For the Minimalist: Tenkara

No reel, no guides, no fly line, just a simple telescopic rod with a short furled line attached to the tip. Tenkara takes minimalism to a new level in the fly-fishing world, seems like the perfect backpacking rig. I’d definitely miss double hauling but the one-handed casting technique would be a nice respite on a high mountain lake.

From the Tenkara site:

Tenkara is the traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing, which uses only a rod, line and fly.

Tenkara is a category of fly-fishing particularly well-suited for fishing streams and for fishing while backpacking. It’s a very effective, simple and enjoyable method of fly-fishing small streams.

Tenkara is primarily used for stream fishing. It is particularly effective for fishing pocket water and faster flowing streams. Some of the main advantages are its simplicity, the very delicate presentations with the light line, the ability to hold the line off the water and a fly in place over difficult currents, precise casting, and greater control of the fly.

Only rod, line and fly are used. The line is attached directly to the tip of the rod using a girth hitch, and tippet is attached to the end of the tenkara line (total line length will be about 1 – 2 ft longer than the rod) . Like in western fly-fishing the line propels the weightless fly foward and there is a fly-casting technique involved (just a bit slower, and with a shorter casting stroke). Landing a fish is very intuitive and similar to any type of fishing with a rod: one simply raises the rod high, and reaches for the fish.