Tenkara is just for little fish...

[mikechell 0]

... a guy that fished the canals for carp with a large Tenkara rod.

Okay ... this is where I get confused about the style of fishing. A large "tenkara" rod IS a "cane" pole.

[DrLogik 0]

mikechell,

 

Yeah, but don't tell him that! ROFL!

[ben bell 0]

i don,t know if tenkara is for small fish but it does increase your respect for 8" bluegill and 12" bass..

[spiralspey 0]

I understand the attraction of tenkara, it simplifies things by eliminating things you don't really need when fishing a small stream like a reel and a hundred feet of fly line. However, I can't fathom the attraction of landing larger fish on a tenkara setup. To me there is nothing I want more than to have a fish take line, hopefully lots of line. I buy reels that make a lot of noise, so when a fish rips line off it the sound tells me how fast it's going. When I think back to all the most memorable fish I've caught over the years, it's not the biggest I remember, it's the fish that took the most line and made my reel scream that stick out in my memory. I know landing a big fish on a tenkara setup isn't easy, but to me you're missing out on one of the coolest things about fly fishing.

[ben bell 0]

hi Spiralspey..i mostly agree..i guess some people want to see how big a fish they can get on tenkara..i fish mostly farm ponds which means pan fish and the tenkara rod makes pan fish a lot more fun..i only use 4# leader to protect the rod..i don,t care if i loose a big fish..these small flies rarely attract a big fish but when the water temperature gets down well into the 40s the small fly becomes more attractive to bigger fish but at that temperature a tenkara rod has a good chance..they aren,t as strong, so i go up to 6# leader and i have a chance for a nicer fish..as the water gets colder your chances go up...have fun.

[tjm 0]

Okay ... this is where I get confused about the style of fishing. A large "tenkara" rod IS a "cane" pole.

 

 

Maybe it was before they invented graphite. But if they use the long rods for bait fishing it is called Keiryu, I believe.

 

Long tine ago ol' Lew from Alabama sold them telescoping rods as Bream Busters. iirc, he had them made in Japan. Bet that is where the present rods got their start.

[spiralspey 0]

It is all about fun. I've cast one tenkara rod at a fly shop. It was very enjoyable, and light years from being anything like the cane poles some are comparing them to. The rod was light and crisp in my hand and threw a nice loop with the tapered line/leader, but I'm very comfortable with a 12 foot rod from years with two handers. They're definitely not something I'm interested in, but I can see why some people like them so much. If I fished on small rivers or lakes for panfish or small bass out of a boat I bet a tenkara setup would be a blast and pretty effective too.

[tjm 0]

This guy got a fairly big fish;

[tjm 0]

My mental comparison to cane poles is not in the material the rods are made of but in the tactics used and truthfully should be compared to cedar or willow poles as that is what we used more than cane.

Tenkara can not be a tradition dating back than a few years if you want to look at the rods, It could not be more than about 45 years in existence.

I remember fishing before graphite. Poles 10'-14' feet long and the problems involved with trees, high banks and other obstructions is why I took up the spinning rods and when some years later I first fished a fly rod, it was a return to to cane pole casting in my opinion. Just a bit shorter rod and the ability to handle longer line. But the huck finn poles could fish spoons and bait that I can't cast very well with my fly rod.

From my childhood memories, those longer rods will work a bunch better with a shorter line for top water presentation.

The method of using a fly with a fixed line can be dated back to Roman Empire days or before in Europe..