What's New!

2024

January 1: Announcement of the Tenkara Fisher Book

2023

Notes:  Detail the Tenkara Fisher kebari project, photograph and write a story about it. Also, detail in one article, each of the components of my kit. Briefly explain my kit with links to each portion of it.

December 31: Drafting the announcement of the Tenkara Fisher book, updating the about me page. I've been putting in time writing the book. It is coming along well. It will be like no other tenkara book, Japanese or otherwise. The closest thing I have seen is that it will be a mix of Yuzo Sebata and Soseki Yamamoto style approach. 



August 20: Adding in a few books to the Library


July 16: I'm gearing up for beach fly fishing and am almost ready. I've picked out a date, the tide, I've got my lodging and an itinerary for my time off. In the meantime, I found my tenkara files! I made a page to see what people want, a pin, a patch or a sticker. I'll give that out to people that donate to the site. Wish me luck on my surf fishing adventure. 

July 13: Big new project in the works here. Needed, this project will give people a single place to go to that will enhance the community. Beginner, casual, experts, people come here for ideas, information. A small team of us, we are independent, yet we work together to bring the information. We have graduated and soon the site will promote this. Some come here and mine the site for ideas, for you? I have a great one for you to learn, you will just have to be a little patient.

July 8: Simple Flies

June 25: Updating my fly fishing page and the tippet rings page. I am about to get back to the vise. Also thinking about how to build the next interview. Still waiting for two interviews to be returned.

June 23: Ahh, I have been busy elsewhere creating a new forum on Social Media. Both the forums I am active in are hosted by rod companies. Although I enjoy those forums, we needed a place that was devoid of marketing. So I thought about it for a while and started building a forum based on what I wanted to see. It is steadily growing and I am happy with the results. I chose an international team, new, young, old and experienced and gave them administrative rights, the same as I have so that any of us can help each other or the forum. Making a place to chat is not about me, it's not about any one single individual or company, so I put my money where my mouth is and now it is up and running and doing well.

I just finished the Sunline Extra Cast and Tenkara Line Systems and Storage articles. I have two more in the wings and two more interviews in the que. I now have my full attention on a new interview which I am about to start.


May 29: Line Box, Rigging Secrets, working on finishing a Japanese Expert's Interview, waiting for my buddy's interview to be returned. Rigging up my FF dry fly equipment, received my rod from Winston (they like tenkara), sending off a 12' 3-weight Euro rod (super interesting build) and re-doing the handle and reel seat of my Sage 356-LL.

May 23: Writing a Japanese tenkara fisher interview. Almost finished. Waiting on a friends interview to be returned for posting. Working on filling out Tenkara Fishers forum on social media (FaceBook) I feel there is a need for this type of forum where skill is the primary focus over commerce. I have a lot more work to do there setting up posts that include techniques. I'm looking at a couple of months before it will slowly be ready for distribution. I am enjoying writing it and it is someone theraputic in creating a place where I can do as I please without a moderation team filtering my content because of their commercial interests. More work on the Fly Fishing page. Winston offered me a professional discount! I purchased a beautiful but extreamly accurate midge rod, a 6'6" 3-weight that I will use in tight forest streams for dry fly fishing. I am quite honored and grateful as a Winston fly rod is as good as any fly rod out there. It appears they are friends of Tenkara Fisher and I am so proud of the fact that I am promoting both fly fishing and tenkara. 

As I should be.

May 9: Updating Fly Fishing page

May 6:  A Well Balanced Tenkara System, working on the latest interview.

April 29: Updating Tanago and Fly Fishing pages, Found Feathers, added in the page: Kebari

April 24: The cat is out of the bag, I made it 14 seasons as a "tenkara only" fisherman. 

I just bought my favorite dry fly rod (again, I sold my old ones when I commited to tenkara) and will begin limited time on the stream dedicated to just dry fly fishing. I also do river fly fishing and have friends that are fly fisherman. I will occasionally choose to fly fish on a river to reach distant trout however I will be mostly practicing honryu tenkara especially to my fly fishing friends to show them the effectiveness of tenkara. I generated the Fly-Fishing page here because I feel that it is appropriate. Many master level tenkara fishers in Japan have fly fishing backgrounds and or practice fly fishing along with tenkara.

Updated the Gamakatsu Multiflex Suimu EX (general page) and the Gamakatsu Suimu 500 EX page.

Crafting the next collective, an interesting piece on "5 Favorite Fly / Kebari" by 5 Tenkara Fishers. Lot's of experience on this one that will hopefully shed some light on what flys work throughout the world.


April 6: Working on current interview, updating Tanago page, completed Tenkara Angler fish stories.

March 26: Gathering info on a rod designer, updating Tanago page, reviwing upcoming season vs. content. Ordered a 7 shaku tanago rod and case. Finishing out car camping list, preparing for upcoming trips. Vice pulled out and will begin tying for the post blow out trips and later in the season. Michael Agneta contacted me for some sort of "memorable fish" stories video thing for his magazine. I'm starting to wake up to what is coming up in the new season. I have one trip to plan with an old friend in New Mexico.

March 24: Updating Tanago page with my equipment links

March 20: Working on interview, procured next Japanese tenkara fisher interview. Changed header.


January 29: Finished and sent interview off for filling out. Secured next interview and am brainstorming ideas. I'm pretty sure this next interview will be the most telling on tenkara-fisher. Super excited to have finally got the OK to do it. Excited for the new season to begin. Packrafting, travel by car and more writing.

January 27: A Day Fishing Trip to Touge-zawa - that's Keiich's fiftieth story of Genryu, I am so thankful for his continuing participation in our project.

January 22: Updating Tanago section, writing latest interview. 

January 14: Working on the latest interview. I found the new photograph for the tenkara-fisher header.

January 13: Updating the Tanago section.


January 3: Clear Lines


January 1: Updating header with "Tenkara-Japanese Style Fly Fishing" Update header image, working on new interview. Updating R side image links

2022

December 31: Love Letter to Tenkara, fished #untenkara for the last fish of the year

December 27: Added Honryu section, secured new interview and working on it.

December 26: Adjusting the Menu, updating and creating a tour in my personal page. Preparing for a fresh start on January 1, 2023. 

December 24: Cleaning up various pages. Updating "About Us" and my personal page. Links page editing. Spending a little time on planning for the new year. Super excited to continue.


 December 19: Putting together the latest interview, will post after the first of the year. Working on Zimmerbuilt Custom Products, editing tenkara club logo/links on the front page. 

On a personal note: Really enjoying making the site, renewing focus, staying the course and having fun.

December 4: Added in East Verde, digital kebari drawing in the background, latest interview sent for answers. Updating Links with history of tenkara websites. My Favorite Tenkara Rod (really but not really) Added in a Donations option on the Contact Us page.

November 11: Update San Juan River, Suimu 500Zoom Rods added in.

September 20: Shoetsu Goto interview.

September 5: Shouetso Goto interview is finished and sent for translation and answers. My tanago (minnow) fishing equipment arrived! Added in Sunline: Long Cast Fluorocarbon 8m Tapered Clear LineFC Systems: Tenkara Level Line, Fujino: Soft Tenkara White

August 28: Uploaded the Sakura (Tenkara) Seki Rei - Kongo (Tenkara) pages. Working on Shouetso Goto interview. Working on a hand lining page, personally am trying new hooks and will detail.

August 5: Links checked

July 27: Added in Keiichi's friend's blog to the front page. Patagonia River Salt Wading boot, Horton Creek.


June 18: Applying links that were forgotten. Updating Lines for the Gamakatsu Suimu EX. Deleting spam comments.





I am happy Keiichi san is back writing again, it has been two years. 

More genryu fishing.

More honryu.

More packrafting.

The new season is shaping up. 

Looking forward to the tenkara takover at the San Juan and meeting with a few friends there. I have a few other projects in mind but nothing really different than what I have always planned to do here.

Moving forward, less social media, more time spent here.

That is what will work.

I would rather one person visit here, one person that understands and comes back 100 times than 100 people coming here going, "ohh, cool."

This is the way.

Feb 22: Interview of Tanidoraku Takano sent for answers. 

I need more women tenkara enthusiasts to interview...

Working on a line craft for Suimu article. Currently writing it for myself as we are very few fishers that have these rods.

Jan - Feb: On a personal level, I've been doing a lot of thinking of how I want to approach this new season. I sold my two Karasu. The 400 is an absolute magic rod however, I can't stand a foam grip. It was easy to overlook as I cast very accurately but the overall is that it's not really the rod I want for me. I want a rod that can handle big fish duties and I'll end up breaking it. I finished out my Suimu series and now I am happy with my new goal of seeing if they will make me happy. The 500 EX is the rod for western rivers. The 400 EX is so sweet at 3m for tiny streams.


I have three interviews out for answers, Tristan Higbee, Kazuo Kurahashi and Dr. Robert Worthing, there is another, I don't think I'll ever get it back. I'm working on Tanidoraku Takano now, all of them will be good.

I'm starting to see a resurgence in the old tenkara fishers. I hope they continue to pipe in.

2021

February - June: I have been steady in adding to the site but have been taking a break from day to day, "check the site" as I have done in the past. This is much better. So, I have added in these pages. 山釣りJOY (Yama tsuri joy) Mountain Fishing Joy, Tenkara Techniques for Slack Water Trout, ストーリー, Keiryu Monogatari (Keiryu Story) by Soseki Yamamoto, another title of the same, Keiryu Monogatari (Keiryu Story) by Soseki Yamamoto, Tenkara Kaitai Shinsho by Hisao Ishigaki. I bought a couple of new rods by River Peak, a 3.3 and 3.8m rod set that is light, full flexing and they look like excellent level line rods. This will probably be my next addition to the site.

January: I've been busy at the site but not maintaining the site diary here. So here we go, Tippet Rings, Fluorocarbon Tippet and Knot Comparison, Lake Fork, Conejos, Colorado, Valles Caldera, New Mexico, Rio de los Pinos and MontBell Fishing Bag. I created a social media forum: Facebook Honryu Tenkara, I feel like it is a good group. Lots of my Japanese friends, good information.

Working on removing bad links.

January Notes: Add in Nissin Oni Honryu 450, Discover Tenkara Karasu 400, Genryu Tsuri book, Genryu Tenkara book, another Genryu Tenkara book, TenkaraFromJapan Youtube channel, New Honryu Season,  Sunline Tapered Fluorocarbon Line, FC Line System Fluoro Level Line

2020

September: Working on the Soseki Yamamoto collective, updating the Contents page with buried appropriate content, fishing and having fun making Tenkara-Fisher. Updating the "About Us" page to include the dedication to Soseki Yamamoto.

Sept Notes: Collect images and include on site pages.

August: I have been working on a Soseki Yamamoto dedication for tenkara-fisher. It is a collective piece much like the previous works I have done in the past. I had another box made by Richard Setina for myself and a friend that I have added in. I've been doing a little fishing with a couple of new rods. A Karasu 360 and I switched from the Tenryu TF39TA to a TF39 which is the non-zoom. I will detail a little about those rods soon.

I'm starting to take a much more relaxed approach toward the site. 

I should have done this a long time ago.

July: It has been a difficult month but we are nearing the end and I am doing well. 

I have taught 4 new tenkara fishers. I feel good about that and I am getting back to normal at tenkara fisher. I simply forgot about updating the "What's New" page. So I will give it a brief run down to catch up the year. I am changing my quiver again, I'm realizing that my "one rod" idea isn't a good idea. I chose a zoom rod for it's versatility and I don't use the two other lengths, I only use one. I like the compactness of the Furaibo zoom but it is too complex for the short nest length. I love the action of the rod but it has two strikes against it, the color which is the last thing I choose in a rod and the zoom. I have chosen a non-zoom tenkara rod as my primary and will use that along with it's longer length version for honryu. I've finished my travel kit by having a bag made by Zimmerbuilt to hold the belt, net, rod and if I want, my tying kit. Anyway, I will be getting back to updating here. I am currently working on a collective article, "Tenkara Secrets" and it is coming along wonderfully.

June 27: Starting a draft on, "Designing a Kebari Box"

May 31: Genryu Fishing of Jalpan #46

April 13: Interview with Morgan Lyle

January 31: Posted "What I've Learned about Tenkara"

January 24: Working on the newest collective article, "What I've Learned About Tenkara" and it's turning out great. I am in a flat spell but will wake up soon. Tenkara has always been somewhat seasonal for me. I am excited to get back to writing.

January 14: Catching up on adding in work I did here. I am working in the background but forgetting to add in my notes here. I added a Karasu 400 and a Tenkara Mini 360 to my quiver as well and will be reviewing soon. I am working on a collective article, "What I've Learned About Tenkara" that appears to be an excellent topic.

January 7: Added in Genryu Fishing of Japan #45

January 1: Secured Morgan Lyle interview.

2019

December 3: Added in Ultra Minimalist Tenkara Equipment V2

November 28: Updating Making a Wading Staff with the latest.

November 17: Back at writing for my own site again. I got sucked back into social media but I have escaped the suck and am writing about my equipment. Zippered Rod Case, Ultra Minimalist Tenkara Kit V2 and Mini Nets inspired by Japanese tenkara fishermen. This was the biggest gap for the year so far and it was a waste of my time and energy. Note to self, stay focused here, it's a lot more fun.

October 15: Added in a Contact Us link to the title menu.

October 7: Added in an article I wrote for Tenkara Angler magazine on Honryu.

October 6: Links page checked to insure all links resolve. Updated the About Us page to reflect new changes in the site.

September 28: Working on backend site stuff with Michal Agneta. I've picked out a few images for the new header. It's been a while looking at that Iwana, time to look at another one. Writing up Sakura Kongo and Seki Rei info. I need to get back to helping anglers get these rods in their hands.

September 24: Phew! After much intense background work, I release Quivers! for review.

September 20: Lots of work in the background. I am putting together a collective survey of what equipment people have and what they choose from it. Quivers! is the name of the piece and it's an epic. I have 25 or so anglers participating, four left to finish, lots of e-mail and back and forth but worth it. Also final coat of my Wading Staff. Will be glad to get that out of the way too.

September 18: Minimalism is Everything posted, nuff said.

September 15: Updated the Tenryu Furaibo TF39AT page. Updating the Quivers! page as the surveys are returned. Updated the front page of the site to include a world map and page counter, thank you Michael Agneta. Updating Making a Wading Staff with new pics as I finish the project.

September 14: Updating Making a Wading Staff, working on Quivers! in the background. This is a nearly 30 participant collective on the equipment people have collected and what they choose for a day on stream. It has become a HUGE project but I am enjoying the wide range of people that are participating. Posted #44 Stories of Genryu; Miracle Day in the Valley of Yakuwa

September 5: Updated Travel Tying Kit

September 4: Working on Making a Wading Staff in the background. Sent off Jun Maeda interview.

September 1: Added in many links, Making a Tamo, Designing a Level Line for Your Tenkara

August 27: Added in Sugegasa

August 11: Added in fishing water wheel 8/11/19.

August 10: Added in new Links and Wrong Kebari with Tungsten Bead.

August 4: Added in Zenmai on Oni Hooks, cleaned up the Contents Page.

July 29: Added in Nissin Tenkara Mini and Simple Utility Belt

July 28: Added in Ketchum, Idaho

July 2: Added in Keiichi Okushi's #43 Story of Genryu, "Mountain Streams Disappearing Into a Dam"

June 28: Re-evaluating why I do what I do here and within the community. Feeling re-invigorated about Tenkara-Fisher. Will finish Jun Maeda interview.

June 22: Finally school is over. Last weekend I took my boys packrafting Glen Canyon but it was not a fishing trip. This weekend I took a day trip to Brookville and Gold Valley.

June 2: Closer to being done with school! I will be done next weekend so I can begin fishing and writing again. I did manage to put up "Oni School" page.

May 21: Still busy with school and work, no time for writing interviews but I did manage to fix some links on the links page. I received the Nissin Tenkara Mini today, fantastic rod, very much like the Nissin Mini V3.

May 11: I am busy with school and work, very little time to write. I did upload "Yuzo Sebata Introduces Tenkara Outside of Japan in 1990"

April 21: Writing Jun Maeda interview, updating Sakura page, working on "Packrafting Glen Canyon (April)

April 18: Added Karin Miller interview.

April 17: Answering Karin Miller questions for her interview.

April 12: Added Paul Gaskell interview.

April 11: Working on "Packrafting Glen Canyon (April)" Submitted "Just One Thing" piece to Anthony Naples.

April 7: Added in "Honryu Tenkara"

April 5: Added in "Patagonia Middle Fork Packable Waders" Secured Brent J. Auger interview. Working on Jun Maeda interview and Jun Yossy.

April 4: Added in "Patagonia Wader Workstation"

April 3: Sent Karin Miller her interview.

March 30: Put together "Gnome's Traveling Rod Show"

March 24: Finishing up Karin Miller interview, started "Packrafting Glen Canyon (April)" with my old friend, S.Brooks Bedwell. I have not seen him in a few years. He and I get together from time to time to go fishing. I'm turning him on to packrafting and he has been with me up to 9-mile before. He is a talented photographer so we will get some great pictures. Alpacka is going to feature Ziggy and my story soon, can't wait and bought a 2 place packraft! Anyway, back at the site work.

March 12: Finished and post "Packrafting Glen Canyon (March)" Added in photographs to the Gamakatsu Suimu EX.

March 5: Added in Flydestruction to the Links page. Working on "Just One Thing" for Anthony Naples site, Casting Around.

March 3: Added Tenkara Tracks to the Links page. Secured Jun Yossy for an interview.

March 2: Added in Tenkaraman blog to the Links page. Housecleaning the home page. Added in Language Translation.

March 1: I completed the Paul Gaskell interview by adding in the photography and fixing a couple of minor dictation errors. Editing Packrafting Glen Canyon (March) story. Contacting Jun Yossy for interview.

February 26: I got the file back for the Paul Gaskell interview and am formatting it, waiting on images to add in. Working on Karin Miller interview.

February 24: Working on Karin Miller interview, starting Jun Maeda interview,  working on Glen Canyon Packrafting (March) story. Adding in "We Choose Barbless Hook" logo/link.

February 17: Working on Glen Canyon Packrafting (March) story/packlist. Updated the Links page.

February 16: Sent Paul Gaskell interview off. Currently writing Karin Miller interview. Secured Jun Maeda interview. Updating and adding in new Japanese tenkara sites to the Links page.

February 15: Deep into writing the Paul Gaskell interview, looking forward finishing it. Starting to develop the content for the Karin Miller interview. Reviewing content from Soseki Yamamoto's book, "The World of Fly Fishing; Tenkara Secrets" for my upcoming vise time.

February 11: Posted "Other Tools for Tenkara Fishing, a Minimalist Approach" Reviewing the full quiver of Zen Tenkara rods for upcoming interview with Karin Miller. Commited to a date for the back haul services on the Colorado! We will announce this soon.

February 7: Updating and adding in new Japanese tenkara sites to the Links page.

February 6: Uploaded David West Beale interview, got the commitment from Karin Miller for her interview, Zen Tenkara sending a batch of rods for familiarization, working on additional research resources for the Links page, secured backhaul reservations for Mar 9 pack raft trip at the Colorado River with Siegfried Forster.

February 4: Updated Fujino Soft Tenkara and Fujino Straight Line pages, updated "About Us" Ordered "World of Fly Fishing; Tenkara Secrets and To Fish in the Valley of Mystery"

February 3: Added in the Gamakatsu Suimu EX 5m page, added in Fujino Soft Tenkara Long Type page, added in "Backing Type" line page.

February 1: Finished and sent David West Beale interview, started Paul Gaskell interview.

January 25: Worked on and posted Michael Agneta interview.

January 24: Added in Tenkara Tales link. Started David West Beale interview.

January 20: Added books and many new blogs and business in Links page.

January 19: Added What's New page - cleaning up Links page - Notes: Add in tenkara blogs, videos, categorize Japanese tenkara experts blog/links - finalizing Michael Agneta interview questions.

Header Image Change: 4/29/2023