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Thread: Tenkara beginner thoughts

  1. #1
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    Question Tenkara beginner thoughts

    First, I am interested in Tenkara fishing but am reluctant. Everyone commenting on the process dives right in by saying you cannot compare it to using an extendable plastic pole or to using a regular fly rod with a unique line and tippet.
    My question is, "Why not?"
    Responses always get into a numbers game that relate to fine points of casting and discussions about line construction. Forget those details.
    What can I not do with a telescoping pole? Why must I spend $200 to find out if I should proceed?

  2. #2
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    Thank you for the prompt reply John.
    I have been fly fishing and tying for almost 65 years but am still waiting for a list of the things I can't do with a "pole" like a modern 11 foot Pflueger. I know the limitation of my regular flyrod will not allow me to hold all the line off the water on a 15 foot cast, but what else can't it do? Why wouldn't the Pflueger work at all?

  3. #3

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    Well, there is nothing that your Pflueger can't do vs. Tenkara. the one difference is the weight of the rod. about 2.1 oz. compared to yours. If you have so many doubts forget it, you probably won't be happy. I love fishing my Tenkara rods both wet and drys. It's just a different feel that you have with the rod. It's like the difference between plastic and bamboo. They both accomplish the same objective.

  4. #4

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    Ray,
    Full Disclosure: I started fishing in October of 2011 and I chose tenkara for the simplicity of it's fly set. For the simplicity of the gear. And for it's "moving" versus "rooted" fishing style. My home water is fast mountain streams, 10' to 100' feet wide, with 20' to 30' being typical.

    For a beginning fisher looking at a "Western" setup can be quite intimidating. The gear, the complexity of lines, the number of flies, learning how to cast, and learning entomology is daunting. Tenkara, at first blush, is simple. So there is a lot of buzz about "simplifying things". (In my case it was the first step down the slippery slope.)

    Your Pflueger will work just fine. With a reel you certainly have the advantage of line control. There are a number tenkara rods in the 9' and 11' range, so that argument is out. And if you fish just a 20' tapered leader you'll be able to keep it off the water, just like tenkara.

    So it comes down to personal preferences, comfort level, and what "tradition" of fishing you choose to pursue.

    Tight Lines.

    Greg

  5. #5
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    I have never fished with an 11' Pflueger so I cannot say what it can or cannot do in comparison with a tenkara rod. Get a spool of 0X fluorocarbon tippet material. Tie 11' of it to your tip guide. Add 3-4' of 5X tippet and an unweighted wet fly and go fishing. If you can cast the 0X "line" effectively, and if your rod will protect the tippet so that the fish you normally catch don't beak it, and if you don't break the rod the first time you try to net an 18" fish, then your Pflueger will do everything a tenkara rod will do other than collapse to 20 some inches for ease of walking through the woods to the next spot you want to fish.

    Again, I'm not saying your Pflueger can't do those things. I don't know if it can or not because I've never used one. For the price of a spool of tippet you can find out, though.
    Tenkara Bum

  6. #6

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    While I cannot say "x will do this or y will do that" - Tenkara to me is about the discovery process. Tenkara will not do everything in all situations but it does a lot for me. This Sunday we had a mild day in PA and my son and I ran out for 2 hours of fishing. I took my Tenkara gear and he brought his 3wt. About halfway through our afternoon, he came upstream to join me then asked if he could borrow my Tenkara rod. I never got it back.

    On the drive home I asked him if he had any thoughts about "western .vs. Tenkara" and he said "it was just fun relaxing fishing - just what I wanted to do today".

    Just my .02 and YMMV
    "Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." John Wayne.

    "When you know, to know that you know, and when you do not know, to know that you do not know - that is true knowledge..." Charlie Chan (author Earl Derr Biggers ...Behind That Curtain 192.

  7. #7
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    Maybe you know someone who has one you could borrow and see what it's all about?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by CM_Stewart View Post
    I have never fished with an 11' Pflueger so I cannot say what it can or cannot do in comparison with a tenkara rod. Get a spool of 0X fluorocarbon tippet material. Tie 11' of it to your tip guide. Add 3-4' of 5X tippet and an unweighted wet fly and go fishing. If you can cast the 0X "line" effectively, and if your rod will protect the tippet so that the fish you normally catch don't beak it, and if you don't break the rod the first time you try to net an 18" fish, then your Pflueger will do everything a tenkara rod will do other than collapse to 20 some inches for ease of walking through the woods to the next spot you want to fish.

    Again, I'm not saying your Pflueger can't do those things. I don't know if it can or not because I've never used one. For the price of a spool of tippet you can find out, though.

    Thanks for that post. If nothing else, it will serve as encouragment for some of us to attempt something tenkara-like to see if we like it. That first dipping of the toe into the water might lead some of us into taking the plunge later. That was very clever, Mr. Stewart, very clever indeed. I have an 11' rod of which I am fond. It might not make as good a candidate because is has a fairly slow action. I plan to invest in a spool of 0X flourocarbon tippet to try out this form of fishing. I can carry a reel with me, in case I wish to fall back to what I am used to. If I like it and end up buying a tenkara rod, I shall blame you, Mr. Stewart.


    Regards,
    Ed

  9. #9
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    Ray, If you really want to try Tenkara without spending $200 it is easy. Get a $50 11' tenkara rod from fountainhead. http://tenkaraflyfish.webs.com/apps/webstore/ Pick your self up a spool of 17# fluorocarbon for $11 and give it a go. If not happy sell the rod on ebay.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by scorpion1971 View Post
    Ray, If you really want to try Tenkara without spending $200 it is easy. Get a $50 11' tenkara rod from fountainhead. http://tenkaraflyfish.webs.com/apps/webstore/ Pick your self up a spool of 17# fluorocarbon for $11 and give it a go. If not happy sell the rod on ebay.
    That is what I did. There are several very dealers that offer Introductory outfits for around $100 or less. I bought mine "to try", I can see myself upgrading later if I like it. Also, my wife enjoys flyfishing but wants to stay very simple. Heading back to Wyoming in 2014 to camphost for the USFS, I can see her really getting into tenkara. Following the threads here and other sites, you can get involved with little capitol.

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