Welshpool,Powys

[dbl]

I live near Welshpool, Powys. I'm planning to join a nearby river club soon, but I have been dabbling in tenkara on a small lake. I confess to using the cheap Dong Feng rod from Amazon, but in 3short outings I have hooked 3 2lb rainbows and landed 2 of them. My first leader was an Airflo floating trout polyleader (8ft),connected to a 3lb nylon tippet of about 5ft. It worked quite well and was easy to see. I am now using a furled leader (10 ft) and 3lb fluoro which casts better,I think. The tip of the rod comes with an attached lilian and it coped very well with playing the trout. I don't think I would risk a stronger tippet, but the rod seemed to distribute the stress through its length efficiently and the fish tired quite quickly. There is no cork handle on the rod so it quite tiring to grip and in cold weather it will probably be uncomfortable without gloves. I am enjoying the style enough to think of investing in a more expensive rod, once I know what action and length will suit me best. BTW, the rod is 4.5 metres long.
Standard nymphs took the trout, though I tried self-tied tenkara flies unsuccessfully.

[orangeotter]

Hi and welcome, you'll have great fun when you really get into it. You have some good fishing on the Severn. I think your rod is very long - you may be better with a 12ft or maybe 13ft 6".Can I suggest that you change to a level fluoro leader of maybe 12 - 13ft, just right for your local river. A 3ft nylon tippet will be good.

You'll get terrific help from everyone on the forum but if you want personal help, contact me. I fish the Severn and the Dee.

Tight lines !

[daves]

Choosing a rod that suits you can be a problem as the grading of rods as 7:3, 6:4 & 5:5 is not very precise since you can have a stiff 6:4 or a soft 7:3. The only real way is to try them out if possible & check out plenty of reviews. Much depends on the size of fish, size of river & even size of flies you fish. I'm hoping that FF&FT magazine will publish an article I've sent them about how best to choose a Tenkara rod. There are some great rods about, but there are a few that are less than desirable when it comes to casting, particularly if like me you prefer very light level copolymer lines.
As far as line length goes, because I like to hold virtually all the line & tippet off the water I like a level line 3 to 4' shorter than the rod with about 3' of tippet for dry flies. For nymphing I like a level line 5' shorter than the rod with 8" of bright braid & 3 to 5' of tippet depending on the water depth.

[paul1966]

Hello dlb, I have a dong feng rod too, they are great value and very strong they also
give good line control due to the length. They are hard work to cast though and you will find casting a 12ft T rod a breeze if you learnt with a long heavy rod. I agree with daves in keeping line length not much longer than the rod it gives great control and that's the big advantage of tenkara if I want to cast a long line I use a western rod.

[dbl]

Thanks for the revelatory tips, everyone.
I have a No. 3 level fluoro (diff. colour sections)leader spool but I haven't yet set it up. I was surprised at the use of fluoro as it sinks so readily but I eventually realised that the whole point was to keep it in the air! I have some orange backing that will do for a short braid indicator.
Orangeotter, thanks, I will get back to you. I am planning to fish the Dee and the Severn next year if I can get the right club membership. I had a chance to look at a couple of quality tenkara rods from Tenkara US and UK last weekend and the action was so different that I realised making the right choice would be easier once I have got some practice in on the stretches I plan to fish.

[flatsghost]

dbl
Don't forget the Wye and Usk foundation waters and the Severn Rivers Trust stuff - more water than you will ever get round in truth and not far from you.
Try your stuff on the local chub - you might be pleasantly surprised. Louis will put you right if you ask him -it's his home patch.
Good luck
Glyn

[orangeotter]

hi dbl, your leader sounds like the BMS material from Esoteric Tackle, if so it's very good. However, in my experience, depending on the rod you choose #3 may be a touch light, #3.5 seems to be the norm.

If you want to contact me then email [e-mail]

Cheers, Louis