Tenkara is supposed to be streamlined and simple, right? Then why are the most popular posts here at Tenkara Angler always about gear? Because as anglers we generally like trying out new things. I’m sure you’ve seen the inside of a fly shop.
Be it rods, lines, flies, packs, or various accessories, the angler who doesn’t have their interest level raised by the introduction of a new widget or doohickey that can either give them the upper hand when fishing, or generally make their fishing experience more enjoyable is few and far between.
And I’ll be the first to raise my hand, I fall into the majority of tenkara anglers who like “stuff”. Guilty as charged. (Sorry, Dennis.)
As such, here are three gizmos I recently came across on the internet that are tenkara-related that you may find interesting. Will they help you catch more fish? Probably not, but will they provide that dopamine rush for new gear? Yes indeed!
Gossamer Gear Umbrella Clamp
Keegan makes fun tenkara videos over on his YouTube channel MostlyTenkara. You’ve probably seen at least a few of them over the past year. This week the published a “short” about a little clip system made by Gossamer Gear that can be extremely helpful in holding a tenkara rod while you’re on the stream, or on the move. Check it out. The possible uses are endless.
Side note: Keegan also makes & sells really nice leather goods on Etsy. It’s worth stopping by his shop. He even occasionally has Kura-san wooden tenkara spools for sale which are a total “next level” kind of tenkara widget.
Tenkara Line Winder & Spool
Speaking of Etsy, Guenther happens to sell “fly fishing gadgets & gear” at his shop TeaAndTroutDotCom when he’s not hanging out in tenkara themed forums and Discord servers. In any event, he recently designed and 3D printed both proprietary magnetic line spools and a really slick winding device to accompany them. I mean watch the video, you gotta admit that’s pretty cool.
Trailwaters Forager Bag
Tenkara Rod Co. recently sent out an email blast to announce that they started selling Trailwaters mesh foraging bags. While the bags are not specifically tied to the act of tenkara fishing, the list of tenkara folks I’ve talked to over the years who also search for and gather things like mushrooms and ramps during their fishing sessions would not be short. Heck, I was at the recent Driftless Tenkara Campout a few weekends ago and one of the raffle prizes was a similar foraging bag. Plus, if you’re not interested in collecting morels or other edible fungi, you can also be a good steward and use it to haul out streamside trash. I haven’t purchased one (yet), but my interest level was raised by the notification of this widget from a tenkara-friendly company.
In closing, were any of those three “Tenkara Widgets of Interest” to you? Maybe you don’t need them, but I’m sure you want at least one of them. And if you do, I’m certainly not judging. Alternately, if you have a newish tenkara widget of interest that I didn’t mention, feel free to note it in the comments of this post or the social media feed you were directed from. However you accessorize your tenkara fishing, enjoy!
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Thanks for the shoutout!
For anyone reading, please do check out that forum. Its lesser known but is still a great resource.