Yea, I know, its still summer most everywhere, but im looking forward to fall and winter, something Ive never really been excited about in past seasons.

The question is mostly for you "one-fly" folks where it gets cold\snowy and usually only midges are around as a food source.

Do you still fish your sakasa kebari with fly manipulation techniques? (probably slower id guess)
Do you go to some smaller sizes or still fish with sizes ~6-14?

Or do you just take a vacation from the 1-fly and use more traditional western midge patterns?
In relation to that other midge thread, do you fish them in a traditional tenkara fashion sans weight and with fly manipulation?

Just looking for some insight from some of the purists out there.
Opinions also welcome from "tenkara-as-a-tool" anglers.

Tenkara as a tool, I fish all winter with my Tenkara and use s.h's, nymphs what ever they take. You may have to put weight on the flies to get to where they are. Rod and fly manipulation is the key, not just dead drifting.

thanks for the input, but I was really looking more for input from the mountain states waters

from what i remember fishing between atlanta and the smokies for a dozen or so years, (ie N. Ga in your location) its not quite the same in terms of what trout have available for food. Looking over a hatch chart for the 'hooch is quite a comparison to looking over one for the s.platte.

http://www.chattahoocheefoodwebs.org/hatchchart.htm

http://www.flyshack.com/HatchChart.aspx?RiverID=1006

Last winter I fished tenkara gear with small Copper Johns, Zebra Midges, flashback PT nymphs, and a variety of Czech nymphs. I also used midge and BWO dries with my tenkara rods. This was in southeast Idaho. I caught more fish last winter with tenkara rods, lines, and techniques than I did the two previous winters using the same flies and western gear.

-Tom

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Thanks for the insight, Tom.

Just curious, after following your blog this season, do you think you're going to try some traditional kebari this winter as well? Sounds like a few of the patterns you've been using have been producing a lot of fish for you up there.

For me, its a lot of the same, with catching ~75%+ of my fish on kebari. Probably the remainder on a killer bug variant. It's sort of like the adage goes, "Dont leave fish to find fish".....and I'm pretty well into feeling that way about my fly selection.


Would really love to hear from someone who's tried traditional tenkara flies\techniques in the mountain states winter season and what your experience has been.

I've done winter tenkara but with western flies. Now that I'm more into sakasa kebari, I will be trying those this winter. I'm thinking fishing darker patters very slowly (or in a dead drift) will work. But we'll just have to wait and see. Phil, if you want to head out this winter together, let me know.

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Something that has been working great for me is sakasa kebari sizes 16-12 with colored wire body wraps instead of thread to get them down to the bottom quickly. I have had luck with black wire, red wire, blue wire, and brassie or copper wire. I use small and medium wire depending on hook size. I tie some with a single wire body wrap and some wit a double wire body rap. The double wraps don't cast very well because they are so heavy, but they do dive right to the bottom.

Another thing I have used is tungsten beads for the collar behind the hackle on sakasa kebari. That works pretty well also.

The fish here in Utah are hunkered down on the bottom in the winter and don't really seem all that interested in chasing food, you pretty much have to dead drift it right to them.

John

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Jason
Thanks for your thoughts. Sounds like we're in the same boat.
Would be great to get out come winter (or anytime for that matter) and learn together what does and doesnt work.

John
Thanks for the tips. I do have a small selection of multicolor wire and tungsten bead kebari as well as some other kebaris in size 14's and 18's. I'll be sure to try those.
Guess I'll have to tie up a variant where I move the bead back to the collar


Thanks everyone!

I have had success with a size 18 kebari tied Ishigaki style with dark thread and grizzly hen hackle. I also have a lot of success with a size 18 kebari tied with black thread, a collar of peacock hurl, and partridge tied in reverse Sakasa kebari style (aka a Syl's midge).

Every once and a while you'll catch a dumb fish on a big fly, but don't let it fool you into thinking that size 10 or 12 is going to catch fish consistently. However, that being said, on small streams I use a size 12-14 purple haze kebari with good success year round on faster mountain streams.

I tie the Utah Killer Bug on a red hook for winter. Sometimes add some Utah Killer bug colored dubbing with UV to get the fish's attention.

A bunch of other flies work too, but there not really Tenkara specific. I guess we're kind of blurring the lines though, because a wire or bead head kebari really isn't a kebari. (just ribbing john)

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thanks, eric!
I think that was exactly the input i was looking for. I was actually hoping for your input (and the other tenkara guides) when I put up this thread

I guess the other bit was if you fish them more dead drift style or manipulate them? But it sounds like from John that it might be more of the former with the lethargic trout of winter we all have.

Guess I will continue my work at the vise with small hooks.


Along these same lines, wondering if anyone can comment on Winter Tenkara in Japan? Daniel?
What do the masters do? Or anyone for that matter? Does Tenkara no Oni stick with his size 2,4,6? kebari? Not being familiar with geography there, I guess I'm not sure if he lives in a more temperate or colder prefecture of Japan.