My enthusiasm

[Ray Kunz]

I've been following the many posts on this thread and have built up some real interest but I see one disturbing issue. In all the video clips demonstrating actual fishing and catching trout the fish are miniscule. I would be ashamed to admit I bought a complete new outfit with these expected results. Now, before I get burried with flak let me describe what I'm looking for. I will not be backpacking into remote areas for native brookies at my age. I'll be fishing small local, near urban, streams that are safer for me to navigate and have close canopies of trees where standard fly casting is a real problem.
The stocked trout, Rainbows, Browns and a few Tigers are in the 9 to 13 inch range with a rare one over that. Should I forget the idea?

[pszy22]

Ray,

The fish you catch are right in the sweet spot for fixed-length-line systems. There are a couple of nice fish pics on Chris' site -

http://www.tenkarabum.com/stone-fly-360.html

[dudley]

Do you really need to start new just because it's the latest fad ?
I know I don't

[Ron Eagle Elk]

I refuse to limit my enjoyment of fly fishing in any of it's many forms. Fishing the long rod with light line goes way back in the history of Japanese, European, and American angling. If you want to try out the historical aspect of fly fishing, with modern materials, go for it. I know I am. An Iwana on order.

REE

[JohnScott]

... overhead of and relatively low to the water ??

If they are, Tenkara may not be a good approach to fishing those streams, unless you want to use a bow and arrow cast, as suggested by pszy22 and CM Stewart in their posts on previous threads, or a modified roll cast as described in one of my posts, IF there is even room for that kind of cast where you are planning to fish.

As to the size of the fish you've seen in video clips, maybe you want to take another look at some of the stills I posted in my original thread. Some of the places I've used, and plan to use, my Tenkara rods hold a good proportion of trouts over 14" up to about 18" with a rare one bigger than that. The fish you are targetting fall within a size range that can be fished and landed effectively with a Tenkara set up.

As to this being a "fad" as suggested by Dudley, I think he may be missing the point. If you find an approach that lets you expand both your fishing effectiveness in some settings and enjoy your time on the water more by using that approach where it makes more sense than using conventional fly fishing equipment, and plan to do it for a long time, it would hardly be considered a fad by most people. Some maybe, but not most.

John

[dudley]

.
As to this being a "fad" as suggested by Dudley, I think he may be missing the point. If you find an approach that lets you expand both your fishing effectiveness in some settings and enjoy your time on the water more by using that approach where it makes more sense than using conventional fly fishing equipment, and plan to do it for a long time, it would hardly be considered a fad by most people. Some maybe, but not most.

John

26-28 years ago I bought myself one of those cane poles that they sell at bait shops for 2 or 3 bucks.
I had a blast that summer swinging flies on a short line. While I had never heard of tenkara, I was very much aware that this kind of fishing was very similar to what was practiced since the days of Walton and until the advent of the modern cane rod in mid 19th century.
I had my fun for a season or two and then moved on. I'd do it again, but I'm not compelled just because there's better (and more expensive) gear available
Don't kid yourself that I've "missed the point" Been there, done that.

[JohnScott]

26-28 years ago I bought myself one of those cane poles that they sell at bait shops for 2 or 3 bucks.
I had a blast that summer swinging flies on a short line. While I had never heard of tenkara, I was very much aware that this kind of fishing was very similar to what was practiced since the days of Walton and until the advent of the modern cane rod in mid 19th century.
I had my fun for a season or two and then moved on. I'd do it again, but I'm not compelled just because there's better (and more expensive) gear available
Don't kid yourself that I've "missed the point" Been there, done that.

... I suggested that you may be missing the point.

I suppose if I thought someone were going to get a Tenkara rod BECAUSE and ONLY BECAUSE it looked like there was suddenly a popular new thing to do, I would think that person were doing a "fad" type thing.

If someone is carefully weighing the possibilities, as Ray is, because there is an approach with which he had not been familiar, which approach may just suit what he wants to do, how he wants to spend his time on the water, I wouldn't think of his interest as pursuing a "fad."

In my own case, I had a vague awareness that this kind of equipment existed and knew that at least one Tenkara rod was available at a local shop. When I ran into a particular fishing situation where it dawned on me that a very long rod would offer some advantages over my conventional small stream rod, I decided to experiment with the longer rod. Beyond representing real advantages for some types of fishing, within its limitations, it brings a simplicity to fly angling that can not be matched with conventional gear.

The simplicity factor, the fun factor, and the opportunity to challenge myself to go beyond Tenkara's apparent limitations are what caused me to become enthusiatic about the equipment and to expand my use of it ( expensive or not, and that is a pretty subjective thing ) beyond what I originally perceived as its best use. I wouldn't discourage anyone from taking that trip, but I also wouldn't encourage anyone to try it when it was obvious that their best efforts and intentions would be doomed to failure.

John

[JohnScott]

.... Dudley.

"The simpler the outfit, the more skill it takes to manage it, and the more pleasure one gets in his achievements.
--- Horace Kephart"


Hmmmmmm .....

John

[Bamboozle]

Ray:

I am really new to Tenkara but so far have only found two unsuitable locations for my 11' Iwana. The first location was a really small stream with a TON of dense rhododendron that I fished this past Thursday. I passed on Tenkara and instead fished that stream with a 5' regular rod and even then had to skip over many spots. Could I have used a Tenkara rod, yea probably but it would have been as much fun as a 9' regular fly rod; it would have worked in spots but moving around would have been a hassle.

The second stream is a very famous trout stream that is difficult to fish everywhere but the particular section I was fishing has no way to wade it at all or get really close to fish or suspected lies without exposing yourself and spooking lots of fish. What is needed here is a cast of at least 30-40 feet made from way downstream of the fish. I tried my Tenkara rod and did catch a few fish, but not as many as I saw darting away!!

But what I have also discovered is how many places are PERFECT for the method and tackle, even small streams that you would suspect would give you trouble. So far I get way less overhead snags than I would in many places because I have a fixed amount of line to manage. When I use a regular rod on some of these places when I need distance I tend to stay put and lengthen my casts. That's when I get snagged. With my Tenkara rod, if I can't get the distance, I move closer. Of course moving is an option with any fly rod but most of us don't and instead lengthen our casts which can be a disaster on smaller streams.

The bottom line is, you won't know until you try.

And don't sweat the fish size thing either!