I own about 30 or so fly rods and an equal number of reels. Most of them are "vintage", but still get used on occasion. I fish mostly small streams but occasionally also fish larger rivers. So, why do I need to add Tenkara to my arsenal? One of you Tankara foks, tell me what I'm missing.
I'm keeping an open mind. I'll go a little father out on the limb and say there is something fascinating about the process. I'll even say that Tenkara's rabid following and almost mythical traditions make me curious. I've shied away from reading too much about it until I can find some unbiased opinions in which to base my thoughts on.
Good question. I'm interested in the answer, even though I have only a handful of rods. Perhaps a small tenkara rod instead of the 1 wt I was hoping to build?
ReplyDeleteHowdy Patrick. I very interested as well. I'd like to hear first hand what all the fuss is about and see what i'm missing out on. Stay tuned.
DeleteHoward, I am big fan of tenkara. It is outstanding for mountain streams and the drifts you get are unreal. Lot's of info> http://middleriverdispatch.com/tenkara-fishing/ I bet if you give it a try you will really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom, I'm glad you stopped by. I was hoping you would. I've purposely avoided reading much until now because before I get the advertisements and sales pitch, I wanted to hear from users. As you can see, I getting some great comments. I am now a regular Middle River Dispatch reader!
DeleteWell, for Tenkara's magical ability to catch larger fish by the dump truck loads. Ones that never have a bone in the them when you filet them, and can feed the multitudes with one fish.
ReplyDeleteI like my Tenkara rod because it folds down to about a 1 foot section, so that when I'm bashing through the brush around here I'm not fighting with a 7-9 foot rod as well. I fold the rod down and slip in in the small of my back behind my belt and I'm ready to go.
Also, a) 99% of the streams around here I can cast across with the Tenkara rod anyway and b) there aren't a whole lot of bruisers in the waters, so the reel is more of a line holder than a necessary piece of tackle.
For me it's a convenience thing.
Damn Anthony, I missed the part about Tenkara's magical abilities!! I'm in for fish with no bones. Seriously, thanks for your response. No doubt convenience is important.
DeleteI am sure there are a number of benefits about tenkara style rods but one that really sticks out is ultra-lite weight of the gear needed to fish. If you are a backpacker looking to spare every last ounce, these style rods are so lite to begin with, then add to the fact no reel is needed, and it becomes even less weight one has to carry around. Of course the lines used for tenkara are so whisper light compared to the normal backing and floating line western gear uses, makes the whole tenkara system even that much less weight to carry around.
ReplyDeleteExample as I used to own a nice 3wt Redington Classic Trout Series rod. It was a 6 piece to make it compact for easier portability, and the rod by itself was 2.9oz. The matching Redington Rise 3wt reel came in at 4.6oz. I don't have weight of the lines and backing so I will leave those off for now. So between rod and reel, we are at 7.5oz, almost 1/2 pound of gear,
Now match that to a similar rod, an Iwana 12' from Tenkara USA converted to the 9' length using the new optional handle that is sold. This Iwana 9' rod comes in at just around 2oz total. Since no reel is needed, that is it!
UL Backpackers can really see that as a major difference.
So to me, one of the biggest areas tenkara can do well for anyone is super lite weight ultra portable rod that indeed can cast a light weight line someplace between say a short distance 15' up to 30' if needed using level line cut to size needed. Even further casts are possible but the example here is mostly just as a fyi.
TJ
Hello Michelle F. or TJ- I really appreciate your response as well. Weight isn't a huge problem for me yet, but it will be I'm sure as I just had my 124th birthday! Seriously though, probably my biggest decision I have to make when I go out is while reel to match with which rod. I see where there is a convenience and weight factor but I still need more convincing.
DeleteHey, that is a really good question that is well stated as well. I own three tenkara rods, and I'll tell you how that came about. I learned about tenkara last August when I picked a book on the subject in a Bozeman bookstore while I was on vacation. I read it carefully when I returned home in Indiana.
ReplyDeleteI own nine or a dozen graphite fly rods (unfortunately gave away my fiberglass collection many years ago) and one split bamboo, a South Bend model that I bought new 1n 1946 or '47 for $8 and try to catch at least one fish with it every year. I have a bunch of reels, from original Pfleuger Medalistgs to a Hardy Featherweight with an extra spool (for my Orvis #2 and Scott #3). I go into all this detail partly because you did the same and partly to let you know I didn't just fall off the Spin-Cast wagon as it passed through town.
I decided to test tenkara with a Fountainhead rod (ca. $85) and took it out to a couple of local lakes. Trying to cast the rod, I realized I was still in the learning curve, yet I caught some bluegills. Now here is the point of all this: I had so much fun having those fish on a line tied to the end of my pole that it took me back to the thrill of fishing when I was a kid.
You know how landing a fish on a fly rod is so much more direct than on a spinning rod? Well, that is sort of the same thing with tenkara being more direct and fun than on a fly rod and reel. I don't know why, and all I can do is describe my own reaction.
My fishing with a tenkara rod is not what a purist would call tenkara fishing. You could call what I do Fusion Tenkara or Cowboy Tenkara, depending on the vocabulary you prefer. I'll fish with whatever line works with what I'm throwing (small flies are one thing, bass bugs are another) and if I want to tie on a bobber (indicator) or a second fly, I'll do it. I'm neither Japanese nor a student of Japanese culture, so straying from tenkara tradition means not a fig to me. I use my tenkara poles because I find fishing with them a lot of fun. Maybe it's because I sort of like the getting-muddy-and-playing-with-frogs aspects of fishing and maybe that's something I shouldn't be proud of and should crave a Type A personality. But there it is.
The bottom line is I don't think anyone can have an accurate opinion about tenkara fishing with actually trying it. If you don't care enough about trying it, though, then you probably will not have missed very much. And yet.....
Paul, thanks for stopping by. I certainly feel a kinship with you if for no other reason then we're both apparently quite old. For that reason I guess, what you said actually made sense to me. I'm not one for following the rules so as long as I know the Tenkara Master won't kick my ass for breaking them, I'm good.
DeleteI think you replied with the type of information that I wanted to hear...not a sales pitch but how do you feel about fishing Tenkara style. Thanks again for dropping the comment and feel free to drag your cowboy ass here any time.
Hey Howard. You know that I've been bashing around out here like you have and the take I have on Tenkara is that it's a preference. Everybody above has a good take on the process and I plan to take a look at it, if there is anyone at the fly show, in a couple of weeks. My friend Yuki is from Japan(Obviously) and I asked him about it. He explained that because of the small streams in Japan it's very convenient to fish that way and they don't have many, if any, large trout there. So that's my 2 cents worth.
ReplyDeleteMark
Thanks Mark. That's precisely the conclusion I came up with, but I want to go deeper and find out why it's their preference? What am I missing. Hang on buddy, I think we're going to get an education.
DeleteI am not a seasoned western fly fisherman so pardon if this is not the case, but one thing that tenkara offers that I have not see in western fly angling, is the capability to hold ALL the line off the water for drag free drifts. With an Tenkara USA Ito for example in the 14'5' mode, and say 18' of line and 4' of tippet, one can cast these rods where only the fly lands on the water and the line stays in the air, thus enabling a drag free drift with actual control of the fly if need be. And fairly precise casting to the spots you want the fly to land.
ReplyDeleteI think with western gear you have line on the water which greatly affects drag and not sure you can create that same drag free drift and pretty decent distance away at that like tenkara. The rod is so long and the line is so lite that this is possible.
TJ (i used my wife's account earlier by accident so last message from me showed as Michelle. hehe)
Hi TJ. Of course you are right about the drag and that's a pretty convincing argument all by itself. It is possible to get a drag free drift, but not for long periods of time and not without difficulty. Thanks for clarifying your status as TJ and not Michelle. ; )
DeleteIf you are heading out to fish big water and really big fish then I would leave the Tenkara rod at home, but If you are heading out to explore some headwaters and feeders, jumping boulders and bushwacking then Tenkara is the way to go. Think of it like Polish nymphing (or what ever they call it). There is no line pull and drag on the water is virtually nill. Honestly, I have never had a better fly presentation on small streams than I do when fishing the Tenkara setup.
ReplyDeleteIts not the perfect setup for all occasions but for smaller streams and mountain trout there isn't much better.
Thanks Joel, I'm thinking for a lot of the small streams I fish that this could be the answer to always hanging up in trees as well.
DeleteI guess your next step is to go Tenkaraing Howard. Tight Lines!
ReplyDeleteHey Fred, I guess you're right. All I need to do is find someone who can loan me a stick and give me a lesson and I'm ready.
DeleteI'm with you, I don't get it?
ReplyDeleteIt seems folk need a new fad to follow. In Europe is the French leader. A LONG leader 30'' no fly line out of the rod, and heavy nymphs fished high stick style, do we need it?
Tenkara is much like fishing with a short pole called a whip in Europe. But the guys use bait. I will stick to traditional fly fishing.
Well Richard, I'm starting to understand a little. Someone told me that the pole comes with a guarantee that you will catch fish.
DeleteHi Howart.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we think we've created something and then it turns out that this invented many, many years.
More than two centuries ago in Spain, wrote a book on fly fishing "The Manuscript of Astorga."
The prescriptions were indicated more than cyan assemblies which flies fished in those periods.
Also indicated how to fish with them. -With a long stick and horsehair tied to its end-
With very few modifications (materials only) in a region of Asturias (province of Spain) in this fishery is still practiced with the system.
The region is called "Region of Aller" and takes its name from the river that crosses their land, the river Aller.
Y la tecnica de pesca se denomina "A la Allerana" (utiliza el buscador de Google para mas informacion).
Tenkara is an imitation of fishing "The Allerana" that as I was used in Spain for more than two hundred years.
A greeting.
Hi Paco!! Thanks for the history lesson. I suspect that mixing up the history is something that man had done forever. I'm going to do a little research. Thanks friend!
DeleteFirst off, congrats on your collection of fly fishing equipment. I know this is a collection you have worked on for some years. In fact I gathered from your post you are not one to make a hasty decision when it comes to purchasing fly fishing equipment weather it be rod or reel. I too have questions and reservations about the Tenkara rods not because I don’t like the rods, but would I use it enough to justify buying one? I will say that the one thing that has intrigued me about this rod for some time is the lightness and the reach one can achieve while high sticking. I relate the rod to high sticking because that is the main thing I would use it for. I do know that I can get a large portion of my line off the water when I am performing a drift with this particular rod, because of its length; and of course the lightness would make for longer fishing hours.
ReplyDeleteThe high sticking technique and lightness of the rod is one reason I recently purchased the Hardy Streamflex 9 ft. Who know this Streamflex may be my ticket to my first Tenkara rod. I hope I haven’t totally confused you with this reply.
Hi Bill and thanks for your kind words. I don't buy tackle in haste. Although my wife would probably disagree with that. My use of a Tenkara would be like yours, for high sticking. Is it worth the money? My jury is still out. I use a 9' rod right now for this purpose, but I can certainly see some advantages with having a longer rod. (No pun intended!)
ReplyDeleteFor those on the cusp of trying tenkara, watch this video of the founder of Tenkara USA fly fishing with tenkara gear. You will see various casting technique used.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B-RRrKR5Gk
Also at the 5:15 minute mark into the video (basically towards the end), this picture of Daniel casting a much longer tenkara line speaks volumes. As you will see, he is not dapping or high-sticking, yet casting a tenkara fly line to exactly where he wants across stream.
TJ
Thanks TJ. I actually watched that video a week or so ago, but I hope other readers will enjoy it as well.
DeleteAs a Tenkara fisherman, like TJ, i wanted to weigh in. Not to sell mind you. I Find the light weight is amazing as well as drag free drifts. I am by no means a purist, and i still haves bait slinger in me. Just check my blog if you want a little fun www.TenkaraGrasshopper.com. I hope this adds more to your discussion.
ReplyDeleteGraham, thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it. I will certainly be checking your blog out.
DeleteI guess for me it is a combination of the things that TJ and Paul told you. By keeping the line off the water, you do get better drifts. With better drifts you do catch more fish. When you catch a fish, it is more fun.
ReplyDeleteIt is somewhat similar to the high sticking you do now with a heavy nymph, but you can do it further away and you can do it with a dry fly! Ever want to fish a dry fly with no drag?
Try it. You may find yourself gravitating to those streams for where it is most effective, and end up fishing with it more than you expect.
(Full Disclosure: I sell the lines that allow you to get those drag free drifts.)
Hi Chris! I certainly appreciate your input. I also checked out your site and I'm impressed. I definitely see the advantages of the light line and drag free drift. And yes, fishing Tenkara with a dry would be pretty amazing. Now all I have to do is find someone to let me give it a try!
DeleteWow!! You have one awesome collection going there. Puts me to severe shame. But I've only been fly fishing two years and I have four rods, but 2 out of the four are five weights. I'm dying to buy me a quaint little 3 weight but have to wait since I planned the Montana and Colorado trips for this summer. I'll just have to fish the gear I have and hope it's good enough!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, Don't let anyone tell you they "need" more than a rod or two. If someone tells you that, run for the hills. I only regularly use 3 or 4 during the year. The rest are just to make me feel good.
ReplyDelete