Tenkara ? My Thoughts and opinion

**gillchaser999** · 09-04-2022, 10:58 AM

Tenkara , a simplistic way to fly fish . Just a rod , a line , and a fly .
Can be very lightweight especially in the shorter lengths .
To extend your distance and area of exposure of your fly , you must increase your rod length or your line .
Increasing rod length , you lose control somewhat of fishing close up . Increasing line length affects casting and landing a fish .
I made a reference in another post to a similarity to playing golf , where a different club is made for certain distances.
I’ve enjoyed my Tenkara experience and will continue to use my rods from time to time.
But , armed with my little 5’9” one weight Redington Butterstick, it didn’t require changing lines or rods when I needed to fish 10’ or 20 yards .
Tenkara is somewhat new in the USA and in certain situations they shine . But in others they limit my opportunities.
They pack up compact , and for that reason I will probably keep one in the car , just in case .

This morning I took my little one weight Butterstick to the local reservoir and the fishing was tough . I managed to catch eleven small gills switching flies until I found one that would work for a couple of fish , then they’d go cold .
If I’d had a Tenkara rod in my hand , I don’t think I would have caught half that many .
I caught one decent little gill , the rest were micros , but fun on the one weight .
Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! Hope you all have a fun safe weekend!