Theo’s Tenkara Prize
Just prior to the International Fly Tying Symposium last November (23-24, 2013), Theo Bakelaar had an opportunity to fish with his Tenkara equipment on a private stream in Pennsylvania. The water holds some exceptional fish, and Theo was able to connect with a very fat, 9-pound rainbow, using a beetle imitation fished on his 4-meter (13 feet) Tenkara rod. The line was a couple of feet longer than the rod, and Theo was able to present the fly accurately and obviously effectively. And the fight was on.
With a fixed line length, one must run briskly to follow a running fish, but the very flexible, long rod softens the fish’s head shakes and sudden moves, and after 8 minutes, Theo has his prize on the bank for photos and then back into the water it went. This is the largest trout I have yet heard of being taken on Tenkara.
Casting a Tenkara stick is no different than casting with any fly rod. Theo’s showing them his beetle imitation.
Fish on!. The big bow was a bit uncertain at first, and rolled and struggled against the delicate tension of the long, soft rod.
Time to run. Panic sets in for both fish and angler, forcing Theo to run after the bolting rainbow.
Mmmm, tasty Tenkara rod–especially the fish slime on the handle. Look at the size of that rainbow!