RS2 Kebari, Hit List, Happy Thanksgiving and Good Bye

Ever since fishing Tenkara, I was thinking how I can modify my favorite and number one got-to pattern, a "lazy" mercury RS2, into a tenkara kebari.

I thought it shouldn't be too difficult, and a few modifications came to mind:

- increase size, from a 20 to 16 or 18
- use a heavy curved caddis hook, i.e. Tiemco 2488H, instead of of light wire straight eye dry fly hook
- use an antron collar instead of hackle
- add a tail/shuck like in the "original"
- placement of bead, in front of hackle or behind hackle
- body material, thread instead of dubbing

So I started playing around with the "hackle", thinking I'd figure out how to spin the white antron into a hackle collar just like dubbing, but alas, the result looked more than horrible. So bad that I don't even took a picture. Instead, I went back to the traditional forward slanting hackle which gives it a nice and clean look. I tied up a few with a gray saddle hackle and a baker's dozen for a swap with a English Partridge's breast feather. I like the soft hackle much better.

The end result is not spectacular but... I think I it'll do. It will definitively catch some fish. What do you think?

My "original" lazy RS2:


















Tenkara Sakasa Kebari offshoot:

 Baker's Dozen:

I also wanted to take this opportunity to wish all followers, readers and visitors of my blog a very Happy Thanksgiving! It boggles my mind that as of this writing, this blog has had over 2500 hits since launching less than 3 months ago!

I am thankful for my little family, that all of us are healthy, to have a job and be able to pay the bills. I am also thankful to have a very understanding wife sending me on mental health fishing trips, and of course, I am thankful for having discovered Tenkara this Summer. 

Last but not least, I also would like to send out lots of positive vibes to Naomi, our very good and dearest friend, and her family. Naomi is the godmother of my daughter and her dad, Lou, has passed away this morning. Our thoughts are with you and your family, Naomi.