One of the main reasons most anglers are attracted to tenkara fly-fishing - whether a tenkara veteran such as Dr. Ishigaki, or any of the recent adopters of tenkara - is, simply put, simplicity. That draws some to add it to their repertoire, and makes others leave their reels behind permanently. That is also the reason we have fallen in love with tenkara fly-fishing to begin with. In his column"Gazing into the future of angling in America", writer Mr. Gordon Wickstrom defines the two most current eras of fly-fishing: "The Trout Unlimited" period, and now, "The New Period":
Now the fishing that remains to us-- I'm going to call it "The New Period"-- will be marked, I think, by greater simplicity of gear, technique, style and purpose. It will be done closer to home, more impromptu and with less media attention. It will be gentler, more elegant, and less aggressive -- in some ways more old fashioned... There's my new friend in San Francisco who is introducing the tackle and practice of Tenkara, an ancient Japanese method of fishing the fly with a long, reel-less rod and short line. It is a method of the same values as we envision for our new national life ... For me, Tenkara is a sign of the times.From the beginning, the vision behind Tenkara USA has been to show the simplicity inherent - although long forgotten - in the art of fly-fishing. We have not yet ellaborated much on our philosophy, but, in sum, it is:"fly-fishing is simple".....don't let them fool you.