New Honryu Tenkara Season

 

Arizona has a lot of different types of rivers and streams to explore with a tenkara rod. Our state is not all desert, it has the largest ponderosa forest in the United States and in that forest and the mountains lies hundreds and hundreds of miles of streams and trout!

For the last several years, I’ve been hiking and exploring those streams with my tenkara rod and before that I used my fly rods. As I enter this next season, I’ll focus more on my big water tenkara techniques.

I enjoy using 4 - 5 meter length rods that are powered up for bigger trout and the flow they live in. These rods are stiffer, take more effort to cast and by design, they present more surface area resistance to the air during its casting stroke. 

The lines I use are longer and slightly heavier gauge and in my case, clear. The river I fish is so clear that driving along upriver in a powerful shallow draft boat, you still have to know where the river channel is. It can go from 15’ deep to 1’ shallow very quickly, the water so clear, the depth appearance not always true.

I use a pack raft to get back to my car floating many miles and along the way, there are times the trout appear to be suspended, the surface and the water so clear. My friends in their boats seemingly flying along above them.

This will be what I consider my second real season of honryu tenkara. My first two seasons were spent flailing the water, trying to figure out how not to fly fish with my tenkara rod.

I’ve always said that a good rod knows what to do, you just have to listen and watch what it does. That’s the way I learned honryu. I took a few rods and tried everything and then I bought a purpose built rod and upscale a line for it and listened to it sing. 

...and the song it sang was beautiful.

Prior to my learning tenkara, I had caught thousands of fish on this river and in this very spot. Initially I set up my rods like a western fly rod (sans reel) with floating lines and indicator, split shot and fly, dead drifting slack line waiting for the bobber to do its thing and it did but it wasn’t working. 

I was catching fish but the count was low and landing them was even worse.

I even bought a performance 5-weight and spent an afternoon revisiting my fly fishing past.

It was not fun, it was frustrating, I was going backwards, I knew tenkara was better.

So I sat there in my camp chair, dejected. I ran through many scenarios in my mind. I knew I had everything I needed but I wasn’t putting it all together, “why” I asked myself, “why was this so difficult.” I had caught so many fish here, I knew fly fishing, I knew tenkara, why couldn’t I get my fish count back.

At the time, I just had no idea what to do.

So I just stopped with the notion that it was the fish count and concentrated on catching instead of counting.

I picked out a fly I had confidence in and looked at the water straight in front of me and began with an overhead view.

“Where are the fish.”

I was on the inside of a big horseshoe bend. The back eddy in front of me was massive, the bottom was sand, there was a submerged tabletop of salad (aquatic vegetation) and I could see trout milling on scuds on the far side in the main flow. I moved slowly within a cast and reached out upstream across the counter current and drifted my fly off the salad ledge and dropped into the zone.

My line was tight, I gently pulsed the fly and two trout pointed toward toward it.

“Yes, I have their attention, so far so good.”

In a smooth motion I picked up the entire line in one piece and directed it forward upstream. I was the center post on the second hand of a huge clock, my rod sweeping in slow motion, my line matching the speed of the current. I could see my fly far away, 5 meter rod, 8 meters of line, I really couldn’t see it but I imagined it. I could feel it ticking on the bottom between pulses. 

The fly going over the salad ledge, lower the tip to sink it and lift to pulse and my line is rattling, yess, set!

“Fish on!”

Backing up, playing the fish, net out, hand line net, release and tuck the net in my belt and forward again back into position.

My position in the second hand nailing yet another trout, and another...

It’s backwards, it’s not a slack line, it needs to be tight.

I was fly fishing, that was the problem, I had the wrong software loaded, time to delete that old program and trust the new software.

And that’s exactly what I did, instead of staying in one spot, it was time to move.

I lifted the rod, looped the line and grabbed the fly walking back to the shore and at the edge back upstream.

I had caught a few fish quickly, faster than if I had a fly rod and the gig is, I could not have reached those fish and manipulated my fly as I did with a nine foot fly rod.

Upstream I saw fish dimpling the surface taking midges. Ok, lots of fish. I thought to myself, “I have some size #22 midges” and then remembered the software.

Creeping into the shallow water, I began to take note the slack current nearly like the still water ponds fishing for stocked trout. Shaking the line loose from the rod, holding on to the fly casting the bend of line upwards releasing the fly and casting forward stop!

My fly stretching the line taught just past a rise ring, pause, lift, pause lift and TIGHT!

“Fish on!”

Again and again.

It wasn’t the hardware, it was the programming.

Load the program and let the software do its thing.

Minimalism is Everything

Tenkara fishing is simple however the skill behind it is not.

This is the process of how I arrived at the way I practice tenkara.

Use a list to prove to yourself what you use and what you don’t need.

My definition of tenkara is more about skill than the equipment I carry.

The skill in reading water, the approach to a stream, the technique of delivering a fly can be honed razor sharp by using only what we need.

I suggest a process of improving your skill by using a written list. Write it all down, every last piece of what you carry in your kit. Go fishing. When you come back, the things that you didn’t use, cross off. The things that really helped you, circle. Carry the same kit next time and when you get back, cross off the things you didn’t use and again, circle the things that helped you. Now remove the things you crossed off and improve on the things you circled.

You carried two rods but only used one?

Next time use one. (You will learn to protect it.)

It’s a process of identification and elimination.

Use the list until you can do it in your head.

Focus on improving what you use, eliminate what you don’t and do that by being honest with yourself.

Filter your outlook on tenkara through this process.

Why choose minimalism?

Improving your skill in fishing is how you will improve over your lifetime.

Do you really need all that extra stuff?

I bet you use very little out of your kit.

I carry one rod, two lines, a few kebari, a nipper, a hemostat, rod un-stick pads in a small bag and sometimes a net, that’s it. The rod I use is versatile and compact. Each component of my kit is designed to be versatile and useful.

I use a zoom rod to handle a variety of stream types. I carry a long and short line to enhance the diversity of the zoom rod. I use a slightly heavier line to handle a little wind. I developed my own kebari, a style of fly that I use on the surface, wet or sink it deeply with the addition of hidden tungsten bead.

Focus on what works, get rid of unnecessary habits or equipment that you do not use. Move away from the comforts of stuff. Rely on your skill. Improvise in difficult moments, what you need to do with what you have. Minimalism enhances learning new skills. Fishing is about skill.

1. Carry just what you need.
2. Focus on improving the things you use the most.
3. Your fishing skill becomes a process of improvement.

Minimalists are constantly sharpening their fishing skill. People that carry a lot of gear become good at shopping.

You only need what works.

Your skill determines your success.

Improve your skill by efficiency.

p.s. I was asked by Anthony Naples to write an article for his web site, "Casting Around" I have updated that article here. If you liked the article, there are more that go with it, "Wrong Kebari" -  "Casting Practice for Accuracy" - "Lightweight Travel Tips"

fishing water wheel 8/11/19

When ever you read "fishing water wheel" at tenkara-fisher, it is the East Verde just North of Payson, the closest stream to my house. Today took 65 minutes to get there by car. Not bad.

What is bad is this is the confluence of Ellison Creek and the East Verde River, in a canyon that is popular with swimmers. This is the place where in 2017, ten people in one family were killed in a torrential flash flood. Out of respect, I did not take pictures of the memorials along the stream where they found the bodies. It is very morose...

Moving on, it's close to home and there are plenty of fish to be caught, even in high and chocolate water. We moved up the canyon to third crossing and walked the road back down the canyon to the car.

I've been using the Wrong Fly with a small tungsten bead tyed in and today it was the ticket. I caught a couple of types of rainbow, about a dozen fish in all. Super happy with this pattern, I've caught fish with it everywhere, it is my go to fly for sure.

Bendo in my Furaibo

As you can see, the water is chocolate brown and high from the run off from recent storms. The flash flooding that occurs is when there are active storms in the area. The last storms in the area where greater than 12 hours before and I am always careful about fishing here. I know about flash flooding from early on when I was a kid.

We caught a lot of fish today, just what Jimmy and I needed. It's a nice place to run up to, and escape. It is noon and I've been back for a while collecting the images and writing down my notes.

Wrong Kebari with Tungsten Bead

My "go to" kebari is a pattern that I have settled on and have been tweaking to use at all depths. It is the "Wrong Kebari" and I've named it that way as a twist on words. If you click on the link, you will see why I name it that. But this is a variation on the theme, I use tungsten beads because of the limited reach of a tenkara rod. I want to preface "limited reach" because I use relatively long lines compared to everyone I have fished with. For a 3.9m rod, I'll use a 5-6m mainline plus about a 50cm of tippet. Most people I have fished with use a line as long as their rod which I find much too short to reach and play big fish. All of this into account, I want the fly/kebari to sink NOW and I want the hook point to ride up as I am swimming or playing the fly. 

Integrating tungsten beads, I tye in the silk bead cord on the underside of the hook to keep the end flare from turning the hook to it's side. Eiji Yamakawa tyes his hooks like this and by the way. I do not overwrap, it does not take much to hold the silk bead cord on to the hook. It only has to be stronger than the strongest tippet I use. I have never broken or had a silk loop let go. Tye them in tight and straighten out the loop with your whip finisher. You can also strength check your loops like I do with the whip finisher. I give all my loops a couple of good tugs to simulate a fish fight. Tying in the loops is a little bit of extra time but the hooks are so sharp and I love the shape. You can check out why I use bait hooks in the article about the "Wrong Kebari."

I also use "Owner Super Yamame" bait hook that are available from Tenkarabum or Tenkara Ya. I use this hook on the suggestion of Yamakawa-san. It is super sticky sharp and has a slight barb that I am still able to back out without forceps if I do not have them.

The above Wrong Kebari have 2mm tungsten beads tyed in the black body. The bodies are coated with "Sallys Hard as Nails" clear nail polish. I find that this helps keep the thread from wearing and or the bead from chipping. I think it may help, maybe not. I do know I catch a lot of fish on this version. On a lot of trips, my friends end up using this one a lot. I always tye a few because I end up handing them out. I really enjoy it when people catch fish on flys that I have tyed, quite an honor.

You can use different sizes of tungsten beads depending on what you want to do with your kebari. These are size 7/64, I do not go much heavier than this, these sink RIGHT NOW and they lose action when they are heavier than this.

I use BLACK beads to match the Uni thread that I tye with. I do not wrap thread over the beads, I tye off and then tye back in and taper the body.

I have caught fish 10' deep in good flow with my 3.9m rod and a 5m line. That is casting straight upstream and letting the kebari drop into the deep pool with the flow. Catching fish this deep is a skill that I like to hone. I learned this using heavy gauge hooks. Often I knew there were fish but I was not catching them. I started to use typical brass beads with the bead in the placement behind the eye but the way I was observing the fly, I did not like the way it swam and rode over rocks. So I started tying in the bead a little bit farther back until I found the sweet spot.

You may like to try this sometime. If you do not like Japanese bait hooks or do not have them, you can use a "jig hook" to keep the point up. Or, you can use a slotted tungsten bead on a jig hook if you are a fly fisherman and follow those lines of fly tying. 

What ever way you want to do it, tungsten beads help get your fly down NOW so that they are in the fish catching zone much longer with our limited tenkara rods and line lengths.