Tenkara fishing

[Deleted]

Hello

Just joined the forum to get some sound advise

I have just got a Tenkara  3.3 rod and would like some information

what else do I need, line fly's

have been told you just need a made up leader + you can get a pack that you can have these made up ready for use

  I plain to use it in a river which has some trout + also course fish, river is about 15ft wide  but you can wade mid way

Help needed

Thanks

[daves]

Hi there & welcome to Tenkara.

A furled leader is the easiest to start with since it casts well. You say your rod is a 3:3 which I assume is a mistake (5:5, 6:4 or 7:3 are the most usual) but you don't give its length. With a 12' rod I'd go for a 9' leader plus 3' of tippet. Esoteric Tackle have a range of furled leaders to Rod Dibble's design & they are very good.

Personally I prefer a very light, level line of 0.35mm diameter Seastrike copolymer. Others prefer fluorocarbon but I don't like the fact that it sinks. Light level lines are harder to cast but much easier to hold off the water & so control drag.

As for flies I just fish my usuals from size 26 CdC midges to size 10 Shrimps.

If you need any more info. just ask.

[Deleted]

thanks for the advise so far

sorry should have said the tenkara is 3.3m long

I believe it to be a 6/4 make up

I was reading somewhere about having some leader kits already made up for changing easily

so you would say for a tippet just to use a normal mono poly tippet as I would use trout fishing?

[daves]

For dry fly I tend to taper my tippet when using my usual 0.35mm copolymer level line.

With a 3.3m rod I'd use a level line of about 2.3m then 20cm of 0.25mm tippet, 20cm of 0.20mm tippet & 50 to 60cm of 0.12 or 0.14mm tippet. If using a furled leader I'd just use the 0.12 or 0.14mm tippet. The tippet I use is Stroft copolymer.

I'm a bit short of time this evening but will try to remember to give you my full leader set up details for nymphing, duo & dry fly when I get back from my weekend learning the Italian Casting method.

[Deleted]

many thanks again for your help

did speak with esoteric tackle re furled leaders , will have to try the 3.3 m rod out he did say that a 4 mt one would give me that extra bit of length on wide rivers
so maybe look for a 12/13ft rod ( tenkara )

[daves]

Line length is always a compromise. I prefer a line plus tippet no more than 1 foot longer than the rod since this allows me to hold most of the line & tippet off the water & also makes landing & playing fish much simpler. If a fish runs towards you on a long line the only way to keep the line tight is to walk back which isn't always easy.



Line length is always a bit of a compromise. The reasons that I prefer a line plus tippet no more than 1 foot (30 cm) longer than the rod is that it is easier to hold a short line off the water & far easier to play & land fish. With a long line it can be very difficult keeping in touch with a fish that runs towards you!

Here I my line preferences:


Dry Fly:
Line 0.35mm yellow copolymer 3 to 4 feet shorter than the rod plus 2 to 4 feet of tippet

Czech nymph/Light nymph:
Line 0.35mm copolymer 5 to 6 feet shorter than the rod plus 6 inches to 1 foot of bright yellow braid or a curly wurly plus 4 to 5 feet of tippet

Duo:
Line 0.35mm copolymer or furled leader 5 feet shorter than the rod plus 2 feet of tippet to the dry fly plus 3 feet of tippet to the nymph

In windy conditions I’ll sometimes substitute #3 or #4 fluorocarbon lines for the copolymer or use a Tenkara Specific furled leader.

[Deleted]

Hi
thanks again for the update

was going to get a couple of the furled leaders, then think I am correct in just use 2 feet of tippet would that be ok for a start
Dave

[daves]

I use anything from 2 to 4 feet of tippet. Often I will taper the tippet if using more than 2 feet, starting with 1 foot of 3 or 4x, then 2 or 3 feet of 5, or 6x & if necessary a foot of 7x. This can help with the turn-over of the tiny CdC flies that I often use.

[Paul G]

Benisa,let us know how you get on with your trials with the above.

If you are still in the mood for tinkering after that there will be a few additional alternatives that you can try on for size as you progress along. However, I appreciate that as a newcomer, there is a lot to get your head around already!!

Congrats on taking the plunge, it is a non-stop journey into really fun and really effective avenues of fly fishing.

[daves]

As Paul says, once you get sorted, it's worth trying out a range of lines & set-ups to find out what works for you. Everyone has a different casting style & what works for one person may not be as good for another. I tend to sacrifice ease of casting for improved presentation.

[Deleted]

Hi
sorry to ask but who makes ESO rods

[custheyder]

I do! Links below.