The guys from Discover Tenkara are back and this month are looking at the art of manipulating fish by manipulating the fly.
So far in this series we have covered how to set up the gear, shown a range of traditional flies and introduced some of the principles that are central to tenkara in Japan. We have also outlined a little of its history so that all these things make sense in the context of tenkara’s ongoing development. A theme that we have alluded to – but have not yet explicitly tackled – is that of presentation. This concept is the true heart of tenkara; especially given the common reliance on only one or two fly patterns. As we are fond of saying, “presentation is the last step in dressing a tenkara fly”.
Due to the lack of rod rings and running line, the tenkara angler’s artistry to make a convincing case to the fish must be wrought by movements of the rod hand. This, again, highlights the paradox of simplicity that allows both of the following points to be true:
- It is relatively straightforward for a beginner to get a fly in front of a fish – and have a reasonable chance that the fish will engulf that fly
- Someone with a lifetime’s experience can achieve a huge range of effects using nothing more than movements of the rod and its relationship with casting line, wind, water currents and fish behaviour. All of which can result in a very high proportion of attempts resulting in fish captures
In other words, tenkara takes a few minutes to learn; but a lifetime to master. The more that we discover, the more we realise that there is to learn.
For the sake of clarity, it is perhaps best to break down the overall umbrella term of presentation into manageable chunks. This is helpful, because there are actually quite a range of different aims that are encapsulated within the concept of “presentation”. In this article, we will separate out the aspects of Casting, Attracting fish and Inducing a take.
CASTING:
First and foremost, in any fly fishing discipline, is the necessity to propel the artificial fly accurately to the places that we know (or believe) fish to be located. Of course, this is where the art of fly casting comes to the fore – and the ability to produce fast, accurate casting loops is one of the great pleasures of a balanced tenkara rig. It is one reason we love to fish longer level lines where the situation allows it – the casting ability and sensation are superb. The particular physics of tenkara rod and casting line tend to reward a much shorter casting stroke than that commonly used for conventional fly fishing. A helpful guide is to remember to keep the elbow close to the ribcage throughout the casting stroke, to start the back-cast by moving only the forearm – and to complete it with a tiny snap of the wrist. This is one reason that many practitioners favour the “finger pointing” grip (index finger pointing up the handle) as the hand position makes it uncomfortable to break the wrist backwards too far. The forward cast is often a very short movement of the forearm followed by the same tiny snap of the wrist. Although not everyone uses the same grip, it is worth noting that the finger-point grip seems to also aid accuracy.
As well as casting accuracy that enables an angler to cover fish, another less obvious benefit arises from developing a good tenkara casting stroke. The ability to ensure that the line and tippet fully turn over and that the fly lands on the water whilst the line and tippet are held aloft is the key to most of the subsequent options for fly manipulation. This is one of those skills that takes some practice to even get started with and - in fact - you will still be getting better at it after a lifetime of effort! It is absolutely worth it though, as it so brilliantly sets up whatever comes next. In some cases, it will be a dead drift with all the line held off the water. For that instance, there would be no need to lift line off the water and drag the fly off course. “Fly First” when casting is a common and obsessive mantra of the tenkara addict.
FLY FIRST CASTING VIDEO:
The ability to produce and manage a brilliant drag-free drift – whilst staying in contact with your fly – is an absolute pre-requisite for river fly fishing in all its guises. If you can’t do that to a good standard, it is fairly pointless trying to work on the modifications to that approach that are characteristic of the tenkara tradition. So bearing that in mind, the things to work hard on are accurate “fly first” casting and then tracking the drifting fly so as to stay in contact whilst holding the line aloft right up to the point at which it naturally touches the water.
ATTRACTING FISH:
For this aspect of presentation I am going to take the liberty of using the Japanese idea of “sutebari” to mean a category of many techniques that are used primarily to attract the attention of a fish. The term itself derives its meaning from the idea of the “sacrifice” (sutemi) of a number of casts with the “fly” (hari/bari) that are not intended to hook fish. Instead the prime aim of sutebari is to draw the interest of a fish to the area that we are intending to present our fly. This is one way that the originators of tenkara were able to catch enough stream trout and char to survive without the use of weighted flies. It is also something that is very rarely touched upon in conventional fly fishing theory or practice (although great river anglers like Jake Harvey are known to employ something broadly comparable whilst dry fly fishing and it is not unusual to allow a large weighted streamer to land with a “plop” in a pool!)
This area is quite a complex one, and it is something that we intend to allocate a good deal of time and effort to explain more fully on our website – as misunderstandings easily arise. However, it is still useful here to give a couple of examples. One basic variation would be to cast the fly (fly first!!) to land quite hard on the water and immediately be whipped off again. This is commonly repeated four or five times in the same spot before delivering a final “real” cast and allowing the fly to sink and drift downstream. A second option could be to let the fly “scratch” the surface as it is dragged back towards the angler before being lifted off into a back cast and the process repeated several times before then allowing the fly to sink and drift naturally. It is important to note that the vigour with which these techniques are employed needs to be matched to how deep and how rough the water is. Shallow, flat water and over-enthusiastic sutebari are a recipe for spooking an entire pool!
INDUCING A 'TAKE'
Again, this is yet another area that could fill an entire book if all the variations, caveats and associated details were to be included. However, it is still useful to set out basic ideas of “attractive fly manipulation” to work from. These manipulations can either come during a straight-forward “cast and dead drift”, or may follow on from initial attention grabbing sutebari efforts. It is imperative, though, to highlight that to be truly effective, the manipulation can’t merely cause a fish to pounce on the fly – it must do so in a way that gives the angler a good chance of hooking the fish! The best parallel that I can think of is when people fish North Country spider patterns on a tight line down and across the stream. If the flies have achieved at least some depth by travelling downstream, their upward sweep as the line comes tight can be highly attractive to fish. BUT, although their approval is registered by some savage pulls on the line, very few of these takes can be converted into solidly hooked fish when fished on a tight line with a low rod. This is an example of fly manipulation that is attractive to the fish, but not effective for the angler.
In tenkara, manipulations of the fly can be carried out during presentations that are upstream, downstream (or any angle in between). The high rod tip during upstream manipulations and using a low, lateral manipulation during downstream presentations are two ways to help ensure that a fish takes the fly and is then able (and inclined) to turn AWAY from the angler as it moves back on station. This greatly improves the chances of a good hook-set.
For upstream presentations, short “pulses” of a high rod tip are a very common element of the tactic – and these may be only one or two quite gentle movements during an otherwise completely dead drift presentation. Conversely, they could be repeated many times to imitate flies that are very active prior to hatching.
A BASIC FLY MANIPULATION VIDEO:
By contrast, some quite aggressive movements (particularly across the stream when the fly has been presented in an initial downstream direction) of the rod tip can also be employed. Again, it is vital to reiterate that you need to already have a strong “dead drift” presentation ability both in upstream and downstream directions before throwing in the manipulations. Once you have developed that aspect of your game, it will be very fruitful to experiment with the full range of fly manipulations. You will have great fun developing your own successful tactics that will help you match your simple, generic fly pattern to the prevailing conditions on your own rivers. And I can assure you that it is one of the great satisfactions in all of fly fishing to unlock the secrets of your stream using just your own skill and a minimum of very simple equipment.
More from Discover Tenkara HERE