What is a Tenkara Rod

[CM_Stewart]

First, you have to accept that you will never understand the history of tenkara. The early tenkara anglers didn't write about it, so there is virtually no written history to begin with. Second, what is written is almost entirely in Japanese, and the computerized translations are essentially worthless. Third, most of what is available in English is provided by one company that has products to sell and is very concerned with controlling the message. The blog post that explained why their rods are tenkara rods and their competitor's aren't started off by saying "consider this a public service announcement." Need I say more?

Second, you have to understand that "tenkara" is very narrowly defined. Thus anything that strays, even a bit, isn't tenkara "by definition." There is a source that illustrates several different set ups described as historical tenkara. Some used multiple flies, some used added weight, some used floats. Ask a modern Japanese tenkara angler and he will tell you that they weren't tenkara. Why not? Because tenkara is defined as a fishing method that uses only one fly, no weight and no float - so if they did, they couldn't have been tenkara, by definition.

Third, you have to understand that the streams on which tenkara was and is practiced in Japan are different than the streams in the US, or at least in the eastern US. Japan is wracked by frequent typhoons. Most of the stream banks are scoured by frequent flooding and many of the streams have retaining walls to deal with the frequent floods. Look at any of the Japanese videos of the masters fishing, and they are often 10' back on the bank. Do that on the average eastern US brookie stream and you'd have 10' of trees and bushes between you and the water. They fish with 12' rods because there are no overhead tree limbs. They don't need to use short rods. Use a short rod here and you will be told "That's not tenkara" (by definition).

If you recall many of the early threads on tenkara on many forums (even FAOL, before this subforum was established), there were always detractors belittling tenkara and saying why it wouldn't work or wasn't as good as what they were already doing. Without exception, the detractors hadn't ever tried it. That is playing out all over again, except this time the detractors are tenkara anglers (or tenkara rod sellers) who haven't ever tried fishing a 10' wide stream with a 7' long rod; who haven't ever tried casting a 2 ounce rod all day. They're quick to tell you that it won't work, that it's not tenkara, but they've never tried it. I've tried it. It works.

Maybe it's not tenkara. Maybe it's sevenkara(tm). Who cares what you call it? It's fun and it catches fish. Truly, what else matters?

Consider this a public service announcement: It's just fishing.

[DruLeeParsec]

"What is Tenkara?" It's a bit like asking "What is jazz?" Some people would say that Kenny G is jazz, but if that's true then why is Louis Armstrong also jazz? How is it that one term, "Jazz", can encompass everything from Bix Beiderbecke to Allan Holdsworth; from Charlie Christian to Charlie Hunter?

The answer is that Tenkara, like jazz, like fly fishing, like any pursuit or endeavor, is a mixture of things. At it's core Tenkara is a rod with no reel. The line is tied to the end of the rod. However, cane fishing is also a single rod with no reel and the line tied to the end. The difference is that in Tenkara you also cast the line in a style very similar to a standard fly fishing cast.

But we must also realize that as broad a definition as that is, there is still a difference between Tenkara the equipment, and Tenkara the technique. Tenkara the technique often uses a single fly which is presented in different ways. So that begs the question "Is using an elk hair caddis on a Tenkara rod still Tenkara?" I think it is. Western fly fishing, for example, originated by casting a dry fly upstream to a rising trout who was swimming in a chalk stream in Great Briton. So is swinging a weighted nymph in a mountain stream in the Sierras is still fly fishing? Of course it is. And what about the guys catching 150 pound tarpon on a fly? That's about as far from a dry fly on a chalk stream as you can get but we still think of it as fly fishing.

I think there's a tendency for people to think that there is one right way and once they've found a way that works then every other way must be wrong. This is true in music, art and even fly fishing. When Daniel from TenkaraUSA says that Tenkara is very useful just about everywhere you'd use a 4wt fly rod or lighter he's not also saying "and therefore you should throw away all your 4wt fly rods". I'm sure that many of us have known, or know of, fly fishermen who think that dry flies are the only way to fly fish. John Geirech once wrote about a time he was fishing with his buddy A.K. Best. When John used a nymph A.K. chided him saying "If I knew you would be fishing bait I wouldn't have brought you." Joking aside I don't think any of us would say that John wasn't fly fishing.

So I guess a general hand waving sort of definition of a Tenkara rod would be: A long, soft action rod with no reel where the line is tied to the end of the rod and the line is designed to be cast.

It's just another fun way to fish and that's what should matter.

[JC_Hall]

Tenkara from what I have extrapolated from all info I have found thus far on the various forums, videos on youtube, japanese sites, western sites is using a rod that has the ability to cast a fly well. I have seen rods from Japan in sizes from 9 feet all the way to 15 feet built for tenkara and listed as such.
These rods are built with and without cork. Some with widened handles some with virtually no handle at all made of foam, cork, or a small layer of etching or material to create frictional grip. I have seen rods from japan made of carbon of different percentages, as well as bamboo still being made today.

I am new to this tenkara but I am one that when very interested in a subject will learn all I can about the subject. Thus to my wife's dismay I have been up reading to the early morning hours. Fishing every chance I get with my new tenkara gear one of the rods I include in my "tenkara gear" is my 9 foot Soyakaze. It is from what I can tell compared to all Japanese info a tenkara rod. It was just never billed as such.

As chris says without the history written it is hard to understand what originaly was tenkara. If one is going to split hairs over what is and what is not tenkara (got to be this long has to fell like this has to look like that must use one fly et) than by definition the modern equipment is not tenkara at all as it is made of materials the original tenkara fisherman and so called "masters" did not use. Go back 250 years and present them with the carbon fiber rods with fluorocarbon line of today and ask them if this is a tenkara rod. Well you see where I am going with this.

Chris is absolutely spot on when he says "it is just fishing"
The hubrus at Tenkara USA is not for me and has turned me off completely I have found I am not the only one. When one refers to the so called "masters" of tenkara defining what it is and what it is not carries "some" merit. However and I will not go into it but I have found that Daniel is making tenkara what he wants it to be picking and chosing information from the so called "masters" and using that in marketing and limiting the definition of tenkara to fit within the narrow (minded) structure of his programming of the newcomer to subscribe to his products. He is not the only game in town and he will have stiffer competition. If Orvis decides they can sell his products you can bet your sweet backside they will produce their own to compete directly with Daniel's. No matter what he says about getting into it and opening shop to "educate" the public he is a businessman foremost and is in it for the money. I predict he will grow and will do well but he is doing tenkara a diservice by trying to convince the public what tenkara is and is not. All info in distilation one will find is to sell his rods. Can you blame him. No. Unfortunately for those already programmed over there they will not learn all there is about tenkara or even that the asians do not catch and release fish it goes against their very nature. The catch and release idea is very new to them even still. Yet Daniel intimates that tenkara is all about the catch and release.

I would love to have elder tenkara fisherman from all over japan both the regular joes and the so called "masters" visit us with an excellent interpreter to give us the history and tell us how they fish and what they think tenkara is. Instead of through one interpreter "selling" a product. I have a feeling one would get a different take on the subject entirely.

When I found out that fishing "one fly" meant only one at a time (not two or more at a time) and not using only one patern it solidified my belief that we have an extremely slanted interpretation of tenkara. Dr. Ishigaki himself does not fish only one pattern so I guess he is violating what tenkara in it's pure form is if you are to believe what one will read on another forum.

I will tell you one more thing I would rather have a Japanese rod over a westerners interpretation of a Japanese rod. If I want real Italian food I want an Italian to make it. Get my drift. Not saying western interpretations don't work mind you but I want the purest form availlable.

Don't mean to offend a soul but by god we need the truth not a campaign by one sole manufacturer to tell me what it is or is not. I hate marketing and that is part of my job to sell something to a customer to make one believe it is what they want to believe it is. To make them believe it is the best product there is and this is why you should buy it from me. Don't believe our competitor they will sell you something inferior but if you buy from me you got the best there is. "Trust Me!"

[scorpion1971]

JC Hall, I believe you said it the best.

DruLeeParsec, I love your analogy probably says it best.

Chris, I agree, it is just fishing.

Paul, Thanks for the compliments on my tying.

I have said it before "Call it what you will. I will call it fishing." I have been know to use plastic curly tails and 3 inch worms with my fly rods and even my Tenkara Rods. I just wanted to discuss this topic. I have gotten a better response here than on TUSA forums which I thought would be the case. I am just a dumb arse truck driver who got brain washed from 10 years of military service. I like to learn what I can about the things that peak my interest. Sometimes I get obsessed with certain topics and this is another. Makes me wish I would have been stationed in Japan rather than Germany but I love there food and beer better.

Mike P.

[PA Dave]

Having no experience with Tenkara, I will say it sounds like it would be fun and interesting, but too much of what I read makes me think it would best to stick to non-contraversial things like abortion, gun control, religion and politics. It's nice to read this more civil discourse on the subject. After all, it's just fishing, like they say.

[CM_Stewart]

When I found out that fishing "one fly" meant only one at a time (not two or more at a time) and not using only one patern it solidified my belief that we have an extremely slanted interpretation of tenkara.

JC, The "one fly" discussion really is about one pattern in the box rather than one fly on the line (which is a given). However, by no means do all tenkara anglers in Japan use only one pattern. There may be more, but only one is famous for having every fly in his box being absolutely identical. As you say, Dr. Ishigaki has flies of different colors and sizes in his box, as does Tenkara no Oni, who was actually using a dry fly the day I fished with him. He did not use floatant and it eventually got waterlogged and he then fished it wet - and caught all his fish while using it as a wet fly. Still, the point being the "one fly" thing has been blown way out of proportion. You can fish only one pattern, just as some Western anglers have decided to only fish an Adams or only fish a woolly bugger. Most of the time they still catch fish. Same difference.

[moonlitflies]

I really am enjoying this thread here. Maybe though I should clarify what I see as the history of Tenkara. From my understanding there is no written history because of most tenkara anglers were peasants and illiterate. If this is incorrect I am sorry please correct me. I got this as I spoke with someone very knowledgable. I also believe that they fished Tenkara because of it simplicity and ease of transport.
That said I believe that many people made their rods in varrying ways to meet what felt right to them. So why is it so wrong for us now to fish what FEELS GOOD AND COMFORTABLE as Tenkara wwithout being told we are not. In the spirit of Tenkara let us make things simple.

Cheers,
Brandon

[CM_Stewart]

I think it is important to keep in mind that the early tenkara anglers were commercial fishermen. They use what worked and what they could make themselves or acquire inexpensively. Although there aren't contemporary accounts of their fishing, there are for at least a couple of the commercial fishermen in England and Scotland, who used very similar equipment. James Bailey, a commercial angler who was known as the best angler in Scotland, used a rod made of Hazel and a horsehair line tied to the rod tip. David Webster, a commercial angler in England, used a wooden rod and horsehair line tied to the rod tip long after reels were common place. He also used 9 flies at a time. I seriously doubt that either one of them - or any of the early tenkara anglers in Japan - would have been at all swayed by ideas that they should limit their gear or techniques to fit someone else's idea of what was "proper." The Halfordian ideas that fly fishing should only be done upstream and only with dry flies and only to rising trout, or the purist ideas that tenkara should only be done with a cork gripped rod of at least 11', with only a single unweighted wet fly, and only for salmonids in mountain streams may be fine for someone fishing for sport, but not for someone fishing for his livelihood. I would argue that the "spirit of tenkara" is to use what works.

Personally, I believe that fishing dries, emergers, wets, nymphs, hoppers, poppers, bugs and buggers can all be tenkara. Weighted or unweighted is fine. Brookies, bluegills, bass and bluehead chubs are all fair game. Floating indicators and sinking split shot - if you want to use them go ahead. A few weeks ago I had a great time catching trout with a 7' rod with virtually no grip at all. I would and did call it tenkara fishing.

I had a very nice conversation with Dr. William Hanneman yesterday. He developed the Common Cents system for measuring and comparing fly rods, and is working on an article applying the same techniques to tenkara rods. His suggestion was that we ignore the tenkara vs. not tenkara argument entirely. Call them all "telescopic rods" match them with the appropriate line and go fishing. Wise advice, I'd say.

[JC_Hall]

Moonlit there is nothing "wrong" with it. That would imply a moral or ethical implication. What you are describing as being called "wrong" is neither.

Chris I concur in your statement "They use what worked and what they could make themselves or acquire inexpensively".
On that note if a rubber worm would have caught more fish they would have used it.

Don't forget It is just fising... We are not joining a cult now are we?

By the way Dr. Hanneman sounds like a very level headed fellow.

[pszy22]

I had a very nice conversation with Dr. William Hanneman yesterday. He developed the Common Cents system for measuring and comparing fly rods, and is working on an article applying the same techniques to tenkara rods. His suggestion was that we ignore the tenkara vs. not tenkara argument entirely. Call them all "telescopic rods" match them with the appropriate line and go fishing. Wise advice, I'd say.

I agree with Chris, but tend to take it a step farther. I like to refer to it as Fixed-Length Line Fly Fishing. In my mind, that is the basic concept.

Regarding the source for the original post, I may be wrong, but I somewhat doubt that the ancient masters used graphite or fiberglass rods, much less with cork grips or telescoping sections. Otherwise, it would seem like the ancient practice of tenkara didn't start until sometime in the 1950's/60's maybe even 70's/80's? Certainly sometime after I was born. Maybe that's why I feel so old.

It seem like one should at least be consistent, either stick with tradition or don't.