The Shokuryoshi Experiment
I’ve never been much of a “match the hatch” kind of guy. Back when fly fishing first piqued my interest, I remember doing research into the style and being deterred from the whole idea. It seemed to be all over any articles that I read about getting started with fly fishing.
“You’ll need a fly box with every life stage of every aquatic insect.”
It’s not really a quote that I recall reading, but that’s the general message I got from different sites and media I was finding at the time, and it seemed to suck the fun out of the idea of fly fishing. When I stumbled upon videos from TenkaraUSA, and saw how they marketed a more “minimalist” ideology and approach to fly fishing, I was intrigued. I think that’s how a lot of us ended up with this hobby.
Fast forward five years, I know a little more about “the hatch” but still don’t quite participate unless I clearly won’t catch anything on that weird big yellow kebari that the fish are passing up for small black bugs. So without being ruled by the idea of matching the hatch, how does one go about choosing a fly?
I really think it comes down to preference, and if you were to ask other tenkara anglers the same question, they would give you a multitude of answers. These preferences would be built on individual experiences.
Thinking back on my own progression in tenkara, I’ve experimented with different flies over time. I’ve found success with some, and less so with others. I have started to see some patterns forming in those that I do have success with, and over time have made a little collection of flies that work for me. If you would like to see which flies I use most often, you can find a link below for a post that shares what’s in my fly box…
As I started this experiment, I really started to refine the collection a bit. I also started to experiment a little more to see how I could better this collection - as well as my understanding of which flies to use and when to use them.
Below are a few considerations I take when choosing a fly to use based off of observations of fish behavior on the waters I frequent.
Function
When I think of how I go about picking a fly to use, outside of a confidence-go-to pattern, I base it on the function of the fly.
This is more pertinent to the design of the kebari. The characteristics of the water will also play a role ini this decision.
Generally speaking, if I’m fishing more turbulent pocket water I will go with a futsu kebari for the stiff hackle. The hackle will hold its profile a little better in the swift water and also anchor better in the swirling eddies.
If there’s slower moving sections of water where I will be choosing to animate the fly a little more, I’ll sometimes choose a soft hackle fly for the extra movement imparted into the hackle as sasoi is applied.
On occasion I will use weight in the system. Sometimes it’s just through some tungsten putty, and other times I will choose a bead-head fly. The decision to use weight usually comes when I know fish won’t be coming to the surface for anything. The type of weight I choose to add is dependent on the characteristics of the water. When I need more accuracy, I go with the bead-head, and if I can get away with a longer drift I choose the putty.
Based on the water I’m focusing on, and which style of kebari I think will work best, I then change my line to best suit the presentation. I talked about my line selection a bit in another article, which you can find here…
Presentation
When it comes to presentation, the depth of the fly seems to be the biggest factor. Without choosing a fly to match the hatch, you can still catch feeding fish by putting the fly into the right depth in the water column.
Sometimes these fish are looking for a simple dead drift, but there are times where a certain animation or manipulation of the fly will produce even better results. This could be a slight twitch, maybe some pon pon, or even swinging the fly. Keeping track of what the fish respond to, and repeating that pattern can make a big difference.
Depending on the presentation that seems to attract fish at any given time, I will choose a fly that best suits that presentation - assuming the characteristics of the fly won’t deter any fish.
Stiff hackle tend to offer better vibration when adding pon pon, while something with a bit softer hackle tends to work better with some sasoi.
I mentioned previously the times I add weight. When I choose to use the putty, I opt for a fly that has materials that will offer movement in the current, without having to impart any animation in the drift itself.
Size
Another aspect of presentation of the fly is the size of the fly. This seems to be more important than color, as I’ve caught fish on some flies that don’t really appear to look anything like insects or prey in the water - at least not to my human eyes.
With this in mind, I will choose the size of the fly accordingly. Usually bigger flies for fast or murky water, and smaller patterns for clear, slow moving water where a trout will take time to inspect the fly.
The size of the chosen fly can also be influenced by the size of insects in and around the water. Not always, but when the fishing is tough, I find myself trying to replicate the food forms a little more closely.
Color
In the last section, I said that fly size seems to be more important than color. That’s not to say that color isn’t important. There are still times where fish seem to key in on one color more than others.
Generally speaking, I stock my fly box with patterns that have a more earthy tone to them, but sometimes the kebari that have a little more “pop” to them will perform better.
In situations when the flows are high, I will choose a color that I think will catch the eye of the fish. Being that I usually choose a larger fly, I find a dark-colored pattern offers benefits - especially in spots where there are bigger fish that can eat a size 10 hook. When I may not have the opportunity for a fish that size, I choose to go with something that has a fairly bright color.
For clear, slow water, it just depends… but, generally a tan-colored fly or small dark pattern will do.
I have found that the “Blue Dream” futsu tends to do a little better on overcast days. Along with that, I tend to go with brighter colors when fishing a little deeper in a spot where I can still sight fish.
When it comes down to it, the fish in high mountain streams usually aren’t too picky - more so advantageous. From historical writings, and what we know about the origins of tenkara, it doesn’t seem that the shokuryoshi practiced a “match the hatch” approach either. Part of being a “skilled” angler is knowing the waters you fish. I’ve been choosing waters where the fish aren’t picky, but sometimes their preferences do change, and with that comes the decision making process (and some trial and error) to find what snacks they are in the mood for.