Help

[Liljoe]

Ok I'm wanting to get into tenkara but I don't know what I need for it and where I need to buy the equipment. Any help on this would be great!

[narcodog]

It's pretty simple. Decide what type of water you are going to fish, small stream, still water or big flowing water. A 11 or 12 foot rod is good for small to medium. A 13 to 14 good for still and rivers. Then, and this is the hardest decision what type of action. Slow or faster. I prefer a fast rod like the Tenkara USA Iwana in 11 or 12 feet. I also have for bigger water a 13 1/2 foot Amago. Lines are pretty easy. a level 3 or 4 flourescent is good the heavier line is for breezy conditions. For wind a 5 is better or a furled line. The prices will run you from about 100.00 to $200.00 for rod and line or there abouts.

[CM_Stewart]

They say all you need is a rod, a line and a fly, but you will also need tippet, nippers, forceps, etc. Since you are probably already a fly angler, the only thing you will definitely need is an appropriate rod. You may already have something that you can use for a line, but I'll get into that later.

Luckily, there is more than one company in the western hemisphere dedicated to tenkara fishing so you have quite a choice of rods. They range all the way from $50 for a Fountainhead Caddis Fly 330 to $380 for a Daiwa LT39SF (Daiwa has more expensive models, but they are currently out of stock).

You can buy tenkara rods from:
All Fishing Buy
Fountainhead
Tenkara-Fisher.com
Tenkara-Fishing.com
Tenkara Global
TenkaraBum
TenkaraUSA

There is also a company in the UK and one in South Africa, but for your purposes, a US-based company is probably best.

Which rod to buy depends largely on three factors: where you will be fishing, what you will be catching, and how much you are willing to spend. The $50 Fountainhead is certainly adequate, and the $380 Daiwa is certainly a better rod. If you will be fishing primarily in larger rivers, ponds or lakes, one of the longer rods would be a better choice. If you will be fishing smaller streams, look at one of the 11' rods. If you will be fishing the extremely small, overgrown wild brookie streams in the Smokies, you may find that even the 11' rods are too long. If that is the case you might be better off with a 9' rod. If you need a 9' rod you can get one from me at TenkaraBum for $72, from AllFishingBuy for $79 or from TenkaraUSA for $198.

If you will be fishing for largemouths, you will want a rod with quite a bit of backbone, such as the Daiwa LT39SF, the Fountainhead 390 or the TenkaraUSA Amago. If you will be fishing for 5 and 6" brookies in the Smokies, I would suggest a much softer rod, and actually the rod I would suggest isn't technically a tenkara rod, but it works beautifully for tenkara fishing: the Daiwa Soyokaze. Here is an essay I wrote recently about fishing for brookies with the Soyokaze and about why I wouldn't get all wrapped up in what is or what is not a "tenkara rod" :http://www.tenkarabum.com/rethinking...-III-many.html

All the companies that sell tenkara rods have websites you can find through Google, and all will tell you why you should choose their rods.

Getting back to the line, if you are also a bass fisherman and have some fluorocarbon spinning line of about 15# test, it will work well as a tenkara line although it will be hard to see. A better choice would be a Hi-Vis fluorocarbon line that will allow you to see the subtle twitches or hesitations in the line that are often the only indication you have of a strike. Personally, I prefer the fluorocarbon over the furled lines, but you may have to try both to see which you prefer. If you have a long furled leader now, you could try it, but it probably won't be long enough (and will probably be heavier than you need).

The thing to keep in mind is that it's just fishing. The essence of tenkara, in my mind, is fishing with a line that is just heavy enough to cast but light enough to keep off the water's surface, which is what gives you the fabulous drag free drifts. Any rod/line combination that will allow you to fish that way is fine. Longer is better (unless it is too long for the stream). Lighter is better (unless it is too light for the fish you will be catching).

[NewTyer 1]

This is a good place to start. http://tenkaraflyfish.webs.com/apps/...s/show/1671936

12' Tenkara Caddis Fly Rod

3360 Fountainhead Tenkara Caddis Fly Rod
9 segments
3.4 oz 6:4 action
Open length : 12' (330 cm)
Closed Length: 21" (50CM)



$55.00 only

[Liljoe]

Ok thanks for the info. Now I fish in primarily medium size rivers and occasionally the smokies. I'm kind of looking at the tenkara usa but I'm not sure?

[cycler68]

TenkaraUSA makes fine tenkara rods. I feel they are a good value for then money. If you buy one of their rods I don't think you will be disappointed but there are other rods out there, as outlined in the other replies to your question, that are also good values for the money. I also think most likely you'll end up buying several to cover all the tenkara fishing situations you encounter.

[CM_Stewart]

For reviews of all the TenkaraUSA rods and all the Fountainhead rods, plus a few others, you could start here: http://www.tenkarabum.com/tenkara-rods.html

[Liljoe]

CM Stewart which do you find to be the better choice since I'm just starting out. TenkaraUSA or Fountainhead?? And which length would you recomend 12' or 13'?