Tenkara as a teacher

I firmly believe that most, if not all fly fishers will benefit and become better fishers (western or eastern style) by spending time fishing Tenkara style. I am a relatively experience western style fly fisher, with over 45 years of water having passed under my fishing bridge. Having spent a considerable portion of my time astream fishing Tenkara style for the past year and a half, I have noticeably improved my skills.

I see improvements in several areas -

1) A much better understanding for the exact areas fish hold and prefer. In addition, developing the wading skills to better position myself to deliver my fly to where the fish reside and feed.

2) Playing and landing fish. The skill of actively and aggressively using the rod to play and bring fish to hand. Rather than take a passive role and let the reel do the work, one must actively play the fish if larger specimens are to be brought to hand (and released in prime condition)

3) Perhaps the most notable area is that of precise fly manipulation. Not only is one able to present accurate dead drift offerings, but one can also provide a variety of active presentations. One soon realizes that dead drift is not always the mst optimal way to present one's fly.

The long and Short of Tenkara

When I first started fishing Tenkara style, my rod of choice was a 13' rod. Subconsciously, I think my reasoning was if a long Tenkara rod (11' or 12') was good, a longer rod was even better. As I fished/explored more, I soon found myself fishing a 12' and often times an 11' rod.

I personally found the shorter rods more fun to fish, and really didn't sense any disadvantages, at least in the environments I fished.

The shorter (11' / 12') rods were noticeably lighter in hand. Almost to the point of being negligible, sometimes forgetting that I have a rod in hand, rather than feel like casting, it's more like pointing my finger where I want my fly to land.

I originally thought that since I was using a fixed line, a longer rod would provide the ability to cover more water. I personally found that not to be the case. Adding a foot or two or three to my leader and/or tippet provided just as much range as using a longer rod. I also found I had no trouble mending or elevating the line off the water.

The shorter rods seem to be a bit more delicate and responsive when fishing and fighting fish. I'm not sure if that's true or not, maybe it has to do with the feel as a result of a lighter mass and shorter lever.

Bag the Net

I have never used a net while fly fishing. Since all my fishing is catch and release, I'm not over concerned about having a fish shake off. I'm actually more concerned about getting the fish back into the river as quickly as possible.

I recently started taking pictures, and found I really could do a self portrait of a larger fish. I just wasn't able to control the fish in a manner I felt comfortable with, long enough to get the camera on and focused.

I thought about using a net. As I thought, my rod weights in at less than 3 oz. I only carry a small box of flies, and maybe a spare spool of tippet. If I went to a net, it might very well weigh more than all my other fishing equipment combined. It would certainly be the most ungainly thing I would be carrying.

I while back I saw a reference to a mitt that could be used to help control fish. I decided if it worked, that might not be a bad way to go. Both for me and the fish.

I bought some mesh material, and had intended to roughly lash something together myself. But then my wife, the Bag Lady graciously offered to sew something up for me -









Having used this for the past several weeks, I can only say, it works great! The fish actually seem to settle down, it only takes a very light touch to hold them.

The mesh bag weights nothing, I keep it tucked into my wader belt, it only takes a second to deploy.

Biggest fish landed to date using the mesh bag was a feisty 16" rainbow. I was able to cradle and control the fish just fine. I could have even takes a dandy picture, had I only remembered to bring my camera.

If it's not one thing, it's another.

Here today, Gone tomorrow

It's not easy to take a fish self portrait -

Shot 1

Shot 2A couple more shots of a few that didn't get away for the photo opportunity, all fish released of course once immortalized on electrons -

Tenkara "stringy thingy" Terminology

I have a pet peeve regarding terminology when it comes to the "stringy thingy" used in Tenkara. I realize I am most likely speaking as a gang of one here.

A significant portion of Tenkaraists refer to the main portion of the "stringy thingy" as the leader, to which they attach the tippet.

The "stringy thingy" portion of the tenkara set up I personally like to use consists of three separate parts. A line (the furled gizmo), then a leader (which may be optional) then the tippet. Just like a western set up. I personally almost always use a tapered leader portion between my line (which is usually furled) and my tippet.

I've basically settled on two set ups -

When fishing still water for bass/bluegills, I usually am fishing a ponds from shore. For that situation, I've been using a 20' furled weight forward line, and a 6' two step tapered leader attached to a 4' final length of "tippet". I really like having the extra range, I can fish out to about 35'. Although I like fishing this longer set up, it may not be for everyone, it does require a bit more concentration when it comes to casting.

Probably 90% of my fishing is for trout, wading in large rivers, fishing mostly dries/damps. For trout fishing, I've been using a 10.5' furled triangle taper line, about a 7' two step leader ending up with a 4-5' length of tippet. That about all the line I usually fish even when using a western set up, so that suits my style of fishing just fine. It cast almost automatically, and allows me very good control for mending or animating my fly. If there is a down side, it does require a bit of hand over hand to get to the fish (as of course does the pond set up).


I realize that I am probably the one breaking with actual Tenkara tradition by including a leader. So it may just be my western mindset, but I would argue, er I mean discuss that in western fishing, the line is primarily used to provide mass which in turn is used to transmit energy applied by the angler via the rod. The leader provides a transition to the tippet. It seems like the "stringy thingy" that gets attached to the tenkara rod lilian certainly functions as a line, not as a leader. So it makes sense to me that when we refer to it in English, the terminology that should be used for the main section or the "stringy thingy" is line, not leader. (regardless whether or not an actual leader is included.

The Long Road Back

I first started fishing with my dad and grandfather. This was back in the late 50's early 60's.

The only fishing that held my grandfather's interested was using cane poles to fish for bullheads after dark. It was always an adventure to get slathered up with bug dope (I still can smell the 6-12 brand repellant) getting ready to venture out in the dark armed only with a flashlight.

My dad was always an avid catch and fillet fisherman. He grew up during the depression and his family pretty much survived on the fish they caught. My dad's only interest was catching panfish (bluegills and perch (he used to also fish for crappie but lost interest in them for some reason)). My dad's weapon of choice was also a cane pole, although he did sometimes use an ancient spinning rod to fish vertically "off the bottom".

For some reason, I always knew I'd like fly fishing. Since neither my dad or grandfather knew the first thing about it, I was on my own. I started at about age nine or ten. My gear consisted of a branch off of a weeping willow, about 5 or 6 feet of 8 lb mono (the only fishing line my dad used), and a fly made out of a piece of kitchen sponge and a rubber band.

I spent countless hours fishing a small, shallow channel for "mud bass" (in retrospect I think they were some green sunfish hybrid). It was simple, but held the attention of even a 10 year old for at least two or three years.

In a surprise move by my parents, they bought me a real fly rod and reel when I was twelve years old. I'm pretty sure it was about a 7 or 8 weight, I never did know (it still had the old letter designation which I never understood). I do know I used a 5 weight line on it. Casting was always an adventure, but that's what I used for the next several years as a teenager.

Once out of college, my interest in fly fishing grew and I know I've invested multiple thousands of dollars on some very nice fly fishing equipment. Much of the quality stuff has turned out to be a fairly decent/good investment. I've spent several tens of thousands of hours using the equipment, and have caught (and mostly released) tens of thousands of fish.

About ten years ago, after having fished extensively, I developed a system where I only used one fly pattern for about 85% of my time spent trout fishing. I did vary size and color, but it was nice to have confidence in a simple generic fly that I knew would catch fish in a wide variety of situations. Part of the system was I realized that fishing a relatively short line was a very effective way to have precise control of the fly which was a very effective way to catch fish.

Two seasons ago, I saw my first reference to something called Tenkara. It must have been in a fishing forum someplace. I started to do a few google searches, and as soon as I started reading about it, I knew I was going to enjoy doing it. The references I found talked about using simple patterns on a fixed line, which was very akin to the way I was already fishing.

What also attracted me was the reference to the use of furled lines, since I was already actively furling (and selling) leaders. If that weren't enough, the history of Tenkara supposed derived from the Japanese Samurai warriors who used Tenkara as a training method for swordsmanship. My wife and I have both practiced martial arts for the past 15 years, including karate and Iaidio. Iaido is the art of drawing and cutting with the Japanese sword.

Again I started out with less than optimal equipment, a $12 fiberglass crappie pole bought at Walmart. It actually didn't cast all that bad, and it caught fish. I found myself once again, back in time, a close equivalent to fishing for "mud bass" with a willow branch. It's kept me fascinated for the past two seasons, the more I fish with it, the more I like it.

Magnum Tenkara Furled Lines

There are some basic limitations regarding the length that a furled Tenkara line can be produced. One limitation is just having the necessary room to lay up the line and then furl it. The other limitation is that at some point, there is too much resistance and it becomes difficult to achieve an even and consistent twist throughout the entire length of the Tenkara line.

One option is to furl a multi-piece line which can be connected via loop to loop connection. This system actually provides some advantages regarding having the flexibility to easy rig up a longer or shorter line.

Here is a set up I have been using for warm water, still water fishing conditions.

Top left is a 10.5' level furled line that basically serves as a Tenkara line extension. Bottom right is a 10.5' furled weight forward tapered line, top right is a 10'-12' foot tapered single strand mono leader. The furled level extension and the furled weight forward tapered line are connected with a loop to loop connection




This gives me a total line length of about 33', couple with the reach supplied by the rod, I can fish out to approximately 38'.

Personally speaking, when I first started to fish this set up I was able to reach out over 35', but in order to do so, I needed to really concentrate on my Tenkara casting technique. As I fine tuned the leader/tippet, as well as limit the fly size, casting has become much more routine and predictable. As with most things, it just may be a matter of practice makes perfect (or at least close to it).

Of course, I still find it a much more pleasurable/enjoyable experience fishing a more normal sub 20' Tenkara set up. When fishing a normal set up, casting happens almost sub consciously. I basically look, see a spot that I want to fish, and bam, the fly shows up. My total concentration is on the water. When casting the "magnum" set up, I really need to focus more on the physical act of casting.

I use the "magnum" line when fishing still water ponds/lakes, primarily from shore. Because of the way I fish, it really offers no advantages when I fish moving waters. When fishing rivers and streams, a conventional length line is what I use.