Tenkara Tips : Beware the Shadows

“Keep your face always towards the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you.”
—M.B. Whitman

The above quote is not only good advice when taken metaphorically but it’s quite prudent fishing advice when taken literally. As I write this post the northern hemisphere is well into autumn and winter isn’t too far off. Winter and late fall days can be a wonderful time to be on the stream, especially if there’s some sun to warm it up a bit. As your part of the world rotates into winter the height of the sun above the horizon gets less and less, and the shadows get longer and longer.

Beware The Shadows

It may seem like beginner advice. And hopefully those beginners are reading this. But even more experienced anglers can benefit from revisiting fundamentals. I know I can.

I would hazard to guess that spooking fish with shadows is quite prevalent. And I think it’s an aspect of trout stalking that doesn’t get the attention that it deserves. Trout are hyper-aware of overhead threats and shadows are a signal of that threat. If you’re casting shadows over holding-water while fishing you are spooking fish. And spooked fish are fish that you will never catch. Plus those spooked fish can run through a pool and spook the rest of the fish.

And of course remember it’s not just your shadow that you need to worry about

You need to pay attention to:

1. Your Shadow
2. The shadow of the tenkara rod
3. The shadow of the tenkara line

That long tenkara rod, such an asset in getting great presentations, casts a mighty long shadow. And as you cast it’s a rapidly moving shadow that will easily spook fish. And yes, even a line can cast a shadow that spooks fish, especially if using larger diameter lines like furled lines for PVC style lines.

It’s probably a little hard to see in the photo, but the shadow of the rod extended out past that yellow arrow. And even in broken water like that it’s going to be a warning sign to fish.

So what’s to be done?

Well, luckily for us realizing that we have a shadow problem is the biggest part of the battle. So solving the problem is mostly an issue of awareness and care. Just keep an eye out for the potential holding water that you’re going to fish and try not to cast a shadow over it.

Approach

Quite often the key is just paying attention to your approach. Just be aware of where your shadow is falling and approach water accordingly. Perhaps this means moving from one side of the stream to the other. Or maybe you’ll need to get low. Sometimes you’ll even be able to take advantage of shadows cast by the surroundings such as trees and large rocks, etc.

Casting Adjustments

Another thing to pay attention to is your casting stroke. Avoid extraneous casting and again pay attention to the shadow of the rod and choose casting angles that reduce shadows. You may be able to use a sidearm or horizontal casting stroke, or even a “roll-cast” style cast with no backcast and very limited forward cast. Sometimes a bow-and-arrow style cast may be on order. And again take advantage of approach and existing shadows from the surroundings.

Rod Choice

If you’re fortunate enough to have a quiver of rods and you could select a shorter rod to reduce the shadows. A zoom rod can come in handy too so you can take advantage of longer lengths when the situation allows.

Time of Day

If you’re familiar with a piece of water you may be able to plan your day so that you can fish facing into the sun by targeting different parts of the stream at different times of day. Thus reducing the problem drastically. Though I have to admit I’m not this sophisticated.

In conclusion

So… yeah. It’s not rocket surgery. But as a I say above, awareness is the biggest part of solving this particular problem.

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