Tenkara Fly Tying

In 2012, I filmed tenkara angler Hiroto Sasaki tying a fly in Tokyo, Japan. And, as it always happens when watching someone tying a fly, I learned a cool trick to finish tying a fly. Since then I have been showing this way of finishing a fly without using a whip finish fly tying tool whenever I teach someone how to tie flies. And the feedback is always excellent. The line-twisting method is a quick, efficient and easy to learn way to finish off a fly you tie. Here’s how to do it:

If you are anywhere near Lancaster, PA this weekend, make sure to come visit us at the International Fly Tying Symposium to learn more about tenkara fly-tying.

Every time I go back to Japan I bring a few cameras along to try to capture the experience of fishing with the masters. In the last several years I have shared quite a few videos through this blog and our YouTube Channel. Yet, I realized a few weeks ago while I was reviewing some of the photos and footage from those trips that I haven’t really done a great job at creating the longer-format videos I have once envisioned.
Now that tenkara – the book is mostly done, and available for sale! (the printers are placing the cover on the book today and will ship this weekend), I have decided to focus more of my attention on longer-format videos.
The first video I decided to put together is the 9-minute video below, of when I spent a few days backpacking in Japan with Mr. Yuzo Sebata and then, sitting by the stream, he showed me how he ties tenkara flies with very few and simple materials, and without a vise. I hope you enjoy it.

This week Joe Egry shows us how to tie the tenkara fly from the Kurobe region of Japan. Unlike most other flies in the Tenkara Fly Tying Video Series, the Kurobe kebari doesn’t feature the typical reverse hackle. Enjoy it.

This video is part of our Tenkara Fly Tying Video Series, with a new video coming out every week to show you how to tie a tenkara fly.

Today Aaron Tye will show you how he ties a tenkara fly.

This video is part of the Tenkara Fly-Tying Video Series, with a new video released every week. Click here to watch all videos in the series.

In today’s Tenkara Fly-Tying Video Series, we bring to you a quick video of Dr. Ishigaki and I sitting down to tie a couple of flies together and to talk a little bit about our approach to fly-tying.

In 3 minutes tenkara guide, and McGuckin’s tenkara guru, Steve Conrad will show you how to tie a very effective tenkara fly, the Royal Conrad.
If you want to meet Steve, he will be at ISE in Denver this Friday.

This video is part of our Tenkara Fly Tying Video Series, with a new video coming out every week to show you how to tie a tenkara fly.

In this week’s Tenkara Fly Tying Video we bring you renowned rock climber, and tenkara aficionado, Malcolm Daly. The lesson here, watch out for that super glue!

In this week’s Tenkara Fly-Tying Video, we feature Graham Moran, the blogger behind TenkaraGrasshopper. The Tenkara Fly-Tying Video Series features a new video of a tenkara fly being tied every week. Watch all videos here.
Happy New Year everyone!

Allison Marriott is a fly-fishing guide and fly-tying instructor in the Boulder, Colorado area, working for Rocky Mountain Anglers fly shop. As part of our Tenkara Fly-Tying Video Series, where every week we show you a new video on tenkara fly tying patterns, today Allie shows you how to tie a tenkara fly. In a couple of weeks she will also be participating at Women’s Showcase in the Denver Fly-Fishing show talking about tenkara.

Meet Allie in Denver on January 10th, 2015 at the Women’s Fly Fishing Showcase

In today’s weekly video for our Tenkara Fly-Tying Video Series, John Geer shows some fly tying without a vise. This video goes very well with our newly released “No tools Tenkara Fly-Tying kits” which have been incredibly popular.

If you like the video above, you may also want to check out the video of Mr. Amano tying flies without a vise.

Tenkara Guide Allen Seagraves, who is based in Boulder, Colorado, shows us how to tie a simple tenkara fly pattern in today’s video.

It’s been a long-time coming and with many requests from our customers. We have been working for a while on putting together a tenkara fly-tying kit that has everything you need to tie a variety of tenkara flies, and nothing you don’t need. The Tenkara Fly-Tying kit is our way of showing you that fly-tying is actually pretty simple.
Both kit options feature a booklet we created to teach you how to tie tenkara flies as well as a vise (two options available), a set of tools, soft-hackle, dry rooster hackle, peacock herl, two spools of thread and 50 hooks in two sizes. There are also a lot of resources we’re putting together to help you get into fly-tying, such as our weekly Tenkara Fly-Tying Video Series, with one video released every week. Both kits feature enough hooks to tie 50 flies, and materials for more, so it would pay for itself pretty quickly compared to buying flies.Kits will start shipping on December 16th but order now to make sure you get one.

The Basic Tenkara Fly-tying kit features a spring-action vise by Terra. This vise is great for beginners as it requires no adjustments, all you do is press the lever to open the jaws and put whatever size hook you are using. This is a clamp-style vise, which you will clamp onto a table/desk. All materials are the same as in the Upgraded kit. Ships December 16th.

$50, Basic kit

Tenkara Kit

Today we launch the Tenkara Fly-Tying Video Series. The Tenkara Fly-Tying Video Series will be an on-going series of videos released weekly, every Tuesday. The intent of the series is to show a variety of tenkara flies being tied, inspire you to take up fly-tying and showing you that fly-tying is actually simple. Each video will feature a different person showing their favorite tenkara fly.

In the first video of the series, tenkara angler Mark Bolson shows us how to tie a tenkara fly (kebari) he calls the Chartreuse Black Kebari. It uses only two materials and is a beautiful looking fly.

Stay tuned for a weekly video released every Tuesday. We already have 9 videos in the lineup.
Also, in the next couple of weeks we will be releasing a tenkara fly-tying kit. Stay tuned for that. Sign up for our newsletter if you want to be notified when they become available.

This winter we will give you plenty of fly-tying related stuff to do. Right now we are finalizing a great series of fly-tying videos, which will be released weekly starting on December 2nd. Stay tuned.

Tenkara Videos

Fly tying can be as simple and spontaneous as one wants it to be.

Yesterday I met up with a couple of friends for some wine at their place. As we started chatting the conversation turned, as it always does, to fly-fishing. More specifically we started talking about flies. My friend, Salome, had just bought a fly-tying kit and had some questions about tying flies. I suggested she bring out the kit. Then her roommate came home and was very intrigued; her roommate Sibel had never seen an artificial fly before. And, before we knew it we were enjoying a great evening wine and tying session. It was spontaneous, unplanned, and just plain fun. Sibel started recording it, and here’s the video. Fly-tying can be simple too!