Gone fishing! Orders placed between now and July 22 will leave the dock on July 23.
What is Tenkara? テンカラ釣り
“Fishing from Heaven.”
Tenkara is a style of mountain stream fishing developed in Japan; it is similar to Western fly fishing. The difference is in Tenkara’s simplicity. Most notably, there is no reel.
Tenkara fishing uses a telescoping rod (usually 9-15 feet long). A micro-swivel connects the tip of the rod to a short (3”) line called a lillian. The lillian then attaches to a brightly colored casting-line of similar length to the rod. At the end of that highly visible line we tie a tippet (a thinner, transparent line) that is usually 3-4 feet long. The tippet is tied to a fly (sakasa kebari).
Since your casting line attaches to the lillian at the tip of your rod, there is no reel and there are no line guides on your rod. This means that in a very short amount of time you can retract your telescoping rod, wind your line around a small line holder, and walk yourself farther up or down a stream without getting your rod caught in trees. It also means that you can drive, hike, or bike to your favorite fishing spot without breaking down your entire pole And un-stringing your line. A Tenkara pole fits neatly into a daypack. You can fit all the gear you need onto a lanyard or into a stream bag.
What are Sakasa Kebari?
Most Western Tenkara fisherman use Sakasa Kebari, which is a Japanese name for reverse-hackle fishing flies. A reverse-hackle fly skirts the eye of the hook, rather than the shaft and hook itself. (You can see examples of this in our shop. All our flies are reverse-hackle.)