Tenkara Rods – UL fishing…

It appears that this might be a great lightweight setup for small streams and close in on small lakes. Telescoping pole with no guides won't need a sock or rodcase. And light reels can weight several ounces with backing and line. Think I will try the cheap option with a telescoping panfish rod first as an experiment…

11 feet is the shortest size? That is really odd.

Compared to my fly rod, their smallest lightest rod is 1/8 oz lighter, and the closed size is 5 1/2 inches shorter than my broken down sSage. I think I'll stick with my Sage unless I am missing something!

Tenkara is basically dapping flies, or doing the Czech nymph thing, etc. Rod, fixed line, flies. Greatest reach is length of rod plus length of line/leader. Really not very similar to a regular fly fishing set-up.

Isaac Walton fished pretty much the same way. Very old and basic style. Works best on small streams.

Sort of like UL backpacking: very simple, basic, minimalist approach to the game!

You could probably use the tenkara rod as a stay in your pack if it uses carbon fiber rod stays, like a Mariposa. Evidently you can cast as well as dapp as the line is basically a furled mono leader. The thing i like about it is that you can carry the entire setup collapsed in your hand and be ready to fish a likely spot in seconds. Contrast that to the many minutes it takes to assemble the rod, thread the line, tie on leader, fly etc.

thanks for bringing this up , i am tempted to give it a try :)

I have my tenkara set up, I will post pictures if there is an interest.

Now I just need to learn how to fish. :)

Let's see the photos!

Right now I'm using a Cabela's crappie pole with a Tenkara line, trying the idea/technique out. So far, it seems to work pretty well, as long as you're okay with the inherent limitations. I love the simplicity!

I haven't achieved the best connection yet between crappie rod and line – the Tenkara USA rods have a short Spectra line on which to attach the line. I'm trying to find something like that – maybe a short piece of paracord epoxied on the tip of the crappie rod?

Probably get a rod from Tenkara USA eventually.

I have a tenkara rod, and it works great. I can see how it might not be for everyone, but like was mentioned above, if your into simple, effective, and ultra lite, then you will probably like it.

I lightened mine up even more by replacing the handle section of the Tenkara rod with the upper section of my TiGoat AGP, works slick. I'm trying to talk my father at TiGoat and Daniel from Tenkara USA into making such a rod/pole combo commercialy available. If anybody likes the idea, help me out, and let them know.

Yes please Josh i would be very interested by your photos.

I'm very interested in this product. It has its limitations but it's a third of the price and half the weight of a quality fly fishing rod/reel. I would love to see some user photos too.

I'm heading out onto the trail but will post pictures of my setup first on next week.

This is all I've got on the camera right now, I'll see what else I can get.

I'll be taking a Tenkara Rod as well on my trip to the Bob Marshall next week. I have the as yet unreleased 13' 6:4 model, it weighs 3.5 oz. I think the added length will be very nice for playing larger fish, which the short rods have a tougher time with, and for fishing the bigger rivers out there that we plan to hit – South Fork Flathead, Spotted Bear, S Fork Sun River, etc. Plus, with high water there, the longer rod may be more versatile for nymph fishing big water.

I'm very intrigued by this system for backcountry, and this next expedition will be a full test of how it will do. I can't wait to report back.

My rod, line, and tackle for this trip will weigh less than seven ounces … pretty cool. In 2001 I was light at 24, by 2005 I pared down to 16, down to 12 oz in '08, so this will be another big jump for me, without sacrificing my love of fly fishing.

Very cool, it would be great to hear your impressions of this technique and how it compares to conventional fly fishing. It would seem that tenkara is well suited to 'fish while trekking' you describe in that article from a few years ago.

7oz is pretty impressive…I'm currently at 11oz for my "True" fly rod and reel with line, flies, tippet, leaders, etc….Looks like a new gold weight standard has been set ;) There are ways I think I could meet 7oz but some convenience features would definitely be sacrificed in doing so.

I've fished a 9oz kit for years, and am currently down to sub 3oz. Getting your fishing weight down is similar to getting your pack weight down, you have to approach things a little different, and simplify your kit as much or more than anything. Along with a handful of flies in my hat, I keep extra line and leader in my first aid kit, and thats about it. You'ld be surprised how much you dont really need.

Here are a few pictures of my UL fishing kit.

My Tenkara Rod case along with my MLD pocket fishing kit;

My Tenkara Yamame Rod 12' 7:3;

Here is a Yamame Rod closeup;

The rods spectra tip used for attaching line;

My UL fishing kit, flys on left are tenkara flys and flys on right are from local fly shop;

The Tenkara Yamame Rod slightly extended;

I would like to thank BPL member Brian for bringing Tenkara to my attention. Being new to fishing I relyed on Daniel at TenkaraUSA for guidance in gear selection. Daniel was very helpful and provided great support and assistance.

It is now up to me to learn how to fish.

After following this post and looking over the TenkaraUSA website I couldn't help myself. My set up should be here in just a couple of days. Thanks all for bringing my attention to this.

Sweet looking set up Thom. Nicely done! Now lets see some fish photos!

Or at least some Tenkara action shots. Very nice setup. Is that a large MLD pocket? I just got my MLD stuff and might have to order another pocket for this same use. Thanks again for the post.

Matt,
Yes that is a large MLD pocket, the size works perfect. A person can add a 2nd pocket for a wind jacket, snacks…, if fishing away from your pack. I will provide action shots soon but can not promise any pictures of fish. :)

Got my Yamame rod and tenkara line and took it out to a local river today. The weather turned really bad, got caught in a rare Oregon July thunderstorm, so I had to cut the trip short. Didn't catch anything except some small cutthroat, but was really more interested in trying out the technique than catching a ton of fish.

Overall I really liked it. From the time I got there to the time I was fishing was about five minutes. The casting technique is different. It is much slower than a western rod, however after a couple of casts I got the hang of it. I was able to make pretty accurate casts to tight areas that would be much harder even with my small light backpacking set up. The river I was on was about 20-30 ft across and I didn't feel like I was held back by the absence of a reel. The small trout that I caught were fun to play and I found it easy to bring them on without a reel (I used the tenkara line and about 5.5ft of 5x tippet.). The rod is softer and it feels different when the fish strikes. I lost a couple of fish before I learned how the rod feels when a fish takes the fly. This rod isn't suited for large fish. I was catching 6-10" fish and I felt the rod was perfect. Larger fish in the 15+ inch range is going to take some finesse on the users part to land the fish, an opportunity I hope to have soon. When the storm hit I was able to collapse the rod and quickly spool the line which made hiking out that much easier. This will be my goto set up for backpacking and packrafting. The speed at which you can be fishing and pack back up more than makes up for any limitations in my book. As far as quality goes, I think the rod is top notch, and it comes with a great warranty. The only gripes I have about it after my limited use is that there needs to be a quick spool system for the line. I got some ideas from the tenkara forums, but haven't made anything yet. Also would like a fitted foam endcap for the rod when it is collapsed. The wood one that it comes with is nice, but heavy and I am sure it will soon get lost. These are things I can make and will probably do so in the next week, so they really can't be counted against Tenkara USA. Tenkara is definitely different than western fly fishing but the style and ethic behind it aligns well with lightweight backpacking philosophies and any backpacking fly fisher should give it a try. I can't wait to get back on the river.

Thanks for your post Jay. It was very informative. After reading your report and watching the Tenkara USA video I’ll be purchasing a tenkara rod.

Thanks to all for the posts. This really got my interest as a simple way to get into fly fishing. After speaking to Daniel I ordered a setup today.

Thom as a newby can you please tell me what the yellow bottle is in your pics? Fly dryer? Good to know a small kit will fit in my MLD pockets.
Thanks,
Barnett