Site icon Tenkara Angler

Winter Tenkara: A Beginner’s Guide to Success and Safety

Community Submitted Content

Winter and Tenkara Fly Fishing: A Perfect Match

Article by Mike Garrison

My goal in this article is to present a guide for winter tenkara fly fishing that will help newer anglers enjoy one of my favorite times of the year to fly fish. Perhaps, I can also entice some grizzled veterans to venture out of their warm homes instead of hunkering down at the tying bench.

I love tenkara and I really, really love it in the winter. I can prove it to you in one word – Gloves! That’s right, the major advantage of tenkara in the winter is that you don’t have to mess with the reel and line. Later on I will share with you the gloves I use and attempt to remember who to give credit to (Tom Davis looking at you my friend).

I have been back fly fishing for almost two years now after taking almost 20 years off after the extremely premature birth of my son and the years of surgeries and diagnosis that drove me into a survival mode. Luckily, I was brought back to fly fishing by a client and quickly discovered tenkara and my mental health sky rocketed upwards. I own a couple of small coaching/consulting companies and this allows me to have a degree of flexibility in my schedule and I am usually able to get out on a river/creek at least once per week, if not more. After being away from fly fishing for so long, I am determined to get as much time as possible fishing without compromising my work or my family.

As a direct result of discovering tenkara and subsequently tenkara Angler, I started to see some articles about winter fly fishing with tenkara rods and I was intrigued. Before this, I was a dry fly guy and definitely a fair weather fisherman. I distinctly remember reading an article about a guy tenkara fly fishing in Maryland on the Gunpowder River and I was ‘hooked’. Winter Solitude – Tenkara on the Gunpowder.

Let’s Break it Down

I am going to assume that you have some skill or awareness of the basics of tenkara fly fishing. If not, stop here and check out some of the great articles and videos that Tenkara Angler has already written. You will get a great introduction to the basics and meet a lot of the ‘cast of characters’ of this beautiful subset of the fly fishing community.

Tactics: It’s winter

It’s winter and it’s all about what kind of water you are fishing. I am very fortunate to be located in Roanoke, Virginia. We have all kinds of water around us and when it comes to my favorite trout, we have both freestone and tailwaters to fish year round.

In winter the freestone creeks are generally reserved by me for unseasonably warm stretches where I am confident that: (a) there will be less ice and (b) the trout will be more metabolically active. There are few things more fun for me than fishing small mountain creeks with kebari. This is, of course, rare in the winter but when it is possible that is where I will be.

However, the tailwaters are where I spend most of my time in the winter for several reasons:

In tailwater fisheries the water stays a relatively consistent temperature year round (when it’s really hot or cold I am generally fishing on a tailwater) and that means the trout stay reasonably active year round. I have had some very nice days on one of the several tailwaters I fish within an hour or so of my house in the winter (30+ fish days) without ever seeing another angler.

The warmer water makes for more comfortable and generally safer wading (depending upon current) and allows me to be in the water longer before heading to the bank to stamp my feet and drink a hot beverage from my thermos. I have had days where the air temperature was at or below freezing and I was comfortable in hip deep water in the 50’s.

My general tactic in the winter is contact nymphing and there are few better systems than the right type of tenakra rod and line. Usually, I am fishing a 12-13’ rod with a faster action for better hooksets under the water as I will be fishing at least one nymph often 2’ or below the surface. The ‘stronger’ rod allows for faster and more secure hooksets especially if I am fishing a longer line and/or one that is designed to sink into deeper pools and runs.

If your cast is good, you can easily fish a two nymph rig (usually an egg on the bottom with a smaller nymph on the tag). Often, I will use just a single nymph and (sacrilege) sometimes add a small split shot so that I can get a better dead drift. If you want to see some great videos of winter tailwater fishing all you need to do is go to Tom Davis’s Teton Tenkara YouTube channel. It’s all there.

There are also a bunch of great articles about winter tenkara on Tenkara Angler (it is where I got started) too.

Gear: Rods, lines, packs and flies for winter (generally speaking)

Rods, my current weapons of choice (future purchases in parentheses):

*note: if you happen to click through to the Tenkara Tanuki store using the link above you can use the coupon code TENKARANGLER to save 5%

Lines:

Packs:

Waterproof is a must. Worst case scenario use dry bags. I prefer submersible backpacks to be able to carry safety gear (see below). I have had all of them and currently prefer the Simms Dry Creek. Not too big, does a really good job of securing tenkara rods in its side pouch with compression strap. I connect my Zimmerbuilt or Umpqua Overlook chest pack to it and have a great winter system.

Flies:

Clothing: Stay warm and dry

Above: Wool Neck Gaiter, Filson Wool Cap, Rockfish rubber gloves, First Lite wool gloves. Skwala 300 Wool hoodie (the best thing I own)

Orvis Pro HD Wading Pants. These are good for cold weather 30 degrees and colder.

Safety: Take your time

Fun: Catch a lot of fish without the crowds

You will have solitude (and side eye from other anglers). Few things are more revealing to me about someone’s commitment to fly fishing than the winter. There is a pretty solid challenge in the pain associated with it. My friend Dom talks about this in an article on Troutbitten saying ‘something always has to hurt’. For me (and I suspect the happy few that also venture out in the cold), I get amazing mental health benefits from getting out on the water in the winter. I don’t do well with all the indoor time during the winter and other than walking, don’t really have the joints to do many other winter activities.

You will have a different experience than during warmer weather. There is a challenge with fishing successfully and safely during the winter and when you overcome that it is a pretty powerful feeling, at once thankful and also confident. Dealing with office work is a lot easier afterwards.

Are you sold on giving winter tenkara a try? I bet some of you aren’t and that is totally cool (get it!). Feel free to ask some questions or provide your additional comments and advice. If you are in the mid-Atlantic region (either residing or traveling) and want to go out together on a nice freezing day contact me directly via Facebook or comment below.

All the best and tight lines,

Mike

P.S. Here are a few other winter tenkara articles

Mike Garrison, when not fly fishing or dreaming about his next time on the water, is a husband, dad, author and business coach. You can follow him on Instagram: @blueridgeflyguy

This article originally appeared in the 2025 print issue of Tenkara Angler magazine.

Do you have a story to tell? A photo to share? A fly recipe that’s too good to keep secret? If you would like to contribute content to Tenkara Angler, click HERE for more details.

When you buy something using the retail links within our articles or Gear Shop, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Tenkara Angler does not accept money for editorial gear reviews. Read more about our policy.

Exit mobile version