Ever since getting into the discipline of using one fly pattern/style only, with no great concern for choosing the “right” fly, there have been moments of doubt. However, I have chosen to go for technique over gear. I wanted to learn more, become proficient at fishing, not spend my time choosing a fly, nor spread my time tying several different fly patterns. I have stuck with using a tenkara fly only (mostly size 12), no matter where I fish, or what is hatching.  Also, absolutely no indicators, no floatant and no weight!  In my mind, technique trumps gear anytime. And, to once again borrow the words of Yvon Chouinard on the subject, “I believe the way toward mastery of any endeavor is to work toward simplicity; replace complex technology with knowledge, hard work and skill.”

However, since the idea of sticking with one fly and relying solely on my technique is still relatively new to me, sometimes doubt creeps in. This is especially true if I find myself  fishing a bigger, slower river, like the Madison, for which everyone has advice on what fly to use and for which there are dozens of books on what specific patterns to use at different times of the year, etc. And, it’s also true if I find myself in the company of very experienced anglers, like John Gierach and Ed Engle, who may be using different patterns.  In these situations it’s very easy to lose confidence in my technique, in the techniques I can use to attract fish, and start thinking that maybe they are right! Are they?

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For the last several years the sport of fly-fishing has been threatened by decline, primarily attributed to young kids not taking up their parent’s and grandparent’s most soothing activity.  As more experienced anglers, we try to engage young kids in the sport in the best way we can; last year Cameron Mortenson (from the Fiberglass Manifesto) and Kevin Powell started the website FishyKid.org, which has attracted many kids (and probably parents too) and is successfully keeping kids interested in the sport. Tenkara USA also sees itself as a great conduit to get kids involved in the sport, with “cool” telescopic rods, that are longer than their parents yet very lightweight, very sensitive and, importantly, easy to use. Our rods are being very widely adopted by parents wanting to teach their kids how to fly-fish, and from several reports, it is working well.  To a certain degree tenkara changes the game by making it easier, and most importantly, less frustrating for kids to take up the activity. Give a kid a tenkara rod, and he will quickly figure out how to cast it, and most often quickly catch a fish too, thus “hooking” him for life. Of course, there is always the “Tsuri kiji Sanpei” comics to get their interest too.

It was with great relief that, while visiting Japan, we’d find a living proof that the young are still taking up the sport, at least via tenkara. During the tenkara event we got to meet young Taiga Watanabe, who was just about to turn 13. Taiga goes by the nickname “Tenkara Ouji”, translated as “tenkara prince”, and is well known for hanging out with the older “Tenkara Oyaji”, secretly picking up the masters’ tricks.

Tenkara Ouji showed us a tray filled with multiple tenkara patterns he tied himself, and which he sold like candy to anglers in the event. In an effort to foster his keen interest in tenkara, or perhaps to feed his insatiable appetite for cool tenkara gear, I put in an order for a few dozen tenkara flies. I knew anglers here would love to have them. His dad assured me Taiga would be tying flies through the summer anyways, so he may as well sell them to me so he could sustain his tenkara addiction. We shook hands and a few weeks later we received these beautiful flies. I kept a few for myself, and have caught plenty of fish on them. The rest are now available for purchase as sets, which include one of each of the flies pictured below. These flies wont’ last long, only a small number of sets is available. He’s currently tying new patterns for us, which should be available in a couple of weeks.

Tenkara Ouji's flies

Today I completed my first own tenkara net. It’s made of one manzanita branch, found after much looking and worked on for over a month. The end of the handle features a deer antler tip, which in Japanese superstition is believed to protect anglers in the water.

Raw branch:

MORE PICTURES Read the rest of this entry »

I have been having tons of fun searching for the appropriate branches and then embarking on the adventure of making my own tenkara tamo (tenkara nets). As stated, I have fallen in love with tenkara nets!

After spending a few weeks looking for the ideal branches, I was able to find a couple of branches, one from a manzanita bush, the other from the Jeffrey pine. After near a month in the making, I’m getting close to finishing them. The entire process was documented on the forum.  Here are the semi-final results.

I loved working on something so simple and aesthetically pleasing. It’s not easy, but doable, and beautiful. The details were difficult, especially joining the two arms of the frame.

Though all nets are unique and one-of-a-kind, the manzanita will be more so because the manzanita does not have the symmetrical branches with the right diameters and angles for a net. The Jeffrey pine, on the other hand, has the ideal shapes and the wood is easier to work with.

I’ll venture to say this is the first manzanita net frame in the world built in this manner, and after studying the manzanita I think it may continue with that title since it was almost impossible to find the right branch for it. It’s my most rewarding project, the wood is absolutely gorgeous, and the outer layer of the stripped bark is red, giving it a beautiful natural color and providing for very interesting patterns on the places I needed to strip and sand. I needed to cut the end of the handle as it was curved in the wrong direction, and I figured I could follow the tenkara tradition of using deer antlers for protecting who uses it in the water. A tenkara enthusiast, who also gave me some great advice, offered to send me some deer antler, and one of them was a great match, having almost the same colors as the wood itself.

Stay tuned for the final pictures in a couple of weeks.

At the invitation of Tenkara USA and The Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club (GGACC), GGACC is proud to host renowned tenkara fly-fishing master, Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, for a unique cross-cultural fly-fishing event.

WHEN:   Saturday, September 11, 2010

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

WHERE: Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club, San Francisco, CA

Dr. Ishigaki is known and deeply respected throughout Japan as the leading authority on tenkara fly-fishing. A professor in the field of vision studies at the Aichi Institute of Technology, in Japan, Dr. Ishigaki became first known among tenkara anglers for his research on the vision of fish and of anglers. He has dedicated a big part of his life to introducing this simpler method of fly-fishing to people throughout Japan via many books, articles and DVDs on tenkara. After his first presentation in the Catskills, NY, Dr. Ishigaki is now coming on his second visit to the US to speak about tenkara.

A very friendly and warm angler and engaging lecturer, Dr. Ishigaki says he’s looking forward to making many new friends in the US, and is looking forward to his visit.

During the event Dr. Ishigaki will do a tenkara fly-tying demonstration, a presentation about tenkara, and a demonstration on tenkara casting.

Space is very limited.

Those interested should RSVP at the GGACC website: http://ggacc.org/p/ViewEvent.aspx?eid=322

Fly-fishing is one of the most therapeutic activities around, and tenkara’s simplicity perhaps even more so. Since the inception of Tenkara USA, we have been approached and supported numerous organizations that work with war veterans and people with limited arm mobility. Tenkara, with no reel, no unnecessary amount of line to strip, no bells-and-whistles, has proved to be a very effective tool in helping people that would otherwise have difficulties, give fly-fishing a real try. It’s not the only tool around for adaptive angling, but definitely a fun tool that also provides some additional independence to those who want to fish with a fly. A fishing method made for fishing with one hand.

Tenkara removes the complexities that were added to fly-fishing over the years and makes it a fun, and above all, simple and intuitive method of angling with a fly. Not having to pass line through the rod guides, strip line to cast, and going through a complicated series of knots, mean that tenkara allows for greater independence in his fishing. Imagine you only have one able arm and want to setup your rod and fish, yourself, for a bit. A rod with a reel by default ask for two hands, frustrating, I’d imagine. As I witnessed, a telescopic tenkara rod is a rod, made for one-handed fishing. It can be held under one’s arm as the plug is removed and the tip is exposed with the able hand; the hand, which in turn quickly makes a girth hitch on hisline and tightens it against the rod tip. And, finally telescopes each segment of the rod out and proceeds to cast, an intuitive cast with no 2-handed stripping needed. These are the few steps needed to setup and fish with a tenkara rod when the fly is already tied on. I was extremely proud to see a tenkara rod, one which I adopted from a foreign country and introduced to the US, serve as much more than a simple fishing tool.

Walking around the banks of this lake, with his western fly-rod already rigged but mostly inside the reel, the war veteran – not only a war veteran but a western fly-fishing “veteran” of 3+ years, who, through a special reel, a special stripping device and some ingenuity – spotted a very good fish. With no time to spare and go through the process of getting his line out of the reel to cast, I gave him my tenkara rod, which I kept rigged for the occasional cast. Not yet fully used to casting with a tenkara rod, his first cast piles up a bit, but it’s no problem, the line is so light the fish was not disturbed. On the second cast the fly didn’t turnover completely, but went far enough, maybe 15ft out, to attract the attention of the feeding fish. In a few seconds it was fish on. A healthy and very feisty 14″ rainbow. Not his biggest, nor his first, but his first on a tenkara rod, maybe the first that provided such a fight he thought he may not actually land it, the first that perhaps felt like an equal adversary. But, also the first fish he had full control over, who didn’t take line, because he couldn’t, and after a very strong fight just surrendered because he realized he couldn’t really run anywhere. He was hooked. The simplicity of it, the fact that he could simply cast when he wanted to, and the won battle – All worth it.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL VETERANS AND THOSE WHO SACRIFICE SO MUCH FOR THEIR COUNTRY!

I told you, I have fallen in love with the simple, organic elegance of tenkara nets. Though I have very little experience with wood work, I have decided to embark on the journey of making one. I have spent weeks looking up at trees trying to find the perfect branches to make a net myself. The branches needed to have just the right angles, the right diameters, be on the right (i.e. healthy) tree, in the right (i.e. legal) location, and be the right wood for this, that I just thought it was going to be impossible to ever make one myself.

Tenkara net, with a manzanita branch

I finally found a couple of branches that just may work, and if nothing else are good places to start the learning process. Through several resources accumulated and the suggestions of people with experience in wood work, I think I may just get to make my own net. I am documenting the experience  on our forum, under the newly created category of “tenkara nets”. I was able to find 2 branches of a Jeffrey Pine (this yielded 4 possible nets) and one branch of a manzanita (above). So far I started drying the nets while forming them into shape with strings, removed the bark and did some initial carving on the knots and ends. Now I must let them dry for  a while before resuming the work.

The raw net frame assembly.

This is going to be  a real fun project.

Tenkara USA is now available internationally.

Customers in Canada, the UK, and Western Europe will now be able to take advantage of our new distribution centers in Vancouver and the UK for cheaper shipping rates, faster delivery and no customs/ duty hassles. We’re very proud that word on tenkara has been quickly reaching many parts of the globe. The great international demand we have experienced has prompted us to make it easier for our international customers to order from us. At this point we’re making products available in limited quantities, and customers may order tenkara rods, tenkara lines, and tenkara flies as well as replacement tips for their rods. DVDs, t-shirts, and wallets are not currently available.

We’re currently working on making our site available in multiple languages as well, so stay tuned. If you’re interested in helping translate Tenkara USA into your language, we’d love to hear from you by email.

Today, April 12, 2010, marks our one year anniversary. Since April 12, 2009 Tenkara USA has introduced many experienced anglers to the simplicity of tenkara fly-fishing, the tenkara experience; and during this year we have also opened the doors to many people who have always thought of trying fly-fishing but until their discovery of tenkara had been largely turned off by the complexities thrown at them by the industry.

We sincerely thank all of you, tenkara ambassadors, out there who have helped us spread the word about tenkara in this year! We realize that without your newfound passion for this method of fly-fishing we would not be here today.

New milestones:

At our one-year mark, we’re proud to have two new developments in the introduction of tenkara to anglers in the US and the world.

Last week we started rolling out our authorized dealer program. We are working through the list of shops that contacted us and shops that were recommended to us to make tenkara slowly available at select fly shops through the country. Please see our “Dealer” page for up-to-date information on where you can find tenkara gear. The first stores to carry our products include: Campsaver/ Wildfly in Utah; the Bear’s Den in Massachussets, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing . We also have a few more stores just waiting for the gear that will have it in hand in time for the season.

Today we are proud to roll out our Tenkara International distribution in Canada, UK and most of Europe. With new warehouses setup in Vancouver and the UK, Tenkara USA is now able to ship within Canada and Europe. This will allow for much quicker delivery, lower cost (shipping for most orders is now only $14.50) and no hassles with customs and duties, which is the biggest reason for this move. Also, it will allow for warranty claims to handle more easily by shipping necessary spare parts. At this point items are available on a limited basis as we expand further in those areas. Rods, lines, flies and caps are the only items available for international-local shipping (t-shirts, dvd’s, and the leather wallets are not currently available).

Educational Recreational Adventures (ERA) reports on the use of tenkara at their Spring Bread Fly Fishing Camp on the Crooked River, Oregon. March 25-27, 2010. Written by Jeff Gottfried.

Anglers ages 13-14 traveled with ERA from the Willamette Valley across the Cascade Mountains to the Crooked River of Central Oregon for three days of fly fishing for native red-band rainbow trout. All but one of the youth had participated in other ERA fishing expeditions so I concentrated my initial efforts on Ian Nakamura, the novice. Since I was excited to try out our new Tenkara rods, I decided to start Ian out on one of them. I soon found out that my choice was excellent.

Instead of spending a whole bunch of time teaching Ian to cast, I simply demonstrated a few casts with the Tenkara rod and then handed it to him. Within 15 minutes, Ian’s rod was bent into a major arc. He was onto a nice 12 rainbow trout! Soon he caught a larger whitefish that gave him a great fight. Ian was fishing a size 18 bead-head midge larve to start with but he also caught fish on a size 16 blue-winged olive. I was very impressed by his ability to make a drag-free presentation.

Ian Nakamura at ERA camp

“The tenkara rods were a real eye opener for me since they simplified the process and allowed my young anglers to catch fish on their own and be independent of me much sooner than had been the case with traditional rods and reels.”
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Brazil…land of peacock bass, huge snook, and monster amazonic fish! Where could tenkara fit in?

Being originally from Brazil I had some sweet memories of my earliest days of fishing, where it all started, and they didn’t involve the largest fish. But, rather, some of the smallest, and what I now know are some of the most challenging! The small “lambari“, in Japanese called “tanago”.

This is where I first became familiar with telescopic rods. They were not tenkara rods, but rather crappie rods, and to begin with I didn’t use a fly, but rather some home boiled “pasta”. I remember many of these rods I acquired and the first experiences with cleaning them, or getting the pieces stuck. I learned. With the years  my fishing evolved and it seems to have completed a full circle: telescopic rods for lambari; spincast reels for tilapias; baitcasting reel, heavy rod and a hundred lures for some monster dourados and pintados in Pantanal;  a fly rod and reel that I managed to find in the scarce fly market of Brazil and used for tilapias, bass and trout after I moved to California.  And, finally, tenkara, which combined the most advanced stage of my fishing with the simplest and most enjoyable of my experiences as a kid. I kept the pieces I liked best: the casting technique, the weightless fly, the reading of water and finding of fish, and the experience of fishing without the encumbering of the hundred lures.

The appeal of the lambari I remembered most  was its taste! How delicious it was to catch several of these and have my parents fry them for us. Growing up the lambari were known as the “bait thieves”, as they often took our bait before our floats detected them.  The lambari always had a fame as being a VERY difficult fish to catch. This time, their reputation became the biggest part of their appeal, their appeal was the challenge. These fish are fast – lightning fast! And, what a sport it was to target them with a fly. Not for the fight, but for the chase and “seeing-if-I-can-catch-it”. Much like trout, the lambari are very wary and spooky fish, and they can be found in very similar water, small mountain streams, the type of water I take every opportunity to fish, be it in the Sierra Nevada, or even in the country known for its big fish. I’m glad to report, tenkara is the way to go for lambari too!

My dad says he couldn’t remember having so much success catching the lambari in a long time, even with the time it took him to learn a new method of fishing, and our limited time fishing due to heavy rains. One day some locals saw us in the water and probably found our  funny casting, the fact that we never seemed to replace our “bait”, and the quantity of fish we were pulling out of the water at least intriguing. Thinking it was an unusually good day, they pulled out their cane poles and bait and started fishing next to us. It wasn’t a counting game, but we easily outfished those who tried, and they soon gave up fishing next to us. The Iwana, the Ayu, and the Ebisu performed flawlessly!

Perhaps another story for another day, but, I thought I may as well write it here. Tenkara USA is introducing a foreign style of fly-fishing to the US, so it was quite interesting that two days before taking off to visit family, I was contacted by the person who is helping introduce [western] fly fishing to Brazil, Thiago Zanetti, owner of Fly Shop Brasil. Not only that, but he also happened to be from my home-town, Curitiba, where I’d be spending most of my time.  The market for fly-fishing in Brazil is barely an infant. When I started about 12 years ago I had to look VERY hard to find any fly fishing gear, I hiked looking down to find feathers for my flies, tied them without the use of a vise, and was happy fishing a rod, reel and line combo from 3M Scientific Anglers. Fly Shop Brasil  is currently one of the only companies giving access to quality fly fishing gear to anglers in Brazil, and they see the opportunity with tenkara. Since lambari are by far the most popular fish in my home waters, it seems like fly-fishing in Brazil could have in tenkara a useful tool to introduce anglers to the wonderful sport of fly-fishing.

Thiago Zanetti, Fly Shop Brasil

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P.S. Trying to pack as light as possible for this 3 week trip, I carried very few clothes. Mandatory among them, of course, was the World Trout Tenkara USA t-shirt. I wore that shirt almost every other day, washing it in the sink after using it, and putting it out to dry so I could have a clean shirt when I needed it. After so much abuse, I’m glad to report the shirt has held up extremelly well and still looks like new.

We just posted our first video introducing the effective art of tenkara fly-fishing.
We hope you’ll enjoy it. We are also working on more videos to be posted in upcoming weeks.