Ishigaki Kebari


Vacation

I will be away from June 4 through and including June 11. Packages will not get shipped and emails will not get answered while I am away.



The Ishigaki Kebari is the only fly pattern that Dr. Ishigaki, one of Japan's tenkara masters, has used for the past ten years. He does not call it the Ishigaki Kebari. He would not name a fly after himself, but I think it is only fitting that we do so.

In May 2009 Dr. Ishigaki gave a slide presentation and on-stream demonstration of tenkara at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum. His visit seems to have kicked off the interest in tenkara in the US. In an interview after the presentation, he said that what he likes about tenkara is the simplicity.

He definitely takes that appreciation for simplicity to his choice of flies. Years ago he ran out of his favorite fly and went to a fly shop to get replacements. He saw this extremely simple fly, bought it, and found that he caught just as many fish with it as he did with his favorite.

From that experience, he came to the conclusion that the choice of fly is not the most important factor in catching fish, the technique is. And from then on, he has fished this one fly. This simple fly allows one to fish with many different techniques.

Ishigaki Kebari in netIshigaki Kebari in the net with a brown trout

The Ishigaki Kebari is constructed with just a hackle feather and a thread body. When he tied his fly at the demonstration in the Catskills, he used brown rooster hackle and black thread. Dr. Ishigaki uses simple sewing thread from the equivalent of a 99 cent store. He also ties the same fly with a grey thread body and a grizzly hackle.

Golden Trout with gray/grizzly Ishigaki Kebari

Tying the Ishigaki Kebari

1. Start your thread just behind the hook eye. For a size 12 hook and 6/0 thread, make 9 or 10 wraps back from the eye.

Hook in vise, thread started just behind eye.

2. For this step-by-step I am using a partridge feather that has been dyed brown. Strip the barbs off a feather to the point where the barbs are about the length of the hook shank.

Prepared brown-dyed partridge feather.

3. Tie in by the tip, with the dull side of the feather (the side that was towards the skin) facing up. Wrap about halfway to the eye. Push the end up with your fingernail to make it easier to trim off.

Hackle feather tied in

4. Trim the excess, build a head with thread wraps, lift the feather and take three wraps on the other side of the feather stem.

Ready to wrap hackle

5. As you wrap the feather, at each wrap, pull the barbs out of the way with your right hand and wrap with your left. Each wrap should be just behind (towards the hook bend) the previous one. Wrap until you get to bare stem. Clip the stem and any stray hackle barbs.

Hackle wrapped and tied off.

6. To taper the body, first wrap halfway back to the bend, then back to the base of the hackle.

Starting to wrap thread body.

7. Then wrap ALMOST to the bend, back to the hackle and again back to the bend. This time take three wraps beyond where you stopped previously. Do a whip finish going back over those three wraps in touching turns towards the eye. Clip the thread.

Thread body wrapped to hook bend.
Finished fly in vise.

So, the Ishigaki Kebari the only fly you'll ever fish? Almost certainly not. But is it the only fly you need? Well, let me just say that Dr. Ishigaki, who knows more about tenkara than we do, thinks it's the only one he needs. He considers both variations (black body with brown hackle and gray body with grizzly hackle) to still be one fly.

The Soft Hackled Ishigaki Kebari

Not being one to leave well enough alone, I've been modifying the Ishigaki Kebari for almost as long as I've been tying it.

At his tying demonstration in the Catskills, Dr. Ishigaki clearly indicated that he tied his fly with rooster hackle. Partially motivated by the shortage of good quality saddle hackle and partially by the fact that soft hackled flies are phenomenally productive, I've started tying the Ishigaki Kebari  as a soft hackle. The step-by-step above shows the Ishigaki Kebari tied with dyed partridge hackle. The gray bodied fly tied with partridge breast feathers is also a clear winner.

Whether to use rooster hackle or soft hackle depends on where you will fish the fly. In fast current the stiffer rooster hackle will probably work better.


Tenkara USA claims a trademark on the name "Ishigaki Kebari" even though they did not develop the pattern and the name was in the public sphere ever since Dr. Ishigaki made the recipe and tying instructions public in May of 2009.


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

"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

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.


Warning:

The hooks are sharp.
The coffee's hot.
The fish are slippery when wet.

Beware of the Dogma






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