Like a lot of fly fishers with a few decades on the water, I’m not much for change. I should mention up front that even though my wife will insist that I’m closed minded; it’s not true. I’ve just always prescribed to the old adage “if it’s not broke don’t fix it.” Yes, I know my philosophy is old school. With my attitude explained, it should come as no surprise that I didn’t pay much attention to the early chatter about
Tenkara. That all changed when I ran into Daniel Galhardo, at the Denver fly fishing show. Daniel founded Tenkara USA in 2009, and is responsible for bringing this ancient form of Japanese fishing to the west.
Daniel was giving a presentation at the show, and I was immediately intrigued by the pure simplicity that Tenkara fishing offered. Tenkara is the Japanese method of fly fishing, which uses only a rod, length of line, and fly. Tenkara is very intuitive. I watched beginners learn casting techniques in just a few minutes under Daniel's tutelage.
As I learned more about this style of fly-fishing, I became convinced that Tenkara would be a great way for us to introduce clients to the world of fly-fishing. Every year we meet anglers who have always wanted to try fly-fishing, but didn’t know where to start. The simplistic nature of Tenkara would make it easy for us to get clients out on the water catching fish in no time.
As it turned out Tenkara proved to be the perfect set-up for novice fly fishers; and
arctic grayling proved to be the perfect species for this style of fly fishing. These fish are abundant in the Yukon Territory, and here at Grizzly Creek Lodge we are lucky to have one of the best grayling fisheries in the north. Clients often mention that their quest for arctic grayling was the highlight of their trip. There is just something about standing in a wild stream watching these beautiful fish break water all around you that you don’t forget.
Simplicity has become attractive in our modern world, and nothing is easier to understand than a rod, a length of line, and a fly.
Continue Reading More Tenkara News: Cross Pollinating Fly Fishing with New Techniques a Good Thing?