The Shokuryoshi Experiment
It's been said that “in tenkara, we fish with the legs.” I’ve spent plenty of time reflecting on this in my own practice, and writing regarding “The Shokuryoshi Experiment.” I’ve already shared a handful of posts about time management and efficiency on the water. You can find the list below…
One thing I haven’t quite expanded on yet is movement along the water. I briefly brushed up on some ideas in the “Pace Notes” post, but then moved on to talk about different theories and ideas regarding how much time one spends fishing a spot. I know I said “it all depends,” and I still stick by that. I highly suggest giving that post a read if you haven’t already. If you have, a refresher might be good too.
Before I go on promoting old posts more, I should get back to what I really wanted to talk about here - Movement.
All the ideas and theories mentioned in the posts listed above still revolve around movement. Outside of how we choose to fish certain sections, there is still movement linking each technique and each section to one another.
Plan Your Movements
This one tops the list, as I feel all the others stem from this idea. Observing the river from where you’re currently planted will help you to make decisions as you fish.
Generally speaking, from where I’m currently standing, I will take brief pauses every now and then to observe what’s happening in the water upstream. I’m mostly looking for activity from rising fish. Sometimes I can position myself in a way that lets me watch either the drift, or watch for any rises out of my peripherals so that I can keep fishing and make more use of my time.
Regardless of whether or not I see rises, I will take a brief pause before I plan to move out of a spot, and survey for where I plan to make my first cast as I move into the next spot. I then start to look at the path in which I think will offer me the best access and put me in range of my target casting spot. As I move around the river and approach my next vantage point, I am also trying to pay attention to where I may be able to move upstream from where I’m heading, and looking for different pathways through or around the river and obstacles.
On a little side note, it’s worth making a few casts to close-by water as you move into position. There are plenty of times where I’ve been surprised by a fish that was holding in shallow water where I wouldn’t necessarily expect them to be. A few casts followed by a short drift won’t hurt.
Don't Get Stuck
This is a bad habit that has reintroduced itself into my fishing over the past couple months. I’ve identified it, and have been working to get rid of it once again. I find myself drawn to those far spots where, for some reason, I think there are more fish further away than there are within my normal casting range. I’ve found myself over-extending my casts in hopes of reaching these far pockets. This causes me to make sloppy casts, and presentations that I’m sure scare more fish away - if there are actually any fish holding in those pockets to begin with…This, in turn, leads to me crossing the river by wading or rock hopping so that I can perch on a rock or plant myself in the flows to reach these far pockets - more often than not, with those sloppy casts.
This wastes my time. I have plenty of great water within my normal, comfortable casting range that I’m sure holds fish. To make matters worse, the amount of instances where I’ve waded into a spot, or had to make leaps across boulders puts me into a spot where it seems more difficult to get out of or come back along the same path. This also wastes a lot of time, especially when considering that there may not be any fish where you’re trying to reach.
Be realistic about where you may catch a fish, and the risk vs. reward that trying to reach that far bank really presents.
Stay Out of the Water
This is a tough one, especially in the heat of summer. But, wading through the water can be exhausting over time, and definitely slows an angler down. I don’t think it necessarily matters how good one is at wading, there’s still a decrease in speed when one steps into the river and has to work a little extra at being stable as they work their way into casting range.
Along with that, I feel the chances of scaring fish increases. Sometimes the footing isn’t as solid as you thought, or the boulders or riverbed shift - all this leads to noise that travels throughout the water. Of course, there are better places to position while in the water so that you can mask your presence, but even then, you still run the risk of spooking the resident trout.
I prefer to stay out of the water as much as I can. I will try to use secure boulders to traverse to casting points. Of course, there are times where I do have to wade a bit, and that’s where I find I tend to become more planted.
When wading, I try to remain in the water. Preferably in water above shin level so that I don’t splash as much as I move - but not too deep of water either, I don’t want to be bogged down in the even I have to move with a fish. I have found that climbing from the water and up onto boulders in the river presents the issue of becoming “stuck” when I am ready to get back in and move back to the bank. It’s often easier to climb up than it is to climb down. The last thing I want to do when I’m on the river by myself is slip and injure myself while trying to get back in the water.
Skip the Deep Pools
As much as I love fishing with a tenkara rod, it does have its shortcomings. Deep pools and glides I find to be the most difficult, time-absorbing pieces of water I encounter. Maybe it’s due to a lack of understanding how to fish them, but if fish aren’t rising in the pools, I rarely stop at one for very long - and sometimes skip them all together.
Maybe there is an efficient way to fish deeper water with a tenkara rod that I’m not aware of, but the amount of time it takes to let the fly drop down (even with weight) and the more “benefitting” long drifts when fishing pools really add up. I find more luck fishing pocket water or more shallow sections.
With that said, there are times where I find it is worth making a few casts to put the fly in at the tail out, or the head of the pool. There have been a few occasions where I picked up a few bites on the edges as well, so I will occasionally make some casts as I work my way around the pool, but I’m usually casting while walking when I work the edges.
Movement can play a big role in how many fish you catch in a session. I look back on times where I wonder why I spent so long fishing a pool, or casting to the same pocket expecting to get a bite. In realizing that we should move to find fish that are willing to take a kebari, my understanding and outlook on movement has changed - and I’d like to think it’s for the better.
The river I like to fish has a lot of access right off the highway. In previous years I would park at a turn-out with intentions of fishing more of the stretch that I had access to than I really did. I would leave with a small sense of disappointment, and the feeling of “needing” more time to fish the whole section. Now when I park my car, I look at it as more of a challenge - “I want to fish this whole stretch before I leave.” I’m finding that the sessions where I cover the entirety of the section aren’t that much longer, but are definitely more productive than those where I got stuck fishing in one pool or stretch of riffles. Looking back, I didn’t need more time, I needed more movement.