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I almost exclusively fish dry flies for trout—not because I’m a “purist”. I just love to see fish rise to a fly. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with nymph fishing and I don’t look down on anyone who fishes nymphs. It’s just not my style.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the “one fly” concept many Tenkara anglers adopt and have been thinking if I could carry only one dry fly what it might be. I mostly fish small streams for small fish in pocket water so if I could bring only one pattern, it would have to be:
- Relatively small (#14 – #18)
- A fly that floats well
- Easy to tie
- Highly visible
I think I have come up with a pattern that meets the requirements above which still gives a nod to traditional Tenkara fly patterns: The Japanese Hammer. I call it this because the pattern blends some elements of Tenkara flies with the Klinkhamer Special (a pattern that has been a big producer for me).
Basically, I took the colors of the famous Dr. Ishigaki fly, used the hackle style of the Gujo Kebari, and incorporated the hook style and white yarn post of the Klinkhamer Special for visibility. The result is a fly that gives me a small, high-vis. fly that I am going to try for my one fly for pocket water fishing in the Rockies next season.
Recipe:
Hook: TMC 2487 (#14 – #18)
Thread: Black 8/0
Body: Black dubbing
Hackle: Furnace
Post: White polypropylene yarn
Of course, the Japanese Hammer could be tied in any color combination. I plan to experiment and at least carry some in the darker color above as well as some lighter variations with a cream body and ginger hackle:
The Japanese Hammer, Light
My resolution this year is to give the “one fly” concept a try and see what happens. Do you practice the “one fly” philosophy? Have you chosen/modified/invented your one fly? Tell us about it!
Hi Jason, looks nice!! Looking forward to assist you with the testing!
Tight Lines, -K
Brilliant! Looking forward to hearing the results of you field tests!
My personal opinion on the concept of fishing “one fly” all the time. hogwash.
If it was that easy to fool trout on one fly, everyone would fish a #14 hare’s ear nymph all the time. I wonder how many mesmerized tenkara fishers take a fish every 50 yards, and leave twenty fish behind that were taking BWO’s or midge emergers. Hogwash. You can fish one fly and catch fish. You can change flies as the situation requires and catch more fish.
PS – Three things I missed in the above comment:
1. I really like your blog.
2. I’m a tenkara fisher as of a few months ago. I have yet to get a strike on a tenkara fly here in the Smokies.
3. I’m just making sure you realize it – but your message board is full of spam. Just FYI. 🙂
Hi Owl,
Yes, I am painfully aware of the spam issue since I’m the one who has to go in and delete it every day. I’m working on a solution but in the meantime, I’ve made it so all new users have to be approved by me. That should stop the spam until I can set up a more automated solution.
As for the one fly philosophy, I think people who practice it don’t care about catching as many fish as possible. I think it’s more of a personal challenge. Their goal is to test their skills by restricting themselves to one fly (the same could be said about Tenkara itself I suppose—one is limiting themselves to a shorter cast and must rely on their own skills more rather than their equipment).
While you’re certainly right that a one-fly approach won’t work in every situation, I don’t think that’s the point. For the small mountain streams where I fish, the fish are opportunistic and don’t have much time to inspect a fly in the fast pocket water so I could easily get away with any fly that looks buggy. On the other hand, there are some clear, slow moving spring creeks with a lot of pressure where the fish would basically laugh at you if you presented a #12 Dr. Ishigaki fly. So, I guess it really comes down to where you fish and what your priorities are.
Hi Jason,
Like you, I like to see the trout rise and have been looking on the web for the best dry flies to use with Tenkara.
How did this fly work out? Is it more effective than the Elk Hair Caddis you once recommended?
Hi Ian, It’s about the same in effectiveness as the Elk Hair Caddis as an attractor pattern. Not sure if you saw this post or not but the Caribou Captain is another good one: https://www.tenkaratalk.com/2015/01/the-caribou-captain/