DAVID E. DIRKS
LARGE WATER STRATEGIES FOR TENKARA “Large rivers are really just a conglomeration of small rivers that can be easily dissected into less intimidating and 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 78
