Tenkara Fly Fishing

Dead Drift

2012-02-03T04:13:00.000-08:00

I find it interesting that when fly presentation is mentioned to most fly fishers, it is interpreted to mean fishing one’s fly “dead drift”. I personally find that I am usually much more successful fishing an active presentation, so I sometimes wonder why the preoccupation with always fishing “dead drift”. Let me say up front, I think there is the occasion when that presentation is appropriate, I just don’t think it’s the best approach all the time.

As you think about it, unless a food item is indeed DEAD, it’s not very often an organism is just lazily “going with the flow”, laying on its back or belly idly drifting down stream. In most if not all cases, it’s using all the energy it can muster to go someplace. If it’s underwater, it is either trying to get to the surface to hatch, or back to the safety of the bottom when it’s in the process of being carried away (against its will) downstream. In moving water, there is little advantage for a bug to purposely head downstream. Chances are good it won’t have the strength to swim back upstream, so the river/stream is for all practical purposes a one way street. If the bug population does not actively try to hold its position, sooner or later it’s going to end up in a foreign environment, like Lake Michigan. So the point being, in these situations, there is at least an effort being made by the insect which will introduce some level of movement, however slight.

We all know one way bugs may use to avoid being carried away out to sea, is to sprout wings and fly back upstream a ways. In the case of mayflies, the bugs do seem to try to sit motionlessly while their newly sprouted wing dry and harden. Why would they have evolved this adaptation? Perhaps because it is the best strategy to avoid detection while they are vulnerable? Granted the predator/ prey relationship is an ongoing chess match, so once the bugs figured that out, the fish came to realize that was what to look for in regards to an easy meal. So certainly this is one situation where a “dead drift” will be effective. I will still maintain the point that the bugs figured out being still is preferable to floundering around, in terms of not being eaten, which seems to sway towards the idea that fish look for movement in their prey.

Of course caddis flies decided the best strategy was to get out of Dodge quickly, so they shoot up like a miniature Polaris missile. I’m not sure when a “dead drift” presentation would be effective while fishing a caddis imitation, unless it was to simulate a bug that had indeed died.

So when all is said and done, it seems the goal is to figure out a way to introduce subtle movement to indicate the presence of life to our offering. Of course, there are no absolutes, so sometimes no movement is the ticket, sometimes extreme movement is appropriate.

If you stop and think about it, there are at least a couple things that can convince a fish something is a bit of food. It can look like food, or act like food. Changing flies is an effort to find something that looks like food, changing presentation is an effort to make you fly look like food.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

Carve a rod cap

2011-12-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

Next time you find yourself sitting around the campfire with your trusty pocket knife handy, grab a branch and make yourself a spare (or replacement) rod cap.

As with all things tenkara, take it slow and easy, use a gentle hand.

Make sure you don't try to force a peg that is too big into a hole that is too small. You could possibly damage you rod. You also need to be sure not to try to force the cap too deep into the rod, remember there are rod sections down there. If you have your current plug handy, you can use it as a template regarding length and diameter.

2011-12-08T18:05:00.000-08:00

Got a dandy early Xmas gift from a virtual fishing buddy of mine. Alan graciously sent me a copy of his album, The Last Cast. Anyone who enjoys fishing or the outdoors will enjoy Alan's tunes.

I personally think this is the perfect music to listen to while tying flies. Even if it doesn't improve the look of your flies (but it very well might), it will improve your mood. You can listen to some of Alan's tunes on his website -

http://alancayn.net/music

Fly Fishing Complexity

2011-10-31T04:27:00.000-07:00

I recently read a thread in a fly fishing forum asking if fly fishing is becoming too difficult for beginners to get started.

I’ve often thought how lucky I was to have started fly fishing 50 years ago. If I was just getting started today, I don’t think I would take up the sport. I started long before Al Gore thought up the internet. I literally started fly fishing as a youngster using a willow branch, piece of mono, and a “fly” consisting of a piece of sponge with rubber band legs, tied onto a hook with some sewing thread. I didn’t personally know anyone else who fly fished to show me the ropes. I did have access to a small canal that held stunted “sunfish” that were always willing to attack anything that came their way. I spent countless hours over at least a few years joyfully occupied. It wasn’t until a couple years later that my parents bought me my first fly rod and fly reel. They didn’t know anything about tackle, and based their decision solely on buying a rod and reel that were cheap. It didn’t really matter to me, I used that rod and reel for the next 6 or 7 years, caught tons of bluegills.

I took a few years off from fly fishing my last few years of high school, and while in college. Once I started working, I started fly fly fishing again, an my fly fishing arsenal grew at an exponential rate. I’m sure I spent more than the total economy of some small third world countries. Pouring over fishing catalogs and buying stuff was almost as much fun as fishing.

If I was in the position of just getting started today, I know I would first turn to the internet and spend time reading the volumes of information contained “on line”. I sometimes wonder if too much information might not be a bigger curse than not enough information. I think I’d be hard pressed not to leave the research stage under the impression that it would take a major investment of at least multiple hundreds of dollars to buy a suitable rod and reel. After that comes accessories and gadgets, and then the task of suitable fly “selection”.

I actually can personally relate to being a newbie today. As a kid, I also loved shooting a bow and arrow. I had a $35 Fred Bear recurved bow, a suitable .50 bow string, and a half dozen arrows I bought at the local hardware store for $3.00 (I did also use a small flat piece of leather for finger protection). I’ve thought about taking up archery again, but as with fly fishing, most of mainstream archery has gotten a lot more technical and complex than when I was a kid. Having started to do a bit of research regarding how to get back into archery, the complexity/cost of archery was overwhelming to me, I decided to pass.

I’m not the least bit critical of the complexity in terms of equipment and/or advice available. It is all well intentioned and due to the passion that folks feel about their hobbies. That provides a lot of folks with a lot of enjoyment, but it does create a dilemma for the new person who is interested in sticking their toe into the water to see if they too may come to share the same passion and enthusiasm.

I’ve had a great time over a period of 30 years amassing fly fishing related equipment, my home and cottage is better stocked than most of the few remaining fly shops that are around my local area. I have pretty much stopped buying much of anything for the past 7 or 8 years. I use to tell myself that whatever I didn’t use would be passed down to my son. It’s pretty evident to me that my son has many interests of his own, which is good. I don’t foresee him taking up fly fishing anytime soon, so I find myself with more than enough stuff to last until long past the time my fishing days are over.

Maybe as a result of that realization, I found myself, looking to simplify my fishing. I found myself usually fishing with the same rod, and using a small handful of the same flies. A few years ago, I stumbled across a couple of forum entries by a guy named Chris Stewart, aka Tenkara Bum. I knew I wanted to give this a try. The first time out, using a kludged up outfit, I knew the method held a strong appeal to me. It very much reminded me of my earliest days, fishing with a willow branch

I don’t know if there is any conclusion to be drawn. At the risk of adding one more useless bit of information to the cosmos, I find it interesting, from my personal observations, the folks who seem to really get bitten by this bug often times fall into one of two “extremes” . One group consists of long time fly fishers, who are looking for a simpler, less complex way to enjoy fishing - sort of getting back to their roots. The other “enthusiasts” are brand new beginners, many have said they had previously looked into fly fishing, but had become overwhelmed. It’s interesting to see how often the folks I talk to fall into one of the two extremes.

Fly Selection

2011-10-15T04:08:00.000-07:00

One of my virtual fishing pals recently asked me what kind of flies I liked to fish.

I preface this by saying I am in a very small minority with regards to my opinion on this, so please take it with a grain of salt. Since I fish mostly for trout in moving waters, that has a pretty hefty influence on my opinions.

Popular consensus says, tie on a fly, strive for a drag free drift, if no results in a while, tie on a different fly and repeat. Hence the need for fly fishing vests which have lots of pockets with lots of fly boxes loaded with thousands of different fly patterns. The idea being to keep changing until you find the one that happens to work on that given day.

I personally rarely change flies, what I do change very frequently, often times on the same cast, is how I "animate" or move the fly I am using. I probably fish dead drift slightly less than 25% of the time, the other times I'm skating, swinging, twitching, dappling or maybe just pulsating the fly.

Perhaps that works for me based on where I fish, my home river is predominately populated with caddis fly species. I have never seen a caddis fly sit still on the water, unless it was just plain dead. I do admit that when there is a mayfly hatch going on, I do tend to tone down my presentation intensity.

Above and beyond the kinds of flies on the water, it seems to me that when a fly is dead drifted, one relies entirely on the outline of the fly to distinguish it from a stick, weed or cigarette butt that happens to be floating along. However when you add movement, I think that at least capture's the fishes attention. Weeds and sticks don't twitch around. One would think the right kind of movement would be something the fish key in on to indicate that something is alive, therefore a candidate for a light snack. As I think about it, we may be just the opposite. I never want to see any kind of movement on my dinner plate.

So at least when I'm fishing moving waters, I want a very generic looking fly, that I can fish in a variety of presentations, hopefully giving the fish just enough of a look to convince it that he better grab it while he has a chance. I like a fly that mostly floats, something I can twitch or skate. I do like to be able to give it a tug, so it breaks the surface tension, allowing me to swing the fly just below the surface.

I've been fishing this way for about the past 20 years, and my preference for fly of choice has slightly evolved. I've always pretty much settle on something in about a size 14, probably more or less based on the Goldilocks theory - something not too big, not too small, but just right. I do tend to maybe switch to a smaller fly as the season progresses, but a #16 is about as small as my old eyes can handle.

The first fly pattern I used to fish this way was something called a devil bug. It's an old Michigan based patterned, some deer hair lashed fore and aft over a thread or chenille body. It's trimmed close at the front to form a head. Then for a while I was fishing a Goofus Bug/Humpy, very simular, but with wings. I liked it, but I never got very good at tying a really nice looking one.

Next I went to a elk hair caddis. The palmer hackle helped when skating the fly. Somewhere along the way, I think while fishing an elk hair that had been dehaired after being mauled by a couple dozen trout, I wondered if it even needed a wing.

That's pretty much where I'm at now, a simple body with a feather palmered it's length. Picture a hairless elk hair caddis if you will.

To be honest, that was the appeal to me of tenkara, the long rod provides a level of control allowing one to provide fairly precise manipulation of one's fly. It didn't hurt to hear that many of the long time practitioners in Japan fished a single favorite simple pattern. Great minds think alike, right?

Well, that's my two cents worth.

What do y'all think?

2011-09-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

I'd be interested to hear what y'all use to carry your stuff. The chest pack I use is about 10"x10". To be truthful, it's larger than need be. As much as out of force of old habits, I still carry around 4 small fly boxes. I can't remember the last time I opened three of them. I pretty much have all my go to flies in one box and that's the only one that gets used. I also carry a pair of rarely used hemostats, a bottle of floatant, and a spool or two of tippet.

Don't leave home without it

2011-08-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

Wish I had been smart enough to think this up. I stole the idea from a fishing buddy. Good way to make sure you always have a grip pad handy. Of course it's best not to apply too much pressure when opening your rod, your rod should close without the need for too much pressure. However if you need to get a better grip, it's nice to have a pad handy -

Both!

2011-05-15T04:25:00.001-07:00

I learned an important lesson at a young age that I must have temporarily forgotten. When asked at a birthday party if one wanted cake or ice cream, the right answer is always – BOTH!

I think the same concept may have helped me to at least partially resolve a fishing related dilemma I’ve been tussling with for a while. I like to fish poppers for bluegills and bass in my local subdivision pond. Since I am shore bound, I’d like to be able to extend my range a bit, even though poppers tend to be a bit wind resistant when it comes to casting. So I’ve been in search of an optimal line to meet my desires.

I like the way normal length furled lines cast and fish. They have the mass to help deliver the bulkiness of the popper. Problem is, they become tedious to both furl and fish as the length of the line increases. The nice thing about level (fluorocarbon) lines, it’s easy to cut off longer lengths to increase range, but they don’t seem to have the mass to consistently cast bulky poppers.

So what is a poor boy to do? For some reason, I woke up the other day thinking about birthday cake and ice cream, and I realized, the fishing gods were talking to me. Why not try a combo line? Even though it was still early in the morning, I got busy tying up a combination line that started out with about a 7’ furled line, with a 12’ length of fluorocarbon. I added a 5-6’ leader/tippet, and was ready to go.

Soon as the sun started to come up, I was off to the pond to give it a whirl. After only a few days of field testing, I do like the way the combo line casts and fishes. I think in a lot of respects, I end up with the best of both worlds. Sort of like having your cake, and ice cream too.

Demand for hackle

2011-03-16T02:51:00.000-07:00

Looks like the demand for hackle is going up -

Dear Whiting Farms Customer,

Whiting Farms is experiencing an unprecedented onslaught of orders for our EuroHackle saddles. This is not just from the fashion world, but largely from the fly fishing pro shops that have new customers coming to them to buy our dry fly saddles for use in various fashion modes; hair weaves, ear rings, jewelry and crafts. This new traffic and business is welcome by the pro shops but we are faced with a real dilemma: orders vastly exceed supply! Understandably the shops that have put in orders to Whiting Farms, of any quantity, and are very keen to get them filled. But the number of saddles being ordered simply doesn’t exist. We wish we had as many saddles as everyone wanted. The crop of EuroHackle roosters to be harvested for 2011 is fixed and no changes can be made. Increases in production of this product line have and are being made, but the increasing numbers will be gradual and won’t really be seen until 2012! Therefore we have been intensely pondering how we can most equitably allocate what saddles we do have coming to harvest in 2011.

The only fair way, I feel, is to divide and conquer. By this I mean we are going to disassemble our EuroHackle saddles and repackage them in a new product line called the “Whiting Fashion Pack”. Sixteen long feathers of a single color will be affixed on our branded board, very much like our Whiting 100 Packs, but not sized as to hook size. The suggested retail price will be $20.00 [...] Most of the customers wanting these fashion feathers are wanting to experiment and so the smaller quantities will be welcome and more appropriate. The lower price point will encourage them to possibly buy a range of colors or several packs. A full or even half EuroHackle saddle is usually too many feathers of only one color for any hobbyist anyway.

In order to do this more fair allocation of our limited EuroHackle saddles we will have to cease selling full or half saddles as a product line. We are making an extra effort to keep our flagship Whiting dry fly saddles, and the new High and Dry saddles, in good stock to supply all the fly tier’s needs.

We appreciate your understanding of these needed changes.

Sincerely, Tom Whiting

Manipulation

2011-03-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

Definition of MANIPULATE

transitive verb

1: to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner

2a : to manage or utilize skillfully

b : to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage

I confess - I am manipulative. Furthermore, I confess that I hope to manipulate you to become manipulative as well.

I first became manipulative about 30 years ago. I had already been fly fishing for bass and panfish on ponds and lakes for the previous 15 years. I had read every book I could get my hands on regarding fishing for trout in rivers and streams. Just about everything I had read told me if I wanted to catch trout, it was imperative that I fish my dry fly with a dead drift.

Having just bought some property on the Muskegon River, located in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, I finally had my chance to put my book knowledge to serious use. I fished with friends the first several times I scouted and fished my new home river. In each case, I was a more skilled and “knowledgeable” angler than my companions. In every case, my companions managed to hook at least a few fish, and I was continually skunked. What was going on?

I was persistent, and finally managed to luck into a few fish every now and then. Often times the fish were caught while I was trying to wade up stream, with my line dangling in the water below me. Nothing could be farther from a dead drift presentation. I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid. Soon I started to dangle my line below me and give it a few twitches. When that worked, I started to sometimes swing my fly, and then skate it.

I started to experiment, and found that if I fished a rather generic looking fly, given the right presentation, it caught fish. If truth be told, every now and then I’d fish a cast out dead drift, and did catch a few fish using that presentation. As I started to fish a wider repertoire of retrieves, I found I had best luck fishing a relatively short line. What I lacked in range, I made up with much better control. That’s the way I fished for roughly 30 years. As I got my system and tactics down, I caught a lot of fish - far more than my fair share. If I didn’t always fish catch and release, I may have even felt a bit guilty about catching more than my fair share.

Then, by pure luck, I happen upon the idea of fishing a fixed-length-line system using a long, very light rod. I started using a $15 fiberglass rod I bought at Walmart, but it was very evident to me – this suited the way I fished, and allowed me to fish much more precisely and efficiently. I instantly found my catch rate increasing, and seemed to be having a lot more fun. There is something above and beyond catching more fish that makes it more fun and satisfying for me. Maybe it’s the simplicity; maybe it just seems more intimate; maybe it’s the precision it allows.. I have yet to totally figure it totally out yet, but it has made me even more manipulative.

PVC Rod Cases Revisited

2011-02-13T09:05:00.001-08:00

For the better part of the last 30 years, I’ve been using standard 1 ½” PVC pipe to construct rod cases. PVC has many advantages, it readily available, cheap, easy to work and very strong. The 1 ½” diameter was just the right size for a two piece fly rod. The primary disadvantage, it’s heavy.

Since I had some shorter pieces of standard PVC pipe lying around, I used it to make cases for some of my Tenkara rods as well. Other than the weight, it worked fine.

Since I had a need to make a number of cases, I had to purchase some more PVC. As I thought about it, Tenkara rods do a pretty good job of protecting their tips when the rods are collapsed. Plus the collapsed rods we short, so they were less likely to get slammed in a car door or meet some other disastrous fate. They were also one piece and had no guides, so I wondered if they may fit into a narrower diameter pipe.

Once at the big box store, I took a look at 1 ¼” PVC. I notice it came not only in the standard wall thickness, but also a thin wall version. I ended up buying the thin wall, and it worked great, still providing protection, but at a reduced weight.

From the picture, you can see the difference in wall thickness between the 1 ½” and 1 ¼” PVC.

Once I built a few cases, I weighed a 1 ½” case and a 1 ¼” case

The 1 ½” case weighed in at 1 lb 5 oz while the 1 ¼’ thin wall case (gray cap) weighed in at 9 oz.

I like this rod case the best, only problem, it requires a level of skill to make -

Is it fly fishing?

2011-01-30T06:40:00.000-08:00

Over the course of the past few weeks, it seems like every fly fishing related forum I regularly visit has had a topic or two started regarding Tenkara. In just about every case, one of the first discussion points raised is – Is it really fly fishing?

Of course, I guess it all comes down to what your definition of fly fishing is. If somewhere in your definition, there is a clause which mentions the use of reels and/or snake guides, then it’s obvious that fixed-length-line systems do not meet your requirements for being a fly fishing method.

One definition of fly fishing I found –

“Fly fishing is an ancient and distinct angling method, developed primarily for trout and now extended to other surface-oriented species such as grayling as well as a wide range of marine species. Artificial flies are constructed — "tied" onto a hook with thread, fur, feathers and other materials — in sizes and colors to match naturally occurring food or simply to excite a fish. Fly rods are relatively light and long while the lines are relatively heavy, providing the casting weight. Lines may be tapered and of differing densities to float or sink and are matched to the rod according to weight. The fly itself weighs very little and is attached to the line by a 2-3 meter leader which may taper to a very fine line at the tip end, also called the tippet.” (wordiq.com 2010)

Using the quoted definition, I think Tenkara certainly meets all the criteria. It is both ancient and distinct, developed primarily for trout. The rod is both light and long, and the mass of the line is what is used to propel the otherwise weightless fly. BTW, it does use a tippet.

To be honest, I really don’t care how people choose to fish, as long as it’s legal. I also don’t really care what they think about the way I choose to fish (as long as I stay legal). I do find it somewhat amusing to hear from someone who fishes with a strike indicator and a couple of split shot and a San Juan worm say fixed-length-line systems aren’t really fly fishing, it’s just fishing with a cane pole. But of course, to each his/her own.

Shortening a Tenkara Rod

2011-01-09T04:16:00.001-08:00

Several people have asked me about the possibility of making a shorter model of a Tenkara Rod available. Bad news, at this point, I'm not sure there would be sufficient demand to cover the cost of development and a production run. Good news, it is a simple and straight forward process to make a very fishable shorter rod out of an existing Tenkara rod.

I've been thinking about this for a bit. It would be very easy to modify an existing rod into a shorter version that would fish. Just remove the existing handled section, add a cork handle to the next (or next to next) section up, and you are there. What I've been thinking about, how does one store the rod when not fishing?

The handled section of a tenkara rod is usually a bit longer than the other sections to allow the entire rod to be collapsed into the handle section, with room for retaining cap. So would it be possible to easily extend the newly handled section to allow more space for rod storage? It hit me like a ton of bricks, all that is needed to to cut a length off the top section of the original handle. That would be installed at the butt end of the new handle section, and covered when a the new cork handle was installed.

The only thing that would take a bit of research, finding a plastic cap that would securely fit on the butt end of the cork handle that was added to seal the butt end of the rod. It should be secure, but removable in case the rod needed to be disassembled. The other bit of handy work required would be to make a replacement cap to fit the tip of the new handle section. That's easily done using a piece of foam.

If there is any interest, I may make up a model and take some pictures.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

They're here!

2010-12-07T15:14:00.000-08:00

All I can say is - They're here!

These rod are composite 25% glass, 75% carbon. Very slow and full flex. They put a smile on my face every time I fish them. Put a bluegill on the end of one of these!

Some Juicy Morsels

2010-11-20T02:59:00.000-08:00

I saw a couple of flies the other day that caught my attention. First off, they are certainly not traditional looking ties. Secondly, I have yet to field test them, but they have the attributes I like to see in a wet fly -

Alot of built movement/wiggle
Allowing a variety of presentations
Fast and easy to tie
Using a few, readily available materials
Sized to be easily cast

I know I will be tying some up and giving them some water time the next time I'm out -

Tenkara Rod Cases/Carriers

2010-11-20T02:55:00.000-08:00

Inspired by a posting I saw on a forum, I did a bit of online research. There are a number of hard and soft cases and bags made for carrying rolled up prints and drawings. The cost of the cases and bags range from a couple of buck up to about $20.

These carriers looked particularly applicable -

Tenkara Rod Plug Replacement

2010-10-24T14:10:00.001-07:00

If you fish with a fixed-length-line rod, there is about an 98% chance you belong to one of two groups -

1) Folks who have lost a rod plug
2)Folks who will lose a rod plug

Fortunately, you can easily and cheaply make your own replacement plug. The best material I've found is foam from a cheap pair of flip flops.

Start off by cutting a block of foam, slightly wider than the diameter of your rod. You may want to use a brightly colored flip flop, ideally not one that is still in use by your significant other -

Trim your foam block to a length of 1 1/4 long

Make a slit sut on each corner of the block, about 1/2" down from the top of the block

Trim the corners on the bottom 3/4" of your block

Give it a test fit. You want a slightly snug fit. Do not try to force fit the plug, if it's too big, trim away a bit more of the foam

The foam makes a very functional rod plug. Maybe not so pretty, but by using a bright color it will be easy to find if you drop it.

Now that you have the hang of it, make an extra or two. Put a spare in fly vest/pack.

Wisdom

2010-10-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

The following words are not mine. As a matter of fact, I received these words of wisdom at least fifth or sixth hand. I do not know the author's name. The author is at the twilight of his journey here on earth, and wanted to pass along the wisdom he has learned over the course of a rich life to his family and friends -

The Ultimate UltraLIght

2010-10-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am on the horns of the proverbial dilemma. I have always truly loved the looks and feel of fly reels. If truth be told, they probably hold more fascination for me than fly rods. When my son was born 25 years ago I wanted to get him something that represented myself and my feelings for my son. I bought him a Hardy Perfect and had it engraved with his initial and birth date. In retrospect, I now wish I had bought a couple of cases of them, they've appreciated much more than any of my other investments. Oh well.

Where my problem comes in, about two years ago, I started to fly fish with a fixed length line rod which required no reel (i.e. Tenkara, if you prefer). From day one, for me it was everything and more when it came to what I loved about ultra light fly fishing. Total system weight, about 2.something ounces. Casts like a dream, very accurate, gentle and intimate. The fixed length line fly rod also provides more control when it comes to presentation, and much more "feel" to every fish hooked. Although I really feel every move the fish makes, I'm able to land fish very effectively and quickly.

Only downside, no reel. I don't really miss a reel while actually fishing, but I do miss handling and generally fondling them. Nothing stopping me from still buying the occasional new reel, it's just I have a hard time justifying it since chances are I won't be using them for their intended purpose. As in most things in life, I guess everything is a trade off.

Bird's Eye View

2010-09-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

This clip provides a very good bird's eye view of fishing with a fixed length line. It was originally posted on YouTube by Alyntrout

Catching vs. Not Catching Fish

2010-09-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

I recently saw a post on a fly fishing discussion board from a fellow who has been fishing fairly regularly for the past 30 years, but still rarely catches a fish. He was wondering if he should just give up.

I fish pretty popular waters, I get to see alot of people fish, some catch fish, many don't. Generally here is what I often see -

1) Learn to fish a couple of waters by spending most or all your time on your chosen water. It's often tougher to catch fish when fishing new waters. Some people I know never fish the same water twice. To each his/her own, but it doesn't help if catching fish on a regular basis is a top priority.

2)When are you fishing? I usually fish the first couple of hours of daylight, and the last couple of hours before dark. Most people I see are just starting when I'm finishing, or visa versa. Catching fish mid day is tough. On my home waters, I probably average 4 fish an hour during prime times, maybe a fish every other hour during non-prime times. The same can be said for the seasons, catching fish during mid summer is tough, at least in Michigan.

3)The most common problem I see with folks who don't catch fish, they are casting, not fishing. My wife is a fair caster at best, she out fishes most other people on our river. She fishes close, controlled casts. Many people I see try to cast as far as they can, they have no control of what goes on once the fly hits the water. For the past 20 or so years, when I find myself not catching fish, I shorten my cast. For the past 2 years, I have been fishing with a fixed length line (i.e. Tenkara) I only have about 20' of string (total line, leader, tippet) available. Since fishing with a fixed length line, my catch rate has actually gone up. Please remember my short line advice is primarily directed towards fishing moving water, it may or may not apply to still water situations. About 95% of my fishing time is spent fishing for trout in moving waters located in Michigan's lower peninsula.

The Great Blue is Back!

2010-09-16T02:43:00.000-07:00

I usually like to spend an hour or so fishing my local subdivision pond in the evenings. Very relaxing a peaceful, usually catch a mix of bluegill with the occasional bass.

Last year about this time, I acquired a fishing pal, a Great Blue Heron. For a period of about 6 or 7 weeks, I had a Great Blue Heron follow me around the pond like a puppy dog. The first time I saw this heron, he landed on the other side of the pond, about 60' across. He (not sure if it's a he or she) followed me along our respective sides of the pond, all the time intently watching the Tenkara fishing process. I caught a small bluegill, and decided to see if I could toss it underhand across the pond. I fell short and the fish hit the water and swam off. The heron was taking this all in, and then decided to fly over to my side of the pond. He landed about 25' away.

The next small bluegill I caught, I tossed his way. He pounced on it, downed it, and then headed for the pond to wash it down. After finishing his snack, he came a little closer, maybe 20' off. I ended up feeding him one more small bluegill. I had no idea what a heron's stomach capacity is, so I decided to call it quits for the evening.

The next evening, no sooner did I approach the water, in swoops the heron, and establishes a station about 15' away. Again he followed me along the shore, watching my fly on the water like a hawk. Again fed him a couple of fish that evening. This went on for the next 6 or 7 weeks, the heron ended up following me about 7' away. You could see him react every time a fish stuck my fly, and he'd get excited as the fish was brought to hand. I never fed him more than a couple small bluegill, not knowing how many fish, and what size he could handle.

As the colder weather moved in, I stopped fishing and left Mr. Blue to fend for himself.

I only saw him one day early this spring, that was the last I saw of him. Until a few evenings ago, in he swoops, just like two old pals getting together over a plate of nachos and a cold beer.

I'm not sure what surprises me the most, the behavior, or the memory the bird exhibited. Not every day does the bird see a dummy waving around a big black stick.

Fish Friendly Fly Fishing

2010-09-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other day about what is was that I found appealing about fishing with a fixed line (also sometimes referred to as Tenkara).

I was brought up as a Catholic, in the good old days when Catholics weren't supposed to eat meat on Fridays. Every Fridays, we had fish, and I hated them (since I know my mother won't be reading this, I think it was partly due to her method of cooking them). Anyhow, every Friday I promised myself I'd never eat another fish once I was in control of things. So by definition, I was a catch and release angler, I had absolutely no use for them once I caught them. Since I wasn't going to eat them, I always felt bad when I hurt a fish, it just seemed like a waste. Let me say that I have no problem or issue with anyone who wants to keep fish as long as it's legal and as long as the fish are put to good use.

Over time, I always felt bad if I inadvertently injured a fish, and felt a sense of satisfaction when the fish I released vigorously swam away upon being unhooked. Having caught alot of fish over the course of a career, I also found more and more satisfaction in the pursuit, other than the playing and capture of most fish. Granted, hopefully we still all hook a special fish every now and then that presents a memorable tussle. But for the most part, landing fish tends to get a bit routine. What I really enjoy is manipulating the fly in order to entice a strike and then trying to react quick enough to at least get a feel of the fish.

When I started fishing a fixed line about a year and a half ago, I found it very satisfying. It allowed me unprecedented control to manipulate my fly very precisely. If I want to hop my fly six inches into the air to imitate an egg layer, I can hop my fly six inches into the air. If I want to impart the slightest twitch to a fly during a drift, twitch on.

Once the strike happens, most fish are brought to hand very quickly, much faster than having to strip in line. Since I'm using barbless hooks, it's usually very easy and quick to release a fish full of energy without ever having to touch the fish. When a special fish is encountered, the battle is very exciting, but almost always short lived. Either a large fish breaks off, or again is it landed much quicker than if the fish had been reeled in and then let out to run again. I've found that stream trout up to about 16" can be reliably managed, anything larger the odds exponentially swing toward the fish.

Granted, this probably isn't for everyone, but I find it fits me and my fishing.

Tenkara as a teacher

2010-08-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

I firmly believe that most, if not all fly fishers will benefit and become better fishers (western or eastern style) by spending time fishing Tenkara style. I am a relatively experience western style fly fisher, with over 45 years of water having passed under my fishing bridge. Having spent a considerable portion of my time astream fishing Tenkara style for the past year and a half, I have noticeably improved my skills.

I see improvements in several areas -

1) A much better understanding for the exact areas fish hold and prefer. In addition, developing the wading skills to better position myself to deliver my fly to where the fish reside and feed.

2) Playing and landing fish. The skill of actively and aggressively using the rod to play and bring fish to hand. Rather than take a passive role and let the reel do the work, one must actively play the fish if larger specimens are to be brought to hand (and released in prime condition)

3) Perhaps the most notable area is that of precise fly manipulation. Not only is one able to present accurate dead drift offerings, but one can also provide a variety of active presentations. One soon realizes that dead drift is not always the mst optimal way to present one's fly.

The long and Short of Tenkara

2010-08-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

When I first started fishing Tenkara style, my rod of choice was a 13' rod. Subconsciously, I think my reasoning was if a long Tenkara rod (11' or 12') was good, a longer rod was even better. As I fished/explored more, I soon found myself fishing a 12' and often times an 11' rod.

I personally found the shorter rods more fun to fish, and really didn't sense any disadvantages, at least in the environments I fished.

The shorter (11' / 12') rods were noticeably lighter in hand. Almost to the point of being negligible, sometimes forgetting that I have a rod in hand, rather than feel like casting, it's more like pointing my finger where I want my fly to land.

I originally thought that since I was using a fixed line, a longer rod would provide the ability to cover more water. I personally found that not to be the case. Adding a foot or two or three to my leader and/or tippet provided just as much range as using a longer rod. I also found I had no trouble mending or elevating the line off the water.

The shorter rods seem to be a bit more delicate and responsive when fishing and fighting fish. I'm not sure if that's true or not, maybe it has to do with the feel as a result of a lighter mass and shorter lever.

Bag the Net

2010-07-06T00:16:00.001-07:00

I have never used a net while fly fishing. Since all my fishing is catch and release, I'm not over concerned about having a fish shake off. I'm actually more concerned about getting the fish back into the river as quickly as possible.

I recently started taking pictures, and found I really could do a self portrait of a larger fish. I just wasn't able to control the fish in a manner I felt comfortable with, long enough to get the camera on and focused.

I thought about using a net. As I thought, my rod weights in at less than 3 oz. I only carry a small box of flies, and maybe a spare spool of tippet. If I went to a net, it might very well weigh more than all my other fishing equipment combined. It would certainly be the most ungainly thing I would be carrying.

I while back I saw a reference to a mitt that could be used to help control fish. I decided if it worked, that might not be a bad way to go. Both for me and the fish.

I bought some mesh material, and had intended to roughly lash something together myself. But then my wife, the Bag Lady graciously offered to sew something up for me -

Having used this for the past several weeks, I can only say, it works great! The fish actually seem to settle down, it only takes a very light touch to hold them.

The mesh bag weights nothing, I keep it tucked into my wader belt, it only takes a second to deploy.

Biggest fish landed to date using the mesh bag was a feisty 16" rainbow. I was able to cradle and control the fish just fine. I could have even takes a dandy picture, had I only remembered to bring my camera.

If it's not one thing, it's another.

Here today, Gone tomorrow

2010-06-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

It's not easy to take a fish self portrait -

Shot 1

Shot 2A couple more shots of a few that didn't get away for the photo opportunity, all fish released of course once immortalized on electrons -

Tenkara "stringy thingy" Terminology

2010-06-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

I have a pet peeve regarding terminology when it comes to the "stringy thingy" used in Tenkara. I realize I am most likely speaking as a gang of one here.

A significant portion of Tenkaraists refer to the main portion of the "stringy thingy" as the leader, to which they attach the tippet.

The "stringy thingy" portion of the tenkara set up I personally like to use consists of three separate parts. A line (the furled gizmo), then a leader (which may be optional) then the tippet. Just like a western set up. I personally almost always use a tapered leader portion between my line (which is usually furled) and my tippet.

I've basically settled on two set ups -

When fishing still water for bass/bluegills, I usually am fishing a ponds from shore. For that situation, I've been using a 20' furled weight forward line, and a 6' two step tapered leader attached to a 4' final length of "tippet". I really like having the extra range, I can fish out to about 35'. Although I like fishing this longer set up, it may not be for everyone, it does require a bit more concentration when it comes to casting.

Probably 90% of my fishing is for trout, wading in large rivers, fishing mostly dries/damps. For trout fishing, I've been using a 10.5' furled triangle taper line, about a 7' two step leader ending up with a 4-5' length of tippet. That about all the line I usually fish even when using a western set up, so that suits my style of fishing just fine. It cast almost automatically, and allows me very good control for mending or animating my fly. If there is a down side, it does require a bit of hand over hand to get to the fish (as of course does the pond set up).

I realize that I am probably the one breaking with actual Tenkara tradition by including a leader. So it may just be my western mindset, but I would argue, er I mean discuss that in western fishing, the line is primarily used to provide mass which in turn is used to transmit energy applied by the angler via the rod. The leader provides a transition to the tippet. It seems like the "stringy thingy" that gets attached to the tenkara rod lilian certainly functions as a line, not as a leader. So it makes sense to me that when we refer to it in English, the terminology that should be used for the main section or the "stringy thingy" is line, not leader. (regardless whether or not an actual leader is included.

The Long Road Back

2010-05-23T03:36:00.000-07:00

I first started fishing with my dad and grandfather. This was back in the late 50's early 60's.

The only fishing that held my grandfather's interested was using cane poles to fish for bullheads after dark. It was always an adventure to get slathered up with bug dope (I still can smell the 6-12 brand repellant) getting ready to venture out in the dark armed only with a flashlight.

My dad was always an avid catch and fillet fisherman. He grew up during the depression and his family pretty much survived on the fish they caught. My dad's only interest was catching panfish (bluegills and perch (he used to also fish for crappie but lost interest in them for some reason)). My dad's weapon of choice was also a cane pole, although he did sometimes use an ancient spinning rod to fish vertically "off the bottom".

For some reason, I always knew I'd like fly fishing. Since neither my dad or grandfather knew the first thing about it, I was on my own. I started at about age nine or ten. My gear consisted of a branch off of a weeping willow, about 5 or 6 feet of 8 lb mono (the only fishing line my dad used), and a fly made out of a piece of kitchen sponge and a rubber band.

I spent countless hours fishing a small, shallow channel for "mud bass" (in retrospect I think they were some green sunfish hybrid). It was simple, but held the attention of even a 10 year old for at least two or three years.

In a surprise move by my parents, they bought me a real fly rod and reel when I was twelve years old. I'm pretty sure it was about a 7 or 8 weight, I never did know (it still had the old letter designation which I never understood). I do know I used a 5 weight line on it. Casting was always an adventure, but that's what I used for the next several years as a teenager.

Once out of college, my interest in fly fishing grew and I know I've invested multiple thousands of dollars on some very nice fly fishing equipment. Much of the quality stuff has turned out to be a fairly decent/good investment. I've spent several tens of thousands of hours using the equipment, and have caught (and mostly released) tens of thousands of fish.

About ten years ago, after having fished extensively, I developed a system where I only used one fly pattern for about 85% of my time spent trout fishing. I did vary size and color, but it was nice to have confidence in a simple generic fly that I knew would catch fish in a wide variety of situations. Part of the system was I realized that fishing a relatively short line was a very effective way to have precise control of the fly which was a very effective way to catch fish.

Two seasons ago, I saw my first reference to something called Tenkara. It must have been in a fishing forum someplace. I started to do a few google searches, and as soon as I started reading about it, I knew I was going to enjoy doing it. The references I found talked about using simple patterns on a fixed line, which was very akin to the way I was already fishing.

What also attracted me was the reference to the use of furled lines, since I was already actively furling (and selling) leaders. If that weren't enough, the history of Tenkara supposed derived from the Japanese Samurai warriors who used Tenkara as a training method for swordsmanship. My wife and I have both practiced martial arts for the past 15 years, including karate and Iaidio. Iaido is the art of drawing and cutting with the Japanese sword.

Again I started out with less than optimal equipment, a $12 fiberglass crappie pole bought at Walmart. It actually didn't cast all that bad, and it caught fish. I found myself once again, back in time, a close equivalent to fishing for "mud bass" with a willow branch. It's kept me fascinated for the past two seasons, the more I fish with it, the more I like it.

Magnum Tenkara Furled Lines

2010-05-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

There are some basic limitations regarding the length that a furled Tenkara line can be produced. One limitation is just having the necessary room to lay up the line and then furl it. The other limitation is that at some point, there is too much resistance and it becomes difficult to achieve an even and consistent twist throughout the entire length of the Tenkara line.

One option is to furl a multi-piece line which can be connected via loop to loop connection. This system actually provides some advantages regarding having the flexibility to easy rig up a longer or shorter line.

Here is a set up I have been using for warm water, still water fishing conditions.

Top left is a 10.5' level furled line that basically serves as a Tenkara line extension. Bottom right is a 10.5' furled weight forward tapered line, top right is a 10'-12' foot tapered single strand mono leader. The furled level extension and the furled weight forward tapered line are connected with a loop to loop connection

This gives me a total line length of about 33', couple with the reach supplied by the rod, I can fish out to approximately 38'.

Personally speaking, when I first started to fish this set up I was able to reach out over 35', but in order to do so, I needed to really concentrate on my Tenkara casting technique. As I fine tuned the leader/tippet, as well as limit the fly size, casting has become much more routine and predictable. As with most things, it just may be a matter of practice makes perfect (or at least close to it).

Of course, I still find it a much more pleasurable/enjoyable experience fishing a more normal sub 20' Tenkara set up. When fishing a normal set up, casting happens almost sub consciously. I basically look, see a spot that I want to fish, and bam, the fly shows up. My total concentration is on the water. When casting the "magnum" set up, I really need to focus more on the physical act of casting.

I use the "magnum" line when fishing still water ponds/lakes, primarily from shore. Because of the way I fish, it really offers no advantages when I fish moving waters. When fishing rivers and streams, a conventional length line is what I use.

The Chicago (Leech) Fly

2010-05-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

This fly was originally popularized by Carl Richards (the co author of Selective Trout / Fly Fishing Strategy). Carl and his friend/fishing partner, John Krause were guiding a client on a fishing trip along the Muskegon River (located in the lower peninsula of Michigan). The client happened to be from Chicago, and was the fisher who originally showed Carl and John the fly.

As the story goes, neither Carl or John were overly impressed with the way the fly looked, but as faith would have it, they decided to give it a try and instantly became a believers in the fish catching ability of this simple fly. Carl went on to talk about the fly during various presentations, and was said to say the Chicago leech was "The best wet fly I’ve ever found!".

John also tied flies professionally, and helped to popularize the fly by tying and selling the fly at Parsley's, a major sporting goods retailer located on the Muskegon River in Newaygo.

In honor of the Windy City client who first showed Carl and John the fly, it came to be referred to as the Chicago Fly, also known as the Chicago Leech.

It just about impossible to fish this fly in a way that won't catch fish. It can be fished dead drift (with or without an indicator), swung like a wet fly, or stripped like a streamer. Depending on how you squint, the fly can look like a stone fly/dobson fly nymph, small crayfish, leech, or a small minnow.

The original fly was tied in black, but folks have had sucess using other colors as well. The one and only one requirement, it must be tied using 100% mohair yarn. I'm not sure what it is about mohair, but it does make a difference on this fly. I personally think the fly works best when tied very sparse. Other anglers think it looks better with a fuller profile, and both versions seem to catch more than their fair share of fish. I tie the fly in a size 10 or 12, but again larger and smaller versions have been known to work well.

I think it is very much in the spirit of Tenkara. A generic, easy to tie fly that can be fished using a variety of methods.

Replace a Tenkara Lilian Rod Tip

2010-05-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Lilian is the name of the hollow braided string which is attached to the end of a Tenkara rod. The lilian is used to connect to the Tenkara fly line to the Tenkara rod.

The lilian is hollow, and is designed to slip over the end of the Tenkara rod tip.

Apply a thin layer of epoxy to the tip area of the Tenkara rod. The epoxy will serve both as an adhesive as well as a lubricant to aid in slipping the hollow lilian over the rod tip. I have found that using a twisting motion helps to seat the lilian over the Tenkara rod tip.

All that is left to do is to clean up any excess epoxy which was push out when seating the lilian,
and of coure, be sure to let the epoxy thoroughly cure before using the Tenkara rod.

Tenkara in the Company of Larger Fish

2010-05-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

Cue the Jaws movie theme music.

Landing larger fish may present a challenge, but I personally think the challenge is what makes fishing fun. The one thing I like about Tenkara, I think it will make you a better fisher person. This is particularly true in the process of trying to control (and hopefully land) larger fish. The challenge is certainly there, but I think in most cases, all the odds aren't on the side of the fish.

There are alot of real nice conventional fly reels on the market today, and that has become a mixed blessing. It allows the conventional fly angler let the disk drag reel do the work in subduing larger fish. The angler strikes the "orvis pose" (rod high over head) and hangs on. When the fish runs, the reel supplies resistance (and about a mile of line), when the fish gets tired, the angler derricks in the prize.

The one thing to remember when fighting fish, the fish always follows his/her head. The fish can only go where it's head is pointing. A fish's head does not move up and down, so when you apply overhead pressure, it needs to be sufficient to lift the fish out of the water column, if not, it doesn't do much good. The fish feels pressure and responds by heading in the opposite direction. That's exactly what you don't want to happen in Tenkara. (It isn't all that great with conventional fly gear either, but that's where our old friend, Mr Fly reel comes in with several hundred yards of line and a disk drag that can slow down a Buick Park Avenue.)

A fish's head is made to move side to side. When a fish's head is side loaded, it has one of two choices, either follow the direction it's head is being pulled, or expend alot of energy trying to pull it's head in the opposite direction. Of course, things can get even more complicated for poor old Mr./Mrs. fish when that direction of pull suddenly changes from one side to the other. Once the fish starts getting turned, he/she must now also fight any current, which will tend to try to further spin the fish. (When pulling straight up and back on the fish, it takes off straight down steam, so the current is working in the fishes favor).

Tenkara equipment excels at providing side pressure to the fish, and with the mere flip of the angler's wrist, suddenly that point of pressure moves 24' in the opposite direction from where it was just a second ago. Bottom line, in my opinion, Tenkara equipment can be a very effective fish fighting tool.

Of course, everything sounds easy in principle, and things don't always go exactly as planned. But that's what makes it fun, and trying different things is what makes one a versatile angler.

My home river

2010-05-03T15:44:00.002-07:00

The Muskegon River, located in the western part of the lower peninsula of Michigan is my home river. I have been fishing the Muskegon River extensively for the past 25 years.

While many folks consider tenkara a technique best suited for small streams and rivers, I find tenkara fishes very well on larger rivers, like the Muskegon, as well.