You might have seen my video about S**t tenkara anglers say. But here are a few things they never say…
1. Damn it! I forgot my reel!
2. I stepped on my line right as I was about to make the perfect cast!
3. I hope I have enough backing.
4. Do you wind left or right?
5. I broke my rod. It’ll be six weeks before I get the replacement.
6. Three or four more false casts oughta do it!
7. What’s the best fly line cleaner?
8. Do you carry reel lube?
9. Can I borrow your nail knot tool?
10. So, I just did a couple of double hauls, and then…
I got my new fly line on sale for only $70.
Ha ha, good one Joe!
Have heard this many many times when the regular fly rod user down or upstream catches the tree behind them, “Shit” insert any other curse word said or not…
“While I was casting, my rod came apart at the ferrule”.
D**n! I had the drag set too tight and he snapped my leader!
One of my snake-guides came off my rod.
It’s this kind of Tenkara biased anti reel/”western” fly fishing post that is turning people away from tenkara and the comments that follow poking fun at fly anglers are pointless unless the point is to infuriate Tenkara’s self made opposition.
How is this post “anti-western/anti-reel”? It’s humor. And these are actual things I have said (or heard people say) when using a reel. In fact, I still use a reel for saltwater, bass, and other species. Chances are, I’ll say one of these when I use my reel in Florida next week. Nothing about this post is anti-reel. Why would it be? After all, it was written by a reel user!
If you watch this video, you might even argue that I’ve made more fun of tenkara than western fly fishing: https://www.tenkaratalk.com/2012/04/st-tenkara-anglers-say/
I’m an equal opportunity teaser! 🙂
I’m talking about the way it comes across Jason, I’ve been following your blog for some time and I have seen your video about shit tenkara anglers say and I would agree that it’s quite funny, I am well aware that in general you are fair minded.
The way I see it tenkara is it’s own worst enemy, I’ve talked many times about why I almost never took it up and it was this kind of post that initially put me off. I read loads and loads of forum & blog posts written by tenkara anglers eulogising about how fantastic it is not to have a reel, not to carry all this extra equipment and so on, I have never carried loads of equipment with me when fishing any method and it’s this that gets up the the nose of many so called “Western anglers” (a term invented by tenkara anglers) and turns them away.
I for one have never used any of the terms 1 through 10 and doubt if I ever will, none of these terms are in any way related to tenkara, they are all about dissing “Western Gear” for what is seen by tenkara anglers as faults or unnecessary. The fact is that all fly fishing started with a rod, line and fly and every innovation since including those that tenkara anglers choose to sneer at has a purpose. This post and the comments follwing it are unlikely to be taken in good humor or encourage anyone to rush out and buy a tenkara rod, I really hope that in the future I can read more posts about how great tenkara is without having to read about why it’s so much better that “Western Fly Angling”. The tenkara community should do itself a favour and focus on tenkara.
The main reason tenkara hasn’t replaced all my other tackle is that tenkara is only good for one thing and I wouldn’t want my fishing to be limited in that way, reels were invented for a reason and that reason is as valid today as it was on the day of invention.
I am not implying tenkara is better than fly fishing. If people think that I am, then they’re inferring it. It’s completely fine with me if you don’t like this post. But I don’t think it is critical of fly fishing. It’s just a list of observations I’ve made as someone who fishes both tenkara and fly fishing with a reel. In retrospect, maybe I could have balanced it out more by making 2 lists. Things tenkara anglers never say and things fly anglers never say. But someone would probably still find something disagreeable. You never know what someone will read into something. But that will never dictate what I write.
And by the way, I share your concern over the perception of tenkara. But I apparently don’t think this post is as much of a concern as you do. So, I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree. But judging by the overwhelming majority of positive comments, Facebook like, and Facebeook shares, I think most people liked it.
Good One Jason.
I just can’t mend my line long enough to get a good drift.
@ thetroutfly…enough with the wussification of tenkara. Who gives a shit if someone gets their little feewing hurt or finds this offensive. Thats their freeking problem. People get made fun of everywhere, everyday. Grow up…get a man card. Tenkara isn’t going away. Enough with the bleeding heart!
JD, thank you for illustrating my point so perfectly.
“Who gives a shit”
Well, I do. As someone who thought long and hard before picking up a tenkara rod and who really enjoys tenkara fishing I would like to see more people giving it a try and sharing their experiences. Tenkara is a fantastic way to fish, it’s simple, fun and effective and it’s a shame that it’s blighted by a negative image created by some of it’s own practitioners.
When learning about tenkara I researched a lot of online material and joined a few forums but I quickly found I was being put off the whole idea due to the attitude of some tenkara anglers. I was drawn into arguments regularly and while I don’t get offended by anything it wasn’t pleasant, hardly the introduction to tenkara I was hoping for. I now only contribute to one forum and it’s because it’s about tenkara DIY which is very positive and not full of negative comments about so called “western” fly fishing. Much of the material I read on both sides of the argument while learning about tenkara I found to be false once I started tenkara fishing.
If we want anglers to try tenkara we must create a positive image for it and this is not happening. In my opinion interest in tenkara has peaked already and I very rarely ever meet another tenkara angler on the river, I believe that it’s because of the widespread negativity that surrounds tenkara.
If you thought one day, wow, I’d really like to try canoeing and went to research it only to find that all the canoe forums were full of ranty posts about how crap kayaks are would you be encouraged into the sport ?, I doubt it. The number of tenkara vs. “western” posts on the internet is overwhelming. By holding these opinions and distributing them you are hurting the image of tenkara as a sport, as a business and as a community.
Telling me to “grow up” and “get a man card” is hardly constructive and tenkara may not be going anywhere but you might want to think about where it is giong.
I’d like to suggest to everyone that they step away from the keyboard and get out on the water and enjoy some fishing.
And with the warm weather we’ve been enjoying there isn’t a need to wear hip waders, so leave them in the trunk and let the rejuvenating waters our beloved fish inhabit gently wash sand from vagina.
All of this bickering and debate lately is manufactured outrage. It makes me long for the days of casting bait and waiting on a bobber to disappear below the surface. Back then nobody claimed their brand of salmon eggs was superior to another, or if they did they were willing to share some to prove it to you. In all my years of using a spin rod I never had somebody with a bait caster reel talk down to me for casting an in-line spinner instead of a deep diving lipped lure. I never felt tempted to brag that my spin reel wasn’t birds nesting with every 10th cast or so.
We just fished, asked how the fishing was as we passed each other on trails, and did our own thing. No judgement, no hate, just fishing.
This isn’t an issue of “Tenkara Vs. Western Fly Fishing”. It’s really no different than a fisherman using a 5WT rod saying that the guy using a 6WT rod isn’t actually fly fishing. A tenkara rod is just another type of fly rod, and we’re all fly fishing.
It’s instead an issue that fly fishermen, as a generalized whole, have always come across as more self righteous than all other types of fishermen. Now that there are two “types” of fly fishing in the mix there seems to be a divide over who is more righteous than the other. It’s like watching a Baptist and a Pentecostal trying to convince a room full of Atheists who’s god is better.
Let’s all, instead of arguing semantics, try to make a point of casting more flies than judgement.
@ the original post…. Why is this hackle backwards.
@thetroutfly;
I can see your concern, but I feel you’re overly concerned and wasting your time. The way I see it is that you either get it or you don’t get it. You either like it or you don’t like it and I believe in time many resistors will learn to like it. Tenkara is still growing and finding interest with people. If there’s so much negative press and the people reading it are put off, then how is it growing in interest?
People like what they like and they resist what they don’t like or don’t understand. Gear throwers talk down on the hoity toity fly guys. The fly guys talk down to the savage gear throwers and now to the simple minded cane pole tenkara guys. But in the end we’re all still doing what we choose for fun. If you go to a FF forum and talk about how much you like spinners or tenkara of course you get hammered down. It works the same way at a Tenkara forum. They’re just opinions not definitions.
When I found tenkara I had no idea there was a form to go and throw stones. I saw tenkara for what it is and felt I would like it, and so I wanted to give it a try. I could not care less about what others had to say about it. I make my own decisions on what I like and don’t like, and I don’t have a problem if others don’t like the same things.
I understand that someone’s attitude such as mine might be off putting to others but why would it cause you to change your mind about something you have an interest in? Why would you let it lead you astray? You don’t have to like me or fish with me or even read my posts. I’m nobody to you! Tenkara is an activity not an opinion.
Back on topic,
“I love the 2 hr fight with 150 lb. tarpon on my Tenkara USA Amago”
Headed to Belize next month with my 9WT and 12WT rods for bonefish, tarpon, permit, and dorado. Heresy I know coming from a professional tenkara fishing guide. I will surely smoke a turd in hell for not only using a reel but enjoying every minute of it.
See you in hell Jason and bring your 9WT 😉
I’ll be there John. With 50 lb. braided spectra backing!
Maybe it would be better to talk about the advantages of Tenkara without making any reference to Western fly fishing after all it will stand on it own merit!