• How I fish (and why)
• Rods
  • Wasatch Darth Quattro Tenkara Rod
  • DragonTail Kaida zx320 Tenkara Pack Rod
  • DragonTail Shadowfire 365 Tenkara Rod
  • Moonlit ‘Reel’ Fly Fishing Gear
• Lines
  • Moonlit Fly Lines
  • Tenkara Rod Company Lines
  • Tenkara Tippet
• Tenkara Flies
  • Sherpa Flies
  • DragonTail Flies
  • Moonlit Flies
• Accessories
  • Øyo Processing Tools
  • Geoff Anderson WizTools
  • Ego Blackwater Trout Net
  • Line Cutterz Fishing Line Cutters
  • Patagonia Rod Roll
• Lazy Trap Fishing
• Fly Tying
  • Ahrex Hooks
  • Sherpa Flies Tying Materials
  • UNI Products Tying Threads

How I fish (and why)

• Fly Line Weight 1-3 : This weight is primarily for small fish – panfish, very small trout or, in somewhat rare circumstances, larger trout very tiny streams.
• Fly Line Weight 4 : This weight works just fine for panfish, too. But also works well for all but the largest of trout. Best used on small/mid-sized streams and where longer casts aren’t needed.
• Fly Line Weight 5 : The “all-around” trout fisherman’s line weight. Covers virtually all trout-fishing situations an angler is likely to find. Works ok for smaller fish too, but not as fun to catch small fish on as a fly rod outfit that has a lighter fly line. This weight also works ok for smaller bass fishing, particular smallies in rivers.

This chart can be of some help getting started. Which sizes will fit which circumstances is influenced by many factors, like experience, skill, weather, fish, et cetera. So go out there and have fun experimenting!

Brown Trout fishing in the peaty waters of the Linn Falls at Aberlour, Spey Valley, Scotland.

Trout fishing above Ennistymon Cascades, County Clare, Ireland.

Rods

Wasatch Darth Quattro Tenkara Rod

The Wasatch ‘Darth Quattro’ Tenkara Fishing Rod, has a lot going for it:

• It is as close to unbreakable as you can get.
• It is the only quadruple-zoom Tenkara rod in the world!

This is a zoomable Carbon fiber rod, that can be used in four lengts (168cm, 198cm, 229cm and 260cm). This means it can be used from the smallest creek/burn up to a small river.

I use the 6:4 (light action) and 5:5 (ultralight action) tips, ideal for casting smaller lures for panfish and trout. The flex helps to launch your small offerings with light line, with high accurancy. It easily keeps the line tight enough, to prevent a fish to get loose.
Rod Specs:

• Premium carbon fiber
• 6:4 or 5:5 action
• 51 grams (19,6 grams per linear meter)
• 4 fishing lengths (168cm, 198cm, 229cm and 260cm)
• 43cm collapsed length
• 16cm reversed half-wells shape, cork and foam handle
• Aluminum butt cap
• Rod Tube: 52cm long, 156 gram, 3,8cm diameter, durable black carbon fiber, matte finish

DragonTail Kaida zx320 Tenkara Pack Rod

The DragonTail Kaida zx320 has some good characteristics. This rod will fit any backpack. A two-lengths zoom rod allows to fish it fully extended in open casting areas or zoom it down one length when casting area is overgrown and tight. It has a medium-soft action, just the right action to make the little mountain trout plenty of fun to catch. It’s great for soft presentation of weightless flies, fishing Trout up to 35cm, or to help fighting the invasive bluegill population (a great pan-fish though).
Rod Specs:

• Carbon Fiber, with a slight blend of fiberglass
• 6:4 or 5:5 action
• Extended lengths: 286,cm, 319cm
• Collapsed Length: 45cm
• Weight: 70 g (17,9 grams per linear meter)
• Rod Tube Length: 48cm
• CCS/RFI: 14 pennies/4.9, 16 pennies/5: Slow, Full Flex
• My lines:
  • Level lines, rod length (300cm), weight 3X or 3.5X, 0,2mm, 4,2kg
  • Tippet, 100cm, weight 4X, 0,18mm, 3kg

DragonTail Shadowfire 365 Tenkara Rod

The DragonTail Shadowfire 365 is a proper performance Tenkara rod at a very competitive price. This fixed size 365cm, 6:4 soft action rod has a light balanced feel and a soft action.
It is a great choice for small streams to rivers where the fish are mostly panfish, small trout and easily spooked fish. Using up to (and ideally) #3 / #3.5 level line, or any furled lines the soft smooth casting action will help you cast accurately in a naturally way. This ergomical thinking has resulted in a nice cork handle as well. The rod is mostly matt finished, not to spook fish. It comes with one of the great DragonTail signature socks and two different types of tip caps.
Rod Specs:

• Length: 368 cm
• Soft 6:4 action
• Weight: 82 grams (22,3 grams per linear meter)
• CCS/RFI: 20 pennies/ 5.4
• Material: High quality carbon fiber (IM10)
• Collapsed length: 59 cm
• Handle length: 26 cm
• 8 segments
• Hard Storage Tube: 24.75 inches
• My lines:
  • Level lines, rod length (368cm), weight 3X – 3,5X, 0,2mm, 4,2kg
  • Tippet, 100cm, weight 4X, 0,18mm, 3kg

Moonlit ‘Reel’ Fly Fishing Gear

I oppose to the use of the term “western” fly fishing as it is often used in the US. As an alternative for my Tenkara rods I have a Moonlit Lunar S-GLASS Fiberglass Fly Rod and Moonlit Eclipse Reel combination for ‘reel’ fly fishing. Fishing big water, stillwater, or water where I need to get flies deep, Tenkara fishing isn’t allways my first choice. The limited casting ability limits the types and sizes of water that can be fished. Furthermore tenkara rods and tenkara flies are not going to be able to stand up to saltwater bonefish or tarpon— they’ll snap the line as they touch it. That’s where this set comes in.

The Lunar rod, is a 2,3 meter long fiberglass rod. The fast recovering tip, combined with it’s progressive action, make these smooth and accurate casting rods.

The Eclipse reel is very simple to operate. The drag system is easy to set and the reel capacity is more than adequate. I use the #3/#4 reel, which has a 75mm spool, allowing the use 37 meters of 9 kg (20lb) backing, up to 30 meters of WF #3 fly line, 2 meters of leader and some tippet.

Lines

Moonlit Fly Lines

I have a collection of Moonlit Leaders:

• The Featherweight Furled Leader (Light All-Purpose) – 0-3wt / Tip Ring. This leaders is called Medium All Purpose because it will turn over the smallest dry fly with ease, precision, and delicacy. With that it still has the power to turn over small weighted nymphs, allowing you to fish both dry flies, and small nymphs on the same leader. It has the softest landing and best presentation for your fly on the water, and a better, more natural drift due to the lack of memory. This leader is constructed of the finest low-stretch Polyester thread from butt to tip end. It also has a stiffer core material to enhance turn over power but still keep it’s suppleness desired in a furled leader.
• Platinum Featherweight Furled Leader (Light All-Purpose) – 0-3wt / Tip Ring / Fluoro Orange tip Section. A premium dry fly leader. It has the softest landing and best presentation for your fly on the water, and a better more natural drift due to the lack of memory. This leader is constructed of the finest Polyester thread from butt to tip end. To fish dries and float simply add your favorite float paste, or un-treat to fish subsurface. The tippet ring allow for quick and easy transition of tippet. The tip rings very small and light as to not pull your dry fly under the water.
• Platinum Brookie Short Furled Leader – 3-5wt / Tip Ring. Ideal for fishing small creeks and blue line water. An optimal leader for blue line streams & creeks, as well as shorter rods. This leader is made shorter to optimize performance on tighter small streams, as well as shorter rods. The shorter length makes it the optimal choice for shorter rods that cast better with shorter leaders.
• Brookie Short Furled Leader (Blue Line Leader) – 3-5wt / Tip Ring. Ideal for fishing small creeks and blue line water. Optimal leader for blue line streams & creeks, as well as shorter rods. This leader is made shorter to optimize performance on tighter small streams, as well as shorter rods. The shorter length makes it the optimal choice for shorter rods that cast better with shorter leaders.
• The Big Hog Furled Leader (Medium All-Purpose) – 0-3wt / Tip Ring. A perfect blend of Premium Fluorocarbon and Polyester thread to give you the perfect medium all-purpose leader. This leader is ideal for throwing dries, nymphs and small streamers alike. The tippet ring makes the change and transition of different size tippet smooth and effortless.
• The HOGzilla furled leader with a Micro-Swivel. A short powerful leader made of premium grade fluorocarbon. It’s 3 1/2 ft long giving it superior turn over of your heaviest fly. Because of the density of fluorocarbon it sinks extremely well. This makes it a great choice for your sinking lines.

Tenkara Rod Company Lines

The Chartreuse and Orange lines I use by the Tenkara Rod Company are 3,20 upto 3,60 meter, hand-crafted lines with single strand construction, a 3mm nickel alloy tippet ring (for easy attachment of the tippet) and an attachment loop for easy attachment to the rod. They are non-tapered, and perfectly weighted to cast of the same length or slightly shorter than the rod. I use Line Clips for on the go line storage. These clips connect to your rod and allow you to quickly store your line.
I’m frequently asked to share my line information, so here we go:

Line (wt)	Tippet (X)	Fly sizes	Fish Weight	Fish
4 wt	3X	6 -14	500 gr	Pan fish, River Trout, small Bass
5 wt	4X	14 -20	750 gr	my goto line, as it is the”all-around” trout fisherman’s line weight, which covers virtually all trout-fishing situations.
6 wt	5X	18 -26	1 kg	Catfish, Smaller Salmon, Large Bass

Tenkara Tippet

As the line is too thick to tie the fly directly, we use a tippet. A thinner than 0,2 mm, 30 cm upto 1 meter, line rated at 3 kg. I use:

• Rio Tenkara Rod Co. Tippets, which comes in 27 meter spools, good for making approximately 45 tippets.
• Moonlit Quality Fluorocarbon Tippet, 27 yards spool of clear 3X Fluorocarbon fly fishing tippet. This line has great durability and cast-ability, high quality at a great price.

Tenkara Flies

Artificial flies are used in tenkara fly-fishing. Tenkara flies (Kebari) do not attempt to match a specific insect. Traditionally a reverse soft hackle wet-fly is used, much like traditional fishers in England (North Country/Yorkshire soft hackle) and Italy (Valsesiana fly fishing) use. This means that the feathers are angled towards the hook so the fly seems to ‘swim’ when pulling the line.Fish seem to be much less selective when taking wet flies than they are when taking dries. It’ll also keep your line tight and off the surface and they’ll provide the resistance necessary to get gentle pulses when you manipulate the fly. My kit includes three sizes: size 14, a smaller size 16 flies and the larger size 12 for when the others don’t work. I use flies without barbs.

Sherpa Flies

My main fly selection consists of Sherpa Kebari flies. I have all of their Tenkara/Kebari flies in sizes 14 and 16, barbless. These are handmade in the Nawalparasi district of Nepal, 100 km west of Kathmandu.
These flies are tied very clean, with small hooks and thin hook wire. They are delicate but strong and they come in neat little plastic boxes. I do not have a particular preferable type. I take a bunch of different ones with me and see which fly the fish prefer. I also use their Tying Materials.

DragonTail Flies

Moonlit Flies

Accessories

Øyo Processing Tools

The Øyo Fish Processing Tools are the basic, all you need, tools for in the field cleaning and processing fish. Containing a 15cm long filet knife, an all-purpose knife, scissors and fish bone tweezers in a Cordura sleeve. All easy to clean. The knife is made out of premium steel, with a two-component plastic handle.
I use this in my fishing kayak and on regular fishing beat. A quick rinse usually cleans it sufficiently.

Geoff Anderson WizTools

I can’t rave enough about the Geoff Anderson WizTools! Made from Japanese Surgical stainless steel, these are made to last! Well designed practical aids, one can rely on. They are ergonomically comfortable, they can be used in any situation due to their resitance to corrosion and the magnets are strong and secure. (For the photo, I couldn’t position the magnet closer to the nippers without it being drawn shut.)

The WizTool Sharpener, has two sizes V honing tracks for various size of hooks and a flat part big enough to hone your knife. This is a grain 3000 Aluminium Trioxide Ceramic stone and non-corrosive. It weighs 28gr.

The WizTool 175mm Clamp Release will de-barb your hook, crimp split shot, clear the hook’s eye and release the hook from the fish and is fitted with a practical magnet attachment. The 3-stage ratched makes delicate clamping easy. The smooth jaw tip surface will not damage the hook whilst crimping barbs. It weighs 62gr.

The WizTool 175mm Pean (als known as hemostatic clamp, or arterial forceps) are fish pliers, scissors and eye clearing tool, all in one. The 3-stage ratched makes delicate clamping easy. It weighs 62gr.

The WizTool Tungsten Nippers come with high-precision Tungsten Carbide cutting blades.
Being twice as stiff as steel, they’ll last 5 times longer than steel nippers. Cut through nylon, braided nylon and fly line with very little pressure applied, providing a smooth, clean, and effortless cut. It weighs 39gr.

Ego Blackwater Trout Net

The EGO Blackwater trout is an awesome net. There is also a unique ruler built into the net that allows you to measure your fish without handling them. The coated mesh protects the slime layer of the fish. This unique feature is perfect for catch and release trout anglers and prevents eating under sized fish! It has a retractable quick-draw tether. It can land a 25 cm trout with ease,weighing circa 300 grams.

Line Cutterz Fishing Line Cutters

I use the Dual Hybrid, the Ceramic Blade Ring, Zipper Pull and Ceramic Blade Peel & Stick Flat Mountable Line Cutterz. This selection offers me a usefull cutter for every thinkable setup. Sharp, efficient and practical.

Patagonia Rod Roll

I use this Patagonia Rod Roll for transporting my rods. (I store them in their tubes and use the socks with my backpack.) I believe this to be the safest, lightest and most practical product available. The outer material is stiff and offers adequate protection. Intended for a max of 4 rods, but it’ll take a couple more if needed. The medium sized version accomodates 70 cm rods, and weighs approximately 610 grams.

Lazy Trap Fishing

The most relaxed way of fishing is by using fish traps, ofwhich the simplest is this square sinking net. It is placed on the river bottom. All you have to do is put bait like offal (fish guts or any other left over) in the little center pocket, lower it down to the river bottom, and check it every hour. It might take some stones to give it enough weight depending on the current. This is an awesome way to catch crustaceans, including shrimp, crab, lobster and crawfish. (Kill them ethically, do not throw them in boiling water.)

Fly Tying

Ahrex Hooks

These Ahrex hooks are indisputably/unargueably among the very best hooks available! With their fly-fishing roots, they make hooks without compromises, using the best techniques and materials. A other aspect of Ahrex hooks is, that they are readily available, so once you have found your particular favourite hooks, you’ll have to be in short supply. They offer an wide collection of hooks, with great options. In fact, they offer so many great hooks that I cannot decide what NOT to buy. (Hence my extensive collection of size 16, size 14 and size 12 hooks.)
I’m hooked!

Sherpa Flies Tying Materials

My friends at Sherpa Flies offer lots of great Tying Materials! Above is my (limited) collection, but they have loads and loads more. (And at a very affordable price …..)

UNI Products Tying Threads

Why settle for less? The UNI Products J.G. Cote threads are upper class! I use a selection of products and colours, among which:

• 8/0 threads, Waxed and Unwaxed on spools of 50 and 200 yds (the come in 27 colors).
• UNI-Mylar Black Tinsel, in 3 sizes (#10, #12 and #14), also available in white.
• Axxel Mini’s. A narrow strand of sparkling material, on 17 yards spools, available in sixteen colors and also available in a 20 spools combo pack.
• 17/0 Trico Thread. Fine threads for tiers who work with small hooks. This extra-fine, white, polyester thread, is amazingly strong for its diameter. Perfect for caenis, trico, tiny baetis, and micro-caddis patterns. Available on 200 yard spools.
• UNI-Yarn is a standard, 2-strand, twisted, acrylic fly tying yarn, spooled instead of carded for convenience and to reduce wastage. Available in twenty-six colors and in Combo Pack of 20 spools.
• UNI-Floss Rayon Thread. An all purpose body floss manufactured of 100% rayon. A single strand floss, 600 denier, strong and shiny, in 30 pattern colours, on spools of 15 yds and 80 yds. A 20 colours combo pack is also available.