My First Time Fishing with Dry Flies! (Tenkara Fly Fishing) 

Thanks for watching! Here's the same color of yarn that Karl used to tie his Well-Hung Foam Spiders: flytyingyarn.com/products/shetland-black-101-jamiesons-shetland-spindrift-yarn

The Well-Hung Foam Spider was primarily designed for fishing Free Stone Streams, where the trout have to make quick decisions or the fly will be gone for good. But it did well on Triston’s little Spring Creek, as it will also do on lakes and ponds.

I'm one of those guys who came to Tenkara from "traditional" fly fishing, and I find it ironic that, when "Tenkara-ing", it's pretty much all dries for me - the few times I go subsurface, it's usually a dry/dropper rig. I find Tenkara to be ideally suited for dry flies and small streams - I just use the length of the rod to drop my fly where I want it, and with precision and no drag....keep up the dries - you'll be investing in floatant soon.

An attractor dry like a stimulator or smaller chubby Chernobyl is also great for panfish and small bass in warm water. Super fun pulling fish with a minimal set up with guys staring at a bobber that doesn’t move most of the day.

i think there is nothing better than a dry fly take. This was a fun video to watch and it had me saying "whoa" out loud a number of times!!

This reminds me of my high school friend's husband and his passion for fly fishing. They have done very well for themselves and purchased a huge piece of property in WY, built a beautiful house atop a slight hill and literally have "a river runs through it," their land that is. He has become an expert fly fisherman and maker of his own flies, and all he has to do is to walk down from their house to the river that runs through their property to fly fish. Some way to retire, eh?

I liked that you showed the fly you used. It would be nice if you did it with every video. Even if you only use a couple of different ones or just one fly every time. It would be good info for fly tyers

Tying small dry flies with natural materials presents its own challenge. Sure, you can make huge foam ants and catch fish all day. However, my passion is vintage patterns / materials, making them as small as possible to emulate the midges, mayflies, stoneflies, and caddis that I typically see. I began with the help of the two fly tying manuals by Wyoming-tier and guide, Jack Dennis. I still can't come close to the flies he made. So, matching the hatch-size, tying something beautifully proportioned and buoyant, and accomplishing it all with highly-varied natural materials on hooks, size 18 to 22, is challenge in itself. Tying keeps my interest when I'm not on the water. Dry fly fishing is great. If you can see the dry fly, you can fish the smallest creeks without getting involved with indicators, chunks of metal for weight, or the complications of casting tangle-prone tippet used on a dry-dropper rig. Just dealing with rocks, and overhead or submerged vegetation makes the smallest creeks hazard-prone to the angler, especially if you need to recover your rig being caught up in something. A single dry fly on the end of your tippet is easy enough that I will try very tight spaces and still keep it fun. I intentionally use heavier than needed tippet 3X, because it forms a wider loop, and delivers the tiny fly to the water with less force, and greater precision.

No matter what species of fish and what method you use , top water fishing is always explosive fun !! STAY SAFE and keep up the great vlogs ..

Tristan landed 22 in an hour and I only counted 4 missed strikes, plus’s 3 or 4 that got off the line that were hooked. That’s pretty darn good! On the rod, the FoxFire Rod is a 12.5 penny rod @ 6’6”, a 12 penny rod @ 8’, and a10.5 penny rod @ the 9+ foot length. Usually, soft rods require a greater rod movement to set the hook than the FoxFire needed. Soft rods usually cast poorly in a wind. I was surprised at how well the FoxFire cast in the wind Tristan had to deal with on that day. I am going to get a FoxFire Rod...Karl.

These are always a great way to start a Saturday!

Awesome video! Dry flies will spoil you, there just so much more fun to fish with. Especially if you can find one that there hitting hard. My favorites are the elk hair caddis and parachute Adams. You can tie both with your wool yarn.

I just fished a creek similar to the one you were in yesterday. Elevation 6500 ft. Outside temperature 30 degrees. Water temperature 37 degrees. Near Dagger Falls, middle fork of the Salmon. I have to use neoprene waders in order to withstand the cold water. I even throw a few disposable hand warmers down into my waders to help me stay in creek. Great video, thank you! 👍

Enjoyed that video - dry fly fishing is so satisfying and every 'take' is such a beautiful experience I remember each and every one of them . .

Quite a shift! It’s funny - I came to tenkara about five years ago (with 55+ years in conventional fly fishing), and started initially with regular flies I knew well, e.g., caddis, Adams, etc. Now? Almost always kebari. Very nice video - I greatly appreciate all your productions!

Beautiful little ballerinas. I tie my own so thanks for posting how to, for the foam spider. Thanks to Carl also

Always cool to see trout smashing a dry fly. Best part of any sort of fly fishing in my opinion. Great video as always.

I fish the UK southern chalk streams. North and south of Salisbury. At the top gin clear - more a brook, at the bottom slow - a proper river with everything from barble, Atlantic salmon, dace, roach, rudd, etc etc, even carp (care of the medieval monks) Ingigenous pike, are fun on a fly rod. Somehow here they live in streams. Can be caught on a fly rod. ===== We can for the first few months of the season, only fish with max, medium/small, dry only flies, and upstream dry only. Easy to drag it under, of you are caught you lose your membership of the club. Makes it tough. Trying to explain to a Japanese person. 'That makes it hard' hmm welcome to English fly fishing.

I will even dry fly fish when I know my chances are better sub surface because I think the reduced number of exciting surface strikes are worth it. "Madame X" is another easy low cost and very effective general use dry fly pattern. Adams is the old classic, in more modern "parachute" style I like. In tiny streams where it's shallow the surface is just as close to their mouth as anywhere else too.. So they can work just as well as sub surface, with the exciting takes.

Nice creek, lots of fish, can’t ask for more!!!!

this creek looks like those around my area we catch brook trout out of them, i bet that fly would slay the blue gills and other panfish, thank you for taking us fishing!! that was extra fun

Ha I had no idea. I’ve never tenkara fished, but traditional dry fly fishing is exciting watching fish rise and strike.

Happy to see this video! I backed the FoxFire for small creek chubs and panfish here in the midwest. Same size fish as what you are catching here.

Tristan, you gotta branch out and try some hoppers next summer. Caught big Hank this year with my mutant, using for the first time a hopper. In fact I did it on a stream you've fished in the past with some excellent cutthroat. I could hear the grasshoppers just buzzing like crazy in the trees and I knew it was on. Crazy bronzed up cutthroat came from down deep, inspected the hopper, followed it and then just smashed it. Was incredible!

NICE.. tomorrow I start MY tenkara/car camping adventure from Travelers rest.....

I enjoy both Kebari and dry flies. Depending on where I am fishing I will throw a dry with a Kebari dropper and have had great success doing so.

This is the day I'm been waiting for! Now you don't have to put the arrow anymore if you use dry flies.

Hey Tristan been a little while since I posted a comment. I always enjoy when you fish this creek. Got a pretty good chuckle out of the O's, Ah's, and HaHa's as you descended into the deeper cold water. Your "like a ballerina" comment was very illustrative. It also made me chuckle. Thanks for another fun video. I enjoyed watching the takes on the dry flies.

Really enjoyed everything about this session; thanks!

Lots of fun watching you dry flying! I used to fly fish years ago and just got back in recently, but switched to tenkara after getting into camping and exploring more. The minimalist side of it suits me real well and it's so effective. Hooked lol! Thank you for the knowledge and inspiration Tristan 🤙🏻😁. Enjoy your day.

Dries, that pattern in particular, might be a wise option for vision impaired fisherman that find it difficult to see 5X tippet at a distance. A white floating fly with a surface 'take' is a lot easier to see.

Can you point me in the right direction how what you use, when you use it and how you set it up? I fly fished with my wrestling Coach today for my very first time. We use two Perigons, one as a dropper and a “bobber” for sight of a hit. We used a rod/reel set up but I’m planning on getting my own Tenkara set up and am in need of counsel. Many thanks and thanks for all the good sends on these videos. 👏🙌🔥❤️

Hi Tristan, here in Austria we fish all kinds of flies with the Tenkara rod. Try Flies, Wet Flies, Nymphs and even Streamers. Best regards and wishes from Austria!

I would not call The Well-Hung Spider a True Dry Fly; it is a Damp Fly, as are most Ant, Beetle and Hopper Patterns, mired in the water rather than sitting lightly on top of the water. The difference between a Damp Fly and a Dry Fly is only a Fraction of an Inch but, that fraction of an Inch makes an incredible difference in the Fish’s Willingness to Take The Fly, that’s what makes The Well-Hung Spider such a More Effective Fly than are most ant, beetle and Hopper patterns. But the Spider is easier to See and lands more Delicately on the water than the other Terrestrial Patterns do, which is a big advantage in my book.

Wow , great to see you using dries. It's fun to see the top water takes. FYI - Don't need the arrows we can see the takes LOL.

I smiled all the way through your video.

Ya man , those spring feds are cold . Have one spot , only a foot deep , but so cold , without waders 5 minutes tops .

Top water action! Kudos! Might be the first time i heard ya mention cold water...more then once!

Great video , classic tenkara , like it !!!!!

That creek looks like something I would find down here in Alabama-minus the water moccasins, of course.

so clear

Absolutely perfect. Feel like I’m there. Mahalo

Hey man, love the videos. I’m in Alamosa Co for the week. Brought my fishing gear. Any recommendations on where to go catch some trough?

I am throughly enjoying this channel. So enjoyable, is this a big sport in Japan?

Love the video. Do you happen to have the recipe for the well hung spider? Thanks. Great channel.

Spot nya sempit tapi air nya jernih ikan nya melimpah 👍👍👍👍

Hi Tristan. If you would like to make your FoxFire Rod Feel Stiffer/Faster, Cast # 2.5 Line in stead of a 3.5 Line on it...Karl.

That was fun. Cheers!

Love dry fly fishing. I am surprised not bigger fish in that creek, it looks so fishy.

I wonder if the larger fish from Big Springs ever wander in there to munch on some little brookies?

Well-hung spiders are easy to identify by their 3rd leg. It's always longer than the others.

Love your videos. I'm hooked. I just caught my first trout ever! A 9" rainbow trout. I have a 9 ft tenkara rod. I felt I couldn't get to spots with cast. I have 9ft leader then fly. Another 6 ft would have been great. River was 30ft wide. Should I have a length of tippet added to the leader or would that be unruly? Is there a rule of thumb like line should be 1.5x the length of rod? Thanks

Can Tenkara rods be used to fish for panfish that we have in west Tennessee?

Where do you find the tenkara flies?

great vid might I ask if there is a step by step on the hung spider and what size foam cutter is it any info would be great thanks Mark

Tristan was mistaken, I do not tie flies for sale. The information I put up is free and offered as an Angling Public Service. My opinions are strictly my own and I get no compensation from any financial concerns. I asked Tristan to test the Well-Hung Foam Spider because he is an impartial 3rd Party we all know and trust. Great job on the Video Tristan, and Thank You Very Much...Karl.

Does the Foxfire lock in securely at the three different lengths? I can’t get my Mizuchi and Mutant to keep from sliding in and out when I try and fish them at their two smaller lengths

What's the size of the line and length and fly?

I thought your kebari flies were dry flies also? I have used them as dry flies anyways lol.

Tristan, or Subscribers, what type of line do you recommend for fishing dry flies? The level line is fluorocarbon, which sinks....??? Thanks

❤️❤️❤️

What camera gear do you use?

Do you fish kebaris in winter?

Tenkara Addict, have you ever used poppers? Best catch was a approximate 3lb bass on my 12' Seaquest using the CBC Bluegill Special. Send me a message if you want some to try. GOD Bless you and your family Kenneth

hi is the grey partridge tied in like a post under the foam any info would be great thanks mark

Trying new things can be risky. Pretty soon you'll be keeping a fish for dinner. It's all downhill after that

Whoever Karl is I want 5

I find cold water temperatures fine once you become numb ;0)

Ishigaki would be rolling in his grave if he saw this video!

Dry fly’s are so much fun. Giving that split second pause before setting the hook after a take on dries greatly improves your hook up rate. @wvbrookchar