Randy,
I totally agree with almost everything you said. Tenkara rods can fish a surprisingly wide range of line sizes and weights. Once you decide to enter the realm of chuck and duck, the sky may be the limit. I personally don't find that a pleasant way to fish, but that is purely personal preference.
Where I disagree, fish a heavy enough tippet, catch a big enough fish, the rod WILL break. When applying increasing amounts of stress on a fixed system, sooner or later something is going to fail. The weakest link is typically going to be the tippet, or the rod. I'll bet on the rod failing before 0x tippet every time.
I have landed countless steelhead on five weight reeled outfits. I have only inadvertently hooked one steelhead to date on a tenkara rod. Long story short, I was trying to undo a tangle created by my wife. The tangle had effectively taken the tippet out of play. The epic battle lasted less than two seconds. The good news is all that happened is that the lilian was pulled off the rod tip. Of course when you loose your lilian, you also loose whatever line you are fishing.
There is a big difference, with a reel system, I may have over 100 yards of line at my disposal to get a fish under control, with a fixed-lenght-line system, I have 20 or 30 feet. If I don't turn the fish instantly, something is going to give. I think the main reason we all like to fish for steelhead, they don't turn easily.
Gil,
Alot of folks fish exclusively lakes and ponds for warm water denizens. It's a great way to go.
In addition to being able to roll cast in tight spots, another effective way to place your fly on target is a bow and arrow cast. Not the most esthetic way to fly fish, but it does work.
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