Tenkara Fly Angles: Rob Lepczyk

I’m starting a new series on Casting Around that I’m calling Tenkara Fly Angles. The idea is simple— just present different flies tied by different tenkara anglers and hear a little about the fly and the angler, with the focus being on the flies. I always like to fish flies that have a little story behind them and I’m hoping to get at some stories behind other folks’ flies. Even if you know the fly style hopefully you’ll pick up a tidbit or two. For instance, in this one, that jig-style hook for a kebari is a new one to me…might have to give it a try.

The first in the series is this post featuring Rob Lepczyk.

Rob’s Dr. Ishigaki Style Kebari

Hook: Heavy size 10 hook such as a Fulling Mills Heavyweight Champ or Tiemco C400BL (jig-style hook)
Body: Green or Chartreuse UNI-Stretch
Hackle: Stiff Roster Hackle

Here’s what Rob has to say about it:

I most often use a Dr. Ishigaki style Kebari with a green, purple or black body, hackle color doesn’t matter to me. I got the green/chartreuse theme of my most used fly from a sample of Yuzo Sebata’s Kebari pattern that I got out of the VagaBox (Note: the VagaBox was a traveling fly box that was passed from angler to angler). To tie the fly, I use a heavy sized 10 hook, green or chartreuse UNI-Stretch and stiff rooster hackle.

When using the fly I prefer to fish with a pulse or by skating it on the surface.  And right now im using level lines, but I use furled and level PVC lines in windy conditions, which is counter to a lot of other people. In my opinion you need to get the fly to the water first before you worry about keeping the fly on the water, and the heavy Kevlar furled lines help me do that.

About Rob Lepczyk
Rob has been fly fishing for 11 years and tenkara fishing for two. He’s a TenkaraUSA guide and is also endorsed by Orvis.  He works out of the Great Feathers Fly shop in Sparks, MD. Rob says that Great Feathers sells one fly rod for every ten tenkara rods. And they also hosted the 2015 Appalachian Tenkara Jam.
Rob grew up in the Gunpowder Valley in central Maryland and calls the Gunpowder River (and its many tributaries) his home water. Those streams are home to wild brown trout and a few native brook trout as well. The rivers in the area range from a few feet wide to forty feet or more on the Gunpowder (which is a tail-water fishery).
Rob bought his first tenkara rod in 2009, played with it, caught fish, and enjoyed it, but lost the rod in a move and didn’t replace it. Then in 2012 while he was fishing a lot of spring creeks in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania and small meadow freestoners in the Gunpowder Valley,the desire for a longer fly rod brought him back to the idea of tenkara.