Large Water Strategies for Tenkara

“Large rivers are really just a conglomeration of small rivers that can be easily dissected into less intimidatingand more manageable pieces.”

Karel Lansky

There are two myths about tenkara and big water. The first myth was born from those who see a long rod with a short line and say: “There’s no way to reach the spots you need to reach on a big river.” The second myth revolves around landing big fish on a tenkara rod: “There’s no way you’ll be able to net a big trout in a big river.” Tenkara might mean using a long rod with a short line but you have to change your perspective on how you fish big water and back away from your Western fly-fishing, double-hauling ways. Whether you choose to wade or drift through a big river, have no fear of bringing your tenkara rod along for a very productive and fun ride. Worthing: Look at the size of our trucks. Or the size of the sausage muffin breakfast I eat before a long day of fishing. Since when are Americans afraid of going big? No tenkara angler should be afraid of big water. Ever. Large rivers are simply a bunch of small streams having a dance party. As a tenkara angler, you already know how to dance with a small stream. So why not join the party? I remember the first time ERiK Ostrander, one of Tenkara Guides’ founding members, took me to Utah’s Green River. We had been having a lot of fun fishing together, catching fish at a rate I don’t think either of us was used to. Being the good friend ERiK always is, he prepared me for the not-so-traditional tenkara fishing ahead. He didn’t want me to get too discouraged if I didn’t catch a fish on my first tenkara trip to the Green.

An hour into the trip, I had my first fish. A beautiful, big bow. We had a great couple of days, catching a bunch of big browns and bows in an already big river that was swollen with flows over the 90th percentile. And it was all on tenkara. I attribute our success to our ability to dissect

that big river into digestible chunks after hours of fishing together on smaller streams.

We learned two important lessons on that trip. First, tenkara kills on big rivers. Second, fly-fishing reports aren’t always based on much. For the next month or two, it seemed like there was an extraordinary amount of talk about the one or two patterns we used. Tenkara was not mentioned, however. Vertrees: Large rivers can be fished successfully with tenkara. The Arkansas River is in my backyard, and I fish it a lot. Since you can’t cast as far as you can with a Western fly rod, you have to break a big river up into sections, or “mini rivers” (many rivers). Fish the edges when the water is high and strong. But you can fish the edges all the time, even when the water is low. Fish below boulders, just like you would fish smaller pocket water in a stream. The pocket water is there, only on a larger scale. By approaching a big river as a collection of smaller water it’s much less intimidating and you can be very effective. Klass: Large rivers are really just a conglomeration of small rivers that can be easily dissected into less intimidating and more manageable pieces. Instead of looking at a big river and being intimidated by its size, the myriad of different runs, pools and riffles, focus in more closely on each piece of structure and on one at a time. A targeted, methodical approach to each small slice of a large river is going to be more effective than trying to tackle the whole thing at once. Lansky: A large river is really just many small streams combined. Break down the water you want to fish into small sections and pockets and fish them like a small creek. Start with the water closest to you and then work your way out and up. One lesson I learned many years ago is to first fish the water you would want to wade through to get into position. You would be surprised how many fish you will be able to pick up “on your way” to that spot you want. Stewart: The same rules still apply. Where can a fish get food without having to continually fight the current and still have a nearby hiding hole? If there isn’t a hatch to get the fish looking up, this is a place where you might want a non-traditional rod capable of effectively fishing a non-traditional bead head nymph.

Vetterli: Big rivers are an entirely different ecosystem than the mountain streams where tenkara was developed. Large rivers mean deep water and long reaches. I like to use rods 13-to15-feet in length with long lines 20-to-32-feet and sink those flies deep. Euronymphing techniques work extremely well in these large deep waters. Dry flies are also fun if there is a hatch going off while you are fishing. Odds are that the fish will be rising on the opposite side of the river from where you are standing (at least that is always how it seems to me). You need to be able to get your flies over there with long rods and long lines. Again, don’t be afraid to experiment with weighted nymphs or other methods. The only wrong way to fish with a tenkara rod is to not try to fish something with the tenkara rod.