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

predators, and the broken surface obscures the fish’s view of the angler. Fishing in a 12-to-25-foot radius of your position, as you so often do in tenkara fishing, is no problem at all in riffles. Naples: Riffles are made for tenkara fishing. Because of the broken surface of the water, the careful wader can usually get pretty close to fish in the riffles, the water’s not too deep, making it great tenkara water. You can get your fly down pretty easily. Riffles and pools often go hand in hand. Usually you have that nice riffle leading into a big pool or deeper run. Fishing the head of pools below riffles is often very, very productive. My favorite place to fish is just where the riffle dumps into the pool. Staying back from the deeper water at the head of the pool, cast into the shallower riffle, keep your line off the water and lead the fly downstream into the head of the pool. The long tenkara rod and light line, allows you to keep the line off the water, get a good drift and avoid spooking fish that may be holding in the shallower water in the riffle. If you are careful to keep the line off the water and the rod tip and line downstream of the fly, the fly will get down along the stream bottom as it enters the head of the pool, just where fish may be waiting for food. After spending some time fishing the point where the riffle enters the pool I’ll then fish the riffle itself. The big tenkara advantage here is stealth and delicate presentation. With the long rod and light line the tenkara angler can more easily cast to fish in shallow water, like riffles, without spooking fish. My personal experience is that I am picking up many more fish in shallow water with tenkara. I have to believe that it is due mainly to the light line and delicate presentation not spooking fish like a heavy Western fly line. So, before wading up into the shallow edge of the riffle to get to the deeper parts, send some casts to that water –you may be pleasantly surprised. Also, if I have a larger or heavier fly on, I may change it for fishing the riffles. This is for practical reasons. Riffles, of course, are going to be shallow and rocky. A heavy fly is going to get hung up, resulting in either taking the loss and breaking the fly off, or trudging through productive water to get the fly. I may also do some more active fly manipulation through the riffle, pulsing the fly gently. This can help keep the fly from getting hung up in the shallower water.

FISHING POOLS

Vertrees: I fish pools often by swinging streamers, and I adjust the weight of the streamer to the depth of the pool. The heavier the streamer, the heavier the level line and the stiffer the tenkara rod needs to be. I’ve cast #8 bead head buggers with a 7:3 rod very effectively, but these heavy streamers are not suited for the softer tenkara rods. When I fish pools, I swing the streamer through the closer water first. Once I’ve covered the close water I move forward with my feet (since I can’t pull more line out of a reel) and cover water farther out. I do this in a progression of casting until I’ve covered the pool. I’ve caught a lot of fish at the end of the swing with the streamer rising in the water. Raise the fly – slowly – on the uptake and get ready for fish to take it. My favorite patterns for deep pools are a bead head bugger (either olive or black) and a heavy Killer Bug. Naples: For small pools on fast-moving streams, I generally cast to the riffle above or to the white water at the head of a plunge pool in order to sink my fly. I’m thinking about those bathtub and smaller-sized pools. I don’t really think about picking those apart in sections, I go right for the most likely looking, fishiest spot. If the pool’s a little bigger, I’ll fish the tail end first and move up through to the head. The tenkara-specific thing is getting the fly to sink using the plunge or riffle above the pool. After a drift through the pool, let the fly swing across the tail of the pool. I’m not talking about ripping it across the pool but a gentle swing across, while it is still drifting downstream. Often you’ll get takers on that swing. If I’m going to fish a big pool tenkara-style with unweighted flies and no additional split shot, I have to admit that I often head right to my favorite spot – the head of the pool. I’ll cast up into the riffle to allow the fly to get deep into the head of the pool. Also, fish the edges of the pool. If I can reach it, I also like to cast to the far bank. Very often fish will lie over there in the shallows. That can be a tough place to drift a fly without drag, but if the pool isn’t too big, the long tenkara rod can sometimes allow you to get some nice drifts there. Again, don’t forget the swing. Swinging the fly across the head of the pool or tail of the pool, often brings up some fish. Finally, if the river I’m fishing is primarily made up of deep water, I’ll put on weighted flies. That can be a real life-saver on deep water when fish are sitting tight on the bottom. Maybe it’s “cheating,” and it’s not

my favorite, but sometimes you do what you have to do. Lansky: As a rule, when fishing upstream you should start fishing at the bottom of the pool, targeting fish that “collect” food before it moves out of the pool. This way you will not spook the entire pool as if you had started on top. After the bottom, fish the areas close to you first and then the ones farther upstream. My prime targets are to the left and right of the current entering the pool, though, because that is where I catch most of the fish. There are many books and illustrations that explain how a pool works and where trout hang out. Make yourself familiar with it and just try to target the trout closest to you first before casting over the entire pool and putting fish down. Worthing: My favorite technique in a deep, calm pool is highsticking. Highsticking gets the fly deep, allows for a natural drift and gives you direct contact with the fly. Sneak up to the pool, cast straight up in the air, and drive your fly underwater. Raise your rod so that the line is running straight down from your rod, perpendicular to the surface. Trace the natural drift of the fly with your rod tip, keeping that line perfectly vertical. Fish will practically hook themselves. Gibson: Pools can often be much more productive for me, whether they are formed in the outside corners of an “S” curving stream or at the base of small falls. As you approach the pool take the time to watch for a couple seconds. See if you can spot fish holding or rising in the pool. Work from the tail (downstream) end forward to the head of the pool. Fish can be holding anyplace along the pool. Move slowly as fish may turn downstream to chase down a potential meal. Stealth is important around pools if the water is clean as it can be easy to spook fish that can see movement easily.

FISHING EDDIES

Eddies are often one of the most overlooked places to fish on a stream or river mostly because the back currents seem to confound anglers. Tenkara was made for fishing eddies and I’ve found that the tenkara technique makes working those swirling back currents optimal for finding the fish that are holding there. Admittedly, I often paid little attention to any sized eddy and often succumbed to the “better water” ahead of me instead. Using tenkara, I don’t do that anymore.

Vertrees: Trout are opportunists. They will lie and feed in spots where the current is slower and they can expend less energy to feed. Eddies come in all sizes. Eddies below points or sharp bends in a stream create slower water where a lot of trout will lie and feed. Cast above the eddy and let your fly come into it slowly and naturally. Even very small streams have tiny eddies and these can be very productive. I’ve fished traditional sakasa kebari patterns with great success in eddies, especially on smaller water. Lyle: Tenkara is especially good for eddies, because the long rod and very light line allow you to avoid the intervening current that’s flowing in the opposite direction. You can reach right over it. Stewart: Fish the eddies. Fish the seam between the eddy and the current. Be sure to fish the eddies on the far bank, assuming it is a small enough stream to reach them. If you can’t reach the far bank be sure to fish the eddies on the near bank. You would be surprised how many fish are tight up against the bank. Worthing: Put yourself in a position to cast anywhere from quartering upstream to directly cross current. Land your fly about halfway down the outside, or feeder, seam of the eddy. With a tight line off the water, allow your fly to drift downstream to the tail of the swirling eddy, turn upstream and into the head of the eddy. At the head of the eddy, your fly should be drifting back toward you and the main current. Extend the drift, allowing the fly to swirl completely around the eddy twice. Strikes will occur in one of three positions. First, as the fly moves upstream in the back of the eddy. Second, as the fly moves toward you and the main current (often, this is the biggest fish in the eddy). Third, as the fly turns back downstream for a second go around (because your fly is deep in that seam on that second pass). Gibson: Eddies can be areas that fish will sometimes seek. Water is pulled into new currents out of the main current bringing with it food. The force of the main current coming down stream is often also reduced, making for easier swimming while a buffet is brought right in front of the fish. Using a long tenkara rod to cast the fly right into the eddy and be able to hold it there with the light line being held off the water makes for a great presentation. Heavier lines cast with a shorter rod make it difficult to keep the line from being pulled by the current. This will drag the fly out of the eddy in an unnatural manner. But tenkara has the advantage, holding the line out of the current the fly is able to swirl

around in the eddy without drag, making for a more natural drift. Add a little action to the fly and you more realistically create the illusion of an insect struggling in the water.

FISHING POCKET WATER

Right next to eddies in the “most overlooked water” category is pocket water. A good stretch of pocket water is a real diamond in the rough for the angler’s who are willing to take their time and work it thoroughly. I grew up and learned to fly-fish for trout on one of the most prolific pocket water streams on the East Coast: Esopus Creek. Located in the heart of the famous Catskill Mountain region, the Esopus doesn’t fish as great as it did when I was a teenager cutting my fly-fishing teeth but that pocket water still harbors a good number of rainbows and browns. Japanese anglers who developed the tenkara method of fly-fishing fished a lot of mountain streams and creeks riddled with pocket water. I’ve fished large rivers that have pocket water and I am now convinced that tenkara provides the best combination of stealthy and realistic fly presentation, dry or wet. Worthing: The picture I am about to paint is so common here in Utah, I don’t know if a day of fishing on a popular river would be complete without it. You are fishing upstream in a Blue Ribbon tailwater, covering ground quickly in traditional tenkara style. You run into a Western flyfishermen above you, hucking an indicator nymph rig into a nice looking turn. You acknowledge one another from a distance. He’s had a bit of luck, but is ready to move on. Above him awaits a highly featured 100yard stretch, divided into small pockets like a checkerboard by fast moving currents. So you wait him out. Sure enough, he gets out of the river, skips 150 yards upstream and drops into the next slow turn. Choking back your drool, you proceed upstream to the first of many tasty pockets. You see a beautiful one, tucked against the shore under 5 feet of overhanging brush. You execute a three-dimensional cast, rolling the wrist so that your line lays out parallel to the water’s surface. Your fly hits first, right in the middle of the pool. One, two, SET! You bring a 16-inch brown to net. Many more follow. The Western guy looks perplexed. You agree to let him buy you a beer later in exchange for a barstool lesson in tenkara.

Vertrees: This is where tenkara really shines. I’ve had a lot of success by casting above plunge pools and letting the plunge pull line into the depth of the pool by lowering the rod. I’ve also had a great time casting to pocket water on the edges of streams where the water is slower. There are a lot of trout on these edges. The small streams in the Colorado Rockies are mostly covered with pocket water, and this is the water I fish the most. The downstream cast to pocket water has also worked very well for me, especially with dry flies. Lyle: Pocket water is the very best kind of water for tenkara fishing. As John Gierach said, you can pick the water apart, flicking casts effortlessly and accurately into every little hole. You will find more trout than you do with a rod and reel. Your line doesn’t lie on the water, it angles down from the rod tip so that only the fly and a little bit of tippet is in the water, giving you great dead drifts when you want them and unparalleled ability to jig the fly. Strikes are immediately obvious. You’ll be surprised how many fish you find, and some of them will be beauties. Naples: Pocket water is my favorite type of water. Give me a stream with miles of pocket water and I’m a happy man. Pocket water is pretty close to tenkara-perfect water. A section of stream broken up with boulders and large cobbles creating fishy lies all across the stream, what could be better? The tenkara advantage in pocket water, is again the way that you can fish at a distance while keeping the line off of the water. Instead of struggling with all of the swirling and conflicting crosscurrents, the tenkara angler can cast his fly into all of the seams and soft water, behind and in front of the rocks, and keep the line off the water. This allows your fly to sink and stay in the slower current seam or pocket without being dragged out. Think of the pockets almost as tiny pools, and cast upstream of the pocket to allow the fly to sink. Also, make sure your tippet is about a foot longer than the average depth. The thin tippet will sink faster than the thicker tenkara line, so you’ll want to make sure that you’ve got enough tippet to allow the fly to get near the bottom, without your line being below the surface. In addition to fishing subsurface flies, fishing large attractor dry flies can be fun and effective in pocket water. To effectively fish pocket water with tenkara gear, I make sure that my line isn’t too long. I want to keep my whole line off of the water, to avoid those cross-currents.

Lansky: Pocket water is my favorite part of water to fish. Again, start

by targeting the closest fishy looking spot, hit it a few times with different presentations and then move on to the next closest one. Dry flies will work well as will wet flies, tenkara flies or nymphs. Trout are hiding behind rocks, in depressions or any crevice that will give them shelter from the current but quick access to food. They will take willingly a fly that was well-presented. Vetterli: I live for pocket water. I live literally minutes away from three spectacular high mountain streams loaded with it in every size and shape possible. The thing I love about pocket water fishing is there are endless opportunities. You can move through a pocket water section quickly by just casting to the prime spots or you can spend an entire day in a 500foot section of stream by picking apart each and every pocket of water. It is a giant puzzle and I find fish in the strangest little tiny pockets of water and it is always surprising when one rises to the surface. Tenkara rods and methods were developed for pocket water and have had hundreds of years of evolution and refinement for it. It is the perfect tool for this challenging water. Ostrander: Pocket water is the attention-deficit disorder child of river society. Bouncing all around with too much energy, pocket water gets misdiagnosed as unproductive water and passed over for the calmness and reliability of pools. Gibson: Pocket water is one of my personal favorite types of water to fish tenkara. Often strewn with rocks that not only create many conflicting currents but also providing great areas for fish to hide. Casting to the slow water behind each rock will often produce a strike. Sometimes fish will also find a good place to hide at the front of rocks if there is a buffer of water being slowed by the rock. Again this is perfect water for tenkara as you’re able to keep the line up out of the swirling currents that are common in areas of pocket water. There can also be small pools formed below rocky areas that can be targeted first with the same techniques you would use for any pool. As you work forward through, you can cast into the white water of the water plunging into the pool to help sink the fly deeper into the pool, allowing the undertow of the current to drag the fly down. This can help you to work the depths of a pool more effectively.