DAVID E. DIRKS
Strategies and Tactics for Different Types of Water “Don’t expect tenkara to be magic. It is just fly-fishing. Fish are still fish, you need to be able to find them, get the fly to them, detect the strike, set the hook and land the fish – none of that changes.” Anthony Naples
Regardless of the ease and simplicity of tenkara as a method to catch trout, it’s knowing where to put that fly and how to present it in the common water structure found in most rivers and streams that counts the most. Here are some tenkara angling insights on different but common types of trout water found in most rivers and streams.
FISHING RIFFLES Vertrees: I’ve done a lot productive fishing in riffles. Cast across and swing down. Keep a tight line and keep all but the tippet off the water. In very fast riffles keep even more tippet off the water. This is very important because riffles can carry the line downstream faster than the fly and can put an unnatural drift on the fly. Let the cast drift all the way down directly below your position. Lift the fly out and off the water – slowly. I’ve had a lot of fish take my fly as it rose on the uptake. Keeping tension on the line on the uptake on a downstream drift can actually result in a hook-set. Riffles attract trout at dusk and dawn when there are large numbers of larval insects drifting. Fishing a Killer Bug or larva pattern at these times is especially productive. During the middle of the day, deeper riffles may hold some trout too. Lyle: Riffles are great for tenkara fishing. The water’s flowing swiftly, so the fish don’t have the luxury of inspecting flies. If it might be food, they’d better grab it before it floats away. And riffles are full of food – it’s the kind of place that holds the most nymphs and pupae. The many rocks, nooks and crannies offer lots of safe places to hide from 66
