Trad flies to kebari

[toneman]

Fished trad fly fishing for several years then "found"Tenkara. Catching fish on trad duo & Tenkara but not much success with kebari. Often start trad set to avoid blanking then switch to Tenkara + kebari fly. Little success thus far so was wondering what might be going wrong.
Issues are
Which kebari fly(have small bamboo box with various patterns)
When to change a fly that is not catching
Where do killer bugs fit into Tenkara style?

[dbl]

US tenkara anglers seem very fond of killer bugs. However, as an inexpert caster, I find them hard to cast on Tenkara gear. I have to gingerly lob such weighted nymphs, which is not elegant. Also, if they clip the slender tip of the rod, they can break it. Furthermore, PG and JP have demonstrated how you can use the current to sink an unweighted kebari.

With regard to kebari, I wonder if we tend to think of their design too narrowly. The simple palmered dry I had some success with recently on the Ceiriog in low clear water, was based on a pattern found in "My Best Streams". Look at the first 4 patterns for the "Kurobe headstream area" on this page:
www.hi-ho.ne.jp/amago/b-streams/flytying/tenkara.html
and you will see what I mean.

Orangeotter's favourite GRHE SK, could be another way to go. He adapted a classic killing British dressing to a Japanese style tying. A Partridge and Orange can also be tied as an SK quite easily.

Size may also matter. 12 is often given as a standard size, but tying the same pattern on a 14 or smaller may suit our waters better. I am sure others, more knowledgeable than I, will have something to say on this!