I'm sure it has been clear to everyone that I have been winding down the TenkaraBum and Finesse-Fishing sites for a while now. There is very little left in stock - just three tenkara rods and some lines on the TenkaraBum site and just five spinning rods, some lines and some ultralight spinners and spoons on the Finesse-Fishing site.

I will be taking a step closer to retirement beginning November 11. I will be away from the shop for a month. Not a fishing trip, not a business trip, not a vacation. Instead, more of a temporary or "practice" retirement. While I am away, you can purchase anything that is in stock but it won't get shipped until December 11 or shortly thereafter. If you are quick, I can ship items on November 9 and 10.

While I am away from the shop I will not be able to sell any replacement parts that may be in stock but not on the website, and will not be able to order any parts that are not in stock. If you need a replacement part, I would suggest contacting Keiichi Okushi, who owns Tenkara-ya in Japan. Google can find the email address for you.

I do not plan on even reading emails, let alone answering them. There are a number of other fine tenkara shops in the US who can answer urgent questions or provide immediate shipment for any gear you may need right away.

I will be back, but until then, take care (and don't break anything).

Seiryu

by Dave
(Baton Rouge)

Today I brought out the Air Stage 390 with some Mummy Worms. I really like the Air Stage for the kind of fishing that I do most often, which is pond fishing or bayou fishing for small panfish.

However I have found that Mummy Worms catch a far bigger variety of fish than I ever caught with red wigglers. It is so exciting hooking new species that you have never caught before or catching something far bigger than you expect. Today I hooked this catfish that I had to fight for over three minutes to get to the bank.

Lately I have been on an Ultralight Worm Fishing kick. I'm using approximately 10 feet of Tenkara line, small 2 or 3 foot tippet, a small split shot, and a hook. This method has proved so deadly that I have not fished anything else in a few weeks. I have never had as much fun as I am having Ultralight Worm Fishing with a seiryu rod. You owe it to yourself to try it.

Some of you, like me, don't have time to make it to the best places or to the best fishing in the US. This fishing makes any fish seem like you had the time and preparation to make it to a premier fishing destination.

“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.

We've all had situations where seriously chewed up flies kept catching fish after fish after fish. It is no sin to tie flies that come off the vise looking seriously chewed up.

All the hooks sold on TenkaraBum.com, whether packaged as loose hooks or incorporated into flies, are sharp - or as Daiichi says on their hook packages, Dangerously Sharp. Some have barbs, which make removal from skin, eyes or clothing difficult. Wear eye protection. Wear a broad-brimmed hat. If you fish with or around children, bend down all hook barbs and make sure the children wear eye protection and broad-brimmed hats. Pay attention to your back cast so no one gets hooked.

Also, all the rods sold on TenkaraBum.com will conduct electricity. Do not, under any circumstances, fish during a thunder storm. Consider any fishing rod to be a lightning rod! Fishing rods can and do get hit by lightning!