Sonia posted her Tenkara piece on the Welsh Dee thread a couple of weeks ago.
Quoted in full here together with some of my thoughts and response on that thread.
I hope they shed some light on Tenkara mystique:
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonia
Simon is my other half who for his sins introduced me to the world of fishing. While it means he no longer has to worry about getting home on time it costs him in other ways, but together we are a good team enjoying a wonderful sport together.
For Christmas Simon wanted a Tankara rod which he started using as soon as it arrived in the post as he couldn't wait to go fishing with his new rod. After having a go with the rod I could see the benefits on our small river, especially the bow and arrow cast for some of those tight spots that can be troublesome to cast into. Now, while my birthday is not until June it seemed a waste of time loosing 6 months of the fishing year while there were grayling in the Dee to be caught even before the trout season starts on our little river. So the obvious thing to do was to order and enjoy the rod now while remembering in June that I already had my present.
I decided to make a couple of furled leaders ready for my new rods arrival so I made an olive green leader for the dries and a high visibility bright orange one for my wets. This past weekend we went to Llangollen to pay our subs for the year and though the rivers have been high we checked out a few likely fishing spots as we were both itching to get on the river fishing again. Llangollen is an extremely beautiful place to go fishing and I can't ever imagine not fishing here as it has a special place in my heart, not just for the fishing but the amazing wild life I've seen and the breathtaking scenery. Getting ready for fishing I put plenty of layers on as it had snowed and if there is one thing I loath it is feeling cold while fishing. Everything was ready but it seemed strange going fishing and leaving our reels behind.
At Llangollen we got into our gear as soon as we could and there was a sense of freedom walking to the river with our tankara rods as they are small, lightweight and there is no reel to attach and no line to thread through the rings of the rod. As we got closer to the river the anticipation was enormous as I nervously started attaching my furled leader, extended the rod, tippet on, small weighted Hare's Ear placed on the end before looking at the water to decide where to start fishing. As soon as we got into the river it started snowing and I noticed I was overpowering my forward stroke, as it is a new way of casting I had to remind myself I wasn't casting a great distance and it needed a more delicate approach. I was in lovely looking water but not even a nibble so I changed my fly and continued fishing, again nothing. I moved on and this time I put a size 12 GRHE with pink fur tied behind the bead, thinking as it was cold weather maybe the grayling would prefer a decent sized meal instead of the snack I was offering. First cast and bang the line tightened and there was a powerful fish on the other end. I was amazed at the bend in the rod and the way it was capable of dealing with what seemed a decent grayling. Simon was behind telling me how to get the best out of the rod and he had his net to hand which was reassuring. Having looked at the tankara web site and seeing how they landed fish it still didn't prepare me for the fact adrenalin was pumping through my veins at a rate of knots and I was desperate not to loose my stunning grayling, so Simon giving instruction of playing the fish with my new rod was helpful. It fought well as it moved its great sail of a fin against the current, I was in awe of this wonderful creature I just love fishing for grayling and seeing them in their environment is a privilege I never tire off. Finally we had the prize in the net the hook was quickly removed as I only use barbless hooks, Simon's net can also weigh the fish which was 2lb and after gazing at the beautiful colours and markings of the stunning grayling it was released. Continuing along the run another grayling of 2lb was netted and this time after being released the fish headed towards the shallows of the bank and it was great seeing the shape and colours of the grayling against the backdrop of the river bed before it headed into the deeper water with no more than a swish of its tail. After lunch we decided to try another area to fish so the rods were collapsed and we headed for the car. Rods set up again we were back to fishing and this time I had a smaller grayling of a pound in the net again the fish was stunning. Pretty soon it was time to leave, the weather wasn't getting any better and we had fished in the snow and hail storms and I had 3 extremely beautiful fish, time go home so the dog can have a walk before it gets too dark, then the household will be content and settled for a quiet evening after a wonderful return to the river Dee.  |
Welcome to the Forum and the river Dee sonia.
I had to look your equipment and method up. Shouldn't you have used
kebari reverse hackle patterns?
I'd be interested how your method works on our smaller tributary streams (PM for Llafar and Lliw details above Bala) if you think the Llangollen beats will be high or otherwise unfishable.
Quote:
Tenkara fly fishing (Japanese: テンカラ, literally: "from heaven", or "from the skies") a traditional type of fly fishing practiced in Japan.
Tenkara fly-fishing originated with professional fishermen in the mountain streams of Japan who found it an effective method of harvesting the local fish, Yamame, Iwana and Amago
Fishing originated at least 430 years ago, when anglers discovered they could dress their flies with pieces of fabric and use those to fool the fish. The art became more refined as the Samurai, who were forbidden to practice martial arts and sword fighting in the Edo period, found this type of fishing to be a good substitute for their training: the rod being a substitute to the sword, and walking on the rocks of a small stream good leg and balance training. "Only the Samurai were permitted to fish. So, the Samurai who enjoyed ayu fishing would take sewing needles and bend them themselves, and make their own flies by hand."
Traditionally a special reverse hackle wet-fly is used. In Japan it is known as "kebari". These traditional Japanese flies differ from most Western flies, in that the hackle is tied facing forward.
(See traditional tenkara flies - "My Best Streams" Yoshikazu Fujioka).
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What's It All About? TENKARA!
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