Fly fishing made simple

Practitioners of tenkara say simplicity draws them to the Japanese fishing style that has close similarities and striking differences to Western fly fishing.

At first glance, tenkara rods and modern fly rods are similar. Both are long and flexible, and use a combination of flex and torque to propel line onto the water.

But in the evolutionary chain of fishing, tenkara occupies a space between simple cane pole rods and modern fly rods. Lacking reels, a short section of line is attached to the rod tip. Anglers use a motion similar to fly casting to propel the line and present the fly to fish.

Because there is no reel with hundreds of feet of line and backing, tenkara anglers have limited reach. Typically, the line length is equal to one or one-and-a-half times the length of the rod, making them ideal for small streams and creeks, and tougher on larger rivers.

"The idea of tenkara is that you appreciate there is fish right next to you that you can catch, that you don't have to reach so far and you don't have to rely on technology to catch those fish. You can rely on something so simple as a rod with a line attached to the end of it," said Jens Hegg, a University of Idaho doctoral candidate in fisheries.

The telescoping rods that weigh just a few ounces can be 10 to 15 feet long and shrink down to as short as 12 inches, making them easy to pack and light to carry.

"It's set up to fish on smaller streams. I can fish on the Palouse River or the dredge ponds by Laird Park," said Diane Kelly-Riley. "You don't have to go out as part of a big epic fly fishing adventure. It's easy to go to the river and throw your line in and see what you catch, and usually you catch something."

Kelly-Riley, an assistant professor and director of writing at the UI, said the culture around tenkara is less formal than that of fly fishing and more social. She likens it to the difference between violins and fiddles.

"It's the same instrument, but it has sort of a different kind of vibe," she said. "It doesn't require a lot of technical proficiency."

"Tenkara is very fun, kind of minimalist. All you need is a fly, line and a rod."

Hegg said the short lines and long rods make it easy for anglers to get drag-free drifts and seamless presentation to feeding trout.

"You are just putting it out there and letting it drift and following (the fly) with the rod tip," he said. "They are killer in eddies."

Hegg became a tenkara fisherman three years ago, in part after looking to the rods as a way to introduce his then 8-year-old son Berlyn to fly fishing. Since the rods are light and the line is short, the learning curve is less steep, with fewer frustrating tangles and snags. His son caught five species of fish at Moose Creek Reservoir during his first experience with tenkara.

"It's good for kids. It's a pretty awesome way to teach them to fish."

Hegg, who calls himself a gear skeptic, is attracted to tenkara because it is so basic and without the many expensive accessories associated with fly fishing.

"I've always had gear that was the cheapest you could get and it always worked out just fine and I always caught a lot of fish," he said. "I'm skeptical that the newest rod blank is going to get you that big fish."

Instead of the traditional 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock casting motion associated with fly fishing, Hegg said the tenkara motion is truncated and steeper.

"It's like a really easy-going fly rod. The action is a little different, it's super willowy," he said. "Rather than going kind of 10 (o'clock) and 2 (o'clock) with the rod, the action actually works better when going between, like, 10 and noon."

Landing fish, especially larger specimens, is also different. Hegg describes a motion familiar to many fly anglers. With a fish hooked and close to played out, he reaches the rod skyward behind shoulder with one hand while the other stretches toward the fish.

"That is the biggest learning curve," he said. "You can pick up tenkara casting really quickly, but getting fish in is harder."

It becomes increasingly more difficult the longer the line is. Some tenkara anglers, in a quest to reach farther across streams and rivers, sometimes use lines three or four times the length of the rod. Hegg said in those cases there is no choice but to hand-line fish. A net is a near must with tenkara, he said.

Hegg and Kelly-Riley came to tenkara from fly fishing and both say they continue to enjoy both.

"I don't think it's a fad, I think it's just a different way to fish," Kelly-Riley said.

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Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.