October 2024

By Zane Jacobs

Traditionally tenkara uses a wet fly called a kebari. Kebari, from what I understand, means fishing fly. Nothing really profound and deep about that meaning, which also applies to the selection of the fly.

Many fly-fishing enthusiasts focus greatly on insect hatches to determine what pattern they use, while most followers of the tenkara method don’t. I tend to use whatever fly is already on the line. I, and many others, have a favorite color and pattern for flies. That is the limit of determining factors in my choice of which fly to fish.

A selection of kebari.

I like a dark, preferably black, thread body with a light-colored hackle. Around seventy five percent of my flies use the traditional reverse hackle. The remainder have a hackle that sticks straight out like a ballerina’s tutu. On rare occasions I will try a light-colored fly with a dark hackle, but that’s only if I am really struggling.

Using the same fly for all occasions is what tenkara is about. Rather than changing the fly to entice a strike, you change the presentation of the fly. If you can use one fly for many different situations, it doesn’t give a reason to change it. Usually, changing the fly means the one I was using is now out of reach in a tree.