The Best of Tenkara Angler 2021

Happy New Year’s Eve!

If you’re like most, you’re probably happy to see 2021 in the rear view. (Didn’t we say that about 2020 too?) As we flip the calendar to 2022, I always make a point of looking back to see what the Tenkara Angler community enjoyed reading the most over the past year.

Being a bit of a numbers geek, the statistic tools that come along with the website give an interesting insight on what everyone seemed to click on the most. This article recaps the “Top Five” new posts from Tenkara Angler in 2021, and also gives a nod to five articles you really, really liked from prior years or print magazines. Obviously, posts from the beginning of the year get a bit of a head start in accumulating views, but in this case, the early birds didn’t always get the worm… or catch the fish… or whatever…

The Top Five Posts of 2021

#5. Sneak Peek: The Yari by Tenkara Rod Co.

In what you’ll find to be a trend, you are all really interested in reading about rods. Our article introducing Tenkara Rod Co.’s release of the Japanese-made Yari was no different. Now that these rods are out in the wild, what do you think about them?

#4. DRAGONtail FoxFIRE zx280 Fiberglass Hybrid Tenkara Rod Review (Matt Sment)

Coming on the heels of the most anticipated rod release for many in 2021, Matt’s review of the fiberglass based DRAGONtail FoxFIRE was quite popular. We hope it kind of made up for our (April Fools in August) first impressions video… that um… didn’t go over so well…

#3. Iowa’s Holy Grail (Gary Mineart)

For better or for worse, Driftless Area anglers love to talk about their waters. Driftless Area tenkara anglers are no different, and Gary Mineart wrote a quite nice little fishing report/ode to a favorite stream of his. I bet most people didn’t even know there were trout in Iowa.

#2. Supreme x South2 West8 Tenkara

Oh, the waves this streetwear x tenkara collaboration created in April of 2021. It was so controversial that even mainstream fly fishing and fashion media picked up on it. It’s clear people sure liked to both talk & read about it, and came to Tenkara Angler in droves to do so.

#1. Short Tenkara Rods: A (Fairly) Comprehensive Guide

A lot of the Tenkara Angler readership likes fishing little blue lines amid dense forest canopy, targeting native, wild trout. It’s no surprise to see that our A-Z guide on short tenkara rods (models 9 feet in length or under) was the #1 most popular new post in 2021!

As for the most read 2021 posts that were initially published in prior years… I’ll just give them in brief list format and spare the writeups. They’re all definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re new around here.

1. Five Wet Wading Shoe Options for Tenkara Anglers
2. Simple Tenkara Rod Nymphing (Anthony Naples)
3. From Field to Flies (Michael Richardson)
4. Tenkara Rods & Smallmouth Bass (Bob Long, Jr.)
5. Carbon Cutthroat: A DIY Zoom Takedown “Tenkara” Rod (Steven Maichak)

(Note: The June 2020 wet wading shoe post was the top overall viewed post on the site for 2021).

In Closing…

Matt, Jason, & I hope you all enjoyed the content provided in 2021, and we look forward to bringing you more smart tenkara and fixed line fishing multimedia in 2022. We’d appreciate it if you’d take a minute to let us know what you’d like to see from Tenkara Angler in the comments below. Or better yet, perhaps you might like to submit your own story or article. If so, we’d love to have you. Just follow the link in the postscript.

Thanks, and happy New Year!

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