I have been watching some you tube video of people catching bitterlings. How do y’all feel about using bait? I normally use a fly when tenkara fishing, but maybe using some bait to catch some new species of fish or at least one you don’t catch too often. Would it bother you at all? HOSS
I look at it this way: Fishing is nothing more than a game, and unless a game is an organized sport (Little League, NCAA, or NBA, for instance), the players get to set their own rules. What I mean is, if two guys want to play tennis with the net lower than specified, or even removed altogether, that’s okay.
When I fish, it is my prerogative to decide how challenging or how easy I want to make it. Nobody else’s business – unless some sort of competition is involved, and then honesty comes into play.
If I want to fish with doughballs flavored with Korean fish oil, that’s okay, and it’s also okay if I want to limit myself to fishing with a size #6 Royal Coachman dry fly for a whole season – that’s nobody’s business but my own. Tie your line to a tenkara rod to a soda straw or to a walking stick, no problem.
So my response to your question is that you use whatever sounds like fun to you. Enjoy your fishing, and enjoy your freedom to fish however you darned well want to do it.
~Paul
Tenkara is a tool, use it the way you like. Don’t worry about what others think or do. It’s your rod so use it as you wish.
My answer:
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||Tenkara is the traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing, which uses only a rod, line and fly. Simple.
Tenkara is a method of fly-fishing particularly well-suited for stream fishing and for anyone looking for a simpler way to fly-fish. It is the ideal setup for backpacking. Tenkara is a very effective, simple and enjoyable method of fly-fishing.
Now if you want to use bait, get a crappy pole. Or you can use that Tenkara and put a hook and worm on it, you can do that with any fly rod, but why. Just go bait fishing, it is less expensive.
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Most people who take up micro fishing(since we have no bitterling in the states) will use bait of some sort. Since fishing for true micros would be extremely difficult to do with a fly. You can use what ever you like to use with what ever rod you like. I have been know to use plastic worms and lizards with western fly gear and ice jigs with micro plastic with tenkara. Some people will try and tell you that your wrong for fishing this way or that. Well, I say I live in America and I will fish with what I want, when I want, how I want. I have served this country for 10 years and for some person to tell me I am wrong for expressing my self I will tell them to go take a fly leap. How do they think we got all all the different ways of fishing after all. Some one had to cross the line along the way or we would still be in the ice ages with spears used for fishing. If you want to use bait go ahead.
The Tango setup looks fun! That little 4 foot rod. Way to think outside the box.
Keep it coming Tenkarabum!
Flygodess hit it there on the last post. It just looks fun right. Kind of like fishing for gills it’s just fun. Mr Arnold says to limit yourself is a personal choice but so many people get caught up in doing it a certain way and miss the joy of just fishing. when I first saw the tanago stuff I got excited. I love the idea of catching fish I have never caught before. I don’t mind using bait even though I have been a pretty hard core fly guy for quite a while now. To me it is all about the joy of catching wild fish in a wild place. even if it’s a minnow on a creek about 5 miles from my house. It works for me. Thanks y’all.
Well, now there is where I draw the line. Don’t use bait and don’t need it. When a bud of mine caught and landed a Sturgeon on a fly, that says it all.
But I do enjoy fishing …a lot! Just not that important to “catch” fish for me to change my preference. No need to in my book, but I love new toys.
Tango would be a blast with chironomids.
Finally I got on here. “Out of the box” didn"t even come close last weekend.
I wrote ‘“Smile Maker” in Chris’ Micro Story section. That was the first time out with that 5ft rod. This year will be a blast whether using small flies or a dab of bait. There is always those bully bluegills under docks with the small fry.
I was catching last years small gills at a fair pace under the dock when I had my first “Oh sh*t” fishing moment. You know, that moment right after the hookup that you suddenly realize you may not get this fish in. That happened twice last Saturday. The culprit was a gill not much longer than my palm. It bent the rod enough to make that 7x tippet so tight the wind made line sing. Now that was a blast…I did get them in.
Don’t have many non muddy creeks around here for minnows and the like but little bluegill are everywhere. It will never matter if I have a bad outing with my tenkara or fly rod gear, I can always find small gills and with that tanago rod I’m assured of leaving the water with a smile.
Dennis
Sounds as if you had a ball. What was the rod you used?
Welcome Dennis. Look forward to hearing more from you and these sweet little rods.
It was a Daiwa Hinata 5’ tanago rod I got from Chris at TenkaraBum. I will say this about these type rods, and I believe Chris will say the same thing, these rods aren’t for casting so different length rods are for reach away from you or distance you are above the water to handle the line length. This 5ft one is perfect for where I fish now. Micro fishing may not be for everyone but trout fishermen can count the different trout they can catch on one hand not more than 2 hands. Same for the sunfish, but the number of Darters and Minnows in a given region is unreal and their colors make the Rainbow, Redbreast and Pumpkinseed pale beside some of them. Oh to spend a month down in the Ozarks.
Dennis
Duskystripe shiner
Carmine Shiner
Bigeye Shiner
Please click on the photos. The thumbnails really don’t do them justice.
I was in the Ozarks for a few days last month (tying at the Sowbug Roundup) and caught a few micros. Unfortunately, the only darter I caught was a female, and she’s as drab as a hen pheasant. Still, the fish are everywhere, they’re fun to catch and some of them are really pretty.
You start out trying to catch anything, and the challenge is to identify what you’ve caught. Then progressively, the challenge becomes to find and catch different species that live in your general area, and then to catch specific species that you haven’t yet caught. And then it’s to catch the fish that you know are there but you haven’t yet figured out how to catch. It is not unlike a trout angler going from wanting to catch ANY fish, to wanting to catch lots of fish, to wanting to catch big fish, to wanting to catch challenging fish.
It seems I can’t get the Daiwa Hinata anymore. I do havetanago rodsfrom Nissin and Shimotsuke, though.
I’ve started doing some micro fishing, catching Shiners from a little crick. At least I think they are shiners. The little fellows are moderately skittish, and thus I can’t use a fish-at-my-feet size rod. I’m currently using a Soyokaze 27, which feels like an Ugly Stick when I’m bringing in my minnows.
I feel as if I’m reverting to my childhood when I used bread balls to poach goldfish from the little bathtub-sized, backyard pond of the widow woman next door.
I should probably add that the goldfish poaching was strictly Catch & Release. I was not a mean little boy, just one who lacked any better place to fish.
That’s a nice little shiner there. One of these days I’ll get a tanago rod and go for it. In the mean time what can you use to fish with? do you really need a tanago rod?
Hosscooper – If you are in luck, Chris will respond to your query as to what rod to use and whether you need to use a tenago/micro rod. All that I can contribute is that the relative stiffness of the Soyokaze 27 in micro fishing dilutes the enjoyment of taking micro fish on a micro-fish rod. ~Paul
Hosscooper, you do not need a tanago rod or microfishing rod. A lot of the people who go for micros use an ultralight spinning rod. (1) because thay’s what they already have and (b) it’s more about the catch than the fight. Somehow, there’s something about an insanely small rod to go after insanely small fish that just adds to the insanity, though. You DO need micro hooks, though, to go for the really little ones.
Paul, “relative stiffness of the Soyokaze” is a bit like “jumbo shrimp”. The tanago rods are stiffer. Best you could do is a to get a 20SR grip to put on your 27SR, but it isn’t necessary. The bendy parts are the same.