OK, it’s not technically a tenkara fly, but so many tenkara anglers seem to have so much faith in this pattern that I couldn’t ignore it. So, I ended up buying some killer bug yarn from Tenkara Bum (as well as some other stuff like some Pearsall’s silk thread for sakasa kebari) and give the pattern a fair shake.
I didn’t tie the Killer Bug according to the original method its inventor Frank Sawyer used, but instead, tied the variation called the “Utah Killer Bug” that the guys over at Tenkara Guides came up with. It’s a remarkably boring fly to tie, but as practitioners of tenkara, we know that boredom at the vise doesn’t necessarily translate to boredom on the stream. There’s a reason this fly is named “killer” and while it may be an “unfulfilling” tie, I’m excited to try it out–especially for winter tenkara fishing when the fish are much lazier and looking for an easy meal. As you’ll see from the pictures on the Tenkara Guides site, this fly looks pretty appetizing when wet. I think it might be a good choice for fishing the skinny water and cold temps of winter. We’ll see…
Looks good Jason! Glad to see your trying the fly out. Let me know how it goes for you, as I’m always curious to know how the fly works around the country. So far it works great throughout the intermountain west.
I do agree with your take on the fly…it’s incredibly boring to tie. So much so, that I would rather pay someone to tie them for me!
Erik,
I’ll do it. $25 per fly!