research. In fact, it was the first thing that Little E noticed…

“Where the reel, daddy?”

“This fishy pole doesn’t need a reel”

“Oh…” At this point Little E ran down the hall, picked a fly reel off of the shelf in my office, and ran back exclaiming “Here is the reel daddy!”

At two years old, she’s already a little fisherman… and indoctrinated into the idea that a reel is required for a fishing pole…

Why I Bought A Tenkara Fly Fishing Pole

Beyond the fact that it just seems cool, that is…

I wanted to get a Tenkara rod for three main reasons…

1) Ease of use…

Taking little E fishing is fun, but can be interesting when she takes off in one direction at the lake, and I have to go after her. While fly fishing, typically I don’t have that much gear with me. However, trying to reel up my line while running after Little E is a dangerous proposition for both me and my gear…

With Tenkara, I will only need the rod, line, and a small box of flies (and therefore no reel or extra line at my feet)… meaning I am much more mobile for when I need to take off after Little E.

Not only that, but someday I plan to teach Little E to fly fish. Tenkara, being more of a stream lined style of fly fishing, will be a good introduction when she is ready as it is easier to learn how to cast.

2) A small fish/small stream rod…

Tenkara USA advertises their rods as ideal for small mountain streams. Here in Eastern Nebraska, we don’t have any mountains… but the few trouts streams we have tend to be small waters; with the exception of the tail water fisheries at Lake Ogallala.

This blog was created after a fishing trip to Verdigre Creek last July… That trip was frustrating for me because I had an impossible time getting my fly line into the water. With Tenkara, I am hoping for a more controlled, accurate cast needed for our small Nebraska trout streams…

In addition, I have always wanted a rod that I can throw in the car for quick fishing trips. Nebraska is full of small lakes all up and down I-80 that are full of fish. I bought a 3 weight fly rod at Cabela’s last winter for this purpose; but I still find that I need to drag along my vest and kick bag in the car to use it. The Tenkara compresses down to a small 20″ tube. Throw in one fly box, a spool of the Tenkara fly line, and a spool of tippet… and I now have a complete fishing set up that I can sneak into the car when my wife is not looking…

Makes for a great excuse to go fishing!

On these quick trips I often am just targeting bluegill or small bass; and I also hope for the Tenkara rod to enhance that experience!

3) Going Against The Grain…

I have alway been a bit of a rebel in my life… that continues to today. I love to fish, but I have rebelled against the greater Nebraska angling community by fly fishing… there are a few fly fisherman here, but not very many. I warm water fly fish first and foremost; which in a way is rebelling against the greater fly fishing “trout” community. Don’t get me wrong, I love fly fishing for trout… I just don’t have many places/opportunities nearby to do so. I spend the vast majority of my time chasing largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and crappies on the fly. I see Tenkara much in this same light… It is pushing a new frontier in the greater fly fishing community…

And I can’t wait to see what fellow Nebraskan anglers say when they see my Tenkara rod on the water… I will probably look like a spaceman!

Since I primarily warm water fish small lakes, in a way I will even be a rebel in the Tenkara community. I can’t wait to catch trout with it… but I plan to land a whole mess of warm water Nebraska game fish with it first!

That being said…

I by no means plan to give up “western” fly fishing. I see Tenkara as an excellent way to expand my fly fishing horizons. Since almost all of the material I have found on the web talks about Tenkara streaming in the mountains, I can’t wait to cast Tenkara line over Nebraska. I see this both as a new and challenging opportunity for me to push the envelope of my ability and Tenkara’s possibilities.

By Tenkara’s own admission the rod is not for big fish, like carp. That is okay. I have a brand new 8 weight St. Croix Imperial that has seen the water, but has yet to land a fish. I still plan on chasing plenty of big fish; so this won’t become a Tenkara exclusive blog…

But it will hopefully lead to some great challenges and great fun with bluegill… and maybe a small bass or two!

See you in my backyard figuring out a new casting stroke!

E

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