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By Anthony Naples, on May 3rd, 2011
It is the time of year when a young man’s thoughts turn to…sulphurs. Well, at least if he’s an eastern fly fisher. Again I’m presenting an experimental set of flies. This time I’m focusing on the sulphur hatch through a tenkara colored lens. Make it what you want, but in my opinion tenkara angling really shines for fishing unweighted (or lightly weighted) wet flies and nymphs, after all that is how it evolved. Sure you can fish heavy nymphs – but the wispy tenkara rod tip is just not great at handling these, it can be done but it is not aesthetically pleasing (it’s sort of a round hole/square peg thing). I don’t prefer it for dry flies – although tenkara handles dry flies beautifully and I don’t hesitate to fish dries with the tenkara rod. Some tenkara anglers may disagree with me but I find t difficult to create the “snap” necessary to really dry out a soggy dry fly with the tenkara rod. Sure that’s a small complaint, and you can always squeeze the water out with a shirt or whatever – but nonetheless…I will stick with my assertion that wet fly fishing is my favorite application of tenkara.
With that in mind I turned an eye to my sulphur box and tried to create some tenkara inspired flies based on old favorites. These are not tried and true patterns but I have no doubt that they’ll fool a few fish anyway. Once I give them a try on the hatch – I’ll report back on the results.
 This is a selection of soft-hackle emergers, all but the bottom left fly are tied with biot bodies. They represent a range of emergence states.
 A couple of more traditional sulphur wet flies tied with bunny fur bodies and grouse hackle.
 Sulphur nymph wet fly: This is based on a basic sulphur nymph pattern with a black wing-case to suggest a nymph about to “hatch”. In this version I simply used black fur abdomen and a wet fly style collar of grouse hackle instead of a wingcase and legs.
 Sulphur Sakasa Kebari: This bunch is perhaps the most typically “tenkara-esque” of the flies that I tied. I’m pretty new to the whole reverse-hackled sakasa kebari style wet flies, so I’m anxious to give these a whirl.
 Sunken spinner wet fly – this is based on Pa angler/writer/guide Eric Stroup’s pattern as seen in a Rise Forms Studio TV fly tying video.
By Anthony Naples, on May 3rd, 2011
I’m never one to tout flies that I haven’t tried, so let me make it perfectly clear that this fly is still in development. Hopefully it will get field tested very soon (rain, rain stay away…). The driving force for this nymph is to get a natural mottled effect for my sulphur nymphs. I’ve tried hand blending dubbing, but I just don’t like doing it that way, it doesn’t feel elegant enough. Some shades of pheasant tail provide a very nice effect for sure – but I didn’t happen to have any of that on hand, so I dug into what I had and this is what I came up with – mallard dyed wood duck, mixed with turkey tail. I think it gives a nice looking mottled body. Is there a need for a new sulphur nymph? Probably not. But as you fly tyers know there doesn’t have to be a practical reason to try new things at the tying bench. Coming up with new combinations of materials to tie on a hook is it’s own reward, and if it actually catches fish, well that is bonus.
Turkey Mallard Sulphur Nymph:
Hook: Size 14 to 18
Thread: Rusty Brown Uni-thread
Tail: Mallard dyed wood duck flank feather fibers
Abdomen: Fibers from a turkey tail and mallard dyed wood duck flank feather twisted to form a “rope” and then wrapped onto hook.
Wing Case: Turkey tail
Abdomen: Amber dubbing
Legs: Grouse feather (partridge would work) – try to find nicely mottled feathers.
By Anthony Naples, on April 23rd, 2011
Grizzly Quill Paradun
Hook: Standard Dry Fly
Thread: Gray
Abdomen: Grizzly Hackle Quill
Thorax: Adams Gray Superfine Dubbing
Tail: Grizzly Hackle
Hackle: Grizzly
Wing Post: White Antron
This pattern came to me in a flash as I was sitting at my tying desk tying up some standard Parachute Adams dries. I had just stripped some hackle fibers from the stem to use as tailing when I looked at the hackle quill that was left behind and thought “That might look good as a body”. Of course, quill body flies, and quill body parachute flies are nothing new – but I hadn’t previously seen this particular combination before. However, knowing that fly tyers are an innovative group – I’m sure that this pattern has been independently created many times over – and I claim no credit for “inventing” anything new.
I am a parachute fly convert from way back , when I sit down to tie mayfly dry flies I almost always tie parachutes. There are exceptions of course, but I’d say 90% of the dries that I fish are parachute patterns. There are several reasons for this: 1) I was a victim of the “parachute-pants” fad of the mid-eighties and this brings back fond memories of childhood, 2) I love the image of the parachute – it makes me think that the fly is slowly drifting down and landing on the water delicately, 3) The construction is easier than those pesky Catskill style flies, with tail and hackle proportions not being quite as crucial – there’s a little wiggle room, 4) They work.
As to point 4 above – They Work – I personally believe that the parachute fly is primarily an emerger pattern. The body rides below the surface of the water – like a dun stuck in the film or a drifting nymph exploding from the shuck. The subsurface impression of the fly is quite different from a high-floating standard dry. The look of a standard dry fly from below is basically an image of refracted light, a pattern of bright light and shadow where the hackle and tail are resting on the water. The parachute fly presents a completely different view to the fish. Because the body of the fly is subsurface, the fish sees the body and not just a pattern of light and dark.
By Anthony Naples, on April 23rd, 2011
My neighbor works for an orthodontist and I asked if she could get me some of those little rubber bands that kids put on braces. I originally wanted them for rod building (you know to hold the guides on while wrapping), but when I saw the colorful selection she got for me I started thinking about flies.
I tied a few midges with the things. Although maybe some look more like tiny caddis larva. Whatever they look like they look good to me (and hopefully to the fish). The pattern is simple, just wrap the little elastic band around the hook (these are size 20) and you have an instant segmented body. Finish with a thread head and call it done.
By Anthony Naples, on April 21st, 2011
Just saw these tenkara dry flies on Yoshikazu Fujioka’s My Best Streams website and I thought that they were intriguing. What I find particularly interesting is Fujioka’s interest in the fusion of western and eastern fly fishing.
I am using the dry fly of my free will also for the tenkara fishing because I liked the dry fly fishing of western style from the first. To fish the trout on the surface of water has interest different from the fishing by fly of wet type. – Yoshikazu Fujioka
By Anthony Naples, on April 21st, 2011
Little did I know when I posted my last post on Micro Sakasa Kebari that there was another person out there that had already done so. There is nothing new under the sun… So I thought in spirit of full disclosure I’d give Karel of Tenkara on the Fly props for the awesome minute kebari that he featured on his blog. And if you don’t already visit Tenkara on the Fly regularly you should add it to your list of tenkara must visit sites.
 Tenkara on the Fly micro sakasa kebari
By Anthony Naples, on April 20th, 2011
Ah…the allure of the small. The tiny fly and the frustration that goes along with tying and fishing these morsels appeals to a certain group of fly anglers – gluttons for punishment all. I have to admit I am inclined toward this sub-genre of fly fishing. As an attempt to further marginalize myself I thought that I’d explore the darkness and small loneliness in the niche of tiny tenkara flies.
Actually, there was a post on the Tenkara USA Forum regarding small tenkara flies – it got me thinking…maybe I should tie some diminutive sakasa kebari. Sakasa kebari are the “reverse-hackle” style tenkara fly. These flies are meant to be subtly manipulated so that the hackle pulses enticingly. Do I think tiny sakasa kebari are necessary or even very practical? No, not really. But tied them, so I figured I’d share them. These are all tied on size 22 Orvis scud hooks.
Black Midge Sakasa Kebari:
Hook: Size 22 Scud Hook
Body: Black Thread
Ribbing: Silver Crystal Flash
Collar: Peacock Herl
Hackle: Starling
Red and Grizzly Sakasa Kebari:
Hook: Size 22 Scud Hook
Body: Red Thread
Ribbing: Silver Crystal Flash
Collar: Peacock Herl
Hackle: Grizzly Rooster
Yellow and Grouse Sakasa Kebari:
Hook: Size 22 Scud Hook
Body: Yellow Thread
Collar: Peacock Herl
Hackle: Grouse
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This is a selection of soft-hackle emergers, all but the bottom left fly are tied with biot bodies. They represent a range of emergence states.
A couple of more traditional sulphur wet flies tied with bunny fur bodies and grouse hackle.
Sulphur nymph wet fly: This is based on a basic sulphur nymph pattern with a black wing-case to suggest a nymph about to “hatch”. In this version I simply used black fur abdomen and a wet fly style collar of grouse hackle instead of a wingcase and legs.
Sulphur Sakasa Kebari: This bunch is perhaps the most typically “tenkara-esque” of the flies that I tied. I’m pretty new to the whole reverse-hackled sakasa kebari style wet flies, so I’m anxious to give these a whirl.
Sunken spinner wet fly – this is based on Pa angler/writer/guide Eric Stroup’s pattern as seen in a Rise Forms Studio TV fly tying video.
