A few years back on a hiking trip up the Mohaka River, as we pitched our tent and sat on the bank in the evening, the trout started to rise, plucking floating bugs off the surface as they drifted downstream and swirled in the current’s eddies. We didn’t have a line or a rod but wished we did. On our return I started to investigate light-weight trout fishing gear and to simplify the process and I discovered Tenkara. I was introduced to it via Patagonia, the clothing company that has a strong sideline in trout fishing thanks to the founder Yvon Chouinard who simply passion for the sport. I started to find out that the rods are extremely light and compact and that Tenkara fishing originated in Japan more than 400 years ago. This style of fishing started with traditional fishermen in the mountain streams of Japan who found it an effective method of catching fish in the local freshwater streams.
The Japanese the word ‘Tenkara’ literally means ‘Fishing from heaven’ or fishing from the skies or empty sky with
