My Favorite Tenkara Flies

My Go To Flies

**Format changes between cell phone and desktop**

The dawn of a new Spring is here and my tenkara season is about to go full swing! Something I am admittedly neglectful of when filming YouTube videos is sharing the types of flies I am using. I often make multiple adjustments while fishing and fail to keep my viewers in the loop. This is something I am working on and I don't treat fly choice as a big secret. It's a topic that I see on Facebook often though.  A new Tenkara angler enters the community and asks publicly what fly they should use. The opinions of fly choice openly are always going to be overwhelming but when it comes down to being in a good river with a good population, there is a reason why everyone has a different answer.

The trick for me when tenkara fishing is "confidence" flies. I don't often seek to match the hatch and I believe one of the pinnacles of high altitude creek fishing is you simply don't have to. Trout that are not pressured tend to be opportunistic. An example would be a recent trip to Southern Utah where I caught endless waves of Bonneville Cutthroat on the DRAGONtail Kaida. I started with a BWO, then a PMD, and finally a Caddis dry. Some of these fish I hooked, then lost, then re-caught. Now it's not always butterflies and rainbows when fishing but I am undoubtedly lazy with my approach to tenkara and mainly because it produces. However I would be lying if I didn't put some kind of effort into the flies and approach. When it comes to colors, I find that my trout LOVE purple and it's a staple in my collection but earthy colors in general are safe. Also remember that I fish primarily in Utah and other Rocky Mountain states so my experience is based on my luck here.

These are the top flies I use anywhere and almost anytime when tenkara fishing.

Mayfly- Arguably the first thing I go to when I can. I have quite a few different mayfly patterns but the most standard I will fish are the Blue Winged Olive (BWO), Pale Morning Dun (PMD), Parachute Adams, and finally the Purple Haze (purple bodied adams fly). I fished the purple haze almost exclusively in the year of 2022 with outstanding success. I confidently claimed on several occasions that this fly would work anywhere from Colorado to Alaska in any river that isn't a tailwater. I buy these regularly in various sizes with sizes 14-16 being my preference. The decision to pick a PMD vs a BWO is often which fly I grab first...remember I am lazy.

BWO- PMD- Adams- Purple Haze

Caddis- The other dry fly I love to use. My decision to use a caddis fly over a mayfly is often based on what I grab first or what is already tied to my line puck but I tend to fish adult caddis flies later in the summer and they can be a grand time in the Autumn months like October. Pack a few elk hair caddis in your fly box and thank me later! Stick with the same sizes 14-16 but if you want to throw these during hopper season you can easily fish a 12 or larger. 

Elk Hair Caddis

Remember to keep your dries...well...DRY! I generally apply Gink Floatant to the fly and after a few catches, I dry it with Loon Outdoors dry powder. You do NOT need to re-apply the Gink but if your fly has been saturated beyond the point where floatant is only getting you a cast or two, it's time to cut that fly off and let it dry for an hour or so. 

Kebari- There is no secret that Kebari is the most common fly to use with a tenkara rod. I surprisingly don't fish a lot of them but I have come to appreciate DRAGONtail Tenkara's selection of kebari flies. They might be a little larger than some are used to but again, high mountain creeks often have opportunistic trout. These flies are mass produced and imported and seem to have a great quality to them. I have yet to have one fall apart on me but I do lose them to trees and stumps. Did I mention they are barbless? My personal favorite is the Pheasant tail Sakasa Kebari and I pick that 10:1 over any other Kebari. The Gravedigger is a close second for me.

Pheasant Tail Sakasa Kebari- DRAGONtail

Nymphs- There is an overwhelming combination of nymphs out there and I typically only fish these if the "fishy pools" are deep. The sizes all range for situational moments. Does my fly need to get down deep and fast? Is it winter and the water is clear with trout that are easy to scare? I tend to like nymphs that are pretty basic in pattern. Perdigons are great for weight, while the tiny Zebra Midge are a go to when the trout are picky in the winter. Sometimes I like a little slice of "killer bug" pattern in my nymph as well but if you want to use something relatively universal, the Prince Nymph and my personal favorite; the Pheasant Tail are awesome flies to use and work well with a fixed line. Just make sure you have a tenkara rod and casting line appropriate to cast your fly. The DRAGONtail FoxFire and Perdigons don't mix!

Perdigon- Pheasant Tail- Killer Bug- Prince Nymph- Zebra Midge

Honorable nymph mention! Brents Warbird is a purple beaded soft hackle nymph that seems to catch trout like crazy. It's got just the right weight to it making it castable for most 6:4 tenkara rods and faster, and it works beyond trout! I have caught all of my personal best Mountain Whitefish on Brents Warbird (I believe the hackle is a huge contributor to this). This may not be the formal name to the fly but you can find it via DRAGONtails website. Remember in a previous paragraph when I said I lean towards purple in color? Don't rule out purple zebra midges either!

Streamers and Leeches- Leeches are trout candy. I'll say that every time I catch a trout on one. I will use any assortment of streamers, leeches, or wooly buggers preferably with a beaded head. Some of the bead heads can be pretty light and cast well with a tenkara rod but they will get heavier once saturated with water. A good 7:3 or robust 6:4 action is generally preferred with these options. A small jig streamer may just be my favorite here (a guilty pleasure on my western rods too)

There are only two times I match the hatch. 

Stonefly & Terrestrials- why? big flies are fun and trout go crazy for them. Anytime I can get away with the biggest fly possible I am going to take it. 

Stonefly nymphs are a little bigger and heavier but man the trout just gorge on them. I don't flip rocks over often in rivers but If I do and I find stoneflies, I am going to take advantage of that situation.

A terrestrial is basically a bug born on land and land only. Hoppers and ants are two common terrestrials I love to throw and are a guilty pleasure as well in the late summer. Top water bites are the epitome of peak fly fishing and why not throw them on a tenkara rod? Ant patterns can be amazing even on stillwater locations like your community pond or small alpine lakes. I personally enjoy ant patterns with an indicator whether it's a parachute material or sighter foam (for lack of a better word).

I do not fish hopper/dropper rigs on tenkara often but I know many that swear by it. Try it for yourself!