With a nod to tradition and a passion for Tenkara Americana, the Tenkara Talk Blog features hundreds of gear reviews, fly tying tutorials, DIY hacks, and presentation techniques.
Fresh off the heels of his trip to Japan, John Vetterli of Tenkara Guides gives us a glimpse of what tenkara is like in its native country. I asked John 3 quick questions that highlight some of this differences and similarities between American and Japanese approaches to tenkara fishing. Jason: You
As whimsically as I’d like to portray tenkara, sometimes, you just get stuck in the trees. For more tenkara humor, click here.
Over the centuries, countless fly patterns have been lost to history. Some have made brief resurgences in popular fly fishing culture, only to disappear and hibernate again, waiting for their next 10 seconds of fame. Still, it’s fair to say that there are probably dozens (if not hundreds) of once-popular
From Perrine to C & F to Wheatley, I either own or have used just about every brand, style or design of fly box out there. From the day I started fly fishing, I had an early fascination with fly boxes. My first one was some uninspired, mass-manufactured plastic compartment
It might not be accurate to call it a “non-tenkara” day. It might be better described as “the opposite of tenkara” or even “Bizarro World“. With all the local streams totally blown out, I decided to try to sneak in a quick fishing opportunity on a nearby lake. My family
You may have noticed I haven’t been posting much lately. It’s not because I haven’t been inspired or don’t have anything to write about. It’s because I’ve been working on a new project behind the scenes. I’d like to introduce you to The Tenkara Shop, my new online tenkara gear
When I first started tenkara, I fished furled, tapered lines because they were easy to cast. The turnover was very good and loaded the rod well. But they are typically “heavy” and difficult to keep off the water when you want to make a good dead drift presentation. Eventually, I
I just got a care package from Japan from Masami Sakakibara (a.k.a. “Tenkara no Oni”) which included some of his flies. His patterns are simple, but very versatile and buggy looking. I’m not sure of all of the materials, but thought I’d share some pictures of the flies one of
I’m not one of those tenkara anglers that only fishes one pattern. But I do only fish one fly at a time. There’s no idealogical reason behind it and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with fishing a dropper or even a cast of flies. In fact, I fished droppers
I just received my Hinoki wooden fly box from Tenkara-Ya. “Hinoki” is Japanese cypress and is a very strong, high-quality wood that was traditionally used to build temples and shrines. The box comes in either a 4-compartment or 6-compartment version. Since I already have a very nice 4-compartment wooden box
I can’t remember who it was, but a long time ago, someone sent me this furled tenkara line. It’s made of black and dark green strands of thread. For months, it sat shunned on my desk because my first reaction was, “I’ll never be able to see it!” After all,
1. Trophy Shots You know the ones I’m talking about. The angler is extending their arms, holding the fish as close as possible to the camera to make it look twice as big as it really is. It’s even worse when combined with a fish-eye lens. Flyfishing is not an
Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide & casting instructor based in Colorado. He was an early adopter of tenkara in the West and has been fishing the method for a variety of species since 2009. Read more
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