Article by Jason Aptaker
Growing up, I was introduced to fishing by my father, a retired New York City Police Officer. He was and still is, at the age of 84, a fisherman. We would get up at 4:00 AM and drive from our home in Staten Island, NY, to Montauk, Long Island. We would hop on a party boat and head out for some deep-sea fishing. Depending on the time of year, we would catch a variety of pelagic fish, such as fluke, flounder, porgies, blackfish, and seabass. What struck me about this type of fishing was that it felt like an 8-hour workday. Being elbow to elbow with other fishermen on the boat never really felt like a tranquil way to connect with nature.
I am an avid hiker, and my style is going ultralight. You will often find me hiking the Appalachian Trail in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. While on these hikes, I frequently passed by lakes and streams and always wondered what type of lightweight setup I could bring along to catch fish, which eventually led me to discover tenkara, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Sometimes on these hikes with my lightweight tenkara kit in tow, I’d end each attempt empty-handed. One day, on my drive back to New York City, where I’ve been residing for the past 25 years, I thought to myself, there must be a closer location to simply take a short walk and spend a few hours catching a fish or two. I hopped online and started searching to see if such a location existed. Eventually, I discovered what’s called The Pond, located in Central Park. This is a beautiful setting with lots of local wildlife to observe as I cast and bring in fish using my tenkara rod. When I headed over to The Pond, I was welcomed with the flora and fauna of Central Park. As I cast and brought in fish using my tenkara rod, there were tons of local wildlife to observe, including a blue heron, turtles, and mallard ducks.
I quickly discovered the advantages of fishing in an urban setting. You are guaranteed to catch fish. Another positive aspect is the ability to practice and become proficient at casting and fighting fish using tenkara. You learn to cast in windy conditions, or around many tourists strolling through and taking pictures, (you’re more likely to foul hook a tourist than you are a fish). Also, if you happen to snag a branch and break the tip of your rod, the walk home won’t hurt as much compared to driving over an hour upstate. Not to sound too hokey, but once I extend my tenkara rod and attach my level line to tippet, all the surrounding noise of the city just vanishes. It’s just me, the tenkara rod, and the water I’m casting into, and taking and embodying the essence of tenkara.
My first rod, which I still use, is the Iwana from Tenkara USA. It has been an excellent rod and one I still bring along on my more serious trips when I travel Upstate. I’ve also fished with the DRAGONtail Mizuchi zx340 zoom rod. I like the Mizuchi for its ability to adjust to different lengths, giving you an advantage to fish tighter streams that may have more overgrowth with less room to cast fully. The purist in me, however, wanted to go to the source of what a true Japanese tenkara rod felt and performed like. So I ordered a rod from none other than Chris Stewart of TenkaraBum.
Reading up on Chris and scrolling endlessly on his tenkara-rich website full of just about anything you ever wanted to know about tenkara led me to the TenkaraBum Suntech Tenkarakyo 40F. To my surprise, I discovered that Chris lives in Manhattan. Before I placed the order, I reached out to Chris and asked if there was an option for pick up. He kindly declined but did offer to ship the rod with free postage.
My true intention was to try and meet Chris and pick his brain on the places he has fished in New York and get some of his secret fishing locations. We exchanged a few emails back and forth, and Chris kindly provided me with a wealth of areas to fish just an hour or so drive out of New York City.
The following week after receiving the rod, I headed up to the Titicus Reservoir Fishing Area. This is a large body of water with plenty of room to put the paces in with my new TenkaraBum Suntech. Casting felt amazing, and I can tell this was a smooth-feeling rod that I will be using on all my trips going forward. Although I caught no fish, it was a great day on the water bouncing around the reservoir and enjoying such a scenic area.
Recently, at the beginning of October of 2025, I went all in and started tying my own sakasa kebari flies. I set myself a goal so I can learn quickly to make it a point to tie up some every night. There’s no better feeling than catching a fish using a fly that you’ve created yourself. So with this new skill, I will never be in short supply of flies.
When people think of New York City, they think Times Square, the Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Center, not realizing just a few blocks away, there are serene landscapes, such as The Pond, hidden between the multitude of high-rises and memorable landmarks. So, whether I’m fishing in Central Park or the creeks, rivers, and streams in Upstate New York, tenkara will always be a part of the experience for me.
Jason Aptaker works in sales for the Culinary Industry in Manhattan. He discovered tenkara five years ago and has been fishing ever since. When he is not targeting bluegills at the Central Park Pond, you will find him hiking and exploring the Appalachian Trail. He has a YouTube channel called Jason Hikes where he video vlogs about his hikes and tenkara adventures. He also recently started his fly tying journey, taking photos of every fly he ties up including the good the bad and the ugly at TenkaraNY.
This article originally appeared in the 2026 print issue of Tenkara Angler magazine.
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