Tenkara Fly Fishin' Trip Report

I rec'd my Tenkara Iwana rod a few weeks ago. I took it out and I am
VERY impressed. It is well made and easy to assembly and take down.
The documentation on how to rig it is clear and easy to follow.

The line is a furled leader (10 ft) with an extra braided loop on the
rod end of the leader to attach it to the braided line (cow hitch)
that is attached to the end of the rod. I added 6 feet of tippet (5x)
and a size 18 hare's ear. I had to shorten my normal stroke but I was
able to master the rod within 20 minutes. It handled differently than
my other rods but I enjoyed learning to use it. If I do my math right;
with a 11 foot rod, 10 foot leader and 6 foot tippet means I can reach
out about 25+ feet. Plenty for the small streams I love so much.

Well this weekend, I took the new Tenkara fly rod out to a little
steam and strapped on two flies (a hare's ear trailer and a foam elk
hair thingee I tend to have success with) and worked a small stream
that wasn't clouded up by lots of rain we have been getting lately.
Anyway, I caught and released five cutthroat trout - four small but
one was 16" +/- and boy howdy was it a challenge to land with an
eleven foot rod. I didn't bring a net but I am thinking that I should
bring one next time. I had to close up the rod a half dozen times to
move through brush to a new hole and it was easy and quick...I think I
am going to like this type of fly fishing - especially right after
work on a moments notice type of thing.

Padishar Creel who doesn't have any financial interest in the Tenkara
fly rod company or any company since I lost my ass in the stock market.

On Mon, 5 Apr 2010 01:38:54 -0700 (PDT), Padishar Creel
wrote:

I rec'd my Tenkara Iwana rod a few weeks ago. I took it out and I am
VERY impressed. It is well made and easy to assembly and take down.
The documentation on how to rig it is clear and easy to follow.

The line is a furled leader (10 ft) with an extra braided loop on the
rod end of the leader to attach it to the braided line (cow hitch)
that is attached to the end of the rod. I added 6 feet of tippet (5x)
and a size 18 hare's ear. I had to shorten my normal stroke but I was
able to master the rod within 20 minutes. It handled differently than
my other rods but I enjoyed learning to use it. If I do my math right;
with a 11 foot rod, 10 foot leader and 6 foot tippet means I can reach
out about 25+ feet. Plenty for the small streams I love so much.

Well this weekend, I took the new Tenkara fly rod out to a little
steam and strapped on two flies (a hare's ear trailer and a foam elk
hair thingee I tend to have success with) and worked a small stream
that wasn't clouded up by lots of rain we have been getting lately.
Anyway, I caught and released five cutthroat trout - four small but
one was 16" +/- and boy howdy was it a challenge to land with an
eleven foot rod. I didn't bring a net but I am thinking that I should
bring one next time. I had to close up the rod a half dozen times to
move through brush to a new hole and it was easy and quick...I think I
am going to like this type of fly fishing - especially right after
work on a moments notice type of thing.

Padishar Creel who doesn't have any financial interest in the Tenkara
fly rod company or any company since I lost my ass in the stock market.

Glad you enjoyed the fishing. I had to google to see what an "Iwana rod" was,
and it turns out it is a model of rod made by a company who calls it
"TenkaraUSA." Weird. I was wondering what you meant by "no interest in the
Tenkara company." Do you have any idea if the company was started by
"Americans" or Japanese?

I gotta say, that $150USD "Iwana" looks suspiciously like what a lot of folks
would call a "crappie pole" (albeit I've never seen a crappie pole with a cork
handle, and no "KPOS" jokes intended), which can be had for about $15-20USD.

And FWIW, a whole lot of fish are caught on that type of setup, and many around
here use a traditional modern "western" style fly rod setup (reel, rod with
guides) about like that, essentially "dapping," which was the original "western"
way to FF as well.

TC,
R

On Apr 5, 3:15*am, wrote:
On Mon, 5 Apr 2010 01:38:54 -0700 (PDT), Padishar Creel
wrote:





I rec'd my Tenkara Iwana rod a few weeks ago. I took it out and I am
VERY impressed. It is well made and easy to assembly and take down.
The documentation on how to rig it is clear and easy to follow.

The line is a furled leader (10 ft) with an extra braided loop on the
rod end of the leader to attach it to the braided line (cow hitch)
that is attached to the end of the rod. I added 6 feet of tippet (5x)
and a size 18 hare's ear. I had to shorten my normal stroke but I was
able to master the rod within 20 minutes. It handled differently than
my other rods but I enjoyed learning to use it. If I do my math right;
with a 11 foot rod, 10 foot leader and 6 foot tippet means I can reach
out about 25+ feet. Plenty for the small streams I love so much.

Well this weekend, I took the new Tenkara fly rod out to a little
steam and strapped on two flies (a hare's ear trailer and a foam elk
hair thingee I tend to have success with) and worked a small stream
that wasn't clouded up by lots of rain we have been getting lately.
Anyway, I caught and released five cutthroat trout - four small but
one was 16" +/- and boy howdy was it a challenge to land with an
eleven foot rod. I didn't bring a net but I am thinking that I should
bring one next time. *I had to close up the rod a half dozen times to
move through brush to a new hole and it was easy and quick...I think I
am going to like this type of fly fishing - especially right after
work on a moments notice type of thing.

Padishar Creel who doesn't have any financial interest in the Tenkara
fly rod company or any company since I lost my ass in the stock market.

Glad you enjoyed the fishing. *I had to google to see what an "Iwana rod" was,
and it turns out it is a model of rod made by a company who calls it
"TenkaraUSA." *Weird. *I was wondering what you meant by "no interest in the
Tenkara company." *Do you have any idea if the company was started by
"Americans" or Japanese?

I gotta say, that $150USD "Iwana" looks suspiciously like what a lot of folks
would call a "crappie pole" (albeit I've never seen a crappie pole with a cork
handle, and no "KPOS" jokes intended), which can be had for about $15-20USD.

And FWIW, a whole lot of fish are caught on that type of setup, and many around
here use a traditional modern "western" style fly rod setup (reel, rod with
guides) about like that, essentially "dapping," which was the original "western"
way to FF as well.

TC,
R- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Actually the Tenkara rod is not a good candidate for for dapping cuz
of the long line and tippet can't be shortened easily. As to the cost,
it weighs 2.5 ounces and quickly collapses for quick movement and ease
of moving through underbrush to new holes. It is made of graphite and
is very delicate in its presentation. May I suggest you watch the
videos on the Tenkara site and see if you still think of this rod and
technique as a crappie rod.

I think the company is an American company but has Japanese
connections. The designs and materials are Japanese, I think.

Padishar Creel

On Mon, 5 Apr 2010 11:59:19 -0700 (PDT), Padishar Creel
wrote:

On Apr 5, 3:15*am, wrote:
On Mon, 5 Apr 2010 01:38:54 -0700 (PDT), Padishar Creel
wrote:


I rec'd my Tenkara Iwana rod a few weeks ago. I took it out and I am
VERY impressed. It is well made and easy to assembly and take down.
The documentation on how to rig it is clear and easy to follow.

The line is a furled leader (10 ft) with an extra braided loop on the
rod end of the leader to attach it to the braided line (cow hitch)
that is attached to the end of the rod. I added 6 feet of tippet (5x)
and a size 18 hare's ear. I had to shorten my normal stroke but I was
able to master the rod within 20 minutes. It handled differently than
my other rods but I enjoyed learning to use it. If I do my math right;
with a 11 foot rod, 10 foot leader and 6 foot tippet means I can reach
out about 25+ feet. Plenty for the small streams I love so much.

Well this weekend, I took the new Tenkara fly rod out to a little
steam and strapped on two flies (a hare's ear trailer and a foam elk
hair thingee I tend to have success with) and worked a small stream
that wasn't clouded up by lots of rain we have been getting lately.
Anyway, I caught and released five cutthroat trout - four small but
one was 16" +/- and boy howdy was it a challenge to land with an
eleven foot rod. I didn't bring a net but I am thinking that I should
bring one next time. *I had to close up the rod a half dozen times to
move through brush to a new hole and it was easy and quick...I think I
am going to like this type of fly fishing - especially right after
work on a moments notice type of thing.

Padishar Creel who doesn't have any financial interest in the Tenkara
fly rod company or any company since I lost my ass in the stock market.

Glad you enjoyed the fishing. *I had to google to see what an "Iwana rod" was,
and it turns out it is a model of rod made by a company who calls it
"TenkaraUSA." *Weird. *I was wondering what you meant by "no interest in the
Tenkara company." *Do you have any idea if the company was started by
"Americans" or Japanese?

I gotta say, that $150USD "Iwana" looks suspiciously like what a lot of folks
would call a "crappie pole" (albeit I've never seen a crappie pole with a cork
handle, and no "KPOS" jokes intended), which can be had for about $15-20USD.

And FWIW, a whole lot of fish are caught on that type of setup, and many around
here use a traditional modern "western" style fly rod setup (reel, rod with
guides) about like that, essentially "dapping," which was the original "western"
way to FF as well.

TC,
R- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Actually the Tenkara rod is not a good candidate for for dapping cuz
of the long line and tippet can't be shortened easily.

You've lost me here - the "TenkaraUSA" even sells a line that (apparently) the
buyer must cut into two lines to fit their rod, and for your rod, it would be
10.5 and, say. 16 foot lines, or, as the sole alternative I saw, a 10.5 foot
line. And AFAIK, "dapping" has no "official" length limit, only a practical
one. And 10-15 feet ain't it. Moreover, "dapping" consists of a number of
techniques, or really, more correctly, the term "dapping" is applied to a number
of techniques, most of which use ridiculously long "dapping" rods, windblown
flies, etc., but it is also used by some to denote using standard "western" rods
but not "fly fishing" in the traditional sense. For example, you could use your
new rod to "dap" for brim and other panfish in MS, AL, LA, etc. and until you
told folks about the rod, I doubt it would get a second glance - most would
think it was one of the variety of collapsible rods/poles.

As to the cost,
it weighs 2.5 ounces and quickly collapses for quick movement and ease
of moving through underbrush to new holes. It is made of graphite and
is very delicate in its presentation. May I suggest you watch the
videos on the Tenkara site and see if you still think of this rod and
technique as a crappie rod.

If I have time in the next day or two, I will. FWIW, I didn't mean to insult
the rod, nor am I trying to do so now, but I've seen collapsible crappie rods
that _generally_ fit your above description (I've never weighed one, but I'd
guess that they come in somewhere in the 3 ounce range). And I realize that
"economics of scale" may well play into this - I have no idea of the US market
for tenkara rods, made by TenkaraUSA or anyone else, but I'd imagine that the
market in Japan for the rods (tenkara in general as opposed to TenkaraUSA
specifically) would not be insignificant. The bottom line is it shocked me a
bit to see the price on the rod, but hey, if you're happy with it, then it was
worth it - I truly mean that just as written.

I think the company is an American company but has Japanese
connections. The designs and materials are Japanese, I think.

That would make sense. And it was part of the reason I was a little shocked at
the price.

Padishar Creel

TC,
R

On Apr 5, 5:48*pm, wrote:
On Mon, 5 Apr 2010 11:59:19 -0700 (PDT), Padishar Creel
wrote:





On Apr 5, 3:15*am, wrote:
On Mon, 5 Apr 2010 01:38:54 -0700 (PDT), Padishar Creel
wrote:

I rec'd my Tenkara Iwana rod a few weeks ago. I took it out and I am
VERY impressed. It is well made and easy to assembly and take down.
The documentation on how to rig it is clear and easy to follow.

The line is a furled leader (10 ft) with an extra braided loop on the
rod end of the leader to attach it to the braided line (cow hitch)
that is attached to the end of the rod. I added 6 feet of tippet (5x)
and a size 18 hare's ear. I had to shorten my normal stroke but I was
able to master the rod within 20 minutes. It handled differently than
my other rods but I enjoyed learning to use it. If I do my math right;
with a 11 foot rod, 10 foot leader and 6 foot tippet means I can reach
out about 25+ feet. Plenty for the small streams I love so much.

Well this weekend, I took the new Tenkara fly rod out to a little
steam and strapped on two flies (a hare's ear trailer and a foam elk
hair thingee I tend to have success with) and worked a small stream
that wasn't clouded up by lots of rain we have been getting lately.
Anyway, I caught and released five cutthroat trout - four small but
one was 16" +/- and boy howdy was it a challenge to land with an
eleven foot rod. I didn't bring a net but I am thinking that I should
bring one next time. *I had to close up the rod a half dozen times to
move through brush to a new hole and it was easy and quick...I think I
am going to like this type of fly fishing - especially right after
work on a moments notice type of thing.

Padishar Creel who doesn't have any financial interest in the Tenkara
fly rod company or any company since I lost my ass in the stock market.