Tenkara Two Fer

[Mike G]

I was pleasantly surprised to come across this article recently. First it is good to see Bob Long Jr alive and preaching his gospel, =<  30 ft, downstream. Second a good intro to Smallmouth on Tenkara. That's the two.

https://issuu.com/troutrageous1/docs/tenkara_angler_spring_2018/52

[John Gillio]

Thanks for posting that Mike.

[Adam C]

Who fishes this particular spot on the creek this way?  Is the secret to tenkara standing in the hole instead of casting to it???

I kid...though this is a pretty odd approach.

[John Loebach]

Bob will be at the Early show & give a lively presentation on his passion for Tenkara smallmouth fishing. Early Show is on 11/10/19, Sunday, from 10am to 5pm. at Mayslake Peabody Estate, Oakbrook, Il. Don't miss it.

John

[Mike G]

There's more.

I just got this link. https://issuu.com/troutrageous1/docs/tenkara_angler_fall_2019/64

Many in the ISA know that Bob Long Jr has been promoting this radical approach to Fly Fishing for Smallmouths for over 20 years, long before Tenkara was introduced in the US.  Tenkara just fits the method very well though the same philosophy can be applied with standard fly gear.

Adam, you are right if you think you are standing where they should be fishing. But there is a method to the madness. You should really try to take in his presentation. He is a great speaker.

John, thanks. Do you have any idea when Bob is speaking?

PS Bob's article starts on p. 62.

[Mark K]

I got a  chance to fish exactly this way, with all this stuff,  but not with Bob.   You would be suprised how close you can catch a fish, I was shocked. 

 Caught a fish with the Tenkara rod, which was fun at first but for me it took seemingly forever to get the fish in, which was like...12", but if you do it often I think there is probably a technique to it.  My friend let me use his 5wt which was a hell of a nice rod and rigged with a that little Keitech jig, I like that rod a lot more.

20 something years ago Bob told me about how he liked to fish soft plastics on a flyrod.  Which I thought made sense but was odd, since he tied such really amazing flies.  That little Keitech on a tiny jig looks so incredible I doubt that it is possible to tie anything with better action.  No BS a couple times I had to take a double take...is that a real minnow?

 

 

[Rob G]

I'm presuming this technique is designed for faster and more stained water.  Good luck getting within 10 feet of a wary smallie in our slower, lower, and clearer water.  You  would have to be one sneaky Indian, Ha

[Mark K]

3 hours ago, Rob G said:

I'm presuming this technique is designed for faster and more stained water.  Good luck getting within 10 feet of a wary smallie in our slower, lower, and clearer water.  You  would have to be one sneaky Indian, Ha

It was moving pretty fast - riffly water and you could not see the fish.  I think that even if you initially spook some, if you hang still they will come back.

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[Mike G]

On 10/28/2019 at 3:49 PM, Mark K said:

It was moving pretty fast - riffly water and you could not see the fish.  I think that even if you initially spook some, if you hang still they will come back.

Piling on Rob,

If Tenkara works for trout  which are plenty spooky, it might work on wary bass. Arm. rod, line, and leader will typically give you a  30 ft reach.  Add to that some of Bob Long Jr's observations on the Smallmouth's curiosity, aggressiveness, and lack of wariness, and we  have an effective technique. I would not say this if I had not caught a lot of bonus bass while fishing Tenkara  for panfish in very clear lake water,

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[Steve S.]

I fished Tenkara with my brother last year for trout in NC. It was fun but not my first choice. A really effective method though, especially on heavily fished waters. Current as cover definitely is a plus as most every water we fished was crystal clear and trout would spook easily in still waters. The trout really use the current to hide in on the skinny waters. Also, anytime there was a dark patch on the bottom a trout might be in it. We caught some pretty hefty trout too, had to chase a few and also had a few pop the light tippet.

I definitely believe it would be an effective method to catch smallmouth but again, I'd rather cast poppers or streamers to them as a first choice.

[Rob G]

Mike, I always thought of Tenkara as up close and personal, but if you're fishing at 30 feet, then yea, sneaky Indian need not apply.  There were times  this year when the water was so low that I took to casting from my knees in the middle of the stream and made long casts with long leaders and tried to keep my number of false casts down so as to reduce my chance of being spotted near some of my more shallow honey holes. 

[Mike G]

Big Bump

Did Bob speak at the Early Show.? If he had any handouts, I would like to get a copy of them. Please.

I have the handout he passed at a fly show in Schaumberg 15 years ago. It covered his new approach to river Smallmouth  fly fishing between May and October. I remember 4 big points:

1 Smallmouth Bass are not trout. Adjust.

2. Fish the magic waters. 2-4 ft deep. 

3. Fish downstream 90% of the time.

4. Make Short casts 30 ft or less.

Plus many more details. I got Bob's permission to submit it to the Bulletin along with a preface he wrote. It didn't make the  cut I guess. I will submit again.