MOUTH OF WILSON, Va. (WFXR) — With a subtle snap of the wrist the rod moved forward gently sending the line and fly in an elegant arc toward the mountain stream pool. The artificial bait splashed, sank, and began to drift with the current of Cabin Creek in the Grayson Highlands. Then the line came to a dead stop.
Fish on!
And that was my introduction to the ancient art of Tenkara flyfishing as a beautiful rainbow-colored brook trout came to the net.
Tenkara comes to us from Japan. It is a fixed line way of fishing flies. While it can be effective anywhere on any number of species, it is well-suited for fishing the native brook trout “small waters” of southwest Virginia, West Virginia, and western North Carolina.
Tenkara’s popularity has been sweeping the United States in recent years. One of the top Tenkara anglers in the eastern United States is Amanda Hoffner. Hoffner is also a social media influencer and her social media persona is “Lady Tenkara Bum”, a reference and homage to the flyfishing “bum” lifestyle, though she is also a traveling nurse who lives near Charlotte, North Carolina.
She is involved with two efforts to promote Tenkara fishing, her own website, ladytenkarabum.com and the Heritage Tenkara Project.
“I’m using a 7’10” rod,” said Hoffner. “There’s no false casting, I don’t have to go overhead. Immediately when I get to the end of my run, I’m recasting. Your fly is always continuously in the water.”
While we were not keeping fish, we did catch many thanks to some of the advantages of Tenkara that come into play on native mountain brookie streams. The rods are light, weighing only ounces, and they telescope, making them easy to pack in to remote mountain areas where native brook trout are found.
Because the line is fixed, there is no casting or stripping. That means the fly is in the water more often, and that translates into the bait being in front of the fish longer. As many anglers can attest, brook trout can be finicky. Keeping a fly in front of them can trigger strikes.
For Hoffner, her discovery of Tenkara was a journey into her roots.
“I’m half-Japanese and found Tenkara and the way that they fished it there is exactly the way we fished it today,” said Hoffner. “They would fish for their village with a basket on their back, it’s a very efficient way of fishing.”
But, it was also a means of healing. She began her journey after the untimely death of her brother in 2014. From tragedy came healing, and eventually joy.
“Getting outside has healed me these past ten years that he has been gone,” Hoffner said. “There’s nothing like Tenkara. it brings me closer to nature.”
When targeting native brookies, you are not going to catch giants. Four to six inch fish are the average. An eight inch fish is a monster. But, trophies are not the reason we hike miles over rough terrain to reach the places wild brook trout call home.
The payoff is tranquility and the chance to momentarily holding a natural gem, brook trout are brightly colored, before releasing it back into nature.
All that is left after that is something every child know, but something as adults, we all need to recapture.
“We should be in awe, be in awe of everything,” said Hoffner. “As little kids we lose sight of enjoying life, just taking fresh air. Tenkara brings me closer to awe.”