Orvis

[narcodog]

It was announced yesterday that Orvis will be carrying Tenkara USA equipment. I think that this will be a hoot when some sport tells his old, grizzled guide that he wants to fish Tenkara. I think it will get the same reaction as when one steps into a $7K drift boat with studs on their boots.

[CaseyP]

narcodog, hon, there are now Tenkara guides...but it's a great system for when you don't want a guide!

it amazes me how much Orvis wants to expand the ranks of fly fishers--have you seen any of their new TV programs? even especially!) i learned something.

[narcodog]

I ain't no hon. There are Tenkara guides but none that are affiliated with Orvis and none that have a $7K drift boat.

[billhouk]

narcodog, while he may not be directly afflitiated with Orvis, I know a guide with a drift boat who is very willing to take you out with Tenkara equipment. It's a Hyde so I guess it is around $7K... "times they are a'changing".

[JohnScott]

With Craig Matthews doing it on youtube, it's getting downright respectable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp1nn...yer_detailpage

John

[CM_Stewart]

No doubt some guides will be very receptive and some will be less so, but Orvis is interested in tenkara and has been for a while. Personally, I think this is a brilliant move on their part. How else could they have gotten good hard data on the number of their own customers who would buy a tenkara rod without having to make the investment required for product development and production? If Orvis sells a lot of rods they'll surely make that investment and have their own rods in a couple years. If the rods don't sell, they're not out much.

I also have no doubt that there are people who will buy TenkaraUSA rods now that wouldn't have before, just because the rod now has the "Orvis stamp of approval." Many - probably most - of those purchases will not actually be from Orvis but will be direct from TenkaraUSA or through it's dealer network. Going one step further, Orvis has approved tenkara, not just TenkaraUSA, so other tenkara rod companies should see their sales pick up. More Fountainheads, more Tenkara-Fishing.com rods, more Esoteric Tackle rods, and probably more Daiwas as well.

In a sense, it is like having a tenkara forum here on FAOL. It shows acceptance of tenkara by people whose names (at least screen names) you know and respect. That helps a lot when trying to decide whether to try something new.

I see it as a very positive step, and say congratulations to TenkaraUSA and to Orvis.

[DruLeeParsec]

I see it as a very positive step, and say congratulations to TenkaraUSA and to Orvis.

I agree. I'm glad to see Daniel and his company doing well.

I keep saying "Tenkara isn't better than western fly fishing, it's not worse than western fly fishing. It's different than western fly fishing." There are people who think that using nymphs isn't real fly fishing. There are people who think that the only "real" fly fishing is to cast a dry fly upstream and across to a rising trout. There are still others who think that even that's not "real " fly fishing unless you're using a bamboo rod and a silk line.

There are different techniques and different styles for different people. I had a great time fishing with my new Ayu rod on Monday. But I'm not ready to sell off my 4wt. It's just another tool to add to my toolkit. If people start noticing Tenkara in the Orvis catalog then only good things can come from it.

[anglerdave]

I don't fish Tenkara and have no desire at this point. But earlier this year, I participated in an on line focus group, that was conducted by an outside marketing firm on behalf of Orvis. Tenkara came up in that discussion and although some of us are not interested in that aspect of fly fishing we knew others were and felt it would be good for Orvis to get on board. But I think Tom Rosenbauer was looking at Tenkara long before our group.