The Simple Way Of Fly Fishing That Is Tenkara

I've been reading quite a bit lately about an ultra simplistic style of fishing known as Tenkara, a traditional Japanese style of fishing which seems to be gaining a lot of followers in the western world.

To briefly outline the principles of Tenkara...it involves nothing more than an extremely light telescopic rod which extends between 11ft - 13ft6in in length (and closes down to 20") to which a long leader and tippet is added to the end (approximately the length of rod or longer). The fly or flies are then attached. No reel is used when fishing Tenkara.

    20" overall length when closed

            Traditional hand woven leader

The appealing aspect of Tenkara is that it requires a minimal amount of tackle which can be carried in a small pouch, together with a lightweight rod that will close down to 20" in overall length this offers the roving angler total freedom to wander unhindered.

If I'm honest I would have to admit that Tenkara's simple approach takes me back to a childhood time of fishing some local waters with a wooden stick, some line, a hook and a lump of bread trying to catch some of the resident fish.

I fancy that at some point in the future I will be trying out the Tenkara style of fishing, if so I'll be sure to let you know how I get on.

If you want to find out more then there is a wealth of information HERE


Tenkara Basics - Instructions and Lines from Tenkara USA on Vimeo.


Tenkara fly-fishing from Tenkara USA on Vimeo.

All photos and videos courtesy of TenkaraUSA



Rising River Woes

Saturday was a lovely spring-like day with warm temperatures and most rivers running at good fishing levels...unfortunately for me this day was tied up doing other things leaving Sunday to 'wave the wand'.

The forecast wasn't looking good with widespread rain predicted for my destination in the Welsh Marches but we decided to give it a go.

To be fair the river looked ok when we arrived but the rain was falling hard and there was a lot of surface water lying on the roads and fields.

It was soon apparent that this was going to be a short fishing session and after a couple of fruitless hours we made the best of the riverside Inn to sample the local ales.

I am now starting to turn my thoughts towards the start of the trout season and long for those days when I can feel the heat from the sun on my back. This winters fishing has been a real struggle and even when the rivers have looked right the fish have been hard to catch.

The only living thing hooked!

Stripping Peacock Quills

My latest experimenting with my fly tying has involved stripping, bleach and rubber! You guessed it...I've been attempting some of the fantastic flies that I have seen on some of the forums which incorporate the use of a stripped peacock quill to create the effect of a segmented body.

The way in which you should take carry this out is really down to what you find best yourself. I have read many different processes that people undertake to strip the fluff from their quills and I would have to say that they all end up with similar results.

The following is my process based on my limited experience but its a way I find works well for me:

First important thing is to ensure that you select the 'right' type of feather, look for a large eye...you then need to look at the colour of the quills, this is best done by gently squeezing between thumb and forefinger whilst looking at the back (dull side) of the eye. You should see a nice lighter shade appear.

I then cut out enough quills to more than cover the amount of flies I intend to tie with them.

This next step is open to a bit of debate as to the best way to do it, the way I found works is to mix up a solution of 1/3rd household bleach to 2/3rds warm water then soak the quills for around 10 minutes of so. Some say that bleach weakens the quill but I have found no problems diluted to these proportions.

This will start to remove the fluff and you will see the water start to change colour as it gets to work on the quills. Most importantly I think the bleach in the solution alters the shade of the quills making them brighter which adds to the effect of the finished fly. The quills then need to be washed out thoroughly to remove all traces of the bleach solution.

Some tyers will be happy just to use a rubber to remove the fluff, others will just soak in water and there are others who use a different solution to remove the fluff...as I say its what you find suits you best.

I then finish off by gently rubbing an eraser along the length of the quill on both sides to remove the remainder of the fluff.

This leaves the quill looking bright and shiny and ready to be used.


The end result produces a body that looks pleasing to the eye and offers a realistic segmentation. (this fly is tied on a Tiemco 103BL #17)

Little & Large

Fly tying for me is all about inspiration...I may have an urge to try out a material I've not used before, or see a pattern someone else has tied that is 'my kind of fly' and then try to replicate it, sometimes the inspiration will come from a desire to create my own 'killer pattern', either way I find that I tie better with an ultimate goal in mind.

This fly was create after seeing something similar on the UK fly dressing forum. Tied on a #10 heavy buzzer hook and containing 2 tungsten beads of 4mm + 3.5mm (1 buried in the thorax). This is for use on those big rivers where pace and depth call for such heavy bugs to be used, predominately for winter Grayling fishing.

The following flies were tied really just as an experiment in tying the 'smaller' sizes of fly which I have not done much of and an area which I really need to get to grips with. Tied on #22 which is still a long way off from the miniature flies tied by the likes of Andy Baird but one small step in the right direction for me.

Back On River Clun

After a couple of weeks going stir crazy waiting for the river levels to subside after the recent rain/snow melt it was a welcome change to be once again back out Grayling fishing on one of the rivers of the Welsh Marches.

Today (Sunday 23rd) 3 of us went to tackle the River Clun and found the water pushing through quite hard but it was certainly fishable with the colour dropping out nicely so expectations were initially positive.

 We split up and covered a large section of the river, I managed to latch into an 8 inch Grayling quite early and thought it might be a good sign for the rest of the day...how wrong!

A few hours later I met up with my brother who was fishing upstream of me and we exchanged a few choice expletives in reference to the days fishing thus far...he had not had a single touch all day. We went on and fished another area upstream we had both caught well from before where I managed to connect with another 2 fish after calling it a day.

After meeting back up with my mate who had fished well downstream of me and to be told he had also had a fishless day we knew that there was only one thing for it...a pint or two and snacks at the local hostelry and a brief debate on the reasons for the poor fishing.

The final conclusion was that these rivers are still in recovery mode after what has been a few weeks of severe weather conditions combined with the fact that in reality fishing this time of the year often results in a lack of fish.

Regardless of the fishing it was great to be back in the river again and with spring not far round the corner there is sure to be plenty to look forward to.

Upper Welsh Dee

A trip out today on the Upper Welsh Dee was just what was needed to get the mind back focused on the winter Grayling fishing I've missed over the last couple of weeks due to unnatural river conditions (frozen over!).

We headed to a stretch I'd not fished before along with a couple of lads from the Sea Trout Forum and although the river was running a little higher than we would have liked we still managed to connect with a handful of Grayling...with a couple of the fine specimens this river seems to hold.

Paul(squirrelblue) with the biggest Grayling of the day

Hoppy playing what we thought might be a monster Grayling...

       ...turned out to be a totally alien species(Rainbow Trout) for this river

Although I had managed to connected with a couple of the larger fish I never had them on long enough to get them in the net, but glad to get a photo of the ones that were caught.

This beauty turned out to be the last fish for 2010 for Hoppy.

With a couple of days left of the christmas break and the river levels dropping I fancy there may well be another excursion to the Dee valley before the return to work.

PS. Happy New Year to all who visit this blog.

Cormorants And Sawbills - A Serious Threat To Salmonids

I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling a sense of utter despair when I arrive at a favoured fishing spot only to be met by a flock of Cormorants or Goosanders flapping across the top of the water trying to take off with their fish filled stomachs.

Not so long ago this was a scene that you would never have dreamt could happen on a tree lined small tributary but nevertheless it has now become quite a common sight on some of the waters I fish in the Welsh Marches.

I'm aware that these birds have been feeding on our inland waters for many many years, but the concern is that numbers have increased dramatically in the last couple decades to what is now an over-wintering population in the region of 25,000 birds in the UK

An all too familar sight above the rivers of the Welsh marches

The fact that these birds are now feeding in quite substantial numbers on our smaller tributaries will undoubtedly have a severe effect on the future wild fish stocks, these rivers & streams are the spawning grounds for Salmonids and the sanctuary and protection that these streams once offered has now diminished.

A survey by Swansea University found that most fisheries have a problem with Cormorants. Dr Dan Forman, who led the study, said that just eight birds could kill 100 fish in a single session. The birds will return to sites three or four times a day, until stocks are exhausted.

When you consider these facts then you begin to realise how the finely balanced eco-system of these rivers could well be on a road to ruin if left unchecked.

The remains in the stomach of a culled Cormorant

The purpose of this blog entry is to further highlight the problem...I don't confess to having any surefire solutions but I feel that this is potentially a far bigger problem than the likes of DEFRA, Natural England, RSPB and some of the other decision makers even realise.

The non lethal deterrents suggested to help fisheries protect their fish such as underwater refuges, noise generating scarers and automatic scarecrows are extremely difficult to implement on rivers and the existing limits that are licenced to be killed seem to make very little difference.

An amazing sequence of photos captured by amateur photographer Stewart Canham

 I would suggest that a big step forward might be for these organisations to consult more closely with angling clubs whose members are encountering first hand the numbers of birds on these rivers and the effect they are having.

 Very informative reading on the subject here