I was at a Trout Unlimited fund raising auction a few months ago and I was the lucky winner of a Tenkara fishing trip with Tom Sadler. Tom and I met up early this morning in Madison, VA, so we could drive up to the Rapidan and give Tenkara a try. The Rapidan is perfect for this ancient fishing technique imported from Japan because the waters are tight, the fish are smart, and delicate presentation is everything.
Surprise number one: The Tenkara Usa Iwana (11' 6:5) rod I borrowed from Tom telescopes down to two feet — talk about easy traveling. There is no reel, and there are no guides because the super-light furled line just ties onto a dongle on the very flexible tip of the rod.
When I beheld all this, I was relieved. When it comes to me and flyfishing, simple is always a good idea.
The rest of the rig was simple: 5x tippet tied onto the line and a conventional dry fly tied to the tippet — we used mostly parachute adams.
Tenkara casting is real casting (this isn't just dapping or high sticking) but it's more like a flick of the wrist, and there's no need to back cast. The long pole combined with the line makes for quite a lot of reach, precision (after some practice) and very little line management. In other words, it's easy to get the fly where you want it with very little fuss.
But what's more important is how the Tenkara gear and technique make possible almost dream-like presentations and really long drifts. The 5x tippet combined with the gossamer-like furled line account for some of the delicacy — the combination is so light that it's very slow to tug on the fly as it drifts. And its too light to slap the water. At the same time the long rod and delicate, highly flexible tip make it possible to hold the tip out close to the area of the drift and raise and the line slowly to keep the fly on its natural course. This low impact fishing also keeps the fish around longer in any given holding area, I think, because there's very little to spook them.
I had numerous bites and saw quite a few fish roll over my flies. I only landed one (a very good one, I might add, at about 9 inches) because of one tricky aspect of the Tenkara: its super soft tip. It's critical to keep the line as tight with the fly as possible so that when the bite comes you can set a hook. The soft rod tip makes that tricky, having too much loose line around the fly makes it even harder — unless the Trout does you a favor and really gulps the fly.
The last time I fished the Rapidan, my daughter joined me and we did not have much fun because our rods were just too big. Next time on the Rapidan, it's Tenkara for sure. In fact, when I got home I ordered a rod from Tenkara USA.
As Tom and I were discussing, what's really appealing about Tenkara is the way it makes the core and most difficult fly fishing — life-like presentation — far easier to pull off. With very little practice, you can get a good drift, and see what happens when you do — fish turn up. There's no more important lesson in fly fishing, and Tenkara really puts that in the spotlight, even for inexperienced anglers. Tenkara may well be a great way to introduce folks to fly fishing. Save the harder fly fishing mechanics of casting and mending for later, for bigger fish, and bigger waters?
Tenkara is almost certainly limited to small waters and small fish, which also happens to be the conditions in Japan's mountain waters where Tenkara developed. But it sure is fun, But I doubt I will ever fish the Rapidan any other way.
