//The Simplicity of Tenkara

The Simplicity of Tenkara

An introduction to tenkara fly-fishing can start with the places you may already know: your campsite with a stream flowing through it, a lake on a family hike, or a mountain stream on backpacking trip. These places attract us and we want to connect with the water and the surrounding natural features. A simple and effective form of fly-fishing, tenkara, can connect us with the stream.

Angler fishing a mountain stream with tenkara

Tenkara history started in the mountain streams of Japan with professional anglers. The original tenkara fishermen likely realized they could try to imitate bugs with feathers, silk, etc. At that point they quickly realized the great efficiency of using these flies (kebari) to “harvest” the abundant Yamame in the mountain streams of Japan. As opposed to using bait a simple fly would take seconds to tie and could catch several fish before ever being replaced. The