Tenkara Outfishes Bait!

by Dave Southall
(Driffield, East Yorkshire, UK)

In the UK many grayling anglers change from fly to bait fishing once the cool days of November arrive, resulting in a decline in the efficiency of fly fishing.

A few days back (mid November) my friend Tony & I went to the Yorkshire Derwent, a small moorland stream near Scarborough in north-east England. Tony opted to fish with maggots fished under a float, using a method known as trotting, whilst I opted to use the tenkara with an orange scud pattern (tied with a lead wire underbody & a mix of ultra violet shrimp pink Ice Dub & orange seal's fur). I teased Tony that tenkara would thrash bait fishing, but did not really expect such an outcome.

Every time Tony looked around I was into another fish. In two and a half hours fishing I'd landed 19 grayling up to 14.25" & 16 out of season brown trout, whilst Tony had managed only half this number. I think he was quite shocked at the efficiency of Czech nymphing with the 12' Iwana on this small wooded stream.

Once again tenkara scores!!!!!!!

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“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” – Benjamin Franklin

"Study to be quiet." - Izaak Walton 1653

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." Col. Robert Venables 1662

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