Is Versatility Worth it for me in Fly Fishing?

Tenkara vs the world

I had a rough day on and in the water (foreshadowing) yesterday while fly fishing on one of the tailwaters in my region.

There was some success (see above), but I just didn’t get in the groove all day long. My tool of choice for this trip was my most versatile rig for trout: Orvis 10’ 4wt Recon with the Orvis Hydros Euro reel set up with a Troutbitten Standard Mono rig (later I used a micro leader too). With this set up and the skills I have learned from Domenick Swentosky, my friend and owner of Troutbitten, I can do just about anything well…only limited by my skill.

Let’s be brutally honest: I have too much gear and love investigating everything to do with fly fishing in any way.

As my business(s) start to take off in a big way, time on the water is becoming more scarce and equally precious. I find myself transitioning from trying to be the most effective/efficient I can be on the water (catching the most fish in any given situation) to capturing as much of the beauty and aesthetics as possible on every outing.

I struggle to explain my connection to tenkara to my non-tenkara fly fishing friends and everyone else on the planet. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you or anyone else thinks about how and why I choose to fly fish. I am always glad to hear about your love for fly fishing and however you choose to express that love is spectacular to me. As Gilbert Rowley always says, get outside on the water.

All that being said, there is some weird almost alchemical mix of simplicity and complexity that tenakra provides that soothes my anxiety, ADHD and competitive drive.

I know tenkara is less versatile and yet I am more confident anyways

Without a reel I am more stable and confident in my wading and fall less

The feel of hooking and playing a fish on a tenkara rod is unequaled

My preferred type of water to fly fish on is pocket water and high gradient mountain streams…absolutely perfect tenkara territory

I prefer to fish without line on the water and the length of tenkara rods combined with no guides = less sag and better drifts

Fishing with wet flies and/or Kebari flies in shallow, flowing water is the bomb

There are limitations when I choose to tenkara fly fish (looking at you Mr. Overhanging Brush/Tree), but they can almost always be overcome by expanding to the full range of tenkara techniques that you can explore and practice at Paul Gaskell’s Discover Tenakra Academy (amazing training).

I knew I was in trouble yesterday when immediately after getting in the water I was wishing I had brought one of my 13’ tenkara rods designed to fish with nymphs. The tenakra rods had been left at home because I wanted to avoid distraction (failed) while on the water and embrace versatility with abandon. I literally fished every single possible way I could on the Recon and didn’t really enjoy any of it.

Then it got worse. this tailwater has lots of large and slimy rocks with strong currents. That is not an ideal combination for an overweight 56 year old and when I get tired (and don’t realize it) things can get sideways fast. I fell twice within 2 minutes and both times it was the slow motion slide into submersion…in 3 feet of water. Completely filled the waders and it was some really cold water.

To say I too umbrage with the situation would be a mild description as I cursed a blue streak to be honest and through a complete temper tantrum. Ended the day early and thankfully was able to distract myself from being completely soaked by making a bunch of business calls on the hour plus ride home. The capstone to this experience was getting stuck in traffic less than 5 minutes from home.

I reconfigured all my gear to prepare for a trip this coming week with a friend of mine, James, from North Carolina. We are going to be fishing together for the first time and might be going back to that same tailwater. I will be armed with a couple of tenkara rods and a whole lot more peace and confidence.

If you ever wanted to give Tenkara a try and are within a few hours (or want to take a road trip/hop on a plane) I would love to take you out for a half day or full day experience. All you need to bring would be waders and wading boots.

Thanks for reading, the comments and support has been wonderful.

All the best and tight lines,

Mike