Your Tenkara Stories

Tenkara with my brother. 
It was a beautiful day here in Northern Kentucky so I decided to pick my not so little, little brother up and take him fishing. Dustin had never fly fished …

UK Tenkara Syndicate 
Spring 2013 saw the formation of a 'Tenkara Only Syndicate' to fish several small, previously unfitted, moorland streams near Sheffield in the north of …

Big Trout on Tenkara 
I fished in the Bighorn River with friends from Wyoming: the annual "Big Fish and Lots of Em Trip" from April 10-13. We floated each day, based at Thermopolis. …

1st Tenkara fish  
April 4th, first nice day of trout season in upstate NY. First day ever with Tenkara. Kiyotaki 27 and olive Tenkara fly. I fished a small creak that I …

First trip with the Suntech Field Master 
Hi Chris. I just got back from taking the Suntech Field Master you sold me out for the first time. I went ten miles down the road from my house to the …

Christmas Vacation 
Spent a week on the Lower Mountain Fork River between Christmas and New Year. It is amazing how a river can change from season to season. I was just there …

Tenkara on the River Wharfe Yorkshire 
Had my very first go at tenkara recently fishing the Wharfe in Yorkshire famous for its fabulous wild trout population and some large grayling. Stephen …

Fall Cutthroat Trout 
Last Saturday, Educational Recreational Adventures took fathers and kids tenkara fishing on the Nehalem River near the Oregon Coast. Everyone was new to …

Almost a Colorado Grandslam 
Headed out for the first Fall fishing this year, finally! Boulder Creek was low and the fish spooky but if you approached them with care, you could not …

Tenkara Scores Again in Austria 
This September I revisited the high streams of Austria with my friends Steve Donohue, Don Stazicker & Stuart Crofts (ex England Rivers Team Captain), all …

Tenkara Takes Off in UK 
Tenkara is really taking off here in the UK. I gave a talk on my experience of Tenkara at our recent British Fly Fair International where great interest …

Soyokaze Smallmouth Bass 
Today I fished a local stream with the Soyokaze 27 9-foot rod I purchased a couple weeks ago. I was using 2# monofilament line for tippet because it is …

My Singing Tenkara 
My first tenkara rod was a 13’6” Amago model. I have now become a convert. Until that time I had always fished a favourite mountain stream with my faithful …

Tenkara fishing for amago in Japan 
My family and I just returned home from two weeks in Japan. I have been corresponding with Yoshikazu Fujioka, a tenkara angler and painter of fish from …

Fishing with the Soyokaze 
I got the Daiwa Soyozake 20SR for micro fishing, but I have found it to be a very versatile rod that can be used to catch a multitude of species with different …

Farm Pond Captures 
Hello All..... I was recently able to steal a week off the boat and while on a visit to my Grandmother (84 years old and still working five days a week!) …

Killer Bug Piggys 
Took the day off yesterday to go do a bit of spring creek fishing here in Southern Idaho. I fished the first pool with a small red copper kebari for a …

My daughter's first trout 
I am new to Tenkara, though I have been western fly fishing for over 25 years. I have been impressed with the "uncluttered" technique of Tenkara and so …

Utah Killer Bug Proves Itself on Yorkshire Grayling 
Thanks Chris for the Utah Killer Bug yarn you sent as a free sample with my last order. I thought I should tie an actual Utah Killer Bug so I looked up …

Amago, Iwana and horsehair line 
Chris, just returned from my recent trip. I used the horse hair lines for my Amago and Iwana rods exclusively with great success. It was slightly windy, …

Tenkara Outfishes Bait! 
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 …

'TENKARA DAY' Derbyshire Wye 
Well 'the fire' is spreading fast! Tenkara is really starting to 'take off' in the UK. As a committed tenkara convert, I was recently invited (with the …

Extra Shock Absorbers & Light Tippet 
I've been experimenting with additional shock absorbers when using light tippet (7x) & tiny flies (sizes 20 to 30 CdC midges & midge pupae) for fish in …

Rive Alyn, North Wales 
Had a day out on the Warrington Anglers stretch of the Alyn. As the trout season on rivers is over, I can now fish for Grayling all winter, but only on …

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U K - Upper Tees Tenkara Heaven 
Sold on the principle of a simplified approach to fly fishing, I took the plunge and purchased a 12’ Iwana earlier this season. My first outing with …

Iwana on the River Calder 
I took my Iwana on it's first visit to the River Calder, which flows of the Penines in Lancashire, England. The river was out of sorts and as I haven't …

1st Tenkara Fish 
I purchased a 12 foot Ebisu a little while ago from one of Tenkara USA's brick and morter dealers. Selecting it was fun since the Bay Area representative …

Tenkara in Austria 
As a tenkara convert of 9 months I decided to take my Amago to Austria. I already knew of the massive advantages of tenkara presentation in waters with …

Breaking Down Mental Barriers with an 11' IWANA  
This is a story I've been meaning to write for sometime, and after reading Chris's post about 'Rethinking Rod size', I was motivated to say the least. …

THINGS YOU GOTTA DO SOMETIMES 
This post is in addition to my previous submittal of "Small Stream Tenkara Adventures." (See other post). As I was typing in the story, I could see that …

Fly Fishing and Freshwater Ecology Camp 
Through Educational Recreational Adventures, a non-profit organization that I founded in 2003, I conducted a week-long Fly Fishing and Freshwater Ecology …

Small Stream Tenkara Adventure 
From Sept 6-10, 2011, I was able to get away for a 1300 mile round trip blitzkrieg fishing adventure. It also enabled me to catch, photograph and release …

First trip with Tenkara on The R.Alyn, North Wales 
Got my new rod, a 12ft Iwana and had a great day on my first trip. I soon got used to casting but our river is a bit overgrown as it does at the backend. …

Tenkara on the River Calder UK 
Over the last weekend I had an offer to fish the River Calder in Lancashire by a friend who had known about my Tenkara habit. He told me not to bring …

The Kebari Has Landed, Tenkara Guides LLC Is Up And Running 
I just wanted to post up and formally introduce the Tenkara Guides crew to the TenkaraBum Blog. Together we are ERiK Ostrander, John Vetterli, and Rob …

UK Tenkara Dry Fly Fishing 
A while back I mentioned how impressed I was with tenkara for winter grayling in the extreme cold we had in the UK last winter. Well, now I've had time …

Killer Strikes Again 
I haven't changed flies in the last three trips. I'm not sure I still remember how to tie a clinch knot. Connected with this guy Saturday, on my way back …

Still Killin' It 
One of three browns (the biggest) that fell for a Killer Bug on a recent muggy day in the lower Hudson Valley.

Young Children as Tenkara Anglers 
Staff of Educational Recreational Adventures has just completed our 4th week of Outdoor Adventure Camp with campers from 7-12 years old. One day was dedicated …

Quick and easy! 
Having a Tenkara rod always set up in the car is too easy! Everybody should have one. Stopped off at the Alyn on the way home from work. The rod had already …

Welsh Tenkara Virgin 
A work trip to South Wales gave me a chance to visit my brother. He is the reason I started fly fishing all those years ago. He has tried my tenkara rod …

Tenkara grayling in the UK 
I bought my first Tenkara rod, a 12' Iwana in late November 2010, just as we started with the worst winter in over 30 years. My first 2 sessions were on …

A Tour of the Catskills 
Woodland Valley Stream in New York is ideal tenkara water. A sunny afternoon in mid-July is not the ideal time to fish, but my buddy and I still managed …

High Water 
This story was submitted without a name. No reason to be shy, especially with a fish like that and the pics to prove it. _______ I was fishing upper …

Tenkara & Hi-Vis Orange vs Western 
Just got back from fishing the Breitenbush River in Central Oregon. My sons, grandsons and son-in-law head up there every year while the women enjoy a …

Tenkara Trailhead... 
I recently purchased and tested two rods marketed as "tenkara" rods, sold by the same distributor and apparently made by the same manufacturer. You can …

Top 10 Ways to Break a Tenkara Rod or Telescoping Fishing Pole 
Top 10 Ways to Break a Tenkara Rod or Telescoping Fishing Pole 1. Connect the line to the lillian with the tip section of the rod with any part …

Big Fish, Big River Tenkara 
Chris -- First and foremost, thanks for the all the time you spend on your website. I find it to be an invaluable resource about the state of tenkara. …

Clear Creek, Buffalo Wyoming
April 25th, 2011 
I had the opportunity to finally use my recently purchased Tenkara gear. I was in Wyoming for family business and was able to sneak away for a day of Tenkara …

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Warm Water Tenkara: First Impressions 
Two weeks ago I'd never heard of Tenkara. Thought I'd share some of my rookie experience, meager as it is. My home water is a pond about ten miles …

Second Time Fly Fishing 
So my buddy, my brother and myself went down to the Arkansas river in Pueblo, CO for my second time fishing on a breezy day. My first day of fly fishing …

My First Fish!!! 
I bought the Iwana 12' rod not too long ago and some of your orange hi visibilty level line along with other essentials, and was ready to try fly fishing …

First Tenkara Trip 
I just want to say a big thanks to Chris once again for all of the help, advice, the flies and the lines. I got everything in a couple days ago and took …

Putting my Gear Though its Paces 
I've only had my Iwana rod 5 months and felt that I should put my gear though it's paces before I left any reviews or feedback. After today the rod, lines, …

2010 Tenkara Year In Review 
I kept a log of my tenkara fishing during 2010 (my first year fishing this way), and after seeing our host's percentages of fish caught on different flies …

Dry Flies in Late November 
Another nice Sunday with the Ebisu, a level line, sunny weather with no wind and good hatches of various-sized midges. I caught a rainbow on a weighted, …

Some Tenkara Trip Thoughts 
Last week we took a family vacation and spent a week at a house right on a section of Oak Creek in northern Arizona. Throughout the week I had a chance …

Chasing Cutthroat with Tenkara  
My friend Ari and I fished a number of small creeks in the Lewis River watershed in SW Washington. I had read about larger cutthroat that migrated from …

First Tenkara Fishing Trip 
Not only was this horsepack trip my first outing with my new Tenkara 12' Iwana, it was my oldest daughter's first true backcountry camping/fishing trip …

Tenkara for Kids 
Our non-profit organization, Educational Recreational Adventures, (www.edurecadv.org) has conducted three fly fishing camps and two outdoor adventure camps …

Tenkara on Oak Creek 
I was able to sneak away for half the day this past Saturday and go up to Oak Creek, near Sedona, AZ. Oak Creek is a beautiful place to fish, but can …

Simple, pure, and deadly 
Chris - Here's a quick story: My wife asked me minutes after I got home from a recent trip..."aren't you going to unload your gear? I want to drive …

First tenkara creek trip 
I took my first tenkara creek trip yesterday. I have played with the rod at a local lake a little bit, but no moving water until yesterday. My wife and …

Pesca Alla Valsesiana 
My name is Andrea and I live in Valsesia in northern Italy. In my valley (and only here in Italy!) we fish with a technique similar to tenkara but with …

The Daiwa Kiyose 33SF in Australia 
First trip out with the Daiwa Kiyose 33SF on a cool windy day. Line Tenkarabum hand tied fluoro heavy 10',6x tippet, brown bead head nymph and an indicator. …

Tenkara Skeptic 
Wow, what an elaborate website. It is very informative. I just can't see using a $150 "cane pole" to dab flies as being all that exciting. Simplicity …

First Time Out Not rated yet
This is not a great story, but a first-time-out story with my Tenkarabum Starter kit equipment which might be of interest to people thinking of making …

BAD DAY GOOD DAY Not rated yet
55 and raining. I was not having a good morning, but decided to push it and go back to a creek I had fished 2-3 weeks before in southern Vt. Then I had …

Seiryu Rod??? Maybe more? Not rated yet
Chris - I never did get you feedback on the Nissin Fine Mode 2-Way Nagare 440 rod I bought earlier this year. I could say "this is the best rod ever …

Good Day Not rated yet
We are having a stretch of good weather here in the north east .The smaller streams that I like fishing are running at summer levels ,but with good cool …

a couple three weeks Not rated yet
it's been a couple three weeks now since i stepped myself into the wacky and sublime world of tenkara. i must say that it has been a really great ride …

Suntech Field Master returns to the Peñasco Not rated yet
Here's a pic of a typical 8-inch brown from my return trip to the Rio Peñasco with the Suntech Field Master. The 11-incher I caught and released on my …

December Trout on the Soyokaze Not rated yet
I first heard about tenkara on a traditional bowhunting website. A couple of guys were talking about packing a tenkara rod in their back quiver while …

Tenkara... taken with a grain of salt. Not rated yet
Tenkara... taken with a grain of salt. In keeping with the translation of “tenkara” as being “from the sky”, it should come as no surprise a downstream …

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Sea-run Cutthroat Trout on Tenkara Not rated yet
Educational Recreational Adventures guided more than 15 anglers this fall on tenkara fly fishing trips for cutthroat trout. We fished both the Nehalem …

Fly fishing Tenkara, all about fun! Not rated yet
Well, this is not exatly a story but more of a conclusion on what really matters. Years ago when I was just entering the fly fishing world I came across …

Bamboo Tenkara Rods Not rated yet
Discovered this site on Tenkara Bamboo Rods, very interesting site and reading. If you are a bamboo enthousist and were looking for a Bamboo Tenkara rod …

More UK Tenkara Days Not rated yet
I've just returned from 2 Tenkara Days, the first organised by John Pearson of Fishon Productions & Paul Gaskell of the Wild Trout Trust on the River …

Carry Killer Bugs They are Great Not rated yet
Fished a tailwater Sunday with 13 ft Tenkara rod, 7x and killer bugs. The versions tied with killer bug yarn and a sand Prismacolor marker were slightly …

RRTU Tenkara Presentation Not rated yet
Thanks to the Tenkara Bum for last nights presentation to The Rahway River Trout Unlimited Chapter of New Jersey. Chris did an outstanding job on teaching …

Tailwater Tenkara Not rated yet
I fished my local tailwater last weekend with my tenkara rod. I was able to fish a couple of hours before high water from the generators ran me out …

Small stream fishing with the Daiwa Kiyose 30SF Not rated yet
I recently recently received my new Daiwa Kiyose 30 SF rod from Tenkara Bum. Thanks to Chris for the great service--the site is great, he answers e-mails …

A Great Day on The Calder Not rated yet
Had a great day on Saturday 7th April. Couldn't believe my luck - a hatch of Large Dark Olives lasted from about 10 oclock until 3 in the afternoon. Caught …

Ian Robertson Newton-Le-Willows Not rated yet
Had another good day on the Alyn in North Wales catching Grayling but as we move into November they will vanish and go to the deep pools in the River Dee. …

Low river levels in Wales Not rated yet
30th of July and the weather is HOT! The river is really, really low! Again we are very short on time this weekend, working away from home in London all …

South Platte River, Eleven Mile Canyon, Colorado Not rated yet
My son and I just returned from a tenkara fishing/camping trip to the South Platte River below Eleven Mile reservoir. We camped in the Spillway camp ground …

Twist of fate Not rated yet
For the past couple of weeks I have been giving my brother grief over never seeing him catch a fish or have a picture of him catching a fish (of course …

SF American River Not rated yet
During the last week of September, I was able to day trip up to the SF American river and Rock Creek, a sweetheart of a little stream. Both rivers are …

Kings Canyon National Park Not rated yet
From Sept. 6th thru the 10th, I was able to camp and fish the beautiful SF Kings River inside and just outside the Park. This is a new river for me, and …

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