Tenkara in the Iowa Driftless

DRC Sponsor: Jim Morrow

During the recent pandemic, DRC member Gary Mineart developed an affinity and became a student of tenkara, a form of fly fishing originating from Japan. This affinity blossomed into a passion as a result of the superb match between the local trout waters in the Driftless Region and this special fishing technique. Gary will explain the concepts of tenkara, contrast it with traditional western fly fishing, and display some of the associated equipment.

Tenkara (テンカラ釣り, literally: "fishing from heaven", "sky fishing", or "empty sky fishing") is a type of simple rod angling traditionally practiced in Japan since the 1600s. It originated with professional anglers who found it an effective method of catching the local mountain stream fish, yamame, iwana, and amago. Primarily used for mountain stream trout fishing, tenkara is still a fairly rare method even among freshwater anglers in Japan, and little was known about it outside of the country until after 2009.

The appeal of tenkara is its elegant simplicity. There are advantages of using tenkara rods when fishing in small streams, primarily the lightness of the line and delicate presentation. The rod allows for precise placement of the kebari (i.e., artificial fly) on small pools and for holding the kebari in place on the other side of a current. The other main advantage is precise control for manipulation of the kebari. Tenkara fishing can be seen as a streamlined counterpart to western fly-fishing. The equipment is designed to focus on the actual process of fishing and avoid preoccupation with managing the equipment.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcment, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.