River Irfon

[mspaddler]

OK I have to start this post with a confession.   Although I love Tenkara for its simplicity and its ability to put a fly where you cant with a western style rod, I haven't had much luck with Kebari flies.  In fact it is true to say since catching my first trout on a 'proper' tenkara fly (all be it I thought it should be fished as a dry and I duly gooped it up) I have fished with western style flies.   I just didn't seem to have much success fishing kebari sub surface.  However, this weekend I was on the River Irfon near Builth Wells in Wales and not having a lot of luck with klink & dink and nothing at all rising I went back to basics.  I finally caught the fish below on a proper Tenkara fly tied by JP and fished just sub surface.   Am I a convert to the real thing?  The jury is still out! 

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[adric]

which beat was that/
Richard

[mspaddler]

Middle beat almost as far upstream as the caravan site

[dbl]

Very interesting and, perhaps, hopeful article by John Beer in the new T&S (Jan '14) about the return of WBT to the slowly recovering long-acidified waters of the upper reaches of the Irfon. Though he is fishing conventionally, it looks an ideal water for tenkara, open, steeply descending, rocky and narrow. The horror story of the slow murder of the river's wild inhabitants, courtesy of the wildly inappropriate coniferous forests planted on the surrounding hills is a real caution. Those working on its recovery deserve our thanks!