Tenkara

Fishing Tenkara Fishing
41

Didn’t expect to fish today. Thought I would be working on a new furled leader jig. But the parts I thought would be in the mail didn’t make it. Instead, I had a new product and a note from WarrenP.

Well, can’t hardly stand to have a new furled line / leader laying around untested. And I tied a new version of the FEB Hopper this morning so that needed to be tested, too. The hopper was sized down to a 12, changed from a bullethead style tied with 2mm foam to a shaped head style tied with 3mm foam, and went from deer hair for the wing to some material that ScottP used for the wing on the Skwalas he sent me this past spring.

Headed on over to Idaho. Neat little creek that I fished a couple times in the past week. Actually started out fishing an LF Golden Stone for the best part of the day. Warren’s furled leader handled the stone just dandy. Only problem was, the third or fourth fish I caught was big enough to break off a fresh 4X tippet and take the first LF Golden Stone for a ride.

The taper on the line / leader is not exactly right for this rod, but it is very close, which is remarkable considering Warren just went out back and furled it up on the spur of the moment. Over the course of the afternoon, I caught a bunch of smaller cutthroat and rainbow trout using about 3’ of 4X tippet on the new line / leader. That’ll do me any day.

The Ayu will fish nymphs using Warren’s leader set up, also. Placed a small thingamabobber right at the end of the leader, added about 6’ of tippet and fished a heavily weighted nymph that Warren sent me this past winter. The nymph rig cast very nicely. Ended up with a mountain whitefish and a smaller cutthroat on the nymph.

Near the end of the outing, I decided to give the new Hopper a go. Fished a spot that just developed as the flows have dropped on the creek.

Bunch of trouts in there, in the smaller holes above the drop into the big pool. Had about eight in hand in fifteen or twenty minutes. Extending as far as I could from a wading position just off the near bank, I could just reach the slot right at center of the picture above. No smaller fish in there. I saw a good size trout come to the fly. No take. A couple casts later, a big trout took the hopper. The Tenkara handled the gorgeous 16" cutthroat quite nicely in the fast water.

Glad I didn’t get those furling jig parts in the mail today.

Really glad that Warren just up and sent me a leader to try on my new rod.

Thanks, Warren.

John

42

Watch out, it can become addictive.

43

I’ll chime in and add my 2 cents.

I now consider Tenkara another tool in my arsenal to approach certain types of fishing conditions. Not all, but certainly I’ve run across a number of places in the Sierras here where it was the perfect fit. I specifically left it out of my Heritage Trout report a few days ago, but the first two redbands that I caught (very spooky fish and slim waters) were by using my Tenkara Ebisu. I’ve tried it in lakes in my kayak and kickboat, but honestly it’s not the same experience. I’m currently working on furling my own leaders and finding that right combination for the types of flies that I fish.

Thank you John Scott for a great write-up and some fantastic pix!

John

44

Great thread going here. Thank you for starting it and posting the great pictures. I have been fishing with my TenkaraUSA 12’ Iwana for a couple months now, and for the small streams I fish in AZ I wouldn’t want to do it any other way.

Most of my tenkara fishing is done with the reverse hackle tenkara flies, and the rod is so sensitive that feeling a take is no problem at all. I cast upstream, let it drift downstream below me, then give it a few twitches before casting upstream again. The trout seem to like the reverse hackle fly twitching against the current. Even fishing with nymphs, I’ve never used an indicator with tenkara and have never felt the need for it.

To me the main advantage of a tenkara rod is keeping the line off the water, and not worrying about the current dragging your fly. I have caught fish in tight places with tenkara that I never would have been able to get a fly to, or keep it there for more than a few seconds, with a shorter rod and heavier line.

As for lines I tried their furled line, but now I use Stren 100% Fluoro in 12#. It’s a little hard to see in direct sunlight, but I like the way it casts and I don’t like the way the furled line coils up after a snag. If any of you who fish tenkara want to try the Stren line, I have a 200 yard spool of it and will gladly send you enough to make a few lines.

45

Hey TyroneFly,
Referring to your “reaction” post, although I haven’t YET tried to drift away from the sanctity of “traditional” fly fishing by using the Tenkara, I can’t even imagine ANYONE commenting , other than inquisitvely, while I was practicing it. I’m not hard to get along with, but, ANY comment other than of a “positive” tone and his/her a$$ would be involved in a MAJOR confrontation.

Mark

46

We were speaking of the TenkaraUSA Iwana 12’ weren’t we ??

For a better perspective on the size of a collapsed Tenkara rod, and a fully rigged outfit ( with the Tenkara Furled Line and a LF Golden Stone which just happened to catch about 30 trouts this afternoon, all on the same one fly shown ).

The Iwana 12’ is aesthetically the most appealing rod to my taste out of the three I’ve fished. Really like the color and highlights combination. It has a shorter grip than the Ayu. It is distinctly stiffer or faster, depending on which term you prefer, than the Ayu and distinctly softer or slower than the Yamame. It cast the Tenkara furled line nicely, marginally better than the Ayu cast Warren’s furled line but not as well as the Ayu cast the Tenkara furled line.

At 12’ the rod, unbelievably, is noticeably shorter, although it’s reach is not a lot less than the Ayu. With the faster action, it does seem quite a bit lighter in hand than the Ayu.

It will hold a fly quite steady on the foam line in an eddy waiting for a trout to come up from the bottom.

Three cutthroat like this much liked the way the fly acted with the line held off the water. A couple more came to look but went away without biting.

Nice way to start the day with a new rod.

On downstream away, the creek made demands on the Iwana’s reach, and it’s ability to maintain a dead drift with the line on the water.

This guy was a bit bigger than the typical trout that came out of this run. There was a mix of cutts and bows, but most were cutts, and the cutts were generally larger than the bows. Fished this run for over an hour and was amazed at the number of fish I caught, let alone the number I saw.

Moved on downstream a way and fished the edge of a good looking stretch of water. This stretch put the limitations of any Tenkara rod in perspective. The creek is about 75’ wide at this point. Standing on the bank with a 12’ rod that will reach ( effectively fish ) maybe 20-25’ kind of makes you wonder. There was a nice little slot just off the bank that held a bunch of trout that looked but didn’t eat, except for one. This fish is pretty much typical of the ones caught on this creek.

After fishing several more spots which each tested the rod in different ways and picking up trouts in all of them, I decided to do a quick comparison by finishing the outing with the Ayu. Went back to the run that had fished so well earlier. Only caught a couple more fish, ending the day with this one …

… and confirmed in my preference for the Ayu 13’ for the fishing I do and my casting style.

The Iwana 12’ is a close second to the Ayu. It leads the third place Yamame 12’ by a fair margin.

BUT, a word of caution for anyone thinking about trying this style of fly angling- don’t pick a Tenkara rod without fishing several of the models. They are distinctly different - just like a fast action 9’ for 6 wt is distinctly different from a medium action 7’3" for 3 wt.

John

47

I find a foam donut a very useful accessory to help manage line when storing your rod -

tenkara line winder4.JPG
tenkara line winder4.JPG607×251 62.1 KB

tenkara line winder3.JPG
tenkara line winder3.JPG640×480 45.8 KB

48

Neat idea.

49

Just a couple thoughts about my experience over the past week with Tenkara.

This approach to fly angling is much simpler than fishing with standard fly fishing gear.

  • Telescope rod to length. No sections to put together. No guides to line up.
  • Tie the line to the tip. No reel to attach. No line to run through the guides.
  • Tie on tippet, if necessary, and the fly. No leader involved.
  • While fishing, cast, follow the fly, catch the fish, and cast again. No line mangagement before or after hooking a fish.
  • When a fish is hooked, play it and land it. No stripping line or reeling it in, no false casting to get out line for the next cast.
  • Moving to a new location is easier and exposes your gear to less hazards, as noted earlier in this thread.
    The simplicity allows you to focus more on fishing with virtually no distraction from that process, except for the time you spend enjoying your surroundings or company.

All the action takes place very close in. The whole process struck me as a much more visual experience than fishing with standard gear for that reason, along with the simplicity mentioned above. I was surprised at how even the follows and the refusals stood out and were more exciting while using the Tenkara. But hunting fish, just getting to see them, hooked or not, is my game, and this part of my experience might not be as interesting to some. The clarity of the water I have been fishing is also a factor. Being able to see even a small fish many feet from the fly, seeing a large fish coming off the bottom of a deep pool to look at, if not eat the fly, seeing the flash at the point of refusal, or the dash of a fish chasing or following the fly downstream all adds to that impression. But this stuff is happening all the time because you are in such close quarters.

Landing fish is different. Not all necessarily for the better. With the very long rod, which even a smaller fish can bend deeply, the fish dictates more of the action than even a larger fish on standard gear. You can’t horse a fish in by stripping line and then lifting the rod tip to get it close. You always have 12-13’, or more, of line to deal with as well as the length of the rod. That gives the fish a lot of opportunity to run where it wants to run. Some have indicated that they can land a fish faster with Tenkara rods than standard gear. I didn’t find that to be true for me. That part is a bit bothersome to me since I prefer to get fish in and off as quickly as possible.

Not sure I am really getting across the points I am trying to make. Hard to put some of the feelings involved fishing with Tenkara gear into words. Maybe that is the beauty of it. You need to experience it for yourself.

John

P.S. In three days of Tenkara fly angling, I didn’t see another person on the water. I couldn’t tell anyone out there what it was like, so you guys have to put up with me here.:frowning:

50

"I couldn’t tell anyone out there what it was like, so you guys have to put up with me here.:sad: "

Oh woe is us :slight_smile:

Very informative and just what i come to this site for.

Thanks JS.

Rich

51

As always John has given us some terrific insights on this fishing method - I have a spring creek handy to test one on. Hint. Also appreciate the suggestion to contact Tenkara on Sponsorship. Will do. Thanks John for the great information!

52

I could not agree more. John has captured my interest. There are places along the Sierras and in particular along the Sonora Pass I feel the Tenkara was made for.

Thanks John!

Deanna, please keep us posted on your spring creek adventure with a Tenkara.

53

… big fish. Right ??

The first several outings with a Tenkara Ayu or Iwana I was fishing a size 10 LF Golden Stone almost exclusively. Lots of fish, and a fair number of good sized cutts for a creek this size.

Today I fished the Ayu with the Tenkara Furled Line and size 16 dry flies, to include a biot bodied parachute PMD, a Harrop’s Henry’s Fork Caddis and the deer hair version of that fly, and an attractor pattern created by Lotech last summer, the Foam Back Royal Coachman ( ?? ).

Not so many fish today. But casting the smaller flies really made the point of how softly you can land a fly on the water with one of these rods. Which apparently was just dandy with the trouts. First fish of the day was a 14-15" beauty that took the PMD right at the limit of my effective fishing range. Great fighter, that one.

Next to last fish of the day was a cutt that probably went 15-16" and was the fattest, strongest fish of the day. I couldn’t land him in the conditions I faced, but we both much enjoyed each other’s company. At least I enjoyed his before he pulled hard enough to free himself from a Harrop’s Henry’s Fork Caddis.

In between were about 25 fishies, about half of them over 12" which was a notable jump up from the majority of fish yesterday. Somewhere in the middle was a really scrappy 17" cutthroat that took the PMD the first time around. I say the first time, because I am virtually certain that I caught the same fish about an hour later on the deer hair version of the HHFC.

The smaller fish put a nice bend in the Ayu. The bigger ones bend it to the max, right down into the grip section. But the rod never really feels stressed. Holding the tip up might cause some breakage, but with the tip down it’s just another day at the office ( not that I have done THAT for something like sixteen years now ).

And I did take advantage of the opportunity to introduce a fellow fly angler to Tenkara. He was just getting ready to leave the area as I arrived. Old guy been fishing most of his life, and had not seen a Tenkara. He was intrigued. To the point of wanting to know if I would be around the next few days so he could take a better look and maybe give it a go. ( Hear that Tyronefly ?? )

Something of a story on the last big fish. The old fellow at the access told me he had raised a very large trout in the big hole - thought it would go 16" plus - but he got a refusal. When I fished that hole just before leaving, that big old trout, or one just like it, came to the HHFC with a purpose. He came up the last 5-6’ to the fly so fast that I don’t think I could have pulled it away from him if I wanted to, and I didn’t.

Anyway, the Ayu handles both little flies and big cutts quite nicely. And the weather was outstanding around here today, also.

One final note. I mentioned that the Iwana 12’ was a very close second to the Ayu. Lots of good reasons to have two of these rods. Like in case one breaks and you need a backup, or like you need a change of pace and want to use a rod with a somewhat different action, or like someone wants to go fishing with you and try one out. So I bought the Iwana this morning.

Deanna - look for a PM.

John

54

John,

I’m definitely envious. Wow, you have pulled out out all the stops on excellent reporting and evaluation. Thank you. I’m kicking myself now for “only” owning the Ebisu. This calls for further investigation on my part :slight_smile:

As a side note, I did come across this idea for line storage, when like me, you’re moving around a lot and trying to find that one little spot between the willows that might be big enough to get a fly in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw5cp1ARBio

John

55

… need at least one more Tenkara, John.

Thanks for posting the link on line storage. That is a pretty neat idea.

John

56

The past few days I have been fishing the Ayu exclusively with a Tenkara Level Line. I believe it is the heavier one, but I don’t have the packaging so I can not confirm that. I’ve been using about 12’ of line with 3’ to 6’ of 4X or 5X tippet, and have fished an interesting variety of water, from a very small mountain stream to a good sized freestone river.

Upstream.

Downstream.

The big river really puts it in perspective. It is still too high to wade safely except very close to the bank, but there is plenty of action close in. Everything from smooth soft water, to deep riffles with great structure, to pocket water.

With only about 25’ of reach from the bank and drifts up to 30’ or so, the level line did well with flies from a size 10 LF Golden Stone down to a size 16 Clacka Caddis. It does bog down with the larger fly, but still got it on the water for some good fishing. It turns over the smaller flies nicely, lands them very softly, and will let you hold the entire line and tippet off the water for a very dead drift or steady float in the center of a pocket.

Only landed about 25 of the fish that hit the variety of flies I used. Probably felt the tug or had long distance releases on that many again. And saw at least that many more around the fly although they didn’t hit the offering. Most of the fishies yesterday were smaller ones from 6-10". This guy is pretty typical.

But I did have on or see a dozen or so that went over 12" and one or two that were somewhat larger than that.

The point is - that fishing with an effective range of 25-30’ and limited to fishing from the bank on a big freestone river, you can still have a great time fly angling with a Tenkara rod.:roll:

John

57

i have a question: have you tried and tenkara style flies with the tenkara outfit?

just wondering how those flies would work in those rivers you are fishing.

58

… although I suspect that the fish in the streams I am fishing will take a properly presented Tenkara fly just as readily as the dry flies I am fishing. I might give it a go one of these days after I get around to some fly tying:confused:

John

59

John,

If you can wait til Spetember and Lowell, I’ll whip ya up some while you wait, both dries and wets. I was planning to bring a Tenkara set up of my own to Lowell, but it doesn’t look like that’s a financial possibility right now. Maybe I can toss a fly or twenty with yours?

REE

60

John,
Perhaps a philosophcal question. Once one is introduced to and enjoys Tenkara, as you apparently do, does one go fishing with BOTH Tenkara and “traditional” or is it an either -or proposition? I’m inclined ( again I restate, having NEVER used Tenkara) to think it’s ONE or the OTHER.

Mark