I agree, good pointers.
“Lots of people fishing when we went.” Tenkara fishing by nature is short line fishing. If they were casting further, they likely avoided all the shore noise and got out 40-50′. With Tenkara, you need a quiet place for the shorter casts…typically, 25-30′ casts will be the limit.
“We got some nibbles and looks but still no luck.” This is often the wrong size fly and/or the wrong movement and/or wrong depth and/or the the wrong pattern, in about that order of importance.
After casting a nymphy looking bug, wait a few seconds to let the water settle. Then wiggle the tip slightly as you start to retrieve. The goal is to mimic the movement of a bug, usually 1″-6″ as it darts and stops. For a dry(rare)/emergent a bare 1/4″ movement is sometimes too much. Move and let it sit for a second to 5 secs. Note that while stream fishing, current will supply movement.
Size: Use around a #16-#14 for most nymphs/emergents, #14-#12 for most wets/traditional Tenkara flies. No, I do not believe in the one fly approach, just tie the same pattern normal, tight on the small hooks and full and normal for the large hooks to get smaller sizes or larger ones(you can hit a size 18 to a size 10.) Adams(tied with hen), pheasant tailed nymph (weighted & unweighted), some black nimphy ones are a good starter selection, usually tied in three sizes each. The exact pattern doesn’t matter a lot when fish are dumb or hungry, but matching dry/emergent, emergent nymph and deep nymphs does. The “lookers” may be taking an emergent nymph(full of bug) at 2″ below the surface and ignoring empty(shucked of bugs) nymph “casings” at 0-1/2″…hence the look. Try a little saliva on the fly, it will change the float depth. Most Tenkara fishing will be between 1″ and a couple feet…the intermediate range. Line Dressing (sink and float) and weighted flies will widen your depth range. Mostly, Tenkara fishing is wet fly fishing so nymphs and emergents are the targets. It is more difficult to false cast a Tenkara rig. You can adjust most patterns with a X-fine wire or a heavy wire for hooks.
For lakes, it helps to NOT disturb the water. Fish hear very well. Walking up to a fishing spot or wading wet always means at least a minute or two of little to no movement as the water settles. Too many people means the Tenkara fisherman needs to leave, because the fish will move away from shore and others will cast further, hence shutting you out. For small streams, it works really well, though.
Tenkara fishing is limited by distance. You cannot cast too close, nor, too far. Depending on your exact setup, it is likely not what you were looking for in a “lake” rod. Tenkara is usually set up for streams.
While I set up an old 2weight rod as a Tenkara, I always felt it was too limiting in distance (I used a 10′ rod and standard ~20′ furled line with 3′ tippet,) but worked well in the small 3-10′ wide creeks for small brookies. I went back to my old 7’6″ 4weight with a reel. I often use about 10′ of line with a 12′ leader and 2′ tippet. But, I can cast shorter (about 15′) and still set a hook or pump out 75-100′ if needed, and, it only weighs about 8oz more (rod,reel,line.) Still use the same flies, though. Landed several brook trout in the 4-5 pound category in NY.
