Blog Article on Casting the Tenkara

[skunkaroo]

skunkaroo,

You must like much heavier lines than I do. I was given a 12' section of level 2-wt silk line (I now understand why people are as passionate about silk lines as they are about bamboo rods!) but I thought it was way too heavy for a tenkara rod. If you think about it, a tenkara rod is a "nothing" weight. A rod labeled a two weight is designed to load properly with 30 feet of fly line weighing 80 grains, to which you add 9-12 feet of leader and tippet in order to fish. A tenkara rod is designed to load properly with no fly line, weighing exactly nothing, plus 12-15 feet of leader and tippet. Of course, if you fish heavy flies or have to fish into the wind, you'll need a heavier "line", but a North Country fly on a windless day will cast beautifully on an unbelievably light line. Charles Cotton would have loved it!

A few points... The front taper of a typical 2wt fly line is for the most part thinner through most of its length than the butt of a factory tapered mono leader. Depending on the length of the forward taper, the 11-12' may in fact be only slightly heavier than a mono or furled leader. As I normally fish the 2wt tip attached directly to a 4-6' section of tippet, the 2wt tip in effect serves the same role as a leader with a few advantages including better energy transfer and built-in flotation. I don't think we are so far apart on this point as you might think. I regret not making comment on the tippet length in the article as it has been raised elsewhere, but I felt that was a discussion for the next piece on presentation (one that I'll probably be ready to write in about 6 months ).

As with most of my rods, I view the Tenkara as a tool--one which I want to get the most possible use from in any given situation. While I am still very much in the experimental phase, I still want to be able to apply it to the widest range of water situations and required presentations. I suppose I also want to do it with the least amount of fuss. The two weight tip serves the widest range of situations that I have had to deal with to date (flies, water and weather), suits my casting style and keeps my kit lean--and after all it's that spartan simplicity that is one of the most beautiful aspects of the Tenkara.

Aaron

BTW I want to thank both you and Mike for encouraging me to pick up this rod.

[CM_Stewart]

The front taper of a typical 2wt fly line is for the most part thinner through most of its length than the butt of a factory tapered mono leader. Depending on the length of the forward taper, the 11-12' may in fact be only slightly heavier than a mono or furled leader.

Good point. I've never had a 2wt and haven't seen the front taper of a 2wt line.

You're quite welcome on the encouragement. I just think it's a great way to fish - at least in situations where it is suitable

[pszy22]

Aaron,

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but just wanted to tell you I very much enjoyed your blog entries.

Regarding line usage, I fish a furled mono line. Ninety five percent of the time I fish a dry, but I very often like to fish it damp on a swing. I also tend to skate my fly quite often in when in dry mode. The furled line has enough mass to it that I can mend to control/vary the speed of my swing. It's still light enough that I can keep it off the water when I want to fish dead drift, but most of the time I'm fishing a fairly active fly.

[skunkaroo]

Aaron,

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but just wanted to tell you I very much enjoyed your blog entries.

Regarding line usage, I fish a furled mono line. Ninety five percent of the time I fish a dry, but I very often like to fish it damp on a swing. I also tend to skate my fly quite often in when in dry mode. The furled line has enough mass to it that I can mend to control/vary the speed of my swing. It's still light enough that I can keep it off the water when I want to fish dead drift, but most of the time I'm fishing a fairly active fly.

Thanks for the plug on the Blog. Unfortunately I haven't been able to keep up with it because of work (pesky thing, work is).

I liked the furled lines supplied by Tenkara USA, but as I mentioned (or alluded to) in my blog the biggest issue I had was with breaking off on snags and the amount of time needed to "rest" the furled line. I often use furled leaders (mono, silk and polyester) with conventional rods for dry fly fishing, but aside from the occasional grasping willow, snags are less of an issue with the dry (or so I have found).

Aaron

[pszy22]

Aaron,

Maybe you'll luck out and get laid off, like I did. Granted, I had to cut back on expenses a bit, but I found it so enjoyable I just decided to more or less retire (that and the fact there is no work to be found). I'm not complaining!

To be honest, I've never fished a Tenkara USA furled line, but I have fished furled leaders extensively for the past 10 or 12 years, and have been fishing a furled tenkara line for the past year, I've never had a problem with a furled leader twisting after a snag requiring time to give it a rest.

I will say there are a number of different furling methods, I've more or less developed my own. I'm wondering if the line you used might have some sort of residual stress in it, that gets activated and then needs to be relaxed. Maybe it's the nature of the material used, there are about 1000 options there too.

I wish I had a definitive answer for that, but I've never really seen that happen.

If I took one of the furled leaders I use, and repeatedly stretch it out and released it, if anything, it would end up straighter than when I started. If it does get twisted and kinked, rather than rest it, try giving it a hard stretch and then gradually release it, see if than might not get it back to a fishable state.