Check this out! Starts slow with too many photos but after 1.5 minutes or so you see some pretty exciting footage of a guy battling Kings on an 18’ +/- fixed line rod.
Enjoy!
Kings on a Tenkara
Looks like a good way to drown…
IMO there’s a time and place for tenkara, big water is not the place. Look at the number of times this guy falls into the river… it just doesn’t seem like a smart/safe idea
I would agree. However, the type of fishing shown in the posted video is not Tenkara fishing.
I’m not sure how the Japanese or Shimano would classify it other than it would fall under 本流・渓流 ( honryū keiryū , Mainstream - Mountain stream) class. The fisherman in the video is a professional fisherman employed by Shimano. 細山長司 , Chōji Hosoyama. You can see him in this product page for one of the Shimano Super Game rods:
http://fishing.shimano.co.jp/product/rod/2799
One of the comments below the video identifies the rod as a Shimano prototype Salmon Special rod, of 8.2meters ( 24’ 10") . Here is a link to the current Super Game Salmon Special rod, that is 8.3meters:
http://fishing.shimano.co.jp/product/rod/585
These are very expensive rods costing around $1,000, plus or minus a bit. You can see other rods under the same classification here:
The description of the rod states that it is the only rod in Japan designed to target salmon.
I first saw him fishing a couple of years ago in this TV Shimano video where he was fishing for Steelhead in BC, Canada. It is a 38 minute video. Complete with the tv commercials that ran when it was shown on tv in, I think, 2008.
http://tv.shimano.co.jp/movie/tv/paradise_06/
Or you can see other newer videos of similar fishing here:
http://fishing.shimano.co.jp/fishingcate/51
The bottom video is only 3:41 minutes if you want a quick look. The others are much longer.
My $0.02
D
Lots of people ask me if there are tenkara rods that can handle steelhead. I’ve always told them no, but there are fixed line rods that can. When I tell them they start at around $700 (Daiwa’s “Salmon Hunter” rod) they’ve all lost interest. People spend $700 for a fly rod with which to catch steelhead (plus hundreds more for a reel), so I think it is only a matter of time before the market for steelhead capable fixed line rods gets a toehold here.
As to fixed line fishing for salmon not being a smart/safe idea, neither is mountain climbing, skydiving, whitewater canoeing or any of a hundred other outdoor activities that are widely accepted (if not widely practiced). I’m pretty sure fighting a strong fish with a fixed line rod will give you an adrenaline shot that no other type fishing can even approach. Could you drown? Sure, but you’re probably still more likely to die in a car crash on the way to the river (or back from the bar after a couple beers).
It would appear that Shimano’s claim that their Salmon Special is the only rod in Japan designed for Salmon is out of date.
Here is a look at the Daiwa Salmon Hunter rod.
http://all.daiwa21.com/fishing/item/rod/keiryu_rd/nobori_sh/index.html
D
Nissin makes a 6.3m fixed line carp rod rated for 12 lb test tippet (compared to Daiwa’s Salmon Hunter, which is 8.3m and 16 lb test tippet). Might not be sufficient for king salmon, but it might do for great lakes steelhead. Just over $300 so less than half the price of the Daiwa.
I have an English style carp rod that uses elastic bands running through the center of it and out the top. I wonder if a much stronger elastic couldn’t be used for salmon - at least the smaller species - and steelhead.