Collection: Tenkara

Wetfly Tenkara

Tenkara flies are a form of traditional fly fishing that originated in Japan and has since really caught on in the USA and elsewhere. They are similar to traditional soft hackle flies, but often are tied with the hackle forward-facing. This is done in tenkara fly fishing so that when the fly, like the Beadhead Tenkara Prince is pulled against the water current you can create a lot of movement with the hackle, which trout can find very enticing. That is one of the main differences between tenkara flies and traditional soft hackle flies. You will notice this when selecting your tenkara fly patterns, a great example would be our Beadhead Tenkara Pheasant Tail fly.

Tenkara fly patterns are also fished on a different set up then standard fly fishing. Everything is much more simplistic, in that there is no actual fly line or fly reel used. The standard set up is a short section of line that is attached to a long rod. Often wetfly tenkara is fished down and across as you would a traditional wet fly. The longer rod gives you more control to place the fly exactly where it is needed, and also impart different actions to it if desired, or to keep in the strike zone of a fish. This is where the added forward hackle comes into play as well with the extra movement provided. When the wetfly tenkara style is used with trout flies to fish either trout or other game fish, this is when things get very interesting, particularly if a bigger fished is hooked. Landing the fish sans-reel – which gives the fish an opportunity to run – makes angler movement and the long rod the key to landing the fish. The long rod is an added bonus for reach in this situation as well as for absorbing shock. Traditionally tenkara flies were mainly used to fish small streams and small fish, but many anglers have adapted the technique to fish for large trout, and even carp. Using carp flies on a wetfly tenkara set up can also be an interesting situation and a lot to handle, but worth the price of admission. Always be prepared to chase your fish down and get after it, if you plan on a chance to land them.

Tenkara flies and tenkara fly fishing have recently been adapted to get anglers into fly fishing as the set -up and angling method is very simplistic. This effective, yet minimalistic approach is good for anglers that want to get a good feel of what fly fishing is like, but do so in a simplistic and inexpensive fashion.