You’ve just found the perfect pool. It’s full of fish that are actively feeding and you’ve got it all to yourself. You know you’ll be able to pull at least a few nice ones out if you just fish it long enough. It’s one of those rare moments that you need to take full advantage of when it comes along. You take your first cast and catch the eye of a nice rainbow. It comes to your fly but you just miss him. No matter, there are plenty of other fish in the pool. Your excitement grows. But then, it happens. You get snagged on the log on your second cast. You now have two choices. You can either wade in to retrieve your fly and put down all the fish in the pool, or break it off, re-rig, and continue fishing. But what if you could get your fly back and still be able to fish the pool without putting the fish down? Thanks to a unique characteristic of tenkara, you can!
While every fly fisher faces this dilemma sometimes, tenkara anglers have a unique advantage that can save flies without having to ruin a good spot. All you have to do is this:
- Collapse your rod.
- Pull the tag end of the line to remove it from your rod.
- Make a mental note of where the snag is and let go of the line letting it gently drift downstream in the water. It won’t spook the fish and it won’t go anywhere if it’s snagged.
- Now, attach another line, extend the rod, and fish the pool.
- When you’re done, wade in to the pool and retrieve your snagged line and fly. If its brightly colored (as most tenkara lines are) and the water is clear and shallow enough, it should be pretty easy to find (f the water is off color or too deep to easily see the line, you might consider anchoring it to something like a tree or rock instead in step #3)
That’s it! Now, you’ve saved your fly (and tippet) without having to sacrifice a great fishing opportunity. This little trick can be a lifesaver especially when your fly box is running low on that one pattern that’s producing that day and you can’t afford to lose one (the one fly that’s working always seems to be the one that snags the most, doesn’t it?). Of course, this tip won’t work in every situation, but it works on about 99% of the trout streams I fish. I usually carry a couple of extra lines pre-rigged with flies on me anyway and thanks to the quick change connection of tenkara, this switch only takes a minute or two.
Now, the next time you get snagged, you won’t have to choose between losing your fly and fishing a great hole.
I trust this pic wasn’t taken on the Big T – only things I saw you snag we’re trout!
Mossy
Hi Jim,
LOL, no, it’s one of my favorite little holes on Bear Creek–one I fish every time I’m there and one I frequently get snagged in. BTW, it was great fishing with you. Thanks for a great day on the Big T. Next time, come down my way and I’ll return the favor on Bear Creek!
Jason that’s a great idea! I’m gonna use this little trick for sure. A trick that I have used in the past is to carefully wade up stream and pull my line and fly back up opposite of the way it snagged. Sometimes it works and I get it back, but of course this will only work if you can move unseen without spooking the fish.
Thank you for your great idea.
JD
Good idea Jason. I’ll rig up another spool and use your technique.
I often do what I’ll call a hipper alternative. If it is actually a pool, it may be too deep for me to cross in hip boots. Rather than possibly sacrificing a line that I might not be able to retrieve, I break off the fly and after fishing the pool see if I can cross to retrieve it. Sometimes I can. Sometimes I can cross but can’t find the fly, and sometimes the water turns out to be too deep to cross, but in those cases I’ve lost only the fly and not the line. Fishing in hip boots does add some limitations.
I sure wish you had posted this two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have broken off so many flies!
I guess you could also attach a small foam float….er….”strike indicator” …to the end of the line to make finding it easier
Great idea Jason, I’m sure I’ll use this in the near future
Bruce
Hey Bruce, actually, that’s a great idea about the strike indicator! That should make the line easier to find
So that’s what a bobber is used for… 😀
Try that with a western fly line. Nope 🙂
Interesting… I tend to snag my line where the lillian is just out of reach. We have more overhanging branches here I guess. Great tip though. I’ll give it a try next time the situation arises.
Matt, that happens. Like I said, it won’t work in every situation. But I tend to get snagged in the water more than in the trees and I usually fish fairly shallow streams so it works for me. I guess if you’re snagged high up in the trees, there’s not too much you can do (unless you have a really tall friend or a pet giraffe, LOL).
good tip!
Brilliant! And strike indicator idea makes it almost fool proof. Nicely played gentleman.
Thanks Tom! Maybe I need to start consulting Bruce before I post from now on! 🙂
Great idea!
Note – Only works if the float is big enough to keep the end of the in the surface film. If the current is strong the water will drag the line and a small float down. I.e. don’t skimp on the stick on float.
I was wondering what to do with the reservoir “bung” flies. Now I know. Keep a couple handy in case I need to change lines. Nice tip and extension on the idea.