Tenkara flies...

[WarrenP]

I found the article in the Fly Tyer's 2010 Spring edition very interesting. Not the Tendara rod so much as the Tenkara flies because I have been using the Tenkara style of wrapping the hackle on my wet flies for more than 2 years. I cannot claim that I created the style but I guess I can say that I created the style for my wet flies and one other fly that I created and use. I first saw the reverse wrap of the hackle on a FOTW here about 2 years ago on a steelhead pattern.(type in "Reverse Spider" in the search window to see this pattern) I looked at the pattern and decided that since it was such a good producer of steelhead, that I needed to downsize everything and try the pattern on trout. My first fly that really produces for me was made with a tail tied from a few pheasant tail herls, body of olive chenille and a hen back feather tied in reverse. I have also tied this pattern with a few wraps of .025 lead wire under the thorax area. I usually tie it on a #10 or #12 wet fly hook. This pattern seems to work very well after the season has started and there is more insect life on the river. I submitted this pattern here and there did not seem to be a lot of interest by the members but I still use it and it is a "go-to" fly in my fly box. I have a couple other buddies of mine that always carry it in their fly box and have had good success with it.

I then decided to tie the hackle on my wet flies in reverse and that has been very successful for me. I do not tie my wet fly bodies real small like others do. I usually use squirrel dubbing which is very buggy and spikey and tie the hen hackle in reverse as a collar. I noticed in the Tenkara flies that they tie the reverse hackle in further back of the eye in the thorax area and I tie mine in as a collar behind the hook eye. I usually tie the squirrel dubbing using a dubbing loop and no wire ribbing.

I fish both of these patterns by casting upstream and mending line to get the fly down and then just let them swing. Most of the time your hits will come on the dead drift or swing. At the end of the drift when the fly is dead away from you, do not pick it up to cast again. Give it a few short 3" strips back to you and if this does not produce go ahead and re-cast it up stream.

Just thought I would show a couple pictures of these flies so that others might try them and report how they work for them.