In a new partnership with Esoteric Tackle, the Durham Fly Fishing Company now provides Tenkara tuition, guiding and can supply all the gear required as part of the whole range of services on offer.
A good fishing friend and possibly the best exponent of tenkara in the UK, Dave Southall,  introduced me to it a couple of years ago. This year we had a great day out giving it a go on one of our upper northern rivers, and I have to say Tenkara beat the traditional fly rod and line by aproximately 2:1 !!.

Dave Southall into a nice fish on the Tenkara


So what is Tenkara??

Tenkara fly-fishing originated with professional fishermen in the mountain streams of Japan who found it an effective method of catching  the local fish. Tenkara fishing can be seen as a streamlined counterpart to western fly-fishing. The equipment is designed to direct focus to the actual fishing and catching of the fish, not to cause a major preoccupation with the equipment. Only a rod, tenkara line and fly are necessary for tenkara fishing (no reel is used).

The appeal of tenkara is its elegant simplicity. There are also other advantages of using the long tenkara rods when fishing in rivers and streams, primarily the lightness of the line and delicate presentation. A long rod allows for precise placement of the fly on small pools and allows for holding the fly in place on the other side of a current. The other main advantage of using the long tenkara rod is precise control for manipulation of the fly.

The 12' Eso 6:4 tenkara rod


If you fancy giving it  ago or just want to learn more, please get in touch. It's another approach to fishing the fly, simple, elegant and very effective and is already proving very popular with clients both old and new.