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The World of Flyfishing; Tenkara Secrets

Yamamoto Soseki fishing with tenkara in Kiyotaki river in Kyoto, early spring.

The World of Flyfishing; “Tenkara Secrets” by Soseki Yamamoto

Published in 1987

ISBN4-257-03226-x c0076

Table of contents

Color pages: Good days of tenkara …………………………………….3

“Tenkara for the catching rate of 80%” by Ido Michiya……………16

Catching rate here is “the number of amago you catch/the number of amago that rise to your fly”. The author says more than 80% of catching rate is possible with tenkara. To achieve this, he explains; (1) you have to sink the fly. (2) Use level line. (3) The rod must be fast action. (4) Expect the point where amago would take your fly, and cast your fly 1 m upstream from the point. Then bring your fly to the point with 3 twitches. Amago will rise to the fly at the end of the third twich.

“Seasons of tenkara” by Kuwabara Gentatsu……………………….28

The author recalls how he learned tenkara, and writes about a fishing trip to the Tanzawa range. The author is a painter, and some of the illustrations in this book were drawn by him.

“Tenkara is the fishing for XXXXX” by Toihara Kenji…………………42

XXXXX is an adjective, which is difficult to translate directly. The word is usually (and originally) used to describe a dead and dried plant. However, the word here is used to describe a person who has mentally matured, lost greed, and free from any uncontrollable strong emotions. The author says this is the virtue a good tenkara fisherman should have.

“No more fly rod” by Kojima Mitsunari………………………………..56The author quit fly fishing and became a tenkara fisherman, because he thinks tenkara just fits the culture and nature of Japan perfectly.

“Mastering tenkara” by Takeda Sotaro………………………………..68

The author has been fishing tenkara for almost a half century, but it was only 25 years after he had first learned tenkara when he truly started to master the fishing. He recalls his first days of tenkara and how he was enlightened about the technique of tenkara.

“Reactions of trout to a fly” by Ishigaki Hisao ……………………….82

The author says, fishing tenkara is difficult but because it is difficult, it is fun. He discusses the response of amago to tenkara flies, and tries to reveal how you catch fish (or how you don’t ).

Color photo pages: Flies of tenkara masters ……………………………107

“The mayfly which does not look like a mayfly” by Mori Shigeaki ………………………………………………………………………………….116

The author first discusses about the origin of the word “tenkara”. He then writes about some technical aspects of the fishing.

“My friends, can you quench your thirst with cucumber?” by Yagi Yoshimasa …………………………………………………………………….128

The author writes about his experience in mountaineering, when he was a student, as a reporter for the school news paper with the school mountaineering team, when he saw the team member munch cucumber to quench their thirst while walking. He recalls, unlike the mountaineering team members, he took much water and soft drinks and got fatigued very soon. He compares munching cucumber to practicing tenkara without giving way to the temptation to use bait. He prankishly writes about his experiences of chumming with worms before casting tenkara flies, or putting real mayfly larvae onto flies.

“About tenkara” by Ayabe Tando ………………………………………………140

The author first writes about one of his trips when yamame only responded to his tenkara flies and his friend bait fisher caught almost no fish. He then writes about how he learned tenkara.

“A tenkara master in the year 841” by Kirimichi Saburou…………154

The author discusses about the origin of the word “tenkara”. He also writes about the history of fishing hooks in Japan. In his argument, he writes about a master fisherman appeared in an old Japanese literature written in AD841. The author suggests the possibility that he used tenkara. The method that the fisherman used is not clear at all actually.

“Aspects in tenkara” by Yamamoto Soseki ………………………………168

The author writes about his first encounter with tenkara, when he met an old tenkara fisherman having many amago in his creel while the author was fishing with bait, catching no fish. Then, the author writes how he became acquainted with tenkara later.

Techniques of tenkara ……………………………………………183
Fascination of tenkara……………………………………….……184
Tenkara gear ……………………………………………..…………..186
About flies ………………………………………………..…………….190
Tools for fly tying ……………………………………………….…..192
How to tie a fly …………………………………………..…………..194
Rod grip………………………. ……………………………………..196
How to cast …………………………………………………………….198
How to manipulate a fly …………………………………….…….200
How fish rise to a fly and how to set hook ……..……..202
Related literatures ……………………………. ………………205
Postscript by Yamamoto Soseki ……………………………..215

Explanations for the photos and figures.

P3-5: Yamamoto Soseki fishing with tenkara in Kiyotaki river in Kyoto, early spring.

P6-7: “Fishing in the air” by Kuwabara Gentatsu

Kuwabara Gentatsu, the well known author of the book “How to enjoy kebari-tsuri (fly fishing)”, worked out unique “fishing in the air” method from the traditional tenkara. He modified tenkara rod and hooks based on his experiences and is trying to systematize the knowledge of tenkara. He is like a sniper in streams; His movement is elegant and involves no futility.

(There is no explanation about his method in this book.)

P8-9: “Nikko tenkara” by Sebata Yuzo
He inherited the tradition of “Nikko tenkara” in Okoro river in Maenikko area, Tochigi prefecture. While many people emphasize the importance of early hook set, he advocates delayed hook set and proving the efficiency of the method through demonstrating it by himself. He says rather than the color or size, the movement of the fly after casting is most important in tenkara. He is famous for his adventurous fishing in headwaters.

(There is no description about what Nikko tenkara is, nor how it is different from ordinary tenkara.)

P10: Ayabe Tando fishes for yamame with tenkara on a day in early summer.

P17: Ido Michiya. A business man. Born in Minokamo city, Gifu prefecture in 1946. Enjoyed playing in rivers or crucian carp fishing when young. Though he liked mountaineering, he stopped it in his 20s because of a disease. He started fishing instead. He learned tenkara from Yamamoto Soseki. He fishes large rivers in early season and enjoys tenkara in small streams in high season. He lives in Inuyama city, Aichi prefecture.P19: The author handling level line and demonstrating tenkara of “80% catch”.

P20: Feathers of female pheasant, which author recommends best for the hackle of flies.P21: The author fishes with tenkara in Obara creek, a tributary of the Maze river.P23: The pool of Mambu in Itoshiro river of the Kuzuryu river watershed.P24: The author fishing for amago with tenkara in Bingo creek, a tributary of Unokawa river in Kumano river watershed.

P27: The author accompanying Huruta Mankichi fishing amago in Yoshida river of the Nagara river watershed.

(Note: Late Huruta Mankichi was a legendary professional river fisherman. He was especially famous for his outstanding skill of bait fishing for amago.)

P29: Kuwabara Gentatsu. A painter. Born in Hujiyoshida city, Yamanashi prefecture in 1922. He has been enjoying trout fishing in mountain streams around mount Huji since he was very young. He has practiced Kebari-tsuri (tenkara) hard and has modernized tenkara fishing. The president of “Seven Keiyu Club”. Also leads “Kai tenkara Club”. He is the author of books including “Fishing for Iwana and Yamame”, “Fishing mountain streams”, “How to enjoy Kebari-tsuri”. He lives in Hujiyoshida city, Yamanashi prefecture.

P30: The author casting his hand-tied fly.

P33: Casting a fly, aiming accurately at the intended spot.

P34: The author enjoys tenkara at Shishidome creek in Yamanashi prefecture.P37: Main stem of the Yuzuku river in the Tanzawa range.P39: Casting while keeping a low profile; A good example of casting form.P41: The author drifts a fly on running water.

P43: Toihara Kenji. Born in 1941 in Tokyo. He quit his businessman life and opened a fishing tackle shop selling only traditional Japanese fishing rods. He enjoys fishing mountain streams in spring, fishing ayu (smelt-like fish) and headwater iwana in summer, mushroom hunting in autumn, and fishing bittering (a very small cyprinid fish) in winter. He spends a year according to the annual cycle of nature. He is one of the leading members of “mountain stream fishing club”. He lives in Utsunomiya city, Tochigi prefecture.

P44: Flies tied by the author.

P45: The “Todoroki-sandan” pool in Nishizawa (Nishi = west, zawa = creek or folk) of the Okoro river in the Omokawa watershed.

P46: Fishing in Higashimata creek of Ooishi river in the Iide range.

P47: The author casting tenkara.

P49: Sebata Yuzo fishes Kuratani creek of Kurotani river in the Inagawa watershed.

P50: Sebata Yuzo from whom the author learned a lot about tenkara.

P53: The Higashiooashi river, which runs through Maenikko area.

P54: The author fishing a pool under a small waterfall.

P55: A fly tied by Sebata Yuzo of Nikko tenkara.

P57: Kojima Mitsunari. Born in 1957 in Hannou city, Saitama prefecture. He has been enjoying playing or fishing in streams since very young. He was a western style flyfisher but now he only fishes tenkara. He is a reporter for the Tokyo branch of “North Country Angling”. He is a member of “Enhancing-Fish-Population –in-Naguri-rRver Club”. He lives in Hannou city, Saitama prefecture.

P59: Headwater of the Tama river. The author was once very enthusiastic about yamame fishing there.

P60: Headwater of the Tama river. In a warm, quiet day before the rainy season, yamame used to rise to a fly everywhere in the main stem of the river.

P63: You can enjoy tenkara in such a small stream in a mountain village like this one.

P65: Shirame; smolt of amago. There are many regional names for amago smolt.

P66: The Yoshida river close to the confluence with the Nagara river, which is the main river. The Yoshida river is famous nationwide for its excellent fishery of ayu and amago.

P67: The Nagara river. Below the confluence with the Yoshida river.

P69: Takeda Sotarou. Born Hanada Kenji in 1911 in Shizuoka prefecture. He has been working for aviation-related business and now a corporate manager. He has many hobbies including metal chasing, wood carving, Japanese-style painting, and western-style painting. Among them, he has been enjoying tenkara for almost 50 years. He lives in Kagamihara city, Gifu prefecture.

P71: Fishing for iwana in the Toga river in Shogawa watershed. The Toga river originates in the Shirakimizunashi range and joins the Shogawa (Sho river) to the south of Yutani hot springs.

P72: The Yoshida river; a major tributary to the Nagara river. The fisherman is Mr. Huruta Mankichi.

P75: A picture of yamasemi (the name of this bird) painted by the author. The bird is familiar to fishermen who fish mountain streams.

P77: The author casts a tenkara fly in the upper part of the Mana river, which is a tributary of the Kuzuryu river.

P79: The painting of the headwater of Nagara river, by the author.

P80: A Gujo creel and a Gujo net that the author favors. (Gujo is a place around middle to the head water of Nagara river. There used to be many professional freshwater fishermen there, and they developed various fishing tools unique to the region.)

P83: Ishigaki Hisao. Born in 1947 in Shizuoka city, Shizuoka prefecture. He has been enjoying fishing in the Okitsu river and Suruga bay since very young. He still enjoys various types of fishing. He is also called “Dr. tenkara” after he demonstrated experiments to measure how long trout holds a fly in the mouth until releasing it (It ranged from 0.2 to 1.1 sec. when fish took the fly underwater), in an NHK TV program. He is an assistant professor of Aichi Institute of Technology. He lives in Toyota city, Aichi prefecture.

P85: The author’s tenkara rig. Rod, Nisshin Seikon tenkara 1 gou 3.3m. Line, nylon monofilament (Unitika Stark U #5 0.37mm in diameter, 4m). Leader, nylon monofilament (Unitika Stark U #3, 0.285mm, 70cm), Tipett, nylon monofilament (Unitika Stark U #1.2, 0.185mm, 30cm). The author modifies the grip using balsa wood by himself. His fly is made of peacock herl body and white cock hackle.

P86: The author’s fly.

P87: Responses of amago to a tenkara fly.

P88: The author enjoying tenkara in the Yahagi river watershed.

P91: Amago holding a fly.

P94: A professional fisherman fishing with tenkara at Nanakama of the Kamikoshi river in Yahagi river watershed.

P96: The author fishes for amago with tenkara. Amago showed very fast response to flies in the author’s experiments.

P99: Kawashima Washio, a professional fisherman, fishes the Kamikoshi river in Yahagi river watershed with tenkara.

P100: Iwana that took an author’s fly. Iwana holds a fly longer than amago.

P103: Kawashima, a pro fisherman, and Sebata Yuzo, Nikko tenkara, compete with each other for their techniques of tenkara in Dando creek in the Yahagi river watershed.

P105: Kawashima Washio, who fishes traditional flies of the Okumikawa region for amago. He fishes amago and ayu from spring through summer as the source of livelihood.

P106: The author says “you cannot catch many fish with tenkara but it’s fun.”

P107: Flies of tenkara masters.

P108-109: Flies by Yamamoto Soseki. The body color is mainly cream, yellow, or pale yellow green. He uses Plymouth Rock exclusively for the hackle. The fiber length of the hackle is 8-12 mm. He doesn’t tie the hackle very thick. He has fished from northern part of Hokkaido to Kyushu with these flies; His flies were effective regardless of the regions or rivers. His flies are “the master key” in the streams in Japan.

P110-111: Flies by Kuwabara Gentatsu. The body color varies, cream, yellow, red, dark brown, and black. For the hackle, he uses the neck or breast feather of female pheasant or owl, tail or wing feather of sparrow, or cock neck. He changes flies according to the season and condition; light colored flies in early spring or in the mornings or evenings so that the visibility of the fly would be high, dark colored flies in the middle of the day, or brown or black flies for larger fish in mid summer, etc. His flies are also commercially sold as “Kuwabara’s tenkara flies”. The picture below shows the tenkara rod “Yamame”, which was designed by the author.

P112-113: Flies by Takeda Sotaro. He ties flies as dry flies, and manipulate the fly on the water surface. His flies rather look like imitation flies. The picture above shows flies with wings for amago. The picture below shows streamers and “butterfly hooks” for satsukimasu (the sea-run form of amago). On the left are the flies for amago and shirame (smolt amago). In particular, the three flies in the center of the left imitate midges. There are also some mayfly nymph imitations.

P114: Left column, from top to bottom: A fly tied by Sebata Uzo, A fly by Ido Michiya, The traditional fly in Kyoto region, Morioka Kebari (The traditional fly in Morioka region. Kebari means fly.), A fly by Ayabe Tando.
Right column, from top to bottom: A fly by Sebata Uzo, A fly by Ido Michiya, A fly by a professional fisherman in the Nagara river, A fly by Suzuki Gyoshin, A fly by Kirimichi Saburo.

Mr. Gyoshin Suzuki and Mr. Soseki Yamamoto

P117: Mori Shigeaki. Born in 1941 in the red-light district in Miyagawa-cho, Kyoto. Dropped out of the graduate school of philosophy in Ritsumeikan University. He opened a fishing tackle shop in Shimokamo, Kyoto, but in 1976, moved to Miyama-cho, Kitakuwata-gun, Kyoto, with his family, and started as a farmer. In 1983, he moved to the current place and began an inn. He wrote the book “Finally a village member of Tamba”. He lives in Miyama-cho, Kitakuwata-gun, Kyoto.

P119: The author’s tenkara rig.
The rod: 3m
Tapered line made of braided nylon monofilaments: 3.4m
(1) #3(0.285) x 5 (5 nylon monofilaments of #3, the diameter of #3 mono is 0.285mm)….40cm
(2) #3(0.285) x 5 ….40cm
(3) #3(0.285) x 4 ….40cm
(4) #3(0.285) x 4 ….40cm
(5) #3(0.285) x 3 ….40cm
(6) #2(0.235) x 3 ….45cm
(7) #2(0.235) x 3 ….45cm
(8) #1.5(0.205) x 2 …50cm
Tippet: #1.5, 1.6m
Fly tied by Suzuki Gyoshin

P121: The author fishing iwana at the headwater of Sai river Ishikawa prefecture.

P122: Yamame close to 12 inches. These were caught by the author with tenkara in the Kuzuryu river.

P123: Yamame caught by the author are broiled around fire in the fireplace of the author’s house.

P125: The author believes the silhouette is more important than color for tenkara flies.

P127: Dinner of broiled iwana at a camp site in the head water of Kitamata creek of the Kuronagi river. The man holding iwana in the right is the author.

P128: Yagi Yoshimasa. Born in 1941 in Osaka. Established “Doshisha University Fishing Club” while he was a student there. Worked as the editor of “Fishing in Kansai Area”. Currently, he is the director of “Seidokikaku Publishing”. He is the author of “Fishing guide in Lake Biwa”, “For the beginning anglers”, “Everything for fishing in mountain streams”, and others. He lives in Toyonaka city, Osaka.

P129: Spools and a rig that the author uses.

P131: Eboshidake (“dake” means mountain; Mount Eboshi) (2627m) in the Northern Alps. The Tateyama/Tsurugi mountains in the background.

P132: Mitsumatarengedake (2841m). One of the mountains of the Kurobe river headwater. In this area, there were huts where they fish iwana in the Kurobe headwater and serve them for mountaineers.

P135: The author fishing Matsunaga creek in Wakasa region (near Kyoto).

P137: A spool and a tenkara rig that were presented to the author by his fishing friends.

P138: Tools that the author uses to tie flies.

P139: A fly the author has tied using a hand vise.

P141: Ayabe Tando. Born in 1943 in Ehime prefecture. A machine designer. His real name is Ayabe Keiji. He enjoyed mountaineering since he was a junior-high student. Later he has become an enthusiastic, mountain-stream fisherman. (In Japan, “mountain-stream (keiryu) fishing” almost equals “trout fishing”.) The president of the committee for mountain-stream fishers. He is the author of the book “Fishing in mountain streams.” He is also a reporter of angling for a sports news paper “Sports Nippon.” He lives in Taito Ward, Tokyo.

P143: The headwater of the Tone river, where the author repeatedly goes fishing every year.

P144: The author fishing with tenkara in the Shishidome river, Yamanashi prefecture.

P145: The author in the headwater of the Tone river.

P147: Catching fish with tenkara was his admiration since he had started trout fishing.

P148: The author casting tenkara at the Waga river in Iwate prefecture.

P151: A mountain stream in the headwater of Tone river, where the author goes fishing at least once a year for big iwana.

P153: Iwana caught by the author at the headwater of Tone river. The dinner for the day.

P155: Kirimichi Saburo. Born in 1943 in Nagoya. Graduated from Waseda University. His real name is Ohmi Atsushi. An editorial director and an essayist. His hobby of butterfly collection prompted him into mounteneering and trout fishing in mountain streams. He now enjoys various types of fishing. He has planned and produced many books including books about fishing, such as “Everything About Fishing Gear”, “Encyclopedia of the Fishing Equipment in Japan”, “Mountain-stream fishing”, “Stories of Mountain streams”, “Ecology of Yamame”, “Ecology of Iwana”, etc. He lives in Kamakura city, Kanagawa prefecture.

P157: The headwater of the Kuma river, the upper stretch of Umenokizuru. If you follow the creek upstream and go over the ridgeline of Yamaingiri, you will come to Gokanosho, a famous small mountain village mythically said to be established by surviving soldiers of Heike, one of the two major samurai clans that struggled for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century and lost by the other (Genji clan).

P159: Wooden trail in the upper reaches of Kamo river in Kitayama region, Kyoto. You cannot see life in mountain villages like this any more, although it used to be commonly observed in mountain villages in many places.

P161: Hudono creek in the village of Shiiba, a tributary to the Mimi river, Miyazaki prefecture. This area is also known as the village of Heike soldiers escaped from Genji clan.

P162: Some of the author’s flies. Since he doesn’t have very good eyes, he considers visibility as most important for his flies.

P165: The upper stretch of the Ibi river, in Toiri region of Tokuyama village. This mountain village is going to become the bottom of a reservoir by construction of a dam.

P167: Ancient fishing hooks excavated from various places in Japan. From “Fishing hooks” by Naora Nobuo.

P169: Yamamoto Soseki. Born in 1919 in Shiga prefecture. He entered various schools but he has not graduated any of them. He has done various jobs, but has never held down a steady job. He is a self-employed professional. He is an enthusiastic mountain-stream fisherman. He has fished from the northern end of Hokkaido to the southern part of Kyushu. He has even fished northeastern part of Korea. He is currently the head of Jikyo branch of Tenrikyo (a religion). The president of Notarin (meaning stupid) Club. A member of the board of directors for Japan Sportfishing Association. A member of Japan Essayist Club. He is the author of many books including “Mountain fishing in Western Japan”, “Run, Tsuchinoko (, which is a strange, imaginary snake, though some people including the author believes the actual presence of the snake.)”, “Fishing in far-away mountain streams”, “Fishing silhouette”, etc. He lives in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto.

P171: The author fishing Irikawa creek in Gaikaihu region, Sado Island.

P173: The author fishing for yamame in the Tomari river in Akita prefecture.

P174-175: The author casting tenkara at Kiyotaki river in early spring.

P177: The author enjoys tenkara at Kiyotaki river, near his house.

P179: The author enjoys tenkara in the lower reach of Ohkura fall of the Hukuchi river, Hyogo prefecture (1967).

P180: The author tying a fly in the study in his house.

P181: The author enjoying fishing in the Maze river, Akita prefecture (1975).

P182: The author tying a fly at home.

P185: The joy you feel when you fish tenkara is different from that when you fish with bait. The photo shows Kuwabara Gentatsu fishing for yamame by tenkara.

P186: The tenkara gear that Kirimichi Saburo brings with him to a stream. You can put all of these in one pocket. This convenience of tenkara is an advantage over other fishing methods.

P187: Tools of tenkara. The rods are “Yamame” designed by Kuwabara Gentatsu.

P188 photo: Spools made by Tsuruya, the fishing tackle shop. There is a hole in each spool to store the fly.

P188 illustration: An example of tenkara rig. The tapered line should fit the action and the length of the rod. #4(0.33mm in diameter) x 6, #4 x 5, #4 x 4, #3(0.285mm) x 4, #3 x 3, #3 x 2, tipett #1.5(0.205mm)

P189 Bottom illustration: The knot of two braided lines when you make your tapered line with braided lines. (Surgeon’s knot)

P189 Top illustration: How to make a braided line.

P190 Top photo: A close up view of a fly tied by Sebata Uzo.

P190 Bottom photo: Flies tied by Yamamoto Soseki.

P191 Right photo: A reverse hackle fly tied by Kirimichi Saburo.

P191 Left photo: Flies for ayu. It is said that there are a few thousand different flies for ayu.

P192 Top right: Fly hooks. The right, down eye. The center (3 hooks), straight eye. The left, up eye.

P193 Left: A hand vise. If you feel inconvenient with a needle holder, you can use a vise to hold a hook to tie a fly.

P193 Right bottom: Zenmai (A kind of fern. Particularly young sprout as shown in this picture. The sprout is covered by fine cotton-like material, which has been used as body material of traditional tenkara flies.)

P193 Left: Examples of hackle materials. From top to bottom; Wing pointers of pheasant, Cock neck hackle, Plymouth Rock neck hackle, Quill wing of sparrow.

P194-195 Bottom photos: The explanations are written in the text. This is just how to tie a fly.

P195 Top right: It is convenient to store flies in magnetic boxes.

P195 Middle left: Yamamoto Soseki tying a fly with a hand vise. He uses Plymouth Rock feather for the hackle.

P196 Top right: A bad grip. This causes your arm muscle to become fatigued.

P196 Bottom: The good grip, with which you can set hook easily and you are not easily fatigued.

P197: Yamamoto Soseki fishing Iwasaki creek with tenkara in Sado Island.

P198: Make your cast compact and don’t cast too strong. The fisherman is Kuwabara Gentatsu.

P199 Top: Finish of a cast. Note that the thumb is off and the rod is held by the other four fingers. You can effectively set hook from this position.

P199 Illustration: How to cast. Top; Back cast, from flipping the line from in front of you until the line become straightened behind you. Bottom; Forward cast, the straightened line behind you moves forward until the fly lands on the water surface.

P200 Top right: Sebata Uzo, who says the movement of the fly is most important, fishes the Okoro river, Maenikko region.

P200 Bottom illustration: The relationship between the water surface and fish vision.

P201 Bottom photo: Kuwabara Gentatsu manipulating the fly. He does it by dragging the fly horizontally or vertically, very skillfully.

P201 Left illustration: An example of fly manipulation. Top, the fly lands on the water. Middle, If you pull the line, the hackle contracts. Bottom, if you loosen the line, the hackle opens.

P202 Top right: Yamame holding a fly.

P202 Bottom left: Sebata Yuzo fishes the Naka river, Tochigi prefecture. He is an advocate of “delayed hook set.”

P203: In tenkara you fish a point in a stream at a time, while in bait fishing you fish a line.

P204: Yamamoto Soseki tries to tempt amago by manipulating a fly.

Tutorial: Takayama Sakasa Kebari

To start, tie on your thread at the eye and wrap it back about two thirds the way down the shank. Now bring the thread up to about the halfway point of the hook and start building a tapered head from there to the eye. You only want to build the head up about half as thick as you want it to be when finished.

About one third down the shank, tie in your hackle with the con-caved, dull side of the feather facing you. I used chicken to tie this fly, but I prefer partridge or India hen. I try to select hackle that is about two hook gaps wide, but I don’t get too picky with these flies.

Trim the feather stem and finish building up your tapered head from the hackle tie in point to the hook eye. Now wrap your thread back behind the hackle. With the con-caved side of the hackle facing the eye, wrap your hackle towards the bend until you get the desired thickness. Tie off and trim.

With your thumb and forefinger start stroking the hackle forward to the hook eye. It may take a few strokes, but eventually all the barbules will start to face forward. With your tying hand, hold the hackle down and start wrapping the thread around the base of the feather with the opposite hand to you get your desired angle. Now build up the rest of your body till it’s slightly thinner than the finished fly.

Tie in a single piece of peacock herl a bit behind the hackle. Wrap it forward and back till you get a nice collar. Now tie off and trim.

Finish building a nice tapered body with your thread until you get the shape your after. I leave a small gap in the thread at the very rear for the whip finish. During the whip finish I use enough turns to fill the gap.

Add a small drop of cement to the knot and you are done.

The finished product:

To tie a standard Sakasa Kebari, skip the peacock herl and build up the thread body.

Another Whirlwind Adventure

I have a dream and I visit it now and then on a whirlwind.

Actually, a friend planned the trip while another friend Brooks and I agreed to attend. We counted down the days and when the time came, I pulled into Brooks camp, tired and ready for a beer. I had not seen him in about 6 years and my, time had changed us both. I had become fat, graying and losing my hair, Brooks hair was grey, he has wrinkles, we are getting old…

Time changes all.

Brooks is a good friend, we have been through thick and thin and have fished together, stream, river, lake and sea. He has ridden the skiff with me for Sierra, walked for miles in the litoral zone hunting glints of silver in the distance. We have crept high in the pines looking for brook trout and every time we found what we were looking for.

We had decided to back pack into a remote valley to fish for brook trout. I had fished here before and had an idea what we were in store for. The hike in wasn’t too bad and as I lay there in my little tent, I began to reflect back on the day of fishing, so many brook trout and teaching my talented friend tenkara.

Earlier, I had asked Brooks if he was interested in learning tenkara and the answer was, “Sure mon” so I brought along two tenkara rods, an Ebisu and a Seki Rei.

Brooks lives in New Mexico and over the years, produced many fine articles on the streams in the area for the old web site we started long ago. He is a talented photographer and I find his work refreshing in a world of carbon copy images. Our history together consists of more than a decade of writing, pointing the camera at each other and more writing. Even in this adventure, we are still at heart, photographers, fly anglers, but today, we are tenkarists.

The sun is warm on the tent fabric. I pitched it well. It is tight against the wind and only a slight flutter is detected in the highest gusts. It is a strong day, there is a dry cold front that has moved through the day and night before and we are in the sucking tail end of the front that is dying. On the way up the valley, Brooks asks me if we can anchor up on a ridge to escape the pooled cold air of night, “of course Brooks, I have a site in mind” and as we entered the valley, it looks exactly as it did from my memory and Google Earth images that I visit with often. The wind was building yet I told Brooks from my soaring mind that the wind would back off in the afternoon, exactly the opposite of what normally happens on a summer day. I knew the weather pattern, the leading edge had passed through, last night it rained, sleeted a bit on us, tonight will be clear and cold. Cold in the summer in Arizona?

It was.

We had hiked in for a couple of miles from our vehicles. The pace was brisk, we were excited. My pack light from months of research with purchases at all the best equipment retailers. My pack weighs around 22 pounds stuffed for the weekend and I didn’t forget anything. I could have spent the cost of my titainum tea pot on all of my equipment for backpacking at Goodwill. Thinking about how much I spent on my kit, it didn’t take long for me to forget about it, this equipment I will have a long time and the lightness of this pack enables me to enjoy my hike and not be straddled by it. I carry the lightest stuff so I can carry many items of comfort, my bones hurt after a long day of hiking and fishing and the last thing I want is a hard lumpy bed or my shoulders to hurt from a heavy pack load.

I am selfish, I don’t have a lot of money. I have three boys a beautiful wife, one son will be in college soon, the other in high school and my little two year old Noah drinks milk like it was going out of style. But I am determined to save my money, my change, I sell stuff I don’t use and save for each component of my kit. Each portion was well thought out, a twenty degree down bag, a light but efficient 3/4 sleeping pad and a 1/4 sit pad, the two together making my night sleep comfortable. The long spoon to keep my fingers out of the dehydrated food bags, the double walled cup to keep my oolong tea warm without burning my hands and water treatment drops, a filter not needed in the cool spring water of my stream. It has took me a year to collect my kit, just tonight I got a ultra light chair, all I need now is a feather light skillet, I can do without it for now.

I am selfish in that I must take care of myself so I can take care of my family. I am not able to dedicate my life to my pursuits, I am a father, a husband and all those things come first. When it is my time, I will have tools that are made for performance. The short time I have for myself, it will be spent exactly as I want, I am worth it.

Last year, I purchased my first tenkara rod and quickly became attached to it’s simplicity. The subtle stroke of a cast was realized more than learned. The approach to a stream was only slightly adjusted, I now hunted fish in close range with all the stealth of a ninja. My footfalls paid attention to, my mind relaxed and now my rod was simple but an extremely accurate extension of my vision, the fly to the water with little or no disturbance, my fish racing to a meal only to feel me, caught, yes, there you go little one. Go hide and forget what just happened.

My specialty before has always been ultra-light fly fishing. At one time I had five different makes of one weight fly rods, five different makes of a niche market and I was searching for that one rod. Then Sage made a zero weight fly rod. At the time I was on the newly created North American Loop Fly Fishing Team. I had what I considered the best fly rod for small streams and the best reel, a Loop Midge. I was constantly tinkering with the system making custom lines, leaders and going for adventure in the mountains. I would often take that zero weight with me to a large river and hook into spawning river rainbows of a couple of pounds in a few inches of water on the edge of 12,000 cubic feet per second flow. The system was not fragile, I could land large fish fast knowing exactly how much pressure I could place on the tippet. The system and my methods not unlike what tenkara is today.

And now, with a tenkara rod, I have a 0000-weight line with my kit stripped to the bare minimum, an almost perfect tool for casting line to the little brook trout that live in this valley.

But I am not alone in my pursuit, there are many people out there like me because I know them first hand…

We are tenkara practitioners.

The tenkara rod is a perfect compliment to the backpack fly fisher. I don’t need to tell you why, you already know because you are here reading this story. The rod I have is made by an old Japanese rod shop, it is authentic and is one of the lightest tenkara rods available. The Ebisu I started with is heavy by comparison but it is a good rod to learn the practice.

The convection of the cold front is strong. The valley we were fishing pooled the hot air, the sun heating the rocks and earth, the valley protecting the pooled air but as it started to release from the surface, it channeled up the valley and the prevailing wind filled in behind in waves of rising air all of it creating a strong valley wind. Brooks and I were fishing in between the blasts and at one time in between fish, Brooks said, “Adam mon, it is blowing 45 miles per hour” and I agreed, we were pushed by the wind and I know it by experience. “Look Brooks” and I pointed to a dark grey bottomed cloud up the valley near the peak of the mountain. “The thermal blasts we are experiencing are making that cloud.” I knew from many seasons of riding the swirling thermals upward to the base of the clouds in my hang glider.

For me, this was just another whirlwind adventure.

We had pitched the tents on the side of the valley, on top of the ridge, a short hike up the slope. My little stove brrrrrrr ing away as we boiled water for our dehydrated meals. Our water running out, hiking down to the stream, collecting water from the strongest flow of the stream and bringing it back to camp to add in our drops to sterilize the potential bugs in the water.

Earlier, I told Chef in a post at smallstreams.com that I would hang a pirate flag in a place on the trail, only he would see to know we were there. On the way in I hung the flag on a fence post, Brooks eyed my flag, “Brooks, when we come down the mountain, this one is yours”

Every fucking pirate needs a flag and on the way out, that is just what he got.

I’m a soul surfer at heart. My whole life I have gone with the flow. My uniform at home is surf trunks and a t-shirt along with my flip flops. I have a pair of nice hiking shoes but I had forgotten them while putting my gear into the car. No big deal, I’ve hiked for years in flip flops. I had split toed socks with me to keep me warm for in camp at night. I put them on at the car and away I went hiking.

In anything I do, I try to do a few multiple things at once. I had been planning this trip to take pictures for my endorsement of the Sakura tenkara rods I use. I am importing them for my friends and customers. I was combining backpacking and fishing, fishing with a friend I haven’t seen in some time. There were many more things that were taking place like the enjoyment of writing about a fishing trip, putting the pictures together with the story, weeks after the trip remembering the sensations of the experience.

I think it is important to take time for yourself. We work hard, our bosses don’t always have our best interest at heart. The screaming of city life, the bills, the nasty people we meet every day, you need to take care of yourself and this is the way I recharge my battery and right there in the tent thinking of what I was going to write. Even before this trip, I had planned on making a story and now it is all coming together.

Fishing is a fantastic event that time spent while fishing is not held against you.

I could hear Brooks rustling around, “Adam mon, it’s time to go fishing” and he didn’t have to say it again as I unzipped the tent to realize that the wind of the morning was giving way to the stillness of late afternoon.

“Yeah Brooks, you are going to see a little bit difference in the way these rods cast in no wind.”

We gathered our cameras, our rods and we walked down to the stream and fell into the rhythm of fishing a small mountain stream.

Fiddlehead Fern

Young fiddlehead fern

I first read about using the cotton harvested off a young fiddlehead fern for dubbing on Yoshikazu Fujioka’s “Trouts and Seasons of the Mountain Village in Japan – My Best Streams” site. On his site Mr. Fujioka writes that the fern cotton is a traditional material for tenkara flies and that it has waterproof qualities. This was all it took for me to become interested in using it for my own flies.

Young fern shoots have a head that resembles the head of a violin, hence the name fiddlehead. Many different species of fern are covered in the cotton like fluff you are looking for when they are in the fiddlehead stage. These can be found throughout the U.S. and many other countries.

Harvesting is simple, you want to start looking in the spring, when all plants are starting to sprout new leaves. I found mine near streams and swamps, leading me to believe that they like a moist environment. Once you find some, simply peel the fluff off gently. Its easiest to remove just the loose stuff. It does not take much time to get a good supply, I spent about half an hour gathering enough to last me a year or two. After gathering, there is a drying time. Mine took about a month to turn into a light tan color with sort of an orange tint.

After drying, the fluff has a stiff, crumbly feel to it. To apply I first roll what I need to use between my thumb and index finger until it loosens up a little. After this, the cotton rolls onto your thread easily and stays there well. Wrap it around the hook shaft to form your body and your done. When on the hook the fluff has a fuzzy look to it that gives your fly a nice buggy appearance.

Fisherman who tie their own flies are always looking for new materials and techniques. The fiddlehead fern gives the angler an opportunity to experiment while paying tribute to Japanese tenkara fishers.

Interview with Yoshikazu Fujioka

Mr. Fujioka,

First of all, I would like to say that I have been following your web site, “Trouts and Seasons of the Mountain Village in Japan – My Best Streams” since you have been making it. I have been making smallstreams.com only a couple of years longer than “Trouts and Seasons…” and smallstreams.com is one of the oldest web sites on fly fishing. That being said, I want to commend you on your longevity. A long time ago, I realized that I really enjoyed your words, pictures and more importantly, the reflection of your experiences fishing in the mountains of Japan. I could read your web site and experience fishing your area through your stories and pictures, I enjoy it very much.

I want to personally thank you for making your Internet site.

Your style has influenced the way I look at fishing web sites. “My Best Streams” is simple, quiet, prone to suggestions of quiet fishing, it makes me dream of visiting and fishing Japan far more real. I would often suggest that people visit your site to see what I enjoy in a web site and over the years why I have linked it so many times. This is for traditional Western fly fishing and now for tenkara…

Adam: It seems that in Japan, fishing is very much a part of society. Here in America, fishing is seen as a pass time. Am I accurate in thinking that the Japanese place more importance to the culture than you see in America? I have been to Japan myself and this is my perception, you have been to America as well.

“How important is fishing in the culture of Japan?”

Yoshkazu: Because it was said by you, I noticed that I also enjoyed your web page “smallstreams.com” from a long time ago and linked to your web page. And I am happy for you enjoyed my web page from before.

The sportfishing population of Japan of recent years is said about 10 million people or 15 million people. I think that became 10% or more of the population of Japan because fishing is one of the healthy recreations that everyone can enjoy in various methods such as the surfside-fishing, the crucian-fishing, the carp-fishing, and the mountain stream fishing. In Japan, there is a proverb “It starts by the crucian-fishing, and it end with the crucian-fishing”. It is the following meanings. The person experiences fishing at the nearby river, the pond and etc. in the child age. And the person experiences various fishing, and notices interest as the starting point of fishing and returns to the crucian-fishing at the end again. Isn’t this a proverb only in Japan where surroundings are enclosed in the sea and, the river, the pond and etc. exist everywhere? It is said that fishing as the hobby and the amusement starts in Edo period (to 1868 from 1603), became active in the samurai classes such as the daimyou and the hatamoto, and became popular to the tradesman and the woman gradually, and it spread to various places in addition. Though I might not have been adequately answering it because your question is too difficult, I think that by the history of the fishing and a national character etc. of each, the fishing of Japan tends to regard “the spirit and the taste” as important, and the fishing of America tends to regard “the game and the rule” as important.

Adam: The computer is my way of exploring places conveniently. I enjoy books as well but it is the computer and the Internet that allows me to understand my interest in other areas of the world.

“Do you use the internet to explore the American fly fishing experience?”

Yoshikazu: Of course, I use the internet to explore the American fly fishing experience. I collect fishing information on the internet before, ask for the guide, and have gone fishing to Yellowstone National Park with my friend. I am exchanging information by the internet with the sport fishers in the world. And I actually went to trout-fishing with many overseas friends who visited Japan.

Adam: Our societies are so much different. America as a country is quite young.

“Will you compare what you see in America and Japan as far as fishing goes?”

Yoshikazu: I think that the most different matter is the rule and the system of fishing. The fishing regulation of Japan is basically made for the fishers but not the sport fishers. The fishermen’s cooperative association has the fishing rights of each river in Japan, and the fishing regulation is being established by the fishermen’s cooperative association. So it is necessary that we buy each license of each river. It is very hard for the foreigner who tries to fish in Japan. Moreover, the fishing regulation in detail is not provided like America, and it cannot necessarily be said that the regulation is observed well. I think that it originates in the history of the fishing of our country.

Adam: Yoshikazu, my Mother gave me her LC-3 Macintosh computer in 1994 and I began to make fly fishing web sites after learning how the Internet worked. Back then, there was AOL and very little outside internet resources on fly fishing.

“Can you tell us what kind of computer and what the online community in Japan was like when you first started “My Best Streams”?”

Yoshikazu: I opened my web page in 1997. At that time, I have designed and planned the display and the commercial spaces. So I used the personal computer of the Windows OS that the specialist of the companion of work had assembled for me because I was planning to make the web page for the commercial space under the plan at that time. Now, I have forgotten the specs, but I think that it was the personal computer of considerably high specs at that time. The age that the individual web page was rare, the internet resource concerning fly fishing and tenkara fishing was really little as you were said.

Adam: When I embark on a particular interest, I usually do it alone however, I try to surround myself with the best people I can find. I listen and learn, practice, participate ask questions and apply that to my own practice. Often times, I wish that I had started a club with regional chapters that served also as an online club for small stream enthusiasts. I understand that you have started a fishing club yourself.

“Will you tell us a little bit about it?”

Yoshikazu: To enjoy nature altogether, we started the fishing club “TSUTTENKAI“. The fishing methods of the club members are various respectively, but it is common that we love the mountain streams. Tying Kebari, repairing tackle and searching the destination, it can be said that all concerning fishing are the enjoyments of fishing. Moreover, to enjoys things of nature, to tasting the mountain products and local sake, to touch humane feelings and the history of the mountain village, etc. I think that there is the true enjoyment around fishing. I also think drawing the picture of the trout, the mountain village and etc. to be the enjoyment related to fishing for me.

Adam: Every year or so, I attend a local fly fishing club meeting to see what I am missing. There talk about a lot of trips to the mountains to camp and fish and traveling to other areas. I like the idea of companionship in my practice, but I am best at home, alone on a stream. The times I have organized stream side meetings, we all split up and fished alone and meet far up the mountain valley under the cool shade of a pine tree. Often there was a cigarette or a bottle of spirits involved. Many times I found myself looking for a place to take a nap in the cool grass. That evening, we would meet at a common area to camp together.

“Do you enjoy fishing with a club or do you fish with a friend or by yourself?”

Yoshikazu: I go fishing with friends whom the schedule suits during the fishing season several times and go also to biannual regular fishing trip of Fishing club TSUTTENKAI. Of course, I go fishing to “my best streams” by myself. However, fishing is always only a name, and it is a pattern mostly that after we fishes a little, we drink sake and takes a nap under the shadow of a tree of the stream side.

Adam: Recently, I have started to put together an light weight back packing kit so that I am not weighed down when I am hiking on stream. Tenkara is perfect for steep mountain valley streams and easily fits into a small back pack. The simplicity of fishing tenkara style is attractive to back packing.

“Do you hike and camp to go fishing?”

Yoshikazu: I hiked and camped to often go fishing when I was young. But I enjoy fly fishing or tenkara fishing in the stream that is not too steep because it aged now. Really, the simplicity of Tenkara is the best for the backpack. Recently, I was asked guidance of Tenkara-fishing to British friend who are making hiking a hobby, so we went fishing together last year, and we will also go fishing together this year. His desire is to carry Tenkara tackle easily, and to add a enjoyment to hiking.

Adam: Tenkara is relatively new in the United States. There is Daniel san and his company, Tenkara USA and that is it. The rest of our equipment has to be imported. I have spent a lot of time researching the Internet for choices in tenkara equipment.

“From your understanding, what are some of the popular names for Japanese tenkara equipment?”

Yoshikazu: In Tenkara, furled tapered line is called “Basu”. It is because horse’s tail was used at old days. Tippet is “Harisu”. (It was called “Tegusu” at old days.) Fly is “Kebari”. Landing net is “Tamo”. Creel is “Biku”. All of Line and Tippet and Fly is called “Shikake”. The spool to hold them well is called “Shikake-maki”.

Adam: There are many ways to look at tenkara, I have heard it called, “ten colors” and I do enjoy that. Here in America, there seem to be two camps as well, tapered and level line.

“What line do you fish in your mountain streams?”

Yoshikazu: It is someone’s joke though “ten colors” is admirably aptly put expressed. No one knows for certain why it’s called tenkara. I use the furled tapered line because I often fish in the small stream. As for the use of the level line, it seems to be more suitable to fish the large stream.

Adam: I fly fish with a reel and also tenkara. I use tenkara in small streams.

“What is your favorite type of tenkara fishing?”

Yoshikazu: I am also the same as you, and do fly fishing of the western style. When I want to enjoy fishing readily, or want to fish in the small stream, I use Tenkara.

Adam: Thank you very much for your time Yoshikazu, I really appreciate your agreeing to this interview.

“If you have anything else you would like to say, feel free to write it here.”

Yoshikazu: I think that it has died down a little now though there was time when Tenkara fishing stole the limelight in the past. I think that I can say so according to the amount of issues of the book and the magazine related to Tenkara fishing now. However, because the merit of Tenkara is being admitted in foreigner recently, I am very glad. I think that I want many people to taste simplicity and fun of Tenkara fishing.

Takayama Sakasa Kebari

Tied with tan 6/0 UNI, India hen, and peacock herl on a TMC 2487

The takayama sakasa kebari is my favorite traditional tenkara fly. It is very similar to the sakasa kebari, the only difference being the addition of a herl collar. I have always had good luck with any fly that uses peacock herl. From what I have gathered looking thru Japanese tenkara blogs, the same basic design and tying methods are used for both flies. All the material combinations that can be used to tie the standard sakasa kebari can also be used to tie the takayama version.

For hackle, something on the softer side is preferable. I have recently tried India hen back with good results. The hackle seems to come alive in the slightest bit of current. I will be playing with starling and pheasant in the future.

As a replacement to the peacock herl, one could substitute their favorite dubbing, yarn, or chenille. Synthetics are another option as well. I have been using an 1/8″ black brass bead for the collar as a way to get my fly to sink quicker during the early season. After tying in the head and hackle, you have to slide the bead onto the hook shaft with the con-caved side of the hole going towards the hook eye. Now push it up as far as it will go trying to cover the base of the hackle and causing it to slant forward. Build up the butt, whip finish, and your done.

It is the fisherman’s choice as to how he ties his fly. Play with different options and come up with what works best for you.

Tied with gray 6/0 UNI, grizzly hen, and a black bead on a TMC 2487

Sakasa Kebari

Tied with olive and yellow uni-6/0 and grizzly hen hackle

When I think of traditional tenkara flies the first fly to come to my mind is the sakasa kebari, or the reverse hackle fly. I view it as the Japanese version of our wet fly. The main difference is that the hackle comes forward, toward the eye of the hook. This style of fly seems to be the basic foundation of tenkara fly design. Or maybe its the old stand-by, the meat and potatoes.

There are a lot of variations in how it is tied in Japan. The body can be tied with a traditional silk thread, a standard tying thread, peacock herl, or a shaggy looking cotton thread. The fluff gathered from a fiddlehead fern and then dried can also be used. I found UNI-Yarn 2x to be a good substitute for the cotton thread. You could also use any dubbing as a fiddlehead replacement if you would like. One more thing, the head of the fly is sometimes a different color than the body, with red being the most common color I have seen used.

Tenkara anglers don’t seem to place a lot of importance on the type of hackle they use. Hen pheasant is popular in Japan, and so is the standard chicken hackle we use here. There seems to be a slight variance in how far forward the hackle slants. Some anglers tie the fly so that the hackle is almost at a 90 degree angle, others have it coming down almost parallel with the shank and covering the hook eye.

There are also variations in the hook itself. Tenkara fisherman seem to be split between a standard hook eye, and an eye made from tying a loop of thin string, Lilian, or mono to the hook shaft. Traditionally, a hook with a wide gap is used. Not having an actual tenkara hook, I substituted with a Tiemco 2487 #12.

This is a simple fly with many options.

Tied with rusty brown uni-6/0, grizzly hen hackle, and rusty orange uni-yarn 2X

Simple Complexities...

My philosophy for fishing is simple, literally.

Well that’s not exactly true but I would like to think that way.

In all that I do on stream, on the pond, lake or open flats, I keep things as simple as possible however the preparation is complex. It does not mean that my equipment and techniques are not well thought out, quite the contrary. In order to keep things simple, the equipment and techniques have been honed to their minimum with maximum thought.

This is a tenkara style, simple, but it is fishing no less and my pass time. I have come to fish tenkara from my love of fly fishing. In all of what my interests are, I am one to not forget where I came from but more importantly, where I am going to. Tenkara is relatively a new style of fishing for me and at the same time, one of the oldest. It is very zen like in my understanding of it, simple as a rod, line and fly. A carbon fiber rod, a woven or well tested level line and a fly that has stood the test of time.

For many of you, this article will be old hat, for some, you may find similarities in my approach. Hang in there with me and see what I do, how I think of my practice on the stream. If for nothing, to see how excited I am to fish this simple way.

Still here?

Good, I’ll continue.

For my tenkara rods, I terminate the tippet to the fly at 6x for a length of at least 18 inches and another length of tippet above that as long or longer. I attach this to the tenkara line whether it is a level line or a tapered line. I use the same length line in order to build a knowledge base and be able to converse about the “handling” of that line here. For most of my fishing, I use the length of the rod plus three feet. This gives me plenty of slack in order to line the fish in while being able to construct a stealthy tippet terminus.

For a rod, I choose the longest rod that the stream will allow. For open streams with little vegitation, I will use a 13’+ rod, for open and forested waters, I will use a 12’ rod and for tight quarters, I will go slightly shorter to just at 10’ or 3 meters always matching the rod to the stream and secondly to the line type.

On the stream, I want my time spent fishing, as productive as possible. I think in percentages, maximizing my time with the fly in front of the trout. If the fly is not in the water, it can’t catch fish. My time on the stream is always spent with an eye on the dynamics of a particular section but more importantly, while I am fishing a particular section, I am thinking of how I will approach the next section, often using a small monocular to check out what is ahead.

Before I fish a particular stream, I go through in my mind, what I expect to find. I think about the topography of the stream. Will there be deep pools where large brown trout “hunt” from the shadows or will there be many little runs of riffles and in stream rocks that cause feeding lanes… I adjust what I take with me right before I am ready to walk on the stream having prepared my equipment as a whole at home and having it available in a box. I take that box with me in the car, before I hike the stream, I choose only what I think I will need. I will hone the contents of that box until at which time, I will no longer need it. The box as it stands now is the size of a shoe box and only half full…

My clothes are chosen to blend in with the streamside. I choose earth tones for my shirts and at a minimum, dark colors or earth tones for my shorts or pants. I choose foot wear that is able to dry quickly and is not hindered by a walk in the water. I wear a hat with a brim to protect my vision and my skin from the sun. I wear sung gloves to protect my hands as the sunlight in the mountains is intense and skin damage is accumulative. If I am fishing for a day, I will carry what I need in my pockets. If the weather is changing, I will carry a small day pack in order to carry a shell. If I am overnighting, I carry the minimal gear in order to keep warm and dry, always telling someone of my where I am fishing and when I will return.

When I get to the stream, I have only one thing to do, pack and that could be as limited as hanging a nipper around my neck, placing the tippet spools and the fly box in my pocket or slinging on my lightweight backpack and locking the car…

My homework was done a long time ago and my preparation was also done in my downtime. At home, I can fish by gathering and organizing my equipment to the ready in a small box that I can carry with me in the car.

Trout generally feed in moving water. I use this to my advantage by fishing the greater percentage of my time fishing in an upstream direction. When the trout are rising to the surface, I fish dry flys, when the trout are not, I fish wet. For the most part, I am always looking at what kind of insects are on or above the water. I try to catch one and match it’s outline and size first, color second. Most of the time, a bug will land where I want it to on my hand or on my arm, when this happens, I am already paying attention to what kind of fly I have with me. If there are no insects, I look in the stream under a rock the size of an apple for what kind of bugs are in the water. Often I will take the bug, place it in my palm and choose a fly from my box with the same criteria as stated above. All rods are used with as lightest lines as possible, all flys used have a reason, I rarely fish “attractors” having already figured out what the trout are eating. Rarely am I getting bouz because of this homework and simplicity.

Equipment to be carried is minimal.

I carry two spools of tippet (5 and 6x) in my pants pocket. Around my neck is a piece of fly line with a petite nipper and a needle. In my cargo pocket is a single waterproof C&F fly box filled with a percentage of dry flys that I use with the percentage of wets that I use. I match dry flys with known hatches in size first and color second. For wets I use proven bead head flys and dispense with unweighted flys so I don’t have to carry extra shot. Clipped on my shirt is a petite haemostat to remove the hook from the fish and to mash a barb down on a hook that has one. Around my waist is a belt of which tucked in the belt handle down is a round net.

I will fish the stream looking at it as a whole however I will fish it in sections. Contrary to what I have read, on a fifty yard section of a stream, that would last me at the longest, ten minutes. This is the allure of stream fishing with a tenkara rod, I am on the move. I use the length of the stream to gauge my lesson, the first section of the stream is to figure out what the fish are feeding on and the rest is to get “in the zone” where as I am not thinking of anything, casting to seams, behind rocks and over the inside grass banks to the narrow of a run. I am here to relax and if I find a good place, to take a nap in the cool grass. Here is where I recharge my enthusiasm, here and there…

It is cyclical and perpetual.

Interview with Daniel W. Galhardo, Tenkara USA founder

Adam: I would like to start this interview with a thank you. Tom Smithwick suggested that I visit TenkaraUSA.com when he was reading about my wanting to build a split cane rod to emulate the “cane pole” that I fished as a young child. I had written about my adventures as an adult fishing the farm ponds back in Tennessee and I wanted to make a pole just for fishing that style. When I visited TenkaraUSA.com my prayers were some how answered even more than I asked for. I could fish a “pole” fly fishing style, tenkara style. Quickly I purchased my first dedicated tenkara rod and learned to use it the correct way. This is how I meet Daniel, I bought a rod from him to realize my dreams as an adult, to have fun fishing as I would a child.

Thank you.

My first question to you would be much like my little story.

“How did you come to find out about tenkara?

Daniel: Much like you I think I had been craving the simplicity and relaxing fishing experiences I had as a kid for sometime. I didn’t know that tenkara was what I was looking for, but I think my mind was alert looking for something. A few years ago I had the opportunity to study in China for a few months. That started a growing interest in Asian cultures. At that time I also started dating my now wife, Margaret, who is Japanese American. I’m not an Asian scholar, but a couple of years ago I had this theory that Japan must have some beautiful fishing history, and that in it there must be a wonderful fly fishing tradition too. I then happened to started researching the presence of fly fishing in Japan. Then I came across a book called “Angling in Japan” at the local library. It talked about several methods of fishing in Japan, among them tenkara – which ironically only has a very short reference to it. That’s how I learned about the existence of tenkara fly fishing. Then, upon visiting Japan I was enthralled by the tenkara gear I found in tackle shops, and the fishing method practiced in the steep mountain streams. It combined my love for fly fishing, with what I had unknowingly been craving, simplicity.

Adam: From my understanding, there are a lot of anglers that feel that they can fish tenkara style with telescopic poles (mostly of the crappe variety) Usually these anglers feel that tenkara is not in the equipment but the technique. From my own standpoint, I was in that category until I purchased a dedicated rod (a Tenkara USA “Ebisu”) and started to fish it, understanding the subtle aspects. At that point I realized that what you and Chris were saying was true.

“Can you tell us what elements of design actually makes a tenkara rod?”

Daniel: The main differences between tenkara rods and crappie rods are found in the quality of construction, lighter-weight materials, and some of the design elements of the rod, such as the taper, which allow it to cast a line the way a crappie rod just can’t, and the handle which provides good balance to the rod, as well as comfort for a day of casting. Just try removing the handle from your western fly rod and casting with it all day long, it will be a bit painful. A tenkara rod feels much lighter and is comfortable to be used for casting over extended periods of time, whereas a crappie rod is designed to be cast once and then be put to rest until a fish bites. Crappie rods also have a whippier tip that dampens the cast and does not effectively transfer the energy from rod tip to line, which is essential in fly casting.

Adam: Daniel, in my years of making forums for my different interests, I have come to find that many of the participants of a particular forum often have the same interests. For example, I organize a forum based site on bamboo fly rod construction. I have an idea of a guy who makes bamboo fly rods and it isn’t really what I ended up understanding.

When I was young, I started out skateboarding in the city, I’ve always fished since I was a child but there are other interests in my life. I evolved into a surfer and then into a hang glider pilot. In all that I do, I love to surf the things that I do. At that bamboo fly rod forum, I found that many of us were “surfers” and have similar interests besides fly fishing.

“Do you have other interests?”

Daniel: Oh, yes. I have always had many interests. Fly fishing is the one that has really stuck with me the longest and on a more consistent manner. I love rock climbing and have been climbing for about 12 years now. I also grew up surfing, since I was 7 years old, though that never made me very good at it. I also keep some planted fish tanks, which I love since it connects me with water and life even in my office. I just love being out (or feeling like I’m outside) and finding something that engages my mind as much as my body.

Adam: Having been privy to a small portion of the industry as an insider, I have seen first hand the interest of foreign companies to sell products to the USA. From my own research into tenkara manufacture and suppliers, I see similarities yet I understand that you have worked with another American company, (backpackinglight.com ~ Ryan Jordan) to develop a specific rod.

“Are the tapers true to TenkaraUSA.com?”

Daniel: Yes, all tapers are original tenkara rod tapers developed by myself with assistance from engineers in the field. After launching the company and getting the attention of backpackers, Ryan Jordan at Backpacking Light started doing tenkara fly fishing. He soon became a huge fan, after all the tenkara philosophy goes very well with his own philosophy of simplicity. He then asked us to develop a rod for him, which I gladly did.

Adam: “What is your personal favorite tenkara rod?”

Daniel: Most people would respond saying that such a question is like asking “which is your favorite child?”, and while I developed every single rod in our lineup to meet one very important criteria: to feel pleasant for me to fish with, to feel good in my hands, and to be something I’d like to fish with. I do have to say the Ayu has probably been my favorite and is the one I find myself using the most, mostly because of its longer length. It has a nice and soft action, it’s a longer rod which is a good fit for California’s wider streams, and it casts very light lines very well. I have tried sticking with one rod exclusively from the beginning to test durability of rods and see if any issues arise with time and go through what my customers may go through with one rod, and the Ayu is what I use most of the time. I use other rods periodically to make sure they are also seeing their share of fishing. I have to use the Amago more this season, I have a feeling it could become a new favorite too.

Adam: “What type of water do you enjoy fishing most?”

Daniel: Without a question, small mountain streams. It’s more than just the water, it really is the surroundings. There is a good reason I’m a trout angler, it takes me to pristine places with clear water, moss on the rocks, trees and that best music of all, running water.

Adam: “Do you fish level lines exclusively?”

Daniel: Not really. In fact I use the traditional lines a big part of the time. In fact, I did not even start using level lines until Chris Stewart “persuaded” me to try them. I really like how the traditional line casts and how it presents a fly very delicately, but being in California and having wider streams I saw the level line mostly as a tool for reaching a bit farther while still keeping my line completely off the water. Both lines have their places, and I’ll always carry a spool of each.

Adam: From my enthusiasm in researching all related tenkara media, I see that you have worked with and are friends with Chris Stewart. From my personal interactions with Chris, I understand that he is a kind and generous person and extremely knowledgeable tenkara enthusiast.

“What is your relationship with Chris Stewart”

Daniel: Right after having the idea for Tenkara USA I bought the domain and setup a placeholder page. Chris was the first person to contact me through that site. I thank him for persisting in contacting me because the email given on the page was wrong and he tried a couple of variations to get a message through, he was excited to see something becoming available here. He had already been tenkara fishing and knew quite a bit about it. Then he told me about this tenkara event taking place in New York a few months later, the one where Dr. Ishigaki came from Japan to talk and demonstrate tenkara. It was an incredible coincidence, a tenkara event in the US just a couple of months after the planned launch of my company??? Since Chris is in New York we agreed to meet, and spent a little time fishing. We have exchanged several emails on tenkara, and I learned a lot from him. I can say we are good friends now. There is no commercial relationship though.

Adam: I recently purchased the Amago and am readying myself to use it as one of my primary rods this season.

“Can you tell us a little more about the research and development of the Amago?”

Daniel: Part of my “job” is to continually play with new rod concepts and ideas. Many of them will never make it through my criteria, and that’s okay, it keeps it fun. All rods, and the Amago is no exception, are tested over several months of fishing and extensive casting. For the Amago I had been looking for an even longer rod that would feel comfortable and well balanced; it would be light and provide great sensation when hooking a fish. I’m not a scientist, I just knows what feels good, and after a few prototypes and tweaks the Amago felt good for release.

Adam: “What is the longest rod you see using for tenkara?”

Daniel: I think at this point 13 1/2ft is the longest. I like long rods, and have experimented with many, but there is a point where it becomes difficult to balance the rod properly and to have a long rod that is also comfortable to cast all day. There are a couple of longer rods available, but in my experience they are not so comfortable for a long day of fishing.

Adam: Daniel, you are free to write anything you want on this last one, I promise to publish it verbatim. Is there anything you want to say to the viewers of tenkara-fisher.net?

All I can really say is enjoy the fly fishing simplicity of tenkara! You’ll be in for a treat, a bit of going back to simpler times, a bit of advancing to a new level, and mostly just enjoying a new fly fishing feeling. Also, well done on tenkara-fisher I hope many people will enjoy the resources of this site.

Interview with Chris Stewart (tenkarabum)

Adam: Chris, everywhere I go to look for information on tenkara, you are there… What’s up with that?

Chris: I’m passionate about tenkara. Over the years I’ve joined quite a few forums, and when I see a question about tenkara I try to answer it. I think that other than on the Tenkara USA forum, I’ve only started three threads on tenkara, though. Once shortly after I first learned about it, to ask for myself “anybody out there try tenkara?” then a year later I posted a “follow-up” comment, and I kicked off the tenkara section at smallstreams.com. Other than that I only post to try to answer questions. Even then, sometimes only after there have been a few snide or misleading comments. I’ve only joined one forum specifically to make a tenkara comment, and that was to ask a question about a particular technique.

Adam: From my own investigation into the discipline (style) of tenkara, there are primarily a few ways that people find out about it.

“Can you tell us how you came to the tenkara conclusion?”

Chris: In the spring of 2007 I first saw a picture of a soft hackle fly in the North Country style (just a turn of partridge hackle and a thread body). I was absolutely struck by the simplicity and the almost austere beauty of the fly. I tried to learn as much as I could about soft hackles and how to fish them, and soon learned that to get the most out of them I’d need a longer rod than my 8 footer. The long rod of choice that summer seemed to be a 10′ Sage Z-axis, and I just couldn’t afford one. In my research on soft hackles, I’d seen David Webster’s book “The Angler and the Loop Rod.” A loop rod is similar to a tenkara rod in that it has no reel and the line is tied to the rod tip. Webster was a professional angler, and had to catch fish to earn a living. Reels had been in widespread use for decades, yet he chose a 13′ rod with the line tied to the tip. I figured if it would work for him it would work for me and that summer I got a 13′ telescopic fiberglass crappie pole. It was horrible. I then got a 12′ graphite crappie rod (with guides and a reel seat, but I still tied the line to the rod tip). That worked reasonably well. Sometime in the fall of 2007 I first came across tenkara on the internet – and I think it must have been when researching the horsehair lines that were used with loop rods. Ancient tenkara rods also used horsehair, so I think that is how I found the first tenkara site. There was a lot more information about tenkara than about loop rods, and the equipment is modern, light weight and convenient to carry. I immediately switched my research from loop rods to tenkara. I got a second hand tenkara rod in early 2008 and it’s been downhill from there. Now I’m a (tenkara) bum.

(This doesn’t really fit in here – especially given your comment below, but before I got the 13′ crappie pole I actually used the 10′ cane pole I had when I was 5. As you say, it works but not well. I think I only fished with it a couple weekends before getting the crappie pole.)

Adam: Wow, I came to it totally different. When I was young, I started out with a cane pole for bream (sunfish) and catfish. I would often take a cricket or grasshopper that I caught in the grass rustling around the stream and thread it on a hook, no weight or quill and just fly line it in there. The tip isn’t so supple on a cane pole but you can get a cast with it. As a bamboo rod maker, I started to think, “hey, I can make a pretty cool split cane pole for the same thing.” And a friend/maker, Tom Smithwick saw my interest and pointed me to Daniel at TenkaraUSA and the rest is what you read here.

“Will you comment on glorified cane pole fishing?”

Just kidding.

“Can you comment on the different ways you see Americans coming to tenkara and their basic understanding of it?”

Chris: Well, first, on the glorified cane pole fishing, it depends on whether the person saying that has a sneer on his face or a twinkle in his eye. Tenkara has all the simplicity of a cane pole, but you can do things with a tenkara rod that you couldn’t even dream of with a cane pole. Generally, though, it’s said as a put down, by someone who has never fished with a tenkara rod and is trying to end the discussion rather than further it.

Americans come to tenkara by many different paths and with many different goals. I think a lot of flyfishermen see a tenkara rod as a good tool for Czech nymphing. Backpackers see it as a way to save the weight of a reel and line. A lot of people see the simplicity as a step back from the gadgets and glitz that seems to have taken over fly fishing. A few of them (and maybe a lot more than I realize) even try to delve into the techniques and and type of fishing that shaped the development of the rods we now use.

Adam: By the way Chris, if you don’t know it now, I really think you are a nice guy and I like messing with you (and Daniel) a little. You guys are in this for the long haul and I appreciate that. We can’t very well agree on everything so I feel like I have to find a little something to give you a little grief over…

“Who do you like going fishing with?”

Chris: Adam, I’ve known that for some time. Don’t worry about it.

I almost always fish alone. Occasionally I’ll take someone who wants to try tenkara but most of the time I fish alone.

Adam: Much of my fishing is done alone. I do like fishing with a friend now and then, usually only one and often, we don’t see each other on the stream for quiet a while, often just at the end of the day or way up a stream at a cool spot in the grass. A little spirits might be involved or a smoke (I quit socially smoking cigarettes last year)

“Do you enjoy a drink on stream?”

Chris: No, I just take water. Everything I have with me I have to carry all day, and if I took a flask I’d just have to take even more water to keep from getting dehydrated.

Adam: I’m not a boozer (I am a fisherman, there fore I lie) but I do enjoy a drink now and then, it helps me to calm my nerves (sleep) But what is most important for me is really to find a cool place in the grass and take a little nap. I’ve got spots marked out for that and I’m going to get more back to that this year. As a matter of fact, all of my backpacking kit is ready and I plan to do some overnighters on stream.

“What consists of a fish outing for you? Do you do any backpack fishing?”

Chris: I just do day trips. I sold my car towards the end of last season, so now I take the subway to Grand Central and then take the commuter trains out to some of the streams in the New York City suburbs. The only hiking I do is from the train station to the stream. And that poses a dilemma I’ll face this year. My favorite stream is a four mile hike from the nearest train station. How far are you willing to hike to get to a stream everyone else can drive to?

Adam: As a bamboo rod maker, I have very limited time, actually as a family man with other interests, I have very little time for web sites however if I see there is a need and I am having fun with them, I make time. I’ve looked at your web site many times and I will say that I am impressed with the overall knowledge base and simplicity of your web site tenkarabum.com

“What was the reason that prompted you to make your web site?”

Chris: Ah, I guess it’s one of those things where you don’t know where it will lead, but if you don’t do it, it won’t lead anywhere. I think that more and more people will be hearing of tenkara as they come across posts in a forum or see someone with a tenkara rod on a stream. I don’t know what tenkara in America will turn into, but I kind of want to be a part of whatever it is. Besides, I hope to be able to sell a few flies or tenkara lines someday. I won’t get rich, but it may hopefully pay for some train fares

Adam: Impressive. I’ve been to Japan in the 80’s. At the time, I was a fisher but my main interest was surfing and hang gliding. The Japanese were very kind and welcoming to me. Without me being distracting with my own stories, do you have aspirations to visit Japan or have any thoughts on it’s fishers?

“Do you have any friends that are Japanese and fish tenkara?”

Chris: I’ve never been to Japan and I would love to visit someday. The problem is that I don’t want to just go for a week, I want to go for a couple years and learn tenkara from the masters.

I now have friends that I met through tenkara, but other than Misako Ishimura who I met when Dr. Ishigaki gave his presentation the Catskills, none are Japanese.

Adam: I don’t, yet, but I am looking. I use Google Translation to view the Japanese tenkara blogs and all I can say is that they are very much like American society of anglers. You have the young that are taking fishing in other directions and you have the older generation that is standing on tradition.

“What is tenkara to you Chris? Tradition or a new direction in fishing?”

Chris: It is a tradition that for me is a new direction. I have not been doing it long by any means, but I have been doing it long enough to have begun to realize that the equipment and the Japanese techniques evolved together. The rods are exquisitely suited to a particular style of fishing, and the more I tried to take it in new directions, the less suited it was.

Adam: Is tenkara fly fishing?

Chris: Funny you should ask that now, as I’ve just been thinking about that over the past few days. A week ago I would have said “yes” without a moment’s thought. Today I’ll say that tenkara is a style within the greater definition of fly fishing. Tenkara, Czech nymphing, Spey casting fore example – they are all fly fishing, but they are all very different disciplines in my view.

Adam: I have written my interview in it’s entirety so I don’t know how you answered this. I have an idea of how you will respond but I don’t know you having never meet you. I know that we meet on tenkaraUSA’s web forum where I know I came on strong. I don’t feel that I came on strong but over all, that is certainly the impression. I know what I know about fishing and am secure in the fact that I am broad spectrum in my outlook. I have seen kids in Mexico using a Coke can as a spool and a spark plug as a weight twirling a meat bait hook and slinging, let gooo o oo o… The memory is of fishers fishing for a meal.

“Do you take fish for a meal?”

Chris: Oh, yes. At it’s core, fishing is and always has been a method of putting food on the table. I don’t keep fish that often, and never more than one, but to completely remove the ability to eat your catch just cuts the heart out of fishing in my opinion. Others have different views, and that’s fine with me. I don’t give anyone grief for releasing a fish, and I certainly don’t want anyone to give me grief for keeping a fish where it is legal to do so.

Adam: I do every once in a while, it reminds me of why I am a fisherman. If I don’t eat my catch every once in a while, I don’t feel like a fisherman and I don’t really want to go fishing. I don’t need to go fishing to enjoy the outdoors, I can go hiking for that, stream walking is nearly as fun as fishing a stream, catching fish is just icing on the cake.

Anyway, I understand from reading your web site that you know Daniel (tenkaraUSA) and have done some work with him. In my own contact with him, purchasing rods, discussing tenkara on the phone and in e-mail, he is really a nice person.

“What is your current affiliation with tenkaraUSA and Daniel Galhardo?”

Chris: Very good friends and a very satisfied customer. No current or ongoing affiliation other than that. No commercial ties. It’s all there in black and yellow on my website.

Adam: Chris, this interview is for the web site. I tend to keep my articles on line brief due to the nature of how people spend their time online. I’m not making this article to print out, rather, I am keeping the depth and scope for a single sitting. In that I will close with a open offer…

“Anything you care to write about for the readers of tenkara-fisher.net?”

Chris: Not that I can think of at this point. I’ll post from time to time as I see something that I want to comment on. But as you said at the start – I tend to post everywhere (and maybe too much). I think on tenkara-fisher I’ll spend more time reading and less time writing – I’ll learn more that way.

Adam: Thank you for your time here, at tenkara-fisher forums and at your own web site. I look forward to the day we are able to meet and perhaps do a little fishing.

Take care Chris.

And you, Adam.

tenkara-fisher

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The World of Flyfishing; Tenkara Secrets

The World of Flyfishing; “Tenkara Secrets” by Soseki Yamamoto

Published in 1987

ISBN4-257-03226-x c0076

Explanations for the photos and figures.

Tutorial: Takayama Sakasa Kebari

Another Whirlwind Adventure

Fiddlehead Fern

Interview with Yoshikazu Fujioka

Takayama Sakasa Kebari

Sakasa Kebari

Simple Complexities...

Interview with Daniel W. Galhardo, Tenkara USA founder

Interview with Chris Stewart (tenkarabum)

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The World of Flyfishing; “Tenkara Secrets” by Soseki Yamamoto

Published in 1987

ISBN4-257-03226-x c0076

Explanations for the photos and figures.