Tying Tenkara Flies - A Beginning

[William Anderson]

So a couple more that probably round out what seems best to have on hand when I finally get to the water. These are very fun to tie and if there is anyone else who has dabbled tying these who would like to add a number of pics for comparison or just general comments about the flies in particular. I'd love the input. Some are tied on eyeless hooks...for whatever reason. I would still like to put together a number of these using yarns and tying off at the bend. And I tied a dozen with wire bodies that should offer some action in a deeper column. I understand these will not cast as well, but they are on a finer wire #14 1130 hook and should be okay.

This is a Partridge hackle with Golden Pheasant tail twisted with hot orange silk and tied with Griffith's orange 14/0 tying thread on a heavy 1120 hook. It's got a thorax of four part hare mask and tied off at the eye. I would expect this to fish okay compared to a lot of the other patterns I've seen around.



This one is heavier on the Daiichi 1120 hook. Partridge and Amber Uniwire and the five part hare mask blend thorax, tied off at the eye.



These are the Speckled Hen and Amber Uniwire on the #14 1130's.



Has anyone fished the wire bodied flies?

w

[Mataura mayfly]

William, more good looking flies mate.
Long heads kind of give a hot spot effect.

I have fished wire bodied flies, good for depth without a beadhead clunky look. Cannot say I see a lot of difference in the preference of the trout, seems they will hit either a wire body or normal PT much of a muchness.
There is a bit of a craze in the UK and Europe with woven wire flies. Seems in competition fishing the fly must meet strict criteria and rules. Not allowed to be weighted with beads or lead wraps so they weave wire bodies, weaving allows for three times as much wire weight on the shank compared to wrapping...... between that and the heavy competition hooks used there is no need to add any extra weight and still be within the rules.

[letumgo]

William-san,

卓越した！
Takuetsu shita!
Outstanding!

Domo Arigato!

[tie2fish]

An impressive array of creativity going here, w. I'm really impressed, but not surprised, with how quickly you have taken to this style and managed to elevate it to another level.

[William Anderson]

Thanks again, guys. For all the folks here who have tied these, I'm surprised there are not some stronger opinions. From what I've seen there is a lot of overlap in tenkara and flymph culture and very similar motivations. I'm assuming there are those who become converts in a purist sense, but as many who enjoy having another pleasing method for fishing steams and engaging in a special practice. It's interesting.

Jeff, I've fished the wire body softhackle flies from the first time I tried one. I never go out without some and they always make sense when I need to get down a little deeper...or a lighter fly on behind one to get it down. I've had the best reactions to the Amber and Dark Copper.
Those weaved wire flies are a great way to get a fly down. Have we seen pics of those here?
I was actually asking about a wire bodied fly with a tenkara rod. I know most of the flies are fished near the surface and the rods are not intended to cast any weight. Just curious about folks experiences.

[gingerdun]

William,
You are amazing. I love how you bring a personal touch to whatever you try, but without straying too far from the tradition.
I agree that these are very flymphy.

Lance

[Mataura mayfly]

William, so was I. Although not in the pure Tenkara methods or with a specialised Tenkara rod. I have fished Tenkara "style" with wire bodied (and standard) horrid looking Tenkara style flies that fell out of my vice.
I have a lot of big ole rods, glass and cane, none of which are top of the line casting rods. Most of the cane have tiny guides designed long before the modern plastic lines and todays oversized snakes. By making furled tapering leaders, attaching them to the tiptop of these rods, a few feet of tippet and a fly or two I am able to use the reelless rigs in a kind of heathen Kiwi Tenkara style.
Depending on your hook choice and hackle the wire body flies will sit in the film and slowly descend through the length of the swing. In my mind it gives a kind of drowned spinner effect and fishes well at the head of a pool after a spinner fall. You can imagine a spinner falling on the water- floating for a while on a spread jumble of legs and wings- hitting some turbulance at the head of a pool around the rocks- getting beaten up a little and being pushed under the film.
You can get the same result from a standard body, but sometimes you want to sink that wee bit faster because of a short run in the holding area or the like and you can see the fish working nymphs and emergers or sunken spinners at a deeper level. This is where your wire bodies shine.

[William Anderson]

Jeff, the rig you described sounds a lot like what I imagine the early English rods were like.

So I'm again making assumptions about the flies in general and the write bodied flies in particular but I was very pleasantly surprised to see Chris add a copper bodied tenkara fly on the DVD with a nice story and description about how it's used with such light weight gear.

I'm sure I said months ago that I would be easily distracted by this whole pursuit. It's official. I'm looking forward to making this an ongoing distraction.

[CM_Stewart]

William, I think you've pretty much got it. I like all your flies with the exception of the second one. I would have placed the hackle further back from the eye, but only because that is more in keeping with the style. I am sure that the fish won't care.

I have found the wire bodied flies to work very well, and can highly recommend them for bluegills as they'll hold up better than a herl or thread body. Sakasa Kebari style flies work exceptionally well for 'gills, particularly if you fish as many flies as your state regs will allow. Two flies work better than one, three work better than two and four work better than three. I haven't tried five, although NY does allow five.

[Mataura mayfly]

A slightly more honest attempt at Tenkara style. Still not perfect but better than most of my tries.



Ties on an Irish Buzzer #12 barbless that I picked up in Ireland off Lawrence Finney. Not sure who actually makes them, but they are kind of cool being black and all..... plus the price was right per 100.
The copper is more of that recycled radio transformer, I like the reddish colour, but it is a very fine wire, this is three strands twisted together and could have been applied a bit tidier. The thread is some of the silk I picked up in San Francisco and just good old black.
The thorax, bronze peacock herl...... just because every fly looks better with Peacock herl!
Hackle, a kind of mid ginger/ light red floppy cock hackle of which I have a huge bag full. I bought a bag (amongst other things) off a retired commercial tier here. Most of this bag was hackle you would use for Mataku streamers and the like. It was like a giant mixture of all the stuff he owned at some stage and into this bag went all the remnants...... it is a real lucky dip bag.

Jeff.