Headed out for a phenomenal afternoon of tenkara fishing. Carried a prototype tenkara rod I’m working on, tenkara line and two tenkara flies I tied before heading out. Shot entirely with an iPhone. There are a couple of tips in this short movie too. This video is 5 minutes long, with a song by Takenobu. Make sure to watch it in HD (click on the gear icon, and then 720 or 1080). Hope you enjoy it.

Had a terrific evening of tying tenkara flies and talking about them with Gordon Wickstrom at the Tenkara USA headquarters. This is the beginning of working on Volume 2 of the Tying Tenkara Flies DVD, the conversation was fantastic. Gordon has decades of tying knowledge and has been interested in tenkara for sometime, the back and forth was certainly one of my favorite conversations this year.

This video was too funny not to share. The Tenkara Guides, based in Salt Lake City, UT, outdid themselves in this fly-tying video. I can see it going viral in short order. The commentary is quite hillarious, though I wish we could see their faces and figure out how they were not cracking up when narrating this good fly-tying video. It’s R-rated only if you’re an adult with a dirty mind, but you can have kids in the room, no problem.

For more fly-tying videos by the Tenkara Guides visit their site, or their Youtube page.

The Tenkara Guides of Utah put together this really cool fly-tying video below. I love their use of multiple cameras and embedded picture-in-picture editing. Check it out:

Written by Daniel

Forum user Acheateaux had a brilliant idea: the Vagabox. The Vagabox is a traveling fly box that will be “bringing surprise, intrigue and fishing stoke with it wherever it goes. You fish with the box, enjoy it’s humble offerings and post up some stoke here.” Since our post on the Vagabox back in July, the box has enjoyed a journey to a few new spots. Here’s the updated map, you can click on the faces to see what the Vagabox experienced in each of the places it has visited.

View The Tale of the Vagabox in a larger map
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Today is my last day in Japan. Margaret and I returned to Tokyo yesterday to spend time with some friends before we leave to China tomorrow morning. I decided to stop by the Sansui store again and say hi to Mr. Sasaki before we left. As we entered the store it looked like he was tying tenkara flies on the counter. It turned out he was putting together some rigs for ayu fishing. The conversation obviously turned to tenkara flies, and with me asking if he would tie a tenkara fly for the camera. He was a bit shy about it at first, saying he considers himself a “beginner” fly-tyer, but he eventually agreed. I captured this film in one go as he was still working and customers were coming through the door as we worked on the video. It was also edited as quickly as I could as it was a full day and we depart to the aiport in about 5 hours.

One of the most interesting parts of the way he ties his tenkara flies is the way he finishes them. He uses what he calls a “tokkuri” knot, which I was not familiar with. Also, the video is a reminder that not all tenkara flies are in the “sakasa” style. Tenkara flies come in a variety of patterns, the sakasa (or reverse-hackle) being the most characteristic ones but certainly not the only ones.

I hope you will enjoy this video.

In 2011 I taught a kid in Maze, a village in Gifu, Japan, how to tie tenkara flies. Kyosuke was his name. He really enjoyed the craft and pretty soon started teaching it to his friend Taichi. They took to it pretty quickly and were soon tying tenkara flies just for the fun of it.
Earlier this year, my host Ikumi and Rocky sent me pictures of the kids of Maze tying tenkara flies at the Mazegawa Fishing Center (Mizube No Yakata). They seemed to be having a ball. I was super proud when I got those pictures.
They continue tying tenkara flies and spreading tenkara fishing to their friends. Most kids in the area had no idea what tenkara was when I visited in 2011, now it may be turning into part of their regular conversations. Tenkara introduced to Japan…from the US. Here’s a fun video I put together of some of their tenkara fly-tying experience:

written by Jason

The first in a series of tenkara fly tying videos is now available on the Tenkara USA website.  If you’re just getting into tenkara and buying a rod and line, it might be a good idea to add on this video which shows you how you can also save money and deepen your engagement in the sport by tying your own flies with minimal cost.  Aside from saving money, catching a fish on a fly you tied yourself is extremely rewarding.  I always encourage newbies to try tying.  It’s not as hard as you might think and this DVD shows you just how easy it is in high definition video with clear, easy-to-understand instructions. I wish they had videos like this when I was first learning to tie.

Reviews

Read Daniel’s review here.

Read Jason’s review here.

I’ve watched a lot of fly tying videos and none of them hold a candle to this one in quality or volume of content. Plus, you get a booklet outlining all of the patterns in the video with their recipes which makes for a convenient vise-side reference.  2.5 hours of video, 17 patterns, and tips & tricks from the masters for only $25.  In my opinion, it’s a huge vale.  Get the DVD here.

Yesterday we shared with you the news of a new release in the world of tenkara, “Tying Tenkara Flies” a DVD produced by LearnTenkara.com (available for sale at learntenkara.com and soon here at Tenkara USA). This is by far the best fly-tying DVD ever produced, and we’re lucky it is about tenkara flies. Brian Flemming, the producer and cinematographer, shared one of the entire videos with us for today’s Tenkara Flies on Wednesdays.

In today’s video I share a basic tenkara fly pattern, my variation of Mr. Amano’s tenkara fly. I use peacock herl as the collar and whatever feather and line they had on hand when I tied the video – I believe it was partridge for the feather and silk line. Coincidentally, as we’re just about to board a plane for the second Tenkara Summit, this video was shot on my last day in Montana after last year’s Tenkara Summit. I came over to Brian’s house to make this video just hours before departing Montana. It was probably midnight when we started shooting and even with the shot of whiskey and being super tired, I am glad to see my speech wasn’t too slurred.

Enjoy it.

Written by Daniel

The first DVD about tenkara fly-tying ever made is now being released by LearnTenkara.com. Not only is this the first DVD focused on tenkara flies, but as far as I know it is the highest-quality fly-tying DVD ever put together. The quality is highly professional throughout every minute of this 2.5 hour DVD (17 fly patterns). Some serious content in there and well worth the price ($24.98). Seriously, I have never seen a DVD like this about fly-tying, the commentary is great, the content new and refreshing and the video quality superb. You can watch the preview below for an idea of how good it is.

The DVD is already available for pre-sale directly from LearnTenkara.com , it will  be available for sale at the Tenkara Summit and will also be available for sale here at Tenkara USA starting approximately July 30th.

Written by Jason

At some point in every fly angler’s life they consider tying their own flies. For some, this happens right at the beginning. For others, it might be after years of fly fishing. If you’ve ever browsed through all the fly tying tools and materials at your local fly shop, it might seem a little intimidating (and expensive). But luckily, tenkara flies are simple and require only minimal tools and materials, making them an excellent gateway into the wonderful pursuit of fly tying.

I’m often asked what tools are necessary to get started in fly tying so I thought it would be helpful to put together a basic list. These are only my recommendations. Others might suggest different tools but the ones I’m about to list will allow you to start immediately tying your own tenkara flies.
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Tenkara Flies on Wednesdays! 

How does that sound? Every Wednesday, as you find yourself looking forward to the coming weekend and still with a couple of days to tie new flies before you head out, you’ll now find  a new tenkara fly tying video or post right here.

On our first week running the series, I’d like to show you a video I recorded over a year ago while visiting Japan. I have been meaning to share this video with you for a long time, and am very happy to finally get it done.  This is a video of Mr. Takashi Yoshida, a well-known tenkara angler and fly tyer in Japan showing a unique tenkara fly using the alula feather of a pheasant, known in Japanese as the kenbane (you may visit his blog here, yoshidakebari.jugem.jp). The video is a nice follow up to yesterday’s post by Jason about using contrasting colors on tenkara flies, as you’ll notice Mr. Yoshida’s effective use of contrast in his fly. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

This video is 9:52 long, and is best watched at full resolution by clicking on the gear icon and selecting 720HD.

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