Well this Tenkara thing. Got my chance today at a Grayling Society Day on the Derwent & Ecclesbourne at Duffield. A beautiful day saw us comparing rods in the pub carpark at 8.30am, elegant cane versus a modern take on a 400 year old style, Tenkara.
The first thing that really strikes home is how stripped back this is, a rod with line, tippet and a couple of flies, all in a little bundle.
Note the home-made line-holders (actually sawn-off wooden pegs, held by rubber bands). This means you can travel really light, and of course I can keep it in my car to be ready whenever I get the chance, however short.
I'd set up with a level line of 0.38mm copolymer, 6x tippet and two flies, a pink shrimp and a red-tag.
A local member showed me the along the Ecclesbourne and where to fish downstream on the Derwent. Wading the river above the bridge was a little challenging with a fair press of water. Casting up and across from the middle of the river resulted in a nice, albeit out-of-season brown trout to the pink shrimp.
Pressing on up the river I gradually got used to the casting action required, but I did notice that holding the rod high did give a tendency for the line to be caught by the wind.
Moving into the narrow and tree lined R. Ecclesbourne was a little more challenging to cast with the 12' rod, however the length does make you take a deal of care and casting horizontal to the water surface is entirely feasible. Unfortunately apart from a couple of missed takes I saw no more fish. They were obviously off sun-bathing somewhere else!
It seems mildly incredible to be fishing in February without a jacket on, in balmy sunshine, however what was more strange, was the lack of any sort of hatch. Apart from a few land-born insects, there were no flies to be seen on the water anywhere and ner a rising fish.
