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Category Archives: Tenkara for Beginners

Tenkara Casting vs. Western Fly Fishing

Western vs. Tenkara: Presentation Efficiency

Many fly anglers spend more time with their fly in the air than in the water. Tenkara forgoes all the false casting, shooting line, and line management usually required when fishing with a rod and reel, and keeps your fly in the water more–where the fish are!

November 6, 20184 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara Tips & Techniques, Tenkara VideosBy Jason Klass

tenkara

6 Things That Will Frustrate You About Tenkara (And What To Do About It)

Whether it’s a job, hobby, or mandated endeavor, starting anything new can be frustrating. Everything’s different, strange, unfamiliar. And even if you genuinely want to do it in your mind, there can be roadblocks that make you question your now seemingly idealistic intentions. Tenkara is no exception. When I first started tenkara, I faced many…

May 13, 20179 CommentsPhilosophy, Tenkara for BeginnersBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Rod Flex Numbers

Tenkara Rod Flex

Probably the #1 thing that confuses people new to tenkara is the way rod actions are described. And I can see why. 5:5? 6:4? 7:3? What the heck do these numbers mean? While there are many good charts out there that (I think) describe these actions well, I still see a lot of people who…

February 17, 201513 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for BeginnersBy Jason Klass

Brown trout on a sakasa kebari

Strike Detection Tips for Tenkara

Today, I got an email asking a question I get so often, that I thought it was worthy of a blog post:  “I’m using sakasa kebari and having a hard time telling when a fish takes my fly. How can I tell?”  The question came from an experienced western fly angler that knows how to…

August 28, 201221 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara Tips & TechniquesBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Grip

Western vs. Tenkara Casting: The Grip

In a recent post, I wrote about how the path of the rod tip in tenkara differs from western casting.  In order to achieve the right angle, it’s important to use the right grip.  Western anglers coming to tenkara might be tempted to use the same grip they alway have with their thumb on top…

March 19, 20123 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara Tips & TechniquesBy Jason Klass

western vs. tenkara fly casting

Western vs. Tenkara Casting: Different Strokes

  A lot of people that come to tenkara are already western fly anglers familiar with the 10 O’clock/2 O’clock casting stroke.  While this may be a comfortable casting style, it doesn’t really translate well to tenkara and some wonder why they can’t cast a tenkara rod well with their normal casting style.  There are some fundamental…

March 17, 20126 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara Tips & TechniquesBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Level Lines

Understanding Tenkara Level Lines

There seems to be a fair amount of confusion among tenkara newcomers when it comes to level lines. People talk about level lines in terms of “lb. test” or “breaking strength” and people don’t seem to get the rating system used in tenkara so I thought I’d make a post to clear it up and…

February 17, 201239 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara LinesBy Jason Klass

A Tenkara Gear Checklist: What you Need and What you Don’t

If you’ve decided to get into tenkara fishing, you’re probably wondering what gear you need to get started.  The answer will be a little different for people who have fly fishing experience and already have some gear they can apply vs. people completely new to the sport who are starting from scratch.  But the good…

September 14, 201117 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara Gear SellersBy Jason Klass

fly tying kit

A Beginner’s Guide to Tying Tenkara Flies

One of the questions I get asked most often is what one needs to start tying tenkara flies. The first thing I tell people is to NOT buy a fly tying kit. Kits are a perfect waste of money with just the right combination of wrong-sized feathers, useless colors of materials, and unnecessary tools. While…

August 13, 201116 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara Fly Tying, Tenkara for BeginnersBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Beginner

Why Every Beginner Fly Fisher Should Start with Tenkara

I headed over to my local fly shop today to pick up some hooks and there happened to be a fly fishing class going on.  While I was scouring the hook wall trying to find some #16s, I was eavesdropping, listening to what the instructor was saying.  And it was painful. The “class” listened in…

July 9, 20119 CommentsPhilosophy, Tenkara Blog, Tenkara for BeginnersBy Jason Klass

Video: How to Connect a level Line to your Tenkara Rod

In my last post, I wrote about how to choose a tenkara fly line.  Many people had questions about how to attach a level line to their Tenkara fly rods so I thought it would be helpful to post a quick video on it so here it is.  I hope this helps: If you’re not…

June 23, 20113 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara Lines, Tenkara Videos, Video PostsBy Jason Klass

How to choose a tenkara line

How to Choose a Tenkara Line

  As Tenkara continues to gain momentum is the U.S., the number of choices in gear seems to have multiplied overnight.  In particular, many new line makers have appeared giving Tenkara anglers a wide range of choices in color, length, and tippet connection. A common question many people new to the sport have is which…

June 19, 201115 CommentsFeatured, Tenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara LinesBy Jason Klass

Tenkara Beginner

How Easy is Tenkara? Ask a Beginner!

Meet my wife.  Her name is Guadalupe.  She’s from Argentina.  She’s never fly fished before.  In fact, she’s never even fished a day in her life.  I took her out to the Roaring River below the alluvial fan in Rocky Mountain National Park, put a Tenkara USA Ayu in her hand and gave her some…

August 23, 201016 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara Gear SellersBy Jason Klass

How to Attach and Detach a Tenkara Fly Line

How to Attach and Detach Your Tenkara Fly Line from Jason Klass on Vimeo. To a Western fly angler who is used to a nail knot or handshake connection (loop to loop) to connect their leader to their fly line, connecting a Tenkara fly line to the rod can seem a bit baffling.  Here’s a…

May 1, 20102 CommentsTenkara Blog, Tenkara for Beginners, Tenkara Tips & Techniques, Tenkara Videos, Video PostsBy Jason Klass
About Me

Jason KlassJason 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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Tenkara + Backpacking!
Is there any other sport that goes better with tenkara than hiking and backpacking? Be sure to also check out my ultralight and DIY backpacking gear blog.

Tenkara and Backpacking
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