One roll cast and I’m hooked up. The feisty brook trout is small, but I’m in for a fair fight. My pencil-thin rod has no reel. Just a 16-foot length of bright orange line: one end tied to the rod tip, the other end tied to a small dry fly that’s hooked into the spastic trout.
I angle the 12-foot rod and work the fish as it runs and jumps. The simple setup telegraphs every headshake, dive and flip directly to my soul. Once the tiny titan tires, I am finally able to direct it into my net.
Tenkara has been a staple of Japanese fishing for thousands of years. Considered a minimalist alternative to fly fishing, it’s recently caught on with North American anglers. The entire outfit consists of a rod, line and a handful of tiny flies. No reel, no line guides, no nonsense, just the purest form of fishing.
Dan Pierce, a Maine guide who specializes in tenkara fishing, has introduced many anglers (including the author) to the beauty of simplicity.
“Tenkara is gaining popularity because it is easy to start,” he explains as we fish a small pond in Maine’s North Woods. Pierce says a high-quality outfit costs less than the line on many fly fishing reels and it only takes a few flicks of the wrist to cast. For seasoned anglers, tenkara offers a simpler option with a greater challenge. For a new generation of tenkara anglers, the system is perfect for targeting a wide variety of fish in diverse waters.
Pierce tells me that tenkara has really caught on with adventure sports enthusiasts. “It’s easy to pack a tenkara rod,” Pierce says, “and it only takes seconds to rig up and get on the water.” He has stories of climbers, cyclists and hikers adding a collapsable rod to their kit.
“I know a whitewater kayaker who sticks a tenkara rod in his playboat,” Pierce tells me. The guy can charge class V rapids, they eddy out and fish the pools. “A regular rod and reel would be too much trouble and take up too much space.”
Kayak fishermen are attracted to the easy fishing and challenging catch. Tenkara is perfect for fishing tight spots that only paddle anglers can reach. The system solves one of kayak fly fishing’s biggest problems: line management. “There just isn’t as much line,” says Pierce.
Instead of piles of fly line cluttering the deck, a 10-, 13- or 16-foot section of tenkara line is easy to keep straight. Between trips, the line is wrapped on a special spool that allows it to dry. Set up consists of extending the telescoping rod and looping the line on the tip.
As we cast to rising trout, I am already imagining how tenkara can fit into my fishing. I’ll leave the rod in my truck to hit the water any time I have a few minutes to fish. Shoot, I can even go fishing next time I’m stuck in traffic and I see risers on a nearby farm pond. Tenkara fishing requires less tackle and takes less time and that adds up to more fishing.
