Ron,
For me, number of hairs at the butt end depends mostly on the rod but also on how heavy I want the line to be. The Ayu rod that John has will cast a very light line. For my Ayu, I've followed Charles Cotton's recipe and made lines for it that start with two hairs at the hook and taper up to 4 hairs at the butt end, although a level three-hair line works well, too. For most tenkara rods, I wouldn't go heavier than five hairs at the butt end. For the much stiffer Yamame rod, I've used nine hairs at the butt end for a tenkara line up to 16 hairs for a longer, heavier line used for 'pesca alla Valsesiana' which is an Italian fishing method that also uses a long telescopic pole with the line tied to the rod tip, but uses stiffer rods, longer lines and a cast of four reverse hackle flies. It takes a much heavier line to turn over four wind resistant flies. David Webster, with a cast of 9 flies and a heavy wooden rod may have needed his lines to have 36 to 45 hairs at the butt end, but for a sensitive modern rod and a single fly, a tenth of that will do nicely.
I have not used a Walton's engine. I started out with a a furling board that worked like the instructions in the Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle, but now just do it by hand.
Horsehair makes wonderful lines that cast absolutely beautifully, but in the light weights I like to use it breaks pretty easily. I's definitely a specialty line for smaller fish, but it is a joy to fish with.
Reply With Quote