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New Guy
Post 20 Nov 2018, 12:03 • #1 
Sport
Joined: 10/30/18
Posts: 75
Location: Gateway to Death Valley
Howdy.

Me I've fly fished for close to 40 years. Trout in streams primarily. I was getting turned off to chasing the latest gear though. Seemed to me that fly fishing gear was too expensive and complicated anymore.

I heard about Tenkara and it just instantly appealed to me, the minimal aspect of it mostly. It wasn't until I started fishing with it that I appreciated it's effectiveness for getting drag free drifts. So for the last 4-5 years or so I've been a dedicated Tenkara guy, an apostle really. Everywhere I've fished I've extolled the virtues of it to those interested.

So why am I here you ask (if you read this far, hah). Going through my fishing stuff I came across an old Cortland Crown 5/6 glass rod. Don't remember when I bought it but had to be early on. There was a Cortland dealer by me way back when. It's at least a 30 year old rod, still in good shape. Digging around some more I found a Cortland Rimfly reel loaded with line. Strung up the rod and started casting it. Hey this is nice! Much nicer casting stroke than the graphite rods I have.

Got out on the stream with it. Snagged stuff on the backcast a few times. Had to mend line, haven't needed to do that for awhile. Wasn't catching fish but I was having fun. Finally towards the end of the day I caught a nice wild rainbow in a situation I couldn't have with a Tenkara rod. About a 40 foot roll cast across a good current, wasn't room for a backcast. Current was too strong to wade so if I was fishing Tenkara I would have looked at the fishy area on the other side and shrugged my shoulders.

Been out with it a few times since and am really liking it. It's great for shorter casts that don't load my graphite rods. Fishing tenkara teaches the value of fishing close, well forces you really!

Anyway all that to say, Howdy.


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Re: New Guy
Post 20 Nov 2018, 14:03 • #2 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
welcome - add your location in your profile so we know where you're fishing when you post


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Re: New Guy
Post 20 Nov 2018, 14:55 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/12/16
Posts: 4094
Location: USA-CO
Welcome, Spec!


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Re: New Guy
Post 20 Nov 2018, 15:08 • #4 
Sport
Joined: 10/30/18
Posts: 75
Location: Gateway to Death Valley
bulldog1935 wrote:
welcome - add your location in your profile so we know where you're fishing when you post

Gateway to Death Valley does that help? :)
That's the city's tourism moto, says so on a billboard out on Hwy 395!

I mostly fish the Eastern Sierra in California. Bishop, Mammoth, Bridgeport.
Got kids on Colorado's western slope, don't get to fish there much though.


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Re: New Guy
Post 20 Nov 2018, 15:35 • #5 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
Welcome! I love Tenkara, and will bore any victim who will listen on all the things it does better than a fly rod. However, glass rods have distracted me from my Tenkara fishing. You already hit on one of the keys: loading the rod without a lot of line out. There are glass rods which will "self load"; that is they don't need a length of line to get a decent bend and rhythm going, they have enough flex and inertia to bend on their own. Graphite Tenkara rods do the same, and will cast nice loops out of nothing but leader and tippet. Shorter, stiff graphite fly rods will not.

While a Tenkara rod is an extremely efficient fish catching device, I miss the feeling of a good cast. For small streams now I often use my 8' 3/4 wt Steffen. I can fish it with a long leader and make one handed, high stick leader-only Tenkara style casts to most of the spots I hit with a Tenkara rod, with good soft landings and drift. When I want to go further, it will cast short or fairly long with classic loops.

Welcome to the group. I'll bet you'll enjoy mixing glass rods with Tenkara fishing.


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Re: New Guy
Post 20 Nov 2018, 16:03 • #6 
Sport
Joined: 10/30/18
Posts: 75
Location: Gateway to Death Valley
Newfydog wrote:
...While a Tenkara rod is an extremely efficient fish catching device, I miss the feeling of a good cast. For small streams now I often use my 8' 3/4 wt Steffen. I can fish it with a long leader and make one handed, high stick leader-only Tenkara style casts to most of the spots I hit with a Tenkara rod, with good soft landings and drift. When I want to go further, it will cast short or fairly long with classic loops.

Welcome to the group. I'll bet you'll enjoy mixing glass rods with Tenkara fishing.


Thanx!

I use my Tenkara rod(s) for tight line nymphing 99% of the time. Seems to me to be a better solution than a fly rod with a mono rig. Mostly got away from indicator fishing with the Tenkara. Having to get the hang of it again and mending!

I tried the traditional Kebari fly approach briefly but I go fishing to catch fish!

I'm carrying a Tenkara rod while I'm fishing my fiberglass fly rod. Keep thinking that I'll need it in certain situations.


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Re: New Guy
Post 20 Nov 2018, 16:15 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
For tight line nymphing I'm still using the Tenkara a lot. I usually fish small streams with a dry and dropper, using the glass fly rod. I keep a Daiwa Kyose SF 33 in my pack rigged with some sort of tungsten bead nymph. When I come to a deep pool which just has to have a fish on the bottom, I run out the Tenkara rod and find them. Then back to casting the dry-dropper.


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Re: New Guy
Post 23 Nov 2018, 04:27 • #8 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/28/16
Posts: 930
Location: Northern WI
Welcome to the forum.


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Re: New Guy
Post 23 Nov 2018, 08:32 • #9 
Master Guide
Joined: 03/13/16
Posts: 540
Location: Brielle, The Netherlands
Welcome and a great picture of you with the trout..... really Death Valley.... ha ha

Gr from Holland

Nico


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Re: New Guy
Post 25 Nov 2018, 10:12 • #10 
Guide
Joined: 06/28/18
Posts: 338
Location: Bozeman, MT
Welcome! Years ago when people asked me for my secret fishing spot, I always said that Scotty's Castle offered the ultimate in DRY fly fishing.


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Re: New Guy
Post 01 Dec 2018, 21:52 • #11 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/19/14
Posts: 3925
Location: USA - Illinois
Welcome Spec!


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Re: New Guy
Post 21 Jan 2020, 16:46 • #12 
New Member
Joined: 09/28/17
Posts: 6
Location: US-NH
Scotty's Castle? Are they stocking Grapevine creek? Lol


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Re: New Guy
Post 21 Jan 2020, 18:56 • #13 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 01/26/07
Posts: 1385
Location: Ada, Oklahoma
Welcome to a new addiction.

Larry


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Re: New Guy
Post 21 Jan 2020, 20:04 • #14 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/04/15
Posts: 388
Location: Coppell, TX
Welcome Spec. Enjoyed reading your introduction.


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