Recently, I have been thinking about fishing. Thinking about my life on the creek in the woods and how much I love to fish. Then I think about the weather and how it is winter. I think about how cold the water is and how I can’t wet wade. I like to feel comfortable on the stream. I like to feel the water rushing by my legs, climbing over boulders to hit the next run, and be able to keep my hands wet while I handle and release the fish.
It is hard to do in the winter and not that I don’t like to fish, but I like to be comfortable doing it. I enjoy the experience of it all, not just the aspect of catching a fish. So, maybe I don’t like just catching fish. Maybe, more specifically, I like tenkara and how it is a full body experience that allows me to concentrate on everything and nothing at the same time.
In the beginning, I got pulled into tenkara because of how “simple” of a style of fishing it is in terms of no reel and no line maintenance like other forms of fishing. Then I realized tenkara is much, much more than simple. You can tell this by the multiple questions being asked on tenkara forums and groups on social media. With its intricacy, it is special that something can seem so simple and take you places that bring you peace, yet can be complex and make you feel so much. It is a sort of meditation for me.
I don’t just like to, simply put, fish. I like to tenkara and I like to tenkara comfortably. It is my preferred method of catching fish.
What do you love about tenkara?
My Tenkara Journey 