Tenkara Fishing

[Nick]

On the recommendation of a friend, I ordered myself a Tenkara fly fishing setup last week. It showed up today and it is pretty cool. For those that fly fish, think of your typical 8 or 9' rod but with no reel, it telescopes from about 2' long and extends to thirteen feet! It's HUGE! But at the same time it's crazy light and I can't imagine a better backpacking setup. I just tried casting it in the yard. Feels way different but the 13' rod with a 10' leader and tipped still actually gets it out there pretty good considering how little effort it takes.

So has anyone other than Dan used a Tenkara setup? I'm wondering how best to store my line. The starter kit didn't come with a storage spool and I don't imagine I should leave it on between uses.

For those that want to learn more, Tenkara is an ancient form of fly fishing from Japan. I picked up my kit from www.tenkara-fishing.com when they had their kits on sale last week but they're sold out until the 15th. There are some other sites that sell them for quite a bit more like www.tenkarausa.com.

Thinking I need to take this for a test run this weekend...

 

[HomerJ]

Mind post some pics of it. I couldn't figure out exactly how it worked when I checked it out on their website. So there is no spool? The line attaches at the end of the rod?

 

[Dan]

Yeah, you need a storage spool.

The line is tied directly to the tip, total length of line is about 20 feet. You can mainly only fish dries on it. But it is oh so light and compact, and it kills it in the alpine streams, tougher on lakes of course.

 

[Deadeye008]

Yeah, you need a storage spool.

The line is tied directly to the tip, total length of line is about 20 feet. You can mainly only fish dries on it. But it is oh so light and compact, and it kills it in the alpine streams, tougher on lakes of course.

I know a couple of guys that love using their tenkara rod for nymphing. They basically use a technique called high sticking. They claim they can see/feel the takes a lot better than a traditional fly rod because of how sensitive the tip is. I've been contemplating getting one for a while now but haven't pulled the trigger. I'll probably pick one up this summer. I was fishing a small stream yesterday which would have been perfect for a tenkara setup. My ultra-light 2wt rod faired well though ...

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[Nick]

Yeah, you need a storage spool.

The line is tied directly to the tip, total length of line is about 20 feet. You can mainly only fish dries on it. But it is oh so light and compact, and it kills it in the alpine streams, tougher on lakes of course.

So you have a 10 foot leader and then about 10 feet of tippet? I'd usually only have 2-3 feet attached to the leader of a normal fly fishing setup.

 

[Deadeye008]

So you have a 10 foot leader and then about 10 feet of tippet? I'd usually only have 2-3 feet attached to the leader of a normal fly fishing setup.

I believe the general rule is that your line length should be 1.5x the length of your rod.

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[Nick]

I believe the general rule is that your line length should be 1.5x the length of your rod.

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So for my 13' rod, I should be at 19.5', so 10' furled leader that came with it and 9.5' tippet. Damn that's a lot of tippet...

 

[Deadeye008]

So for my 13' rod, I should be at 19.5', so 10' furled leader that came with it and 9.5' tippet. Damn that's a lot of tippet...

Yep, but just like traditional fly fishing you adjust your tippet length depending on the water you are fishing. If you're fishing a small stream with shallow water you could probably cut your tippet length in half.

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[Dan]

10 foot furled line - 7.5 foot tapered leader, and then a couple feet of tippet. I'm usually about 20 feet total, more or less. it takes some trial and error to figure out what works, it's tough to land a fish on that long of line, as you'll find. a tenkara net helps greatly!

 

[Nick]

10 foot furled line - 7.5 foot tapered leader, and then a couple feet of tippet. I'm usually about 20 feet total, more or less. it takes some trial and error to figure out what works, it's tough to land a fish on that long of line, as you'll find. a tenkara net helps greatly!

I'm pretty sure you should've have a tapered leader in addition to the furled line. It is essentially a tapered leader itself so tippet along on the end of it would make sense. Been looking around and the best guidelines I've found is that the line+tippet should be about the same length as the rod. So my 13' rod with a 10' line and 3-4 feet of tippet.

http://www.tenkarausa.com/about.php

The length of the tenkara line plus tippet is usually about the same as the rod. Having an overall line that is much longer makes it more challenging to land a fish. We have found the best line length to be 10ft 6in, which allows for longer tippets to be used, and will go well with any of the rods we offer.

 

[Nick]

Side note: I pulled out the scale. The Tenkara rod plus line and a roll of tippet comes in at 4.5 oz. Add in a tiny box of flies and you're up to 5-7 oz total weight. Not too shabby...

 

[HomerJ]

Side note: I pulled out the scale. The Tenkara rod plus line and a roll of tippet comes in at 4.5 oz. Add in a tiny box of flies and you're up to 5-7 oz total weight. Not too shabby...

Nice! I'm scared to know what all my fishing gear weighs... Fly rod/reel, flies, tweasers, gink, fly rod tube, spinning rod/reel, lures, sinkers... Ya, probably best not knowing how much all that adds...

 

[Dan]

I'm pretty sure you should've have a tapered leader in addition to the furled line. It is essentially a tapered leader itself so tippet along on the end of it would make sense. Been looking around and the best guidelines I've found is that the line+tippet should be about the same length as the rod. So my 13' rod with a 10' line and 3-4 feet of tippet.

http://www.tenkarausa.com/about.php

The length of the tenkara line plus tippet is usually about the same as the rod. Having an overall line that is much longer makes it more challenging to land a fish. We have found the best line length to be 10ft 6in, which allows for longer tippets to be used, and will go well with any of the rods we offer.

you just have to figure out what you like... i prefer the longer line for bigger streams. for the high alpine stuff, small streams, probably don't want it too long. there's dozens of ways people fish these things. some will set them up for nymphs, some only dries, some refuse to use furled lines, only using level lines, and some insist that tenkara dry flies are the only thing that is true "tenkara."

really, you just have to figure out what you like, and what works best.

here's some long-line info - http://www.tenkarabum.com/long-line-tenkara.html

 

[Nick]

I'm getting my stuff together for the highline trip. Debating whether to bring the tenkara or my 4-piece, 6 weight Sage Launch. Threw it up on the scale and the difference in weight is 7 ounces. 4.5 oz for the Tenkara rod or 11.5 oz for the Sage rod with the reel and line. I haven't really given the Tenkara a lot of time but I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I'd have to get pretty damn lucky to get into the fish on most lakes with it. Seems like even when they're rising like crazy, getting the tenkara far enough out is tough. So do I hike 90 miles with the 5 oz Tenkara or the 12 oz Sage. One I can't get more than 25 feet out at the very best, hell, more like 15-20, the other I can launch at least 50+ feet. Hmmm.... 7 ounces... I hear many people call much more useless weight 'nothing' on almost every trip I go on.

 

[Dan]

only you can determine what the cost of the weight ratio is on a trip... it's easy to justify 7 ounces on every piece of gear. that adds up fast. i am surprised the weight of your setup is only 12 ounces though, that's definitely on the light side. now what does the tube weigh that you carry that sage rod in? how do you protect it?

for me, the tenkara isn't solely about the weight, it's about the size of the entire package, and the ease of use, and simplicity of the whole system. btw - i caught about 35 in a couple hours in the winds last week with the tenkara. you just have to learn to fish it in places it is designed for. it isn't for every location, or for everyone...

you can't just heave it and leave it on a lake, you have to find the fish, stalk them, and cast to them.

 

[Dan]

should be noted - for me, fishing is a distant third to photography and hiking on an extended backcountry trip though. i only fish when i want to kill time, take a break, and wait for the good light. i rarely hike with the intent of having a kickass camp, or finding great fishing, or having creature comforts in any way. i'm comfortable with very little in the backcountry, but some people are wired differently. i hike solely to get to beautiful places. if i catch some fish along the way, that's cool too. but it's never a primary goal of mine.

 

[Dan]

and when did the highline trail become 90 miles long? I have it mapped at like 78.

 

[Nick]

85 is what it's reported to be in books, etc and you're talking about going off trail to crater and recon lakes. Mapping thing out on paper rarely adds up on the GPS. I'm quite sure we'll crack 90 with side trips.

Regardless....


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[Nick]

As for the topic at hand, fishing is definitely behind hiking and photography for me as well. It's just frustrating with the tenkara because you do have to spend so much time and effort seeking those ideal locations, unless you happen to be camped next to them. When the lake is boiling with fish and they're all 20-30 feet out, it would be fun to whip out the rod for 10 minutes and go catch some fish. I don't care enough about fishing to go seek out the ideal location and conditions but if it's happening, I like it. With the tenkara meanwhile, you have to go out and work for them, almost hunt them down like you would a deer.

As for weight, I understand the impact of accumulated weight more than most. Like I said in my post, just about every trip I go on I hear people justifying ridiculous weight because it "weighs nothing". I don't want to fall into that trap, hence why I posted that message, to promote a discussion on the topic and see what others think.

As for my setup, that 11.5 oz weight on my setup includes the cloth pouch I would carry it in for protection. The only other downer about the Sage 4-piece is that it isn't as short as the Tenkara. It will extend about 4-6" above my pack which is not ideal.

 

[Dan]

photoshop rarely give accurate mileage estimates...

the high uinta book by mel davis and john veranth says it is 21 miles from leidy peak trailhead to chepeta lake. i can't see it being longer than 13. unless the trailhead is marked incorrectly on the USGS maps...

their total is about 84 total, from leidy to the highline TH on 150. but the ultra-runners who do it from chepeta lake have it at about 66.5. so i suppose it depends on how far it truly is from chepeta to leidy TH. I figured 12 - 13 miles.

but if it's 90, our itinerary might need to be adjusted, that makes it quite a bit more difficult to get to chepeta on day 1.