Kebari-Inspired Trout Patterns

ROYAL SAKASA KEBARI

Hook: C49s Mustad Scud Hook – size 12 (or equivalent) Body: 6/0 Uni-Thread with peacock herl and Pearsall’s Gossamer silk thread band in red. Hackle: Hungarian Partridge – grey feather

Notes (Kuhlow): Chris Kuhlow is a dedicated tenkara angler and has a growing reputation for tying some excellent kebari adaptations, and, of course, traditional kebari as well. He says of his favorite kebari patterns: The Royal Sakasa Kebari is by far my most productive sakasa kebari

pattern. The Bubble Kebari is a fly I took 2nd place with in a competition sponsored by the Montana Fly Company and the Outdoor Bloggers Network several years ago. The Ausable Kebari came from the inspiration of the Ausable flies tied by Fran Betters who used many of these materials in his own flies. I have always had a fondness for classic wet flies from years ago. Sometimes these patterns are referred to as heritage flies. One heritage fly that stands out among the rest is the Royal Coachman. It was first tied in 1878 by John Haily, a fly dresser working in New York City. It is perhaps one of the few classic flies that are still in use today. It has been so successful that it has spawned a number of other flies based on its color scheme. Among these are the Royal Trude, Royal Streamer, Royal Humpy and the most famous of all the Royal Wulff. Several years ago when I first began fly tying, I thought a sakasa kebari using the color scheme form of a Royal Coachman would also make an excellent addition to the “Royal Family.” The Royal Sakasa Kebari is my go-to kebari and I never leave home without a half-dozen of them in my box.

OLIVE BUBBLE KEBARI

Hook: C49s Mustad Scud Hook – size 12 (or equivalent) Body: 6/0 Olive Uni-Thread with midge-sized silver-lined glass tyer’s bead. Hackle: Hungarian Partridge – grey feather Collar: Peacock herl

Notes (Kuhlow): The Olive Bubble Kebari is another sakasa kebari I created after being inspired by another well-known fly tyer, the late Gary LaFontaine. After reading his book on caddis flies, I became intrigued by the idea of “trigger points.” Trigger points are characteristics in a fly, which induce a fish to strike. These could be anyone of a number of things. Mr. LaFontaine discussed at length the idea of air bubbles trapped by aquatic insects and used to rise to the surface of the water that could act as a trigger point. I thought the simplest way to simulate an air bubble would be to tie in a small collar of Mylar into the body. Later I switched to a glass tyer’s bead because I thought it would be easier to tie. The thought was that a small flash from a distance would get the fish’s attention and then the fluid motion of a reverse tied soft

hackle would seal the deal. To date this fly has helped me to land some rather large brown trout and is another fly that can be found in my fly box.

KLASS SAKASA KEBARI

Hook: #12 Firehole Sticks #315 but any short-shank, heavy-gauge hook will do Thread: Red UNI 8/0 Beads: 2 small pearl crystal glass Hackle: Pheasant or Partridge Thorax: Peacock Herl

AUSABLE KEBARI

Hook: C49s Mustad Scud Hook – size 12 (or equivalent) Thread: 6/0 Uni-Thread – hot or fire orange Body: Australian possum dubbing – dyed a rust color Hackle: Hungarian Partridge – brown feather Tail: Woodchuck guard hairs

Notes (Kuhlow): My all-time favorite fly tyer is the late Fran Betters. Mr. Betters hailed from one of my favorite regions of my home state of New York in the Adirondack Mountains. His flies are durable and tied with simple materials. They have stood the test of time not only on his home waters of the West Branch of the Ausable River but around the world. His innovative patterns and unique use of materials has led to the creation of a number of other patterns that regularly fill anglers’ fly boxes today. It is with this inspiration in mind that I decided to apply a number of materials Fran frequently used in his flies to tie a unique sakasa kebari. The Ausable Sakasa Kebari utilizes woodchuck guard hairs in the tail and a body dubbed with rust-colored Australian possum. In addition, I used hot orange thread to tie the whole fly together. In a way, this fly is

a tribute to Mr. Betters and all that he has contributed to the sport of fly-fishing and will always be one of my favorites.

ADK KEBARI

Hook: Mustad C49S, size 12 Thread: Uni-Thread, hot orange Hackle: Grizzly saddle hackle Body: Possum dubbing, dyed rusty orange

GREEN HORNET

Hook: C49s Mustad Scud Hook – size 12 (or equivalent) Hackle: Hungarian Partridge – grey feather plus two strands of pearl colored Krystal Flash. Body: 6/0 Uni-Thread - Olive Notes (Kuhlow): The great thing about sakasa kebari is that they lend themselves to all sorts of experimentation. The Green Hornet is the result of staring at some Krystal Flash and wondering just how it could be incorporated into a kebari. Krystal Flash has always given me the impression of the material that makes up the wings of many insects. Even if the fish doesn’t think so the flash of the waving strands of Krystal flash will get their attention and act as a trigger point. Though I have not personally fished this particular fly very often it seems to have struck a chord with several other tenkara anglers. The name “Green Hornet” even comes from fellow tenkara angler Karel Lansky who

knows how to tie some outstanding sakasa kebari himself.

GOLD RIBBED HARE’S SAKASA KEBARI

Hook: Mustad Signature C49S size 12 (Straight eye, 1X short shank, curved) Thread: 8/0 Brown Dubbing: Natural hare’s mask dubbing. Pick out some guard hairs with a dubbing needle after winding the ribbing. Rib: Small size gold oval French tinsel Hackle: Gray Hungarian Partridge breast feather – the brown back feathers can be used too for a slightly different look. Notes: Anthony Naples shared this fly recipe and I have to say it’s as effective as it looks. Of course, it has deeply engrained and highly effective fish-catching heritage of every Western version of the goldribbed hare’s ear pattern. This is a great translation of a pattern into the kebari form.

BROWN HACKLE PEACOCK

Hook: Mustad Signature S80-3906 3XH/STD, nymph sproat bend or an equivalent heavy nymph hook. Thread: 8/0 Camel Brown Hackle: Brown rooster hackle fibers Body: Peacock herl, two fibers Rib: Small gold wire Notes (Naples): I like to use peacock herl taken from eyed sticks because it is usually much better quality than the packaged strung herl and it usually makes nicer looking flies. But I suspect that the fish don’t

care much one way or the other. The ribbing is essentially there to help reinforce the fragile peacock herl. Also I build up a bit of a tapered thread under-body before winding the herl – I just like the look of a slightly tapered body. This is my go-to fly. It’s an old wet-fly pattern, although often you’ll see it tied with a red yarn tag or red hackle tail. I usually tie it on a heavy nymph hook, but I’ll also tie some on light wire dry-fly hooks to be fished at the surface. I like this fly because it looks like nothing in particular but yet like everything, it has a buggy silhouette and trout just seem to love peacock herl. I most often tie it in size 12, but I like to have some smaller and some bigger. If I had to pick my tenkara one fly this would be it. I’d be confident fishing this fly all season most anywhere for trout, especially with a range of sizes from 8 to 18. Although not a Japanese pattern, I’ve seen pictures of Japanese tenkara flies that are very similar such as some from the Hida Shokawa and Banshu areas as pictured at Yoshikazu Fujioka’s website “My Best Streams”.

PARTRIDGE CADDIS EMERGER

Hook: Size 12 Mustad Signature C49S straight eye curved caddis hook or similar. Thread: 8/0 Camel brown UNI-Thread Hackle: Brown Hungarian partridge back feather. Tie the feather in by the tip. Body: Hareline Dubbin Tan Krystal Dub. This is rabbit dubbing with some fine strands of flash mixed in. Head: Dark brown rabbit dubbing with fox squirrel guard hairs mixed in.

Rib: One strand of dark brown DMC embroidery floss. This cotton floss is available at craft stores and comes in a bunch of colors. It can be easily divided into six strands. Use one for the rib.

Notes (Naples): This is a simplified version of a caddis emerger that I have been tying and fishing for many years. Although I do agree that fly selection can be kept much simpler than many anglers realize, I still like

to have this caddis emerger. I have days when this fly seems to catch fish when others aren’t doing it. I like it in tan, but of course you could tie it in a variety of colors. I just try to make sure that the ribbing and the head are in colors that contrast with the body.

STARLING BLACK ANT WET FLY

Hook: Size 12 Mustad Signature C49S straight eye curved caddis hook or similar. Thread: 6/0 Black UNI-Thread Hackle: Starling hackle, ribbed with black tying thread to reinforce. Body: Black tying thread

Notes (Naples): I tie this fly in two steps. I make up a bunch of thread bodies, lacquer them with head cement then set them aside to dry. I go back and add the hackle after the cement has dried. The starling hackle is quite fragile, so I always make sure to reinforce it by winding the tying thread through it while carefully avoiding trapping any barbs under the thread. Long before becoming a tenkara angler I discovered the magic of ant flies. I especially like fishing them subsurface. Fish really seem to dig ants. So even though the tenkara mantra is sometimes “the fly doesn’t matter,” I think ants can be especially killer at times. The development of terrestrial fishing is associated with Pennsylvania anglers such as Ed Shenk, Charlie Fox and Vince Marinaro and I like to pay homage to my Pennsylvania roots by fishing terrestrials with the tenkara rod.

UTAH KILLER BUG

Hook: Tiemco 2459 caddis/scud size 14 Thread: Uni Thread 6.0 Black

Yarn: Shetland Spindrift Oyster Wire: Ultra Wire Medium Red

Notes (Worthing): The Utah Killer Bug was featured in “Tying Tenkara Flies, Volume 1.” Below is the recipe that has produced best for me in Utah. But this fly works with a variety of thread and wire combinations. UV pink with pink wire is a popular combo. Try a red hooked version for fishing in late fall through early spring runoff. You can also try substituting Shetland Spindrift Mist in spring creeks with a heavy sowbug population. Placing the wire in the middle of the hook shank will help create a nice tapered body. Twisting the yarn six full turns or so can make wrapping easier and it creates a hint of segmentation.

E.R. WOOL BODY “GRAVE DIGGER”

Hook: Tiemco 2487 emerger/nymph size 10 Thread: Ultra Thread 140 FL Chartreuse Yarn: Shetland Spindrift Purple Haze Dubbing: Baloo* Hackle: Partridge Notes (Worthing): The Grave Digger is responsible for one of the largest fish I have caught on Utah’s Provo River to date. The key yarn color is Purple Haze. The Grave Digger name came from the combo of purple yarn and chartreuse thread. Many colors of thread work, but fish

frequently prefer the UV varieties with this fly. Get a Grave Digger wet and you’ll see why. The UV thread color really shines through the yarn. Try white and blue as well. We use this fly in a variety of sizes, ranging from 16 to 6. But it seems sizes 10 or 12 end up on the line with regularity.

*Many of you might be asking, “What is ‘Baloo’ dubbing”? Baloo is, well, a dog. A Chesapeake Bay Retriever, to be exact. Turns out the natural oils and double fiber layering of Chessie fur makes incredible dubbing. No worries if you don’t happen to have a Chessie lying around the house. Rabbit dubbing in any similar color makes a great substitute. So does a collar of peacock herl. Or, experiment with sheddings from your own canine companion.

E.R. WOOL BODY “RED-ASSED MONKEY”

Hook: Owner Mosquito Hook size 6 Thread: Uni Thread 6.0 Iron Grey Yarn: Shetland Spindrift Sunset Dubbing: Baloo Hackle: Partridge Notes (Worthing): Red is a great color for flies. Flemming beat us to the punch with red variations of Shetland Spindrift. He used a red colored yarn to tie massive flies on size 2 hooks with good results. Our own version uses Shetland Spindrift Sunset. The Red-Assed Monkey was the fly of choice this past fall and has continued to produce pounds of fish flesh this winter.

My single favorite fly-tying material is wool-based yarn. Shetland Spindrift is a two-ply, 100 percent wool yarn whose fibers impart universal fish-catching properties like translucency, movement and air pocketing to flies. These flies are not designed to imitate any one insect. Instead, they’re designed to tickle a trout’s predatory senses. And they’ve caught a lot of fish. To my knowledge, the first tenkara angler to use Shetland Spindrift in fly tying was Chris Stewart. Chris wanted to create his own version (insanely rare and expensive) Chadwick’s 477 yarn used in Frank Sawyer’s classic Grayling Killer Bug. He settled on Shetland Spindrift Sand, further colored with a Prismacolor Sand pen. The results of Chris’s experiment were so fishy that I decided to invest some time off the water hanging out in our local yarn shop. The earliest profit from this investment was the Utah Killer Bug, tied in Shetland Spindrift Oyster. The Utah Killer Bug has brought a lot of fish to net and remains one of our go-to flies. Those of you with stonefly heavy water will love this one. As stonefly larvae pass through instars toward adulthood, they molt. With each molt, there is a period in which the abdomen turns translucent blood red. Trout really key in on those red abdomens. One of our favorite variations of this fly uses an Umpqua Competition Jig Hook with a black tungsten bead. When positioned far enough forward on the jig hook, the bead ensures the jig hook rides bend up every time. This is a great fly for dredging bottom, whether alone or on a Czech rig. Try burying the bead between hackle and dubbing, creating the effect of a large thorax rather than a big head.

LITE BRITE SAKASA KEBARI

Hook: #12 Daiichi 1250 Hook Threads: 6/0 Uni Thread Dark Brown, 6/0 MFC Thread Yellow Body: Wabbit Dubbing Yellow Hackle: Brahma Hen Soft Hackle

Notes (Vertrees): I originally created this pattern in early summer 2012, in an effort to create a semi-takayama-style kebari that had a soft brahma hen hackle that would provide a lot of movement and also a fly that had what I felt were “summer colors.” When I think of “summer colors” on my favorite little spring creek I think of hopper colors. This fly has some rusty brown up front, a yellow dubbing thorax/collar and a yellow thread body. I’ve tied this fly on both #12 Daiichi 1250 hooks and also more recently on #4 Owner Amano tenkara hooks. The Daiichi is a little bigger hook, and so between the two I have a couple of different sized flies. I really had fun with this fly during the summer, fishing it on mostly upstream casts in the riffles and laser pointing it into pockets. Its usefulness wasn’t just limited to the summer months though, as I continued to use it into September and October in local canyons. Simple to tie, highly effective and easy on the eye. It’s one of my favorite sakasa

kebari patterns!

KILLER KEBARI

Hook: #14 Daiichi 1190 Hook Thread: Ultra Copper Wire-SM Body: Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift Yarn (#290 Oyster colored with a Sand Prismacolor Marker) single ply Hackle: Hen Pheasant Soft Hackle

Notes (Vertrees): This is an established Western hybrid pattern but has its roots in the Hida Takayama patterns from Japan. The body of the Killer Kebari is very similar to the Killer Bug but differs in that it’s tied on a lighter weight wet fly hook and I only use one strand of yarn for the body, instead of two twisted strands as with the Killer Bug. Some tyers use a partridge hackle, but I have continued to use hen pheasant hackle and it’s worked great. I’ve even used cock pheasant hackle, but the stiffer shafts on the male bird’s feathers make it a bit more difficult to tie. At first glance, you’d think the Killer Kebari is nothing but a Killer Bug with a soft hackle, but this would be incorrect. It’s lighter weight, keeping it higher in the water column, and the pulsating hackle gives it much different movement than the Killer Bug. I like to fish this pattern during caddis hatches, as I think it imitates the movement of the pupa as they drift in the water column just prior to the hatch. However, it’s not limited just to caddis hatches. This fly is very versatile, second only to the Killer Bug. I’ve fished the Killer Kebari on tiny alpine streams,

small spring creeks in arid canyons, and on winter tailwaters with equal success. I dead drift this pattern with a direct upstream cast, but I will also cast it across and swing it down. I’ve even been successful using a long tippet with a downstream cast, casting it short of a pocket, letting it drift down to the pocket and then lifting the rod tip to raise it in the water column.