The Tenkara Advantage – Passing the Trout’s Test Article by Jerry Reitz The unwritten laws of fly fishing are taught to us early. For those of us who began with a Western rod, the doctrine was clear: a trout is a phantom, a creature of pure paranoia. We learned to approach the water as if stalking a sleeping tiger, convinced that the snap of a twig or a ripple from a misplaced boot would create an aquatic ghost town.

The Tenkara Advantage - Passing the Trout’s Test
Article by Jerry Reitz
#tenkara #flyfishing #trout

Nikko Is Fishing – Rainbow Trout, Yamame, and Char Spring has finally found its footing in the mountains around Nikko. After weeks of cold water and cautious fish, warmer temperatures have arrived and with them, the kind of fishing that makes the early-season patience worthwhile. Last week, guides Hiro and Takashi hosted a group of visiting anglers from the United States, and the streams delivered. The highlight of the trip was a rainbow trout measuring over 40cm, a genuinely impressive fish for these waters.

Nikko Is Fishing - Rainbow Trout, Yamame, and Char
#tenkara #flyfishing #japan

How Did I Get Here? Article by Paul (PJ) Stevko How did I get here, writing an article for Tenkara Angler magazine? My adventure into tenkara fishing begins with a helicopter, an injured PCT hiker and a wizard with a fish wand! Without going into too many details, I was introduced to this technique of fishing from a stranger high up in the Sierras while assisting an injured hiker get flown out of the wilderness.

How Did I Get Here?
Article by PJ Stevko
#tenkara #flyfishing #california

Yama, Yuki… Brookie!! Article by Dre Fornasiero It started one day while scrolling Instagram. I noticed a post from Tenkara Angler that featured a new rod from Tenkara USA, the Yama. Like many of us, my tenkara journey started with a Tenkara USA rod, so I was immediately intrigued. The Yama is what I would call a pack rod, not so compact as a “pocket rod” but slightly shorter than a standard rod.

Yama, Yuki… Brookie!!
Article by Dre Fornasiero
#tenkara #flyfishing #iowa

Sunday Morning Riffles – 4/12/2026 Happy Sunday! It's once again time to take a lap around the "Tenkaraverse", just like our Artemis II astronauts recently did the Moon. Hopefully this mission will encounter no communication blackouts (or toilet troubles) during our successful flightpath. Consider me your Victor Glover today, as I pilot you through this recap. Okay, enough of my Neil deGrasse Tyson-ing, let's fish those Riffles...

Sunday Morning Riffles - 4/12/2026
#tenkara #flyfishing #nasa

2025 Western North Carolina Tenkara Campout Article by Justin Ide Located in the beautiful Pisgah National Forest in Brevard, North Carolina, the Davidson River Campground was the venue for the Western North Carolina Tenkara Campout, October 3rd to the 5th, 2025, and in all ways it was a resounding success. Victoria Smith and Ben Colonnese of Appalachian Tenkara Anglers were hosts this year, and Dr. Rob Worthing…

2025 Western North Carolina Tenkara Campout
Article by Justin Ide
#tenkara #flyfishing #campout

Woodcock Feathers for Fly Tying Kebari, Nymphs & Wet Flies Article by Steve Allen Late September of 2024 I traveled to Wisconsin to visit family and spend some time tenkara fishing. While camping in the Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest and fishing on the White River I met a local chap who came for spring water at the rest area where I was having lunch. We talked fishing and hunting and Andy offered to send me some bird wings at the end of the season.

Woodcock Feathers for Fly Tying Kebari, Nymphs & Wet Flies
Article by Steve Allen
#flytying #flyfishing #tenkara

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Demon's Game - The Oni School of Tenkara Fly Fishing with Rob Worthing
Episode 33: Level Line Podcast
#tenkara #flyfishing #podcast

tenkaraangler.com/2026/04/06/demons-game-t...

Nikko Headwaters Report – Spring Comes Slowly A week into the season, the crowds that descended on Nikko's streams for opening day have thinned out. Guide Takashi and a visiting angler from Australia made their way into the headwaters. The fishing was difficult, with a single rainbow trout landed, and a reminder that early season in the mountains asks for patience. The headwaters sit at elevation where spring arrives slowly.

Nikko Headwaters Report - Spring Comes Slowly
#tenkara #flyfishing #japan

The Flow-State of Casting Article by Charles Davis In tenkara we use a straight back-and-forth cast, but we can cast using circumduction. What’s circumduction? Circumduction is the movement of a human joint as it traces a circular motion. The motion can be demonstrated by the arm and/or the wrist for casting purposes. While the movement is not exact, it does follow a circular path. For example, if you were to draw an imaginary circle using only your wrist (pretend you’re holding an imaginary pen); it’s that circular motion that’s referred to in biomechanics as a circumduction movement.

The Flow-State of Casting
Article by Charles Davis
#tenkara #flyfishing #casting

Tenkara Rods & the Bully Spider: A Perfect Match for Panfish Article by Ivan Zoot The match the hatch imperative of western fly fishing has been a buzzkill for casual participation if not a complete roadblock to enjoyment for many new to the sport. The “one fly” ethos that is a cornerstone of traditional tenkara has proven a liberating invitation into our tenkara culture. The traditional sakasa kebari has certainly landed more than its share of bluegill, but if there is an ideal fly for targeting panfish with tenkara rods, the…

Tenkara Rods & the Bully Spider: A Perfect Match for Panfish
Article by Ivan Zoot
#flyfishing #tenkara #bluegill

Nikko Streams Open: First Tenkara Report of the Season The wait is over. Fishing on the mountain streams of Nikko officially opened on March 21st, and tenkara angler Takashi Sakauchi wasted no time heading to a nearby stream on opening day to see what the season had in store. The early results were modest but promising: several yamame (cherry salmon) measuring around 15 cm, caught on tenkara in classic fashion.

Nikko Streams Open: First Tenkara Report of the Season
Article by Hiroyuki Ishii & Takashi Sakauchi
#tenkara #flyfishing #japan

The Tenkara Rod Co. Anytimer Kickstarter If you've been following Tenkara Rod Co. on social media, you may have already seen the buzz around their latest Kickstarter campaign. Following up last year's successful Backpackr campaign, the Idaho-based tenkara company is back with their 10th Kickstarter project. It's called the Anytimer, and the pitch is pretty straightforward: a fully functional 10-foot tenkara rod that collapses down to just 12 inches and weighs 1.8 oz.

The Tenkara Rod Co. Anytimer Kickstarter
#tenkara #flyfishing #tenkararod

Sanders Spider Flies Article by Sander van Dijk Here's a fly pattern that's as fun to tie as it is to fish and is surprisingly effective. The inspiration? Look no further than what's already happening right at the water's surface. Spiders are everywhere near water. They live in it, skate across it, and tumble onto it. That natural presence makes them an irresistible target for fish, and the Sanders Spider is designed to imitate just that.

Sanders Spider Flies
Article by Sander van Dijk

Here's a fly pattern that's as fun to tie as it is to fish and is surprisingly effective.
#flytying #flyfishing #tenkara

Monitoring the Pulse of the Driftless CRTU Stream Monitoring Program Needs our Help The Driftless Area of Wisconsin is home to some of the most unique and productive coldwater fisheries in the world. Characterized by its steep ridges and spring-fed coulees, this region provides the essential thermal conditions required for wild brook and brown trout to thrive. However, these delicate ecosystems face constant pressure from climate variability, land-use changes, and extreme weather events.

Monitoring the Pulse of the Driftless
CRTU Stream Monitoring Program Needs our Help!
#flyfishing #tenkara #wisconsin

Some Books to Inspire Tenkara Anglers ... if you culture a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have bought a life -time of days.—Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek The tenkara angler enters into the flowing waters and wooded glens of the natural world, perhaps in an attempt to escape his or her own thoughts for a time.

Some Books to Inspire Tenkara Anglers
Article by Anthony Naples
#books #tenkara #flyfishing

Can Fishing Save the World? On a recent Friday afternoon, the day before missiles and bombs of fear and anger started flailing, yet again, across the Middle East, I drove from my home in Wisconsin across the Mississippi River to the Driftless Area of Iowa. Time had come to stretch my legs and some of my tenkara rods. I drove a quiet back road, following one of my favorite streams, along an unfamiliar stretch I'd not fished before, reconnoitering.

Can Fishing Save the World?
Article by Bill Robichaud
#tenkara #flyfishing #iowa

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Silence That Seat Belt
Article by Tom Davis
#tenkara #flyfishing #truck

tenkaraangler.com/2026/03/13/silence-that-...

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Demon's Game: Rob Worthing's New Book Teaches the Oni School of Tenkara Fly Fishing
#tenkara #flyfishing #book

tenkaraangler.com/2026/03/11/demons-game-n...

Tenkara Fishing the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Level Line Podcast Ep 32 In Episode 32 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast Mike Agneta talks with special guest Kris Franqui and contributing editor Tom Davis about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, including their favorite spots in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Kris covers the massive Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, a paradise with over 300 fishable alpine lakes, many containing wild cutthroat, golden, rainbow, and brook trout. Tom then expands the discussion to the wider Yellowstone ecosystem, covering areas in western Wyoming and eastern Idaho, including the famous Snake, Green, and Madison River drainages, and the unique fluvial grayling of the Big Hole River in Montana.

Tenkara Fishing the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Episode 32: Level Line Podcast
#tenkara #flyfishing #yellowstone

DRAGONtail Hydra 395 v2 Tenkara Rod Review Order the NEW Hydra 395 v2 Tenkara Rod at DRAGONtail Tenkara! From the introduction of tenkara to the USA zoom rods have been popular with anglers. The term "zoom" rod comes from Shimano and some of the multi-length rods designed by Dr. Hisao Ishigaki. In the USA, the triple zoom rod has without a doubt been the most popular iteration of the multi-length rod.

New DRAGONtail Hydra 395 v2 Tenkara Rod Review
Article by Tom Davis
#tenkara #flyfishing #gearreview

Huerco NOBEZAO NB300-3Z Fixed Line Rod – A Quick Look Here is a quick look at the Huerco NOBEZAO NB300-3Z fixed line rod. For those wondering, "NOBEZAO" roughly translates to "fishing rod with the line connected to the tip." This will not be a standard review, rather I'm making this specification & measurement information available for those interested or curious about this rod. Huerco fixed line rods have appeared in…

Huerco NOBEZAO NB300-3Z Fixed Line Rod
A Quick Look by Tom Davis
#tenkara #keiryu #oikawa

Sunday Morning Riffles – 3/1/2026 Happy Sunday! It's been a loooooong time since we published a "Sunday Morning Riffles" post. But with a little less chaos in my weekends these days, I thought it might be a nice opportunity to revive this format. For those not familiar, it's a quick hit rundown of things we recently saw and found interesting in the tenkara world, but were perhaps not meaty enough for a blog post of their own.

Sunday Morning Riffles: 3/1/2026 Edition
#tenkara #flyfishing #news

Tenkara in the Mountains of Florida Article by Dalton Thompson For the most part, tenkara in the United States focuses on the pursuit of trout in mountain streams just as it does in its country of origin. As a Floridian the closest mountains are a solid 7 hour drive from me, so I have to get creative when trying to do any kind of fishing that replicates the feeling of casting to wary fish in fast flowing water.

Tenkara in the Mountains of Florida
Article by Dalton Thompson
#tenkara #flyfishing #florida

Rainbow Trout and Some Respect This is a quick read. Let me just tell you... This was a struggle and we both won. The hookset was perfect and the battle was typical. In good running water it took about two minutes to bring this fish to my net. That doesn't sound like long, but in a small creek with a big fish, that is a hot 120 seconds.

Rainbow Trout and Some Respect
Story by Jason Sparks
#tenkara #flyfishing #trout

Firewood Treasure Box I have have stack of lumber behind my shed from a recent porch build here at my home. The stack has an assortment of pieces in sizes and shapes. There is some thick posts like 4X4 and some 6X6, and a large assortment of 2X6, 2X8 scrap sections on the pile. I keep thinking I will come up with some ingenious "re-use" project for most of it before it becomes aged fire pit food.

Firewood Treasure Box
Article by Jason Sparks
#tenkara #flyfishing #diy

Tenkara in Patagonia: Tenkara Angler Level Line Podcast Ep 31 In Episode 31 of the Tenkara Angler Level Line podcast, the the panel of Anthony, Bill, Matt, Mike, & Tom welcome Jeff Wells, an enthusiastic tenkara angler and fishing lodge owner (Fundo Los Leones) in Chilean Patagonia. Jeff shares his journey to South America and discusses the unique fishing opportunities in the region, the landscapes, techniques and gear he prefers, additional opportunities of eco-tourism.

Tenkara in Patagonia with Jeff Wells
Level Line Podcast: Episode 31
#tenkara #flyfishing #patagonia

Woo hoo! ❤️ seeing print issues of Tenkara Angler out in the wild!

Excellent! Happy it got there so fast... Hope you enjoy!

It's been a gamechanger for many anglers, not just from a fishing standpoint, but on a personal level as well. Certainly changed my life for the better.