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.
narcodog, hon, there are now Tenkara guidesā¦but itās a great system for when you donāt want a guide!
it amazes me how much Orvis wants to expand the ranks of fly fishersāhave you seen any of their new TV programs? even especially!) i learned something.
I aināt no hon. There are Tenkara guides but none that are affiliated with Orvis and none that have a $7K drift boat.
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. Itās a Hyde so I guess it is around $7Kā¦ ātimes they are aāchangingā.
With Craig Matthews doing it on youtube, itās getting downright respectable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp1nnzg9GIE&feature=player_detailpage
John
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 theyāll surely make that investment and have their own rods in a couple years. If the rods donāt sell, theyāre not out much.
I also have no doubt that there are people who will buy TenkaraUSA rods now that wouldnāt have before, just because the rod now has the āOrvis stamp of approval.ā Many - probably most - of those purchases will not actually be from Orvis but will be direct from TenkaraUSA or through itās 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.
I see it as a very positive step, and say congratulations to TenkaraUSA and to Orvis.
I agree. Iām glad to see Daniel and his company doing well.
I keep saying āTenkara isnāt better than western fly fishing, itās not worse than western fly fishing. Itās different than western fly fishing.ā There are people who think that using nymphs isnāt real fly fishing. There are people who think that the only ārealā fly fishing is to cast a dry fly upstream and across to a rising trout. There are still others who think that even thatās not "real " fly fishing unless youāre 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 Iām not ready to sell off my 4wt. Itās 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.
I donāt 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.