For my birthday my wife surprised me with new waders! But not just any waders. The new Silver Sonic Convertibles from Orvis! These new waders feature Orvis’s patented SonicSeam Technology. Most waders are sewn together with traditional stitching (i.e. a needle and thread). This creates holes in the fabric that have to be later sealed…
Probably like many of you, I don’t have nearly as much time to tie flies as I’d like. But when I can sneak in those precious few minutes to lash some feathers and fur to a hook, I like it to be organized so I can maximize my time–whether it’s preparation of materials or…
In tenkara, a fairly esoteric group of anglers subscribe to the “one fly” approach where they strictly fish only one specific pattern (or slight variations of the same pattern). A larger group adheres to the more liberal “any fly” approach, meaning that they don’t necessarily restrict themselves to one particular pattern, but feel that any…
Right out of the box, I knew the new Try 390 rod from Tenkara Times was a winner. For one thing, I’ve reviewed several of their rods already and upon initial inspection, the overall quality seemed in keeping with the attention to detail and consistency I’ve come to expect from them. But it wasn’t until…
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about using Cortland braided nylon level line for tenkara. I liked how it cast in my backyard, but hand’t had it on the water. That is, until today. And the verdict is in… While it seemed to be a pretty a good candidate for tenkara, I had…
I just had an interesting exchange with a friend who is heading down to the San Juan River soon. He told me about how he was planning to fish a tandem rig with the river’s namesake pattern (the San Juan Worm) and a beadhead dropper. I relayed the story of how when I fished the…
Over the last four years, I’ve seen a lot of good tenkara products introduced to the market. Good, but not unique. There’s been somewhat of a homogenization in the offerings of new gear companies flooding the market with “good” but almost carbon copies of rods and other gear that already exists. In short, not many…
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…
Further proof that tenkara is steadily growing, a new online retailer is about to enter the market. Tenkara Rod Co. has just launched a Kickstarter project to get their new line of tenkara rods off the ground. And based on their backing so far, it looks promising. Tenkara Rod Co. will initially offer two 12…
While there are plenty of tenkara lines I really like, when the opportunity presents itself, I will always jump at the chance to try out something new. I’ve cast everything from dental floss to dacron in search of the perfect line, and have always found myself coming back to fluorocarbon tenkara lines because of…
You may not have heard of Go Ishi, but you owe him a “thank you”. He is a Japanese tenkara angler who has quietly been the “invisible hand” opening up a great body of tenkara knowledge to the English-speaking world. Ishi-san translated the English language version of Tenkara no Oni’s Tenkara World website, as well…
Today was one of those days where the fishing was so good that you shun all mortal needs until your body just can’t take it anymore. And all of a sudden, it finally hits you: you’re starving, dehydrated, and really (really) have to go to the bathroom. I headed to a section of Boulder Creek…
For over 20 years, I’ve been fishing exclusively with barbless flies. And not just for trout–for bass, panfish, steelhead, salmon, and even saltwater fish. In fact, even before I started fly fishing, I used to crimp down the barbs on my spoons, spinners, and crankbaits too. Why? Three simple reasons… 1. Better Hooksets A barb…
Did you know that when you buy the new level line from Tenkara USA you also get a free line holder? Neither did I (and maybe they don’t either). But since they’ve changed their packaging to include a new plastic spool design, I was curious to see if the wider diameter hole in the center of the spool…