Tenkara style flies

Fishing Tenkara Fishing
1

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

2

They work great, actually.

3

[b]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/flytying/fotw2/080706fotw.php [/b]

4

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

5

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:

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

6

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.

7

Guess I figured there would be no reason why they wouldn’t work, just wondered why the Tenkara flies that I see displayed all have forward facing hackle.

8

The forward facing hackle style of Tenkara flies is the most common and most known style. The forward facing hackle, especially if it is the softer hackles (such as hen or game birds like partridge, pheasant etc.) will impart more movement and will pulsate when the fly is manipulated while fishing. Regular soft hackle fly’s hackle tends to fold back and stay close to the body of the fly.

9

[b]I agree with Donald that any fly, within reason, can be used on any rod. Tenkara rods really push the envelope with respect to using a light line, though, which is essentially just a very long fly fishing leader. I’ve only tried to fish a Hewitt Spider once with a tenkara rod. It was so wind resistant that it was hard to cast. Imagine trying to cast one with your fly rod, with a 15’ leader and no fly line past the rod tip. I think a very wind resistant fly, like a Hewitt Spider, or a very heavy fly, like a double bunny, are no longer within reason for a tenkara rod.

Most tenkara style flies are wet flies. The forward sweeping hackle, which in Japan is NOT at all sparse, almost acts like a sea anchor, providing some resistance and pulsing when the line is tightened to work the fly. [/b]

10

I’m curious as to size of the Hewitt Spider that you used. I wonder if a small fly, such as a 18-22 would be usable. It certainly might be a hoot for using on brookies.

Ed

11

It was about 1 1/2" in diameter. I am sure you could cast smaller fly, whether you could get many hook ups or have to settle for just enjoying the show of the brookies attacking it is something you’d have to just try out. It would be a hoot, though!

12

Due to my refusal to use eyeglasses that I surely need, I pretty much always fish with a size 12 (maybe a 14 on rare occasions). I do always fish barbless flies. One concern I always have in the back of my mind it to do whatever possible to avoid fish mortality. I catch my fair share, and want to make sure they can survive the dance.

I was wondering regarding the use of smaller flies, is it pretty easy to extract the smaller flies? I have no idea or guess as to whether they would be easier or harder, and was curious as to what y’all thought.

13

I usually cheat and use barbless or de-barbed hooks. That makes them much easier to unhook. The hook remover made by (I think) Orvis is quite nice. I have had it easily remove flies that have completely disappeared down the gullet of a bluegill.

Ed

14

Ed,

Thanks, I was just curious.

15

Maybe this should be posted as a “Fly tying” thread but how do you tie a forward facing hackle? Where do you tie it off?

16

How do you tie a hackle facing forward? Where do you tie it off?

17

I can only tell you how I do it.

  1. Wrap the head.
  2. Tie in and wrap hackle, stroking it forward between wraps, each wrap behind the previous one.
  3. Tie off hackle.
  4. Dub thorax if desired.
  5. Wrap body.
  6. Whip finish at hook bend.
18

pszy22,
The tool is also marketted as the Ketchum Release Tool. It comes in three sizes. For small, non-bead head flies, I like the smallest size tool. I’m going to have to order the largest size to cope with large beads on some of my wets and streamers.

Ed

19

OK…a couple of points I’d like to address:

  1. Why would one think “regular soft hackles” get stuck/lay against the body of the fly when they’re fishing with them? Can you watch them when fishing them? Have you seen a video of actual fishing footage of a soft hackle fly in action? :wink:

The posterior-flared soft hackle collar only contracts when the fly moves in the direction of the eye - against resistance created by the presence of water. Thus, when you pick your fly up out of the water, the hackles will lay down from the weight of water, friction, and gravity taking their toll. In water, objects have a tendency to become far more buoyant. This is especially true of fibrous materials like feathers. Suspended on a dead drift, a soft hackle collar undulates…regardless of whether it is oriented to the hook shank or eye.

The advantage goes to the anterior-oriented soft hackle collar when you are employing lifting techniques to give the fly a rising motion to imitate emerging insects. Nothing more - nothing less. There’s so much BS floating around the US about Tenkara that it’s comical to those of who actually lived and fished in Japan for years.

  1. You tie an aterior-oriented soft hackle collar the same way you do a posterior-oriented one, except that you put your tightening wraps behind the collar instead of between the collar and eye of the hook. Stroke the barbules forward gently a time or two with 3-4 fingertips to assist when you start. Then whip finish behind the hackle collar. It’s no big deal.
20

[b]Flyguy66, I don’t really have a dog in this hunt as I don’t have any Tenkara gear and I have no emotional involvement in this thread. I have watched my soft hackles in very clear water, as I try to do with all my sub-surface flies. When fishing a traditional soft hackle back upstream, they do tend to lose most hackle movement due to the hackle appearing to be more or less plastered to the body. As I understand thnigs, they weren’t really meant to be fished that way but rather fished downstream. I’ll let one of our more experienced and more expert anglers comment as to that point. I have not had much luck fishing soft hackles against the current. I have had much greater luck fishing upstream with a soft hackle-style fly tied with one or two wraps of dry fly hackle. Those hackles seem to be stiff enough to stand up to the currents where I have fished and move enough water to attract a few fish. Like I said, I don’t have time to add Tenkara fishing to what I do because I get out seldom enough as it is.

Regards,
Ed

Edit: I realized that the way that I posted this reads the exact opposite of my intent. I should have said that retrieving soft hackles upstream seemed to kill all of the movement. I feel that soft hackles should be cast upstream and fished on a drag-free dead drift. My apologies for any confusion.[/b]