Tenkara

[BeermaN]

O.K., is there anyone out there familiar with this style of flyfishing? Seems really interesting to me but there are a ton of questions I have and not really anyone to talk to. It's quite different but looks like it could be pretty darn fun. Google it, it's not for everyone but then again.....it might be.
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[sinergy]

Tenkara's been around for a while, I have yet to try it but one of the guys I work with swears by Tenkara's His team actually won the 1 fly tournament on the green this year. He's flyota on the other FLYFISHING board Im sure he would be glad to hook you up with any info. As for me im too attached to my reels, Im a reel junkie got more reels than I do flyrods []
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[mandm1516]

I've fished with a Tenkara USA 12' Iwana rod for about a year now and love it. I fish mostly dries and emergers--you can put a fly into very small spots and with a long rod keep the line off the water to either get a very natural drift or have the fly hold in the small pocket without getting dragged out by the line.

When fishing emergers or nymphs the line is your indicator and is much more sensitive than traditional indicators--amazing how many times raising the rod after the slightest twitch = a fish.

It has it's limitations, but I love the simplicity of it. There's still a lot of satisfaction from casting a traditional rod, but the Tenkara rod is a ton of fun too.

Mike
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[flygoddess]

Thanks for the report Mike. I make leaders for the Tenkara, would love your opinion some time.
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[BeermaN]

Thanks Mike. I think it's the simplicity that's hooked me. (no pun intended) Watching all that you-tube has to offer on Tenkara makes it seem as though this style is a perfect fit for most of tiny little streams and creeks that are all over Southern Utah. And besides, it's always fun to be a little different from the rest of the pack.
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[flygoddess]

Are you worried about the sections freezing in the winter...a lot of talk that this happens.
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[BeermaN]

Oh it happens every year but trout are pretty smart and seem to move far enough down stream or find a deeper pool that's somewhat protected. Whatever the case may be, they always seem to be there. It's the guys with worms and salmon eggs and a wire basket that seem a bit more of a threat.
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[flygoddess]

Oh, I meant the sections of the rod freezing.
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[BeermaN]

LOL.....oh I get it!!!
To tell you the truth, if it's cold enough to freeze the sections together, chances are it's too cold for me to be splashing around little tree and bush lined creeks!!!
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[flygoddess]

Gotcha. Some here fish with an inch of ice on the guides and reels freezing up, just thinking a Tenkara would be great because you eliminate those two equations, but if the sections freeze, kind of hard to get in a car...LOL I have heard some even hod them in their mouths to warm so they can collapse them.
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[mandm1516]

Hey FG, I fished several times last winter in below freezing temps & never had an issue with the cold--way less hassle than clearing the guides every cast. I broke the last segment of mine within a few weeks of getting it (pretty common--replacement segments are around $20) from trying to muscle them back in. Since then when extending the rod I set the larger segments pretty well because they can take a good push to get them back inside, but for the last several segments I set them very lightly-- just enough to get them to stay extended.

So far my favorite lines are a tapered heavier mono line, and a lighter tapered fluorocarbon line. Haven't tried furled lines but would enjoyexperimentating with them. Unlike traditional fly fishing, there's not a lot of gear to try so getting different lines helps when I start jonesing for something new.

One last thing about Tenkara regarding small streams: I fished a section of Big Cottonwood Creek this summer where there was a beautiful pool of water below a couple big boulders. It was too deep to wade into so I stood on the bank shoulder to shoulder with trees. 8-10 feet in front of the hole was an overhanging tree trunk at about 5' high. With the long rod and short line I cast side armed keeping the line over the water and rolling it under the trunk up against the boulder--absolutely no way I could get a fly any where near the hole with traditional gear. I pulled 4 beautiful brookies out of there which was cool, but it was also super satisfying fishing a beautiful piece of water with relative ease that was impossible to fish for me without the Tenkara rod.

Mike
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