Written by Kathleen Delos Reyes
When I started fly fishing, I only knew one type and that was the western style with rod, reel, and line. Little did I know there was more than this style of fly fishing. This was when I was introduced to fishing with a tenkara rod.
My introduction to tenkara fishing was brief. A friend of mine, Lino Jubilado, introduced me to the style of fishing and plied me with stories of all the fish that could be caught with such a simple type of fishing. With my curiosity piqued, I went and purchased my very own tenkara rod. By this point in my fly fishing journey, I was heavily immersed in the western style of fly fishing. I expected the transition to be difficult at most, but surprisingly, it was just adjusting to the feel and flex of the rod.
So how does a tenkara differ from a traditional rod and reel? Unlike the traditional fly fishing technique that requires a rod, reel, and line; a tenkara setup only has a rod and a line. The tenkara rod is also a telescoping rod that makes setting up faster and easier.
During my familiarization of fishing with tenkara, I have found that it was similar to a very specific type of western style of fly fishing, which is Euro Nymphing. Both techniques use the high-stick method, which I believe transfers well between the two types of fly fishing. Although tenkara fishing lacks all the line and reel to help with reeling in a fish, the two types of techniques vary little.
A tenkara rod can just as easily be rigged with a euro nymphing set up, and fishes just the same. I think the only difference in this type of setup is the way you hook and land the fish. With a tenkara rod, you have to be cognizant in regards to keeping the line tension on the fish, while a western style Euro Nymphing setup allows you some liberties as long as the tension to the fish is sustained. But at times with Euro Nymphing, because you have more line to work with to keep the tension on the fish, having slack and potentially losing a fish is inevitable.
With tenkara fishing, you are trained to keep an eye on any unusual line movement. This trains you to be more alert and keep you in touch with your setup with strikes. This translates well into western fly fishing as it trains you to keep an eye on any unusual movement in your line, effectively training you to use your line as a strike indicator.
High-sticking is not the only method to fish with a tenkara rod. My favorite type of fly fishing is dry fly fishing, as it continually engages you to keep an eye on your fly. When I was learning how to fish with a tenkara rod, I wasn’t wholly sure if I could dry fly with this type of setup. With the western method, you work on ensuring that there is no drag on your fly, because this creates an unnatural bug movement on the water. This can be achieved by using as much line to mend the fly and let it drift. Dry fly fishing on tenkara is just a little different. With tenkara, you don’t have much line to let the fly drift, but in smaller rivers and creeks, longer drifts matter less - as long as it is drag free. Setting the hook is much easier with the tenkara rod, because you don’t have that much line to manage, and you establish that tension quicker.
With tenkara fishing, depending on the size of the fish, at times keeping the fish on the hook can be challenging. With this method of fishing, you tend to hone your skills in keeping the fish on the line.
At the end of the day, tenkara fishing is not different from other fly fishing methods, it is just another technique. Where people prefer one or the other, I tend to swing between using a tenkara rod and a traditional rod and reel, depending on certain rivers and situations.
I also make it a habit to have a tenkara rod with me at all times, because the design of a tenkara rod allows me to fish at a moment’s notice, with the setup being so fast and easy.
I typically use the tenkara rod on smaller rivers and creeks but I have used the setup on larger rivers and have effectively caught multiple species of fish, such as shad.
The western and eastern style of fly fishing vary depending on the amount of gear used to get it setup, but at the end of the day, at its core, the technique of presenting the fly and fighting a fish is interchangeable between the two.
About the Author
My name is Kathleen Delos Reyes. I got into fishing later in life and I did not start fishing until I met my current partner. In 2018, my partner took me to a fly fishing class where we learned to fly fish. It really took another year for me to fully embrace fly fishing. By 2020, I tried to learn all I can about fly fishing, from the traditional western methods, to tenkara, and now to Spey fishing. Today, I have traveled to some of the cool spots in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado to fish and met some pretty cool people.
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