Tenkara USA Size 16 Takayama Kebari Fly Pattern

Overview

The Takayama Sakasa Kebari is the smallest fly Tenkara USA makes, tied on a size 16 hook. Like every sakasa kebari, it uses a reverse hackle: the feather fibers are wound so they point forward toward the hook eye instead of sweeping back the way most Western wet fly hackles do.

That forward-facing hackle is what makes the fly work. In moving water, and whenever you pulse it with the rod tip, the fibers open and close like a tiny umbrella, giving the fly life without copying any one insect. Kebari is the Japanese word for these flies, and tenkara anglers on Japan's small mountain streams have long relied on a few simple patterns, changing how they fish the fly rather than changing flies. The Takayama is the one to reach for when trout are rising but refusing, or on pressured water where fish take a longer look.

How to Fish It

• Dead drift: cast upstream and let it drift naturally, holding as much line off the water as your tenkara rod allows.
• Pulse it: make small, rhythmic movements with the rod tip during the drift so the reverse hackle opens and closes. This often triggers fish that ignored a dead-drifted fly.
• Pause and hold: stop the fly in front of a likely spot, such as the pocket behind a rock, and let the hackle breathe in the current before moving it again.
• Down and across: at the end of a drift, let it swing down and across the current, much like a Western wet fly swing.
• Western rigs: on a regular fly rod, its small size also works as a dropper below a dry fly.

Choosing Color and Size

Every fly in this pack is size 16, the smallest tenkara fly Tenkara USA offers. Tenkara anglers rarely go smaller, so keep these for days when fish are rising but not committing, or for clear, heavily fished water where a smaller, quieter fly earns more takes.