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.

Edited by jwell on 07/13/2009 10:50:45 MDT.

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

Congratulations. What rod and action did you end up ordering?

Edited by Steingass on 07/16/2009 18:32:29 MDT.

I have seen some casting videos on Youtube and I decided I wanted to try some different casting techniques so last night I took my Tenkara set to a small local pond to do exactly that.

I found in just an hour was getting the hang of different casting techniques. This was only my second time using the rod and I think I am finally getting used to the slow speed of the rod. I also experimented with different flys and weights as well as different length tippets (all 5x). I found that many different casting styles work. I especially like the underhand and side cast. It was great for accurate placements. I found adding weight had negative effect on casting ease and accuracy. I don't think the rod can really handle any more than a BB of split shot and that might have been pushing it (I am using the Yamame rod). I used tippet length between about 5' and 8'. All lengths I tired worked fine. With longer tippets I would suggest some sort of 3x leader tied onto the extender loop. I didn't have any and I can see this being a problem hauling in a larger fish. I caught a lot of bluegill and it was fun bringing them in. The shorter tippet made it much easier to actually bring the fish in.

I have also made a quick winding spool out of a piece of foam. It is very similar to the one on the Tenkara forums (http://www.tenkarausa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23), but mine is smaller. It allows you to collapse the pole and not have to spool the line. It is great for hiking from spot to spot. Only take about a minute to start casting and about the same amount of time to collapse the rod back down. I also made a foam endcap to replace the wood one. It is nice because it fits farther down the barrel of the pole to reduce movement of the pole segments while walking and it allows the transition loop to extend out the top without any abrasion from the wood cap. I will try to post pictures soon.

Starting to like the rod more and more and can't wait to try it out in the backcountry. Hopefully Ryan Jordan will post a review of the Tenkara rod he used on his Bob Marshall trip.

is it possible to add a slotted foam end cap at both ends of the collapsed rod and wind the line from end to end and hopefully snag the hook in an end too? That last bit may well be the problem.

For those of you that have some experience with this setup, how do you think it would work for small alpine lakes? Is its reach too short?

I think Tenkara would work well for small alpine lakes. With my western fly fishing set up I found I was catching most fish within 20' of where I was casting from. I was more sucessful when I surveyed the lake and could cast to a spot that I saw fish or thought fish were likely to be, rather than double hauling to the center of the lake. Many alpine have banks are choked with shrubs making longer casts more difficult. The benefit of setting up and collapsing the Tenkara rod will more than outweigh the perceived disadvantage of a limited amount of line.

I have not tried my Tenkara set up in the back country yet, but expect good results when I do.

Mathew,
After talking to Daniel I ended up with a 13' Ayu 6:4 rod, moss green line, 6x tippet and several Tenkara flies.

I was hesitant about the longer rod but I did want something versatile with some extra reach. After Daniel said you can fish these rods with one section collapsed I went for it. I want to try fishing with it from my kayak as well.

Here's a pic of my Tenkara setup described above with a small Morell foam fly box (flies on left at Tenkara), Fishpond Aussie clippers, Hemostats. Weighs 5.52oz total.

I love Tenkara.

I mean, seriously, if a fly fishing inventor were to build something just for us, in terms of gear, technique, and style, this is it. SO COOL.

As many of you know, I just returned from a couple weeks of trekking in the Bob Marshall and I caught loads of fish on my Tenkara rod, a new model 13-footer.

I'm putting together a video review that includes HELMET CAM footage of casting, catching, and releasing a good fish, which is neat.

Until then, enjoy the teaser here:



This was a cutthroat, about 15", caught on the South Fork Flathead using a Sylvester Nemes' soft hackle pattern during an evening spinner fall of gray drakes.

Oh and FWIW, I think limiting "Tenkara" to small streams is ridiculous. Most trout hang out near the banks. Get into position, and get near'em. Long casts usually aren't necessary for river fishing for trout. The S Fk is a BIG river, 1000 CFS at low water, and up to 5000 CFS when it becomes fishable in June. I think it was probably running around 3000 CFS when this shot was taken.

The longer rod I had (13') was nice, for its reach, and for rolling over long leaders (I used an 8' leader at the end of a 10.5' Tenkara line), because the fish were being picky during the spinner hatch.

Edited by ryan on 07/23/2009 01:03:35 MDT.

Hey Ryan,

Nice pic! What camera/lens combo are you using? One of the Oly dSLRs with pancake lens or what?

Cheers, A

So max reach is ~30 feet? I would actually be more worried about using this in small streams than big ones or lakes myself, as a rod that long can get be a lot to handle in the brush and such...Any thoughts? Dap away? :) I think if I go extreme I can get my traditional fly fishing setup to about 9oz with everything included, but not under 6oz as the setup above shows. Is the 3-4 oz savings worth it? I guess that's a personal call. Can't wait for the video.

@ashley - it's a Sigma DP2. I don't use SLRs so much on long trips. I still take them on short trips. This year I've been using the DP2 and the Olympus E-P1. I'll start posting photos with the P1 pretty soon. It's a pretty good camera too.

@aaron - no, much less actually (the rod/line/leader cannot be a straight line). A shorter rod would work better on a brushy creek, for sure, but yes, dapping is the modus operandi for creek fishin'.

Will be interested to hear how the EP-1 pans out. The Siggy would interest me more if it could actually do decent sized video... it can't even manage 640x480, which is a bummer.

The EP-1 is sounding like a fairly slow machine from what I have read so far, but that wouldn't matter much for backpacking. Likewise the limited lens selection.

Thanks for the heads up... I'll look forward to seeing some EP-1 pics.

BTW... in your Blast pack review a little while back were you using the DP2 for photos for that too?

@ashley: the DP2 is slower than the E-P1. I've been using the DP1/DP2 a lot the past few years, nothing really bothers me with either I suppose, so I think the E-P1 is pretty snappy compared to the Sigmas.

I've been pretty happy with the E-P1 so far, but I still have a soft spot for the DP1/DP2 images.

The Blast pack review was shot by an Oly DSLR with that gorgeous but heavy Leica Summicron 25mm lens.

OK thanks. Sounds like the EP-1 would do the job. Might wait till it drops in price a bit though.

Really enjoyed your pics in the Blast review. The beauty of an f1.4 Leica lens eh!

Had a look at the Tenkara videos on Vimeo and the website and really like the idea of the system. I believe this will be my entry into fly fishing, as it looks rather "easy" and fun, plus its UL and fast to assemble/ pack. Great stuff, and that photo, Ryan, is gorgeous. Looking forward to the video and more.