I have never fished before, and am thinking about getting the Titanium Goat Tenkara adapter. As far as I can tell all I need after that is Tippet, Line, and Flies. I would like to keep the flies to a minimum. I was thinking 3 max; Elk Hair Caddis, Parachute Adams, and Pheasant Tail Nymph. These seem to be popular choices from what I have read. Would this cover most conditions, and what about sizes?

Concerning technique I know that the object is to imitate the insect, however I am not an entomologist. It would appear to me that you want to cast upstream past the fish, and have the fly float down stream a bit before recasting. As to where the fish are I am guessing eddies and the banks. Is this correct?

Could some one explain to me the use of things like split shot, strike indicator, hydrophobe? What is the difference between wet and dry flies, and how do you fish them?

Any advice is appreciated.

You've got the basics of it!

On the line, be sure to get a woven Tenkara line - they are the easiest to cast (in flyfishing you cast the line, not the fly - even in Tenkara). For the tippet, nothing heavier than 5 lb. test.

Good choice of flies. I'd recommend two sizes: 12 and 16 (16 is smaller). Get several of each. Eventually you'll want more, but those three, in two sizes each, will get you started anywhere.

Right on where the fish are, plus in front and behind big rocks.

General advice for noobie - buy the book "Curtis Creek Manifesto". Memorize it! Pay special attention to the bits about sneaking up on the fish! There is stuff about lines and reels you don't need for Tenkara, but everything else is pertinent. It will answer your questions about types of flies, etc. (Dry float on top of the water, wet underneath, some Tenkara flies do both!) Here it is on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Curtis-Creek-Manifesto-Illustrated-Paraphernalia/dp/0936608064/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276901841&sr=8-1

You would also do well to visit the tenkarausa.com website, and read all the forum posts. You can get a lot of info particular to Tenkara there.

Edited by grampa on 06/18/2010 17:01:11 MDT.

Anyone had any experience with the TiGoat adapter. I honestly would just scratch the extra coin together and get a Tenkara USA rod and suck up the 1 ounce weight penalty.

Stephen thanks for the advice. I ended up ordering the book and sizes you suggested, they should be arriving soon. I also decided to go with a dedicated tenkara rod apposed to the Ti-Goat adapter.

I was watching an instructional video from netflix and was wondering if you could use a dry fly as an indicator while fishing below the surface with tenkara. This seems like a good multi purpose technique in line with light weight principals. Also I usually have some hydropell or bodyglide with me, and was wondering if that would work as flotant? I would have some questions about its environmental impact, but regular flotant doesn't seem all that eco friendly to begin with.