As a devoted tenkara angler and practicing minimalist, I’ve often found myself striving for simplicity amidst the gear-heavy culture of angling. Despite my efforts to streamline, I’ve still grappled with the same things nearly every tenkara angler deals with. Namely the accumulation of rods and other gear. However, embracing minimalism in tenkara fishing offers profound benefits. Each of us must find that balance between what we want with what we need and decide what serves us best.
Here are some practical strategies for applying minimalism to your tenkara fly fishing pursuits:
1. Understanding Your Motivation: Before embarking on your minimalist journey, clarify why you’re drawn to simplifying your tenkara gear. Is it to reduce the weight of your pack for long hikes to remote fishing spots? Maybe it is to reduce the distractions on the stream and to enhance your connection with your fishing experience. Defining your motivations will help guide your decisions throughout the process.
2. Declutter Your Stuff: Lay out your gear and be ruthless about what stays and what goes. Evaluate your fishing gear and accessories. Consider each item’s utility and significance in your fishing routine. Discard or donate items that serve little purpose or no longer align with you, such as rods you don’t like or won’t likely use or that extra set of leaky waders from two years ago you are holding onto “just in case.” You can apply the same exercise to your fly-tying gear and materials. Some new tyer out there could benefit from a generous donation
3. Embracing the “one in, one out” rule: Prevent gear accumulation by adopting a rule of exchange. For every new piece of equipment you acquire, consider retiring, selling or gifting an existing item. This practice maintains the amount of gear you have while also moving your unneeded gear into the hands of someone who can use it. Doing this ensures that your fishing setup remains streamlined over time.
4. Curate what you are going to carry: When we stop to think about what we are going to need we also need to look at how we are going to carry those items. Do you prefer to carry a backpack, haversack, minimalist pouch or just what you can carry in your hands and pockets? In addition to the basics, also consider what other things you might want to have along. I like to have a water bottle or filter, I sometimes carry a notebook, my phone and a snack. Make sure you think about those kinds of things too.
5. Minimize your digital life: Extend your minimalist approach to digital resources related to tenkara fishing. Organize your digital fishing apps and maps. Do you have multiple apps that do the same thing? Reducing the number of online resources can also minimize distractions in your journey. Keep what you need but delete the apps you don’t use. Limit your screen time while fishing by shutting off your ringer or putting your phone on airplane mode so you can fully immerse yourself in your experience uninterrupted.
6. Be present on the water: We sometimes become so caught up in our gear that we forget to cultivate mindfulness during your fishing outings by embracing the present moment. Focus on the sights, sounds, and sensations of nature, allowing yourself to fully engage with the fishing experience. Release thoughts of past frustrations or future expectations, savoring each cast and drift with mindful awareness.
7. Make gratitude part of your fishing experience: When we develop an attitude of gratitude towards the opportunity to fish and connect with nature, we can feel more fulfilled and this helps us reduce the need we sometimes feel to fill our lives with stuff. Minimalism is about making experiences more important than keeping things.
8. Set boundaries only for yourself: Living with two others in my household, neither of whom are minimalists, presents its own challenge. It’s crucial not to expect minimalism from others in your household. Instead, focus on establishing minimalism for yourself and your personal spaces within the home. While it’s great when everyone shares the same values, understand that each person has their own relationship with belongings. I hope my example influences my family, but I respect their individual paths. Speaking of individual paths, don’t compare yourself to other minimalists; there’s no such thing as a perfect minimalist, as everyone is working on their own journey.
9. Work towards quality gear: Investing in the most expensive gear does not always mean you are getting the highest quality. But if you find a high-quality item that is beyond your budget you should work towards getting it. Typically, cheap gear tends to break down faster or perform poorly. This means you will have to replace it more often and the value of going cheap on something is a “loss” in the long run. You may be surprised at how much you already have invested in rods and gear that can be sold to help finance that upgrade to that better gear. This works to downsize what you have while also upgrading the quality of your gear.
10. Be gentle with yourself in the process: As someone who has been practicing minimalism for over a decade, I have had to remind myself from time to time that it is human nature to collect things. We are hardwired to play the “survivor game”. Our instincts are to be prepared for anything. Living in a capitalist society is also a challenge as “great deals” are pitched to us all the time. Minimalism is a slow process that we learn to apply to our lives. If you slip from practice, don’t hate on yourself. Just refocus and get back on the path.
11. Test yourself on what is really needed: If there is something you aren’t sure you will need, but want to test if you do, put it in your car. If you need it, you will have it. If you don’t there probably isn’t a reason to bring it next time. I do keep an extra rod or two in my car, but I only take one rod with me when I walk out to the stream.
As you embrace minimalism in your tenkara fly fishing pursuits, remember that it’s a journey of personal discovery and refinement. Experiment with different strategies and approaches, adapting them to suit your individual preferences and fishing style. Embrace the simplicity and freedom that minimalism brings to your angling adventures. Minimalism is not a destination; it is a practice that goes with you on your journey.
Dennis Vander Houwen is an early adopter of tenkara, he lives and fishes all over Colorado. For more information on living simply or approaching a richer life with fewer things check out his blog, Tenkara Path, where you can also support his tenkara lifestyle by purchasing one of his amazing, handmade tenkara line spool, fly keepers. Learn more about Tenkara Lifestyles here.
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I tend to bring to much. So I try to force myself to think about the place and type of water i will be fishing today. I don’t need my big river stuff on the small creek.
Excellent Robert. When we think about tenkara we should remember this. Of course it is important to have what you need. Backpackers use the idea “its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.” I think this is just an excuse to have something we don’t “need”. If we need it we bring it. If we don’t then we can probably live without it. For most modern anglers we know what we will need and if we find ourselves wanting something then we will think to bring it next time for sure. Its amazing how much we think we “need” when in reality we don’t. Good for you for downsizing and making your adventures lighter.
I am also an advocate for educating ourselves on how to survive in tough situations should they arise.