07-03-2013, 04:35 AM
Over the winter I read a lot about Tenkara and was intrigued by what I read. I wanted to know if it was a passing fad or something that was really beneficial for small stream fishing.
Finally a I decided to try it and didn't like the feel of the Temple Fork version at the local fly shop so I went online and studied everything I could from tenkarabum.com and tenkarausa.com. I finally settled on one of tenkarausa's rods and wouldn't you know it was backordered. I was in the mood to try it so I switched to a beginner rod from tenkarabum. I don't even know the name of it. It is just his base starter rod. The service was excellent and the rod came in about four or five days from New York. Tenkarabum orders his inventory from Japan and Tenkarausa has a line of tenkara rods made for the US market. Both seem like great companies with good service.
Anyway I tried my rod first on bluegill and small bass. It was easy to learn after I figured out that the casting motion is much shorter than if you are casting a western rod. I also figured out that I needed something to put my line on when I wasn't fishing since there is no reel. The tenkara system worked well for bluegill, but I'm not sure I would buy one just for bluegill. It worked as well, but not better than a western rod for most of my usual applications.
This week I hit three different creeks with the tenkara rod. I have to say I love it. This is what tenkara was designed for in Japan. It is better than a western fly rod in the sense that you have almost no line on the water so it is easier to get a drag free drift on difficult pocket water or areas with many different eddies. I thought the long rod would be difficult in tight creeks. I actually am catching less trees because the back cast is higher with the longer rod and I am not tempted to keep putting out more line.
I will make a video and post pictures later this summer. I just wanted to let people who fish high mountain streams know that I am having a good time with tenkara and will continue to use it for stream fishing.
Windriver
[signature]
Finally a I decided to try it and didn't like the feel of the Temple Fork version at the local fly shop so I went online and studied everything I could from tenkarabum.com and tenkarausa.com. I finally settled on one of tenkarausa's rods and wouldn't you know it was backordered. I was in the mood to try it so I switched to a beginner rod from tenkarabum. I don't even know the name of it. It is just his base starter rod. The service was excellent and the rod came in about four or five days from New York. Tenkarabum orders his inventory from Japan and Tenkarausa has a line of tenkara rods made for the US market. Both seem like great companies with good service.
Anyway I tried my rod first on bluegill and small bass. It was easy to learn after I figured out that the casting motion is much shorter than if you are casting a western rod. I also figured out that I needed something to put my line on when I wasn't fishing since there is no reel. The tenkara system worked well for bluegill, but I'm not sure I would buy one just for bluegill. It worked as well, but not better than a western rod for most of my usual applications.
This week I hit three different creeks with the tenkara rod. I have to say I love it. This is what tenkara was designed for in Japan. It is better than a western fly rod in the sense that you have almost no line on the water so it is easier to get a drag free drift on difficult pocket water or areas with many different eddies. I thought the long rod would be difficult in tight creeks. I actually am catching less trees because the back cast is higher with the longer rod and I am not tempted to keep putting out more line.
I will make a video and post pictures later this summer. I just wanted to let people who fish high mountain streams know that I am having a good time with tenkara and will continue to use it for stream fishing.
Windriver
[signature]