Tenkara style flies

[herefishy]

I thought of tying some flies tenkara style to try with regular fishing - any reason why they wouldn't work?

[billhouk]

They work great, actually.

[Donald Nicolson]

What do you mean by 'Tenkara Flies'?
If you mean flies with a reversed hackle such as this -


or this -


You may (or not) be surprised to know that neither of these flies are, strictly speaking, Tenkara flies.
The first is an Italian Alpine pattern tied in the 1960s,
and the second is one tied in 2006 by myself, and is based on an
article on this site by Preston Singletary -
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...080706fotw.php

[EdD]

Donald,
Wouldn't Hewitt's Spider be considered a Tenkara-style fly, even if it wasn't created as such?
For that matter, wouldn't any skating-style fly be, in essence, in the Tenkara style?
I admit that I don't know.

Thanks,
Ed

[goneflyfishing]

There is no reason whey they wouldn't work on a "Western" fly fishing rig, but they will likely require the "appropriate presentation".

I would define Tenkara style flies that historically originated in Japan, whereas if you do some research, not all "Tenkara" flies have forward facing hackle, there are some with short stiff hackles, some that look very similar to traditional soft hackles and flymphs. Check these sites:

- http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/amago/b-strea...g/tenkara.html
- http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/amago/b-strea.../tenkara3.html
- http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/amago/b-strea.../tenkara4.html
- http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/amago/b-strea.../tenkara6.html
- http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/amago/b-strea.../tenkara5.html

What is fascinating to me is that similar flies, equipment and techniques evolved (I assume) independently from each other in various geographical locations (Japan, Northern Italy, Highlands, etc.).

Tight Lines, -K

[Donald Nicolson]

That is the problem, 'Tenkara Flies' is not a very precise term, that is why I asked the question.
Any fly, no matter what the hackle can be cast with the appropriate 'western' rod.
As far as flies are concerned, the same situations, no matter where in the world, very often
produce very similar answers. I haven't seen a trout fly, within reason, that can't be used
on any rod, Italian Alpine,Tenkara, Loop rod or Modern Western.
So K, I totally agree with you.