Zen Tenkara
Zen Tenkara/Zen Fly Fishing Gear is a 100% women-owned company that designs, manufactures, and sells a broad range of tenkara fly fishing rods, propriety lines and accessories. Since its start in 2012, Zen is known for being innovative, cutting edge and pushing boundaries with their high-performance fixed line fly rods. The company, based in Colorado, has a reputation for revolutionizing this method and creating a “fusion” of traditional fly fishing with tenkara to target not only small species, but also large, powerful fish not typically associated with the Japanese method. As a leader in the industry, Zen Tenkara is responsible for many “firsts” in the industry and has set the standard for high quality paired with exemplar customer service. Zen Tenkara is the oldest independently owned tenkara company in the United States and is the only 100% women-owned rod company in the world.
In this Member Spotlight, Karin Miller of Zen Tenkara shares her thoughts on tenkara fishing and covers some of the common misconceptions that fly anglers have about the technique.
What is the history behind Zen Tenkara?
When I was first introduced to fly fishing I did not initially enjoy it. I was a "reluctant fly angler". I found it complicated, frustrating and overwhelming. I wanted to love. I enjoyed being outdoors and on rivers, but didn't have the time or money to devote to becoming proficient in the sport. Tenkara provided a fast track for learning. It taught me the basic foundational fly fishing skills in a less complicated way. It streamlined my success and made a day on the river actually stress-free. And I even began landing fish and in time, became a passionate angler. I realized other must feel the same as I did when trying to learn how to fly fish. Tenkara removed a lot of the frustration, it increased my learning trajectory and allowed me to be more relaxed and present on the water. I fell in love with it. Tenkara also seemed like a perfect tool for most of the rivers, streams and high mountain lakes in Colorado. The method had just been introduced in the US, so starting up a company in Colorado seemed like a natural fit and an incredible way to introduce and share the fly fishing experience with more people. Zen Tenkara was born.
What makes Zen Tenkara unique?
Zen Tenkara is unique for many reasons but the primary reason is that we imagined "American Tenkara". Zen pushed the limits and boundaries of this ancient method to accommodate a wide range of species in an even wider range of waters. Zen was the first tenkara company to design a "big fish rod", then we created hybrid tenkara lines and a nymphing rod. We opened the method to areas that were considered off-limits or impossible with a tenkara rod. Zen was the first company to use IM12 carbon fiber and create high performance tenkara rods. We have set the record for the most species caught on tenkara to include silver, chum and sockeye salmon, bonefish, barracuda, shark, tarpon, massive carp and junior permit - species not typically associated with tenkara. Zen has not only been an integral part but a driving force, behind the evolution of tenkara in the United States. While many have tried to contain and limit tenkara into a small box for small fish, Zen has challenged that ideology and pushed past the constraints of the traditional method demonstrating there is more to it than meets the eye.
As a tenkara angler myself, I believe the industry sometimes has a misguided view on the art of tenkara fishing. What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions regarding tenkara?
The biggest misconceptions regarding tenkara is that is it for people who don't know how to fly fish and don't know how to cast. Let's face it, there is little skill required to drag a 6 inch fish across a riverbed and land it. It takes much more to do that with a 16 or 26 inch fish, particularly when you have no reel. Tenkara can be as easy or as challenging as you want it to be. For small fish on small streams or creeks, it's a no-brainer. You want to challenge your fish management skills? Take away your reel and hook into something bigger. Fishing tenkara forces you to rely on foundational fly fishing skills, foundational fish management - skills that many fly anglers forget about or have never really learned because they always had a reel to fall back on. Lose control of the fish and no worries on a reel, as long as you have your drag set appropriately. The fish running keeps tension on the line and you hold on until the fish gets tired then start to reel it in. Fly anglers generally do this over and over again to tire the fish out, often critically impacting the fish's mortality rate. But this how most fish are landed on a reel. Mistakes can be made and you have an opportunity to recover and regain control when you have a reel. On tenkara it is game on the moment you set the hook. There is no hanging on, or opportunity to recover from a mismanaged fish. You make a mistake and you lose the fish. From the instant the hook is set you have to steer, turn and manage that fish. It becomes an intimate tactile dance in which you not only react and respond to the slightest changes in pressure, but you learn to anticipate those changes and control the fish. It takes skill and a pronounced understanding of rod dynamics and angles to accomplish many of these landings without a reel on tenkara rods that often weigh less than 3oz - and do it faster than on a reel with less impact on the fish.
Casting is another misconception in tenkara - that you don't really cast a tenkara rod. I guess it depends on where and for what I am fishing. If I am on my 4 or 5wt rod and reel and I'm on my local water, I strip out 20ft or so of line and spend a lot of time roll "casting". Most trout are caught between 20ft and 30ft anyway. On my tenkara rod I can cover that same area with a 12ft or 13ft rod paired with a 13ft line. But because I only need to cast a short line doesn't mean I can't cast a longer distance or, that I simply can't cast.
Casting is casting. Some anglers are good at it and others not so much. There are mechanics and physics involved in casting. I have to use the same whether I am casting a tenkara rod or a regular fly rod. Having a good understanding of these and how to execute them differently for different line weights and lengths allows me to cast a variety of lines on my tenkara rod without shooting or hauling. Being able to cast a weightless, 12ft tippet-only line, and a 40ft level 8wt fly line on the same tenkara rod is possible when you understand casting mechanics. Execution of those casting mechanics are adjusted for the weight and length of your line and the speed or flex of your rod. Your stroke, arc, timing and power changes based on the line weight, the flex or rod speed, and the amount of line you want to cast - or the distance. This is no different than the difference between casting a 3wt on a tiny stream and then picking up a 12wt and casting it as far as your can in the salt. Both casts require the same mechanical component. It is no different with tenkara. Casting is casting. Tenkara anglers can cast.
What projects or initiatives are you currently working on and excited about?
As someone who began as a "reluctant angler" but was transformed into a passionate fly fisher, I know the power of tenkara. Had I remained on the reel only, I would not be where I am today. In fact, I probably would have given up on the sport of fly fishing. In the beginning I found it frustrating, time-consuming, expensive with little reward or satisfaction. If it had not been for my introduction to tenkara I would have walked away from the sport and stopped investing time, energy, and money into fly fishing. This is exactly what happens to too many novice anglers. They walk into fly shops, make initial purchases only to abandon the sport in a year or so. When this happens not only does the industry lose a long-term customer but we potentially lose an environmental advocate, an activist, a conservationist - someone who has fallen in love with our rivers, streams and waters - and wants to protect them. This is a short sightedness that the fly fishing industry suffers from. We ponder how to keep new anglers. The answer is a simple one. Teach them fly fishing through tenkara. Lessen their frustration, slim it down and simplify it. Make fly fishing more financially accessible to a broader range of people, particularly in the beginning when someone is just learning. Increase and improve the learning trajectory. Focus on basic foundational skills like presentation, hook set and fish management -that are all transferable to the rod and reel. Create life-long anglers who will undoubtably, also purchase rods and reels and nourish the entire fly fishing industry.
That's what excites me and what I am trying to do. Zen Tenkara designs and sells tenkara rods but more importantly we try to educate people on the benefits of the method, we try to disassemble preconceived notions of what you can and cannot do with a tenkara rod. We try to provide opportunities for more people to explore the outdoors and entice them into our rivers through simplicity paired with increased reward. Zen Tenkara has become and will continue to be an industry advocate for the method; a method that is good, very good for the entire fly fishing industry and try to nurture and create passionate anglers, not just tenkara anglers, for life.
My last thought is that tenkara is not only an excellent segway or entry into fly fishing, but it also serves experienced anglers as well. Want to work on your hook set or nymphing skills? Spend a season on a tenkara rod. Want to improve or challenge your fish management skills on big browns or rainbows? Take away your reel. Want to out fish every other drift boat on a float trip? Switch over to ta tenkara rod. It's an unbeatable drift. Play, have fun and put your skills to work. Tenkara rods are a minimal investment for most fly anglers. A high performance tenkara rod can cost less than a poor to mediocre fly rod and of course, there is no reel expense. Set it up. Keep it on the backseat of your car or truck. You'll find yourself fishing a lot more. Heck, bring it along on your family vacation - not your fishing trip, just your family vacation and you'll often discover quick and fun opportunities to fish that you would never have had with a rod and reel, mostly because you wouldn't have packed it. Tenkara is not better than, or less than. It's just another. And us fly anglers, well, we can always have another.
To shop, learn or read more about tenkara fishing, check out their website at https://www.zentenkara.com/
