My friend, Brandon Moon from Moonlitflyfishing.com, traded me a Tenkara fly fishing setup for some work I did for him. I have been out fishing 3 times now and it is so easy to learn and start catching fish. Recently I was at the local gravel pond just practicing with the Tenkara pole and I caught just under 20 fish in a short amount of time, I’m sure the other fisherman there were cussing under their breath every time I pulled one in. I need to take my camera next time.
I have always wanted to fly fish but have not had the money to get the gear or the time to develop the technique. A Tenkara rod costs a fraction of the price of a fly fishing rod plus it doesn’t have a reel to buy. The line ties to the end of the pole and to bring a fish in you just pull the rod behind you and grab the lined and yank it in. I never knew how much fun I was missing not fishing with flies, it is such a blast.
Tenkara fly fishing setup is perfect for a bug out bag because it collapses to 1 1/2 foot thin pole and the line and flies take up very little space. Plus, it seriously works great and is easy to use even in small creeks you might hike into.
some videos you might enjoy:
Now that I have had a some fun using Tenkara fishing, I really look forward to taking my daughter to catch some fish. I also want to take my scouts out for a fun day of fishing but I think I need another pole or 2 for them to share before I do.
UPDATE: I went Tenkara fishing at the pond 2 more times before I got a chance to publish this post and thought I would add a bit more here at the end. Saturday morning I went with Brandon Moon, who got me set up to Tenkara fly fish, and I caught 7 trout. I also went this morning, Monday, and caught 22 trout by 10am, I definitely out fished everyone else there combined. This just goes to show that Tenkara works on still water as well as streams, creeks, and rivers. I do look forward to fishing Tenkara on the river again though, I am officially addicted to Tenkara fly fishing now.