Check this out...

I don't know how to put the video into the post but below is the link to youtube.

テンカラキャスティング

April 29, 2009

Tenkara: Fly Fishing From Heaven




As a small stream junkie I was just a bit excited when I received a press release this morning on an form of traditional Japanese fly fishing I have never heard of called, Tenkara. When translated literally means - from heaven.



Here's the scoop... There are no reels involved, just a rod, furled line, and a fly. The rods are surprisingly long - anywhere from 11 to 13 feet, but telescope down to just 20 inches and weigh just 3 oz on average. You can get into the sport for just $130 dollars for an entry level rod and the prices don't seem to get much higher. It's like a cross between spey casting and fiberglass one weights. Very strange, but so intriguing at the same time. Watch the video below for an idea of how it's done - pardon the length and the fact that it's in Japanese.

What do you think, new form of small creek fishing that's here to stay or just another fad that's here today and gone tomorrow? Considering it's been around in Japan since the 8th or 9th centuries BC it might be worth giving a whirl. Check out the website (Tenkarausa.com) for more info on how it works as it was a bit much to explain in one blog post. TR

I wish it was in english but I think I get the idea of it. Not something I would ever do but it's interesting.

As far as I know, there are no videos of tenkara fishing in English. I've been researching it for about a year and a half now, and all my trout fishing last year and this year has been with a tenkara rod. That video doesn't do it justice. I doubt I will fish with a regular fly rod again. I can't explain just why it appeals to me so much, partly the utter simplicity of the equipment and the premium it places on stealth, but also the long rod and short line allow you to control your drifts in ways that you just can't do with a 9 foot rod.

I have often thought of posting a comment here about Euro-nymphing with a tenkara rod, but I never did because the overwhelming emphasis I sense on this board about catching really big fish. You can't catch really big fish with a tenkara rod. With no reel, you obviously can't let them run. Also, you have to fish a very light tippet to protect the rod (usually, you think of fishing a light rod to protect a tippet, but if you try to stop a big fish and your tippet is too strong, you can break your rod - I speak from experience). Any fish over 12" is a battle, and any fish over about 18" is going to win the battle.

For short line nymphing, the 12' tenkara rods give you more reach than a Grey's Streamflex (and cost less than half as much). I don't know how they would rate in terms of rod weight, as I have never had a fly rod lighter than a 5 weight, but my tenkara rods are much, much lighter than that. My "line" is just a 13' hand tied leader. Last year I started with .014 mono butt tapered down to a 6x tippet. This year I have been using fluorocarbon for the butt (15# test spinning line), but it is enough heavier than the mono that I'm gonig to go down to 10# test. The rod is probably too light for the heavy Polish anchor nymphs (although I have fished Vladi worms successfully), and without a reel, you can't fish the long line styles like French or Spanish. But for close in, light line, lightly weighted nymph fishing, the tenkara rod is really a nice fit. Traditional tenkara fishing in Japan was done with wet flies, and with the short drift, quick casting that Aaron has mentioned he uses with French nymphing. For riffles and pocket water, it is ideal.

One thing to consider, though, it does not fit the Connecticut definition for "fly fishing" since it isn't technically a fly rod and does not use a "fly line" or a "fly reel" so you can't use it in the fly fishing only section of the upper Housy TMA.

If you want to try it sometime, I do have an extra rod.

now that you explain it, it sounds kind of cool. Where do you get your tenkara rods? do you use the same flies as you do normal fly fishing?

-kyle

My first was given to me a little over a year ago by a Japanese angler living in California in response to a post I made on the Fly Fisherman forum asking for information about tenkara. My second I got from Tenkara USA http://www.tenkarausa.com/index.php, which as far as I know is the only source for tenkara rods in the US.

I mostly use the same flies I would for normal flyfishing. I'm kind of a minimalist angler, so I don't carry many patterns, but mostly CDC & Elk, Sawyer's killer bug and pheasant tail nymph, and a few soft hackles. There are different regional styles of tenkara flies used in Japan, but you can fish with your normal flies (other than a heavy anchor fly or a big streamer). Given the nature of the water that is generally fished, though, it is not really a "match the hatch" game.

That looks like a blast i bet it would be a great way to fish small brook trout streams.

I remember a tenkara vendor at the fly fishing expo here in jersey this past year. I stopped at looked at the rods but I didn't ask about them. My mistake.

http://www.tenkarausa.com/index.php

Its different thats for sure. Seems like a cool thing to stick in a pack to take on a long hike.

For anyone wanting to learn more about tenkara, there will be a presentation at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum on May 23 by a noted Japanese tenkara instructor. Tenkara USA will be there with demo rods so people can try it themselves. Since most of the information about tenkara on the internet is in Japanese, I hope this will be a chance to learn from an expert and ask some questions.

We will now have covered French, Spanish, Czech, Polish and now Japanese nymphing!!!