Take me back to the Home Page

Discover Tenkara Review

February 07, 2017

If you have spent any time in the Tenkara community you have most likely heard of Discover Tenkara. Whether it is because of their line of Tenkara rods, the email tutorial series, or the superb YouTube channel "Tenkara In Focus" they are building quite the name for  themselves in our close knit community. In March of 2016 I had the distinct pleasure of fishing with John and Paul of Discover Tenkara on the River Don in Britain. These guys really do know their way around a Tenkara rod, and in one day I learned more from them then in the past three years I spent Tenkara fly fishing combined! Over the past year I have been really enjoying the paid content that John and Paul have been publishing through their Gumroad online store. I feel that there is a lot of value in their content so I have put together a Discover Tenkara review. I've reviewed gear on this site before from Tenkara rods to flies and sawanobori gear so I thought I'd offer my opinion on the Discover Tenkara (DT) paid content, a Discover Tenkara review if you will.

Discover Tenkara Logo

While Tenkara is a simple method to catch fish there is still a lot to learn. I like to compare Tenkara to skiing - you can learn it quickly but if you want to get down the mountain gracefully you will spend countless hours (possibly a lifetime) discovering the many nuances to become a true master. Anyone can plop a line in the water and eventually catch a few fish but catching fish with a fixed line rig does require some skill. Furthermore, if you want to tie authentic kebari based on centuries of experimentation and expertise you will have to study and sift through hundreds of poorly indexed websites. Fortunately for the Tenkara community John and Paul have done a lot of leg work exploring Japan and meeting with a wide variety of Japanese Tenkara enthusiasts. Through their hard work they have compiled a treasure trove of Tenkara and kebari information that anyone can study, digest, and enjoy at the cost of a few Starbucks Frappuccinos. Throughout the year I enjoy reading their wide collection DT's excellent books, studying their informative PDF's, and watching the fabulous video content that they release regularly.

To see all full collection of their content be sure to follow this link here

Japanese angler fishing

The video content coming from DT is not just high quality but informative and beautiful to watch. I run my own YouTube channel (link) that is decidedly very amateur. So I can appreciate not only the difficulties in capturing quality content but compiling and editing said content into an enjoyable storyline. I never get bored watching their videos, whether it be the "Tenkara In Focus" series or their growing library of content they have for sale. Then there are their books and informative PDFs. I've purchased many of them and uploaded them to my offline Evernote notebook "Tenkara" and PDF Viewer for on stream reference - as well as light reading for when I am dozing off in the tent after a long day of fishing.

Some of my favorites from Discovering Tenkara are:

Vol. 1 An Introduction to Tenkara Basics & Fundamentals

A superb video with some great on stream footage, casting techniques, and other goodies. This one is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are new to Tenkara (I've been at it for year though and found this volume to be very informative).

Vol 2 Kebari - Patterns & Principals

If you are into fly tying and are intrigued by sites like My Best Streams then this is the video for you. If you are really serious you should also consider getting the eBook Discovering Kebari. It has a lot of great information on the characteristics of kebari, tying strategies, employment techniques, and lots more.

Vol 3 Kebari - Practical Fishing Applications

Some phenomenal footage from Japan including engaging interviews and fly tying sessions with some big names in the Japanese Tenkara community (the fish stalking lesson is spot on as well). 

They have a lot more great content then what is listed above - to see all full collection of their content be sure to follow this link here  .

I have found a lot of value in the Discover Tenkara content both paid and free. From tips on tying kebari to casting and stalking fish there are lots of little gems of information that are sure to satisfy veteran and beginner anglers alike. If you are looking to improve your Tenkara and kebari fly tying technique you need look no further than Discover Tenkara's wealth of compiled knowledge.

Isaac Tait

Fallfish Tenkara is the brainchild of Isaac Tait who now lives in New England but dreams of returning, one day, to Japan. You should follow him on Twitter.