It is
Tenkara USA's 1st birthday today, so I thought it appropriate to share with you a look at the tenkara gear I purchased recently. You'll have to wait a while still to hear and see the stories of me catching plenty of fish with it, it are the last weeks of winter here, but I reckon until Phil and Steven in three weeks arrive I'll have caught a trout or two!
Packed up for transport.
I have been angling since over twenty years now - I started as I was seven years old with a simple rod, line and float - and I have many good memories of going angling with my dad and brother. Fishing evolved for me from the rod and line to a nicer rod with a reel in many variations, and now I am going back to the rod and line, though this time with a fly at the end of the line instead of the float and worm on a hook.
Ayu rod, 390 cm of pure beauty.
The nice cork handle, which also acts as a counterweight.
Partly opened, you can see the red braided rod tip - that's where the line gets connected to.
So what is tenkara fly-fishing, and why did I get this rod, line and flies? Well, tenkara is the traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing - it is simple (but can take a lifetime to master) and it is well suited for fishing while backpacking because of the light weight of the rod and its small size.
Here is a pretty good explanation of tenkara fly-fishing, so I don't repeat that here. I got this gear because I always have been curious about fly-fishing, and the elegance, lightweight and simplicity of tenkara immediately caught my attention as it came out last year, and it took me some months of reading and thinking till I ordered the tackle.
Collapsed AYU rod, 56 cm long.
I got the AYU rod as that is what Daniel, the founder of Tenkara USA, recommended me to get, together with some traditional tenkara line, tippet, some tenkara level line and of course flies. Now flies are definitely a topic for themselves, and I am tempted to bind my own flies, but for the moment I went with the tenkara flies for simplicity reasons. Let me tell you one thing, though: Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, one of the leading authorities of tenkara angling, only uses one fly pattern! If I look back to the box of different lures I used to carry around, I still can learn a lot.
Tippet spool, traditional tenkara line spool, tenkara level line and my box of flies...
... and a close-up of those flies, true works of art!
A look at the weights:
AYU rod: 104 g
Protecting sleeve: 9 g
Protecting tube: 180 g
Fly box & flies: 31 g
Spool of tippet: 9 g
Spool of tenkara line: 6 g
Spool of tenkara level line: 11 g
MLD pouch: 29 g
For a backpacking trip I would leave the protection tube at home, I am careful enough to not needing that, which means the complete pack of kit is 199 g. What is missing here is my fishing license and a fish hook remover, so that might add another 20 to 30 g to the kit. All in all, not too bad, I'd say.
All fits perfectly into the
Mountain Laurel Design pouch with place to spare.
I'll keep you up-to-date with the developments with my excursions into tenkara style fly-fishing. If you got curious, head over to the Tankara USA website and have a look at their superb
videos, that definitely should get you "hooked" ;)
It is
Tenkara USA's 1st birthday today, so I thought it appropriate to share with you a look at the tenkara gear I purchased recently. You'll have to wait a while still to hear and see the stories of me catching plenty of fish with it, it are the last weeks of winter here, but I reckon until Phil and Steven in three weeks arrive I'll have caught a trout or two!
Packed up for transport.
I have been angling since over twenty years now - I started as I was seven years old with a simple rod, line and float - and I have many good memories of going angling with my dad and brother. Fishing evolved for me from the rod and line to a nicer rod with a reel in many variations, and now I am going back to the rod and line, though this time with a fly at the end of the line instead of the float and worm on a hook.
Ayu rod, 390 cm of pure beauty.
The nice cork handle, which also acts as a counterweight.
Partly opened, you can see the red braided rod tip - that's where the line gets connected to.
So what is tenkara fly-fishing, and why did I get this rod, line and flies? Well, tenkara is the traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing - it is simple (but can take a lifetime to master) and it is well suited for fishing while backpacking because of the light weight of the rod and its small size.
Here is a pretty good explanation of tenkara fly-fishing, so I don't repeat that here. I got this gear because I always have been curious about fly-fishing, and the elegance, lightweight and simplicity of tenkara immediately caught my attention as it came out last year, and it took me some months of reading and thinking till I ordered the tackle.
Collapsed AYU rod, 56 cm long.
I got the AYU rod as that is what Daniel, the founder of Tenkara USA, recommended me to get, together with some traditional tenkara line, tippet, some tenkara level line and of course flies. Now flies are definitely a topic for themselves, and I am tempted to bind my own flies, but for the moment I went with the tenkara flies for simplicity reasons. Let me tell you one thing, though: Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, one of the leading authorities of tenkara angling, only uses one fly pattern! If I look back to the box of different lures I used to carry around, I still can learn a lot.
Tippet spool, traditional tenkara line spool, tenkara level line and my box of flies...
... and a close-up of those flies, true works of art!
A look at the weights:
AYU rod: 104 g
Protecting sleeve: 9 g
Protecting tube: 180 g
Fly box & flies: 31 g
Spool of tippet: 9 g
Spool of tenkara line: 6 g
Spool of tenkara level line: 11 g
MLD pouch: 29 g
For a backpacking trip I would leave the protection tube at home, I am careful enough to not needing that, which means the complete pack of kit is 199 g. What is missing here is my fishing license and a fish hook remover, so that might add another 20 to 30 g to the kit. All in all, not too bad, I'd say.
All fits perfectly into the
Mountain Laurel Design pouch with place to spare.
I'll keep you up-to-date with the developments with my excursions into tenkara style fly-fishing. If you got curious, head over to the Tankara USA website and have a look at their superb
videos, that definitely should get you "hooked" ;)
First Look: Tenkara Fly Fishing Gear
Excellent! I'm excited to see some fruits of your Tenkara labor in the next month or so Hendrik. I have no experience with fly fishing but I plan to get a TiGoat Yagi attachment for my TiGoat AGP's and try my hand at New Mexico trout.
ReplyDeletevery nice rod. It's time to make the fishing license this year. I hope you'll have a nice trip with phil and steven..
ReplyDeletePetri heil
benjamin
It seems very nice rod.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a rod for Ayu(sweet fish) fishing which is made by bamboo.
I will have a rod again soon.
Hi Hendrik
ReplyDeleteI am waiting too for your first experiences with the Tenkara!
Why did Daniel recommend this rod instead of others - specific reasons to decide for this or that?
How long did you wait for your Tenkara arriving in Finland?
Really beautiful in its simplicity!
Where did you get the fly box? I've been looking for a lightweight fly box for some time now and this seems to fit the bill.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about fly fishing once in a while, but somehow I've felt that photography and fishing compete from "same timeslot", when you are hiking and so far photography has always won.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is something beatiful in Tenkara's simple approach to fishing, which brings us to a question ...
Since rod alone is over 100 euros, you probably had to pay some customs, when the package came to Finland. What kind of percentage you have to pay as customs (on top of normal 22% sales tax) on fishing gear?
Eugene, looking forward how you will fare with the TiGoat attachment - if I'd use TiGoat poles it would have been my choice!
ReplyDeleteBenjamin - Petri Dank!
Jotaro, a bamboo rod, that sounds great! I love traditional fishing gear. Are you plannint to get a Japanese tenkara rod, or one from Tenkara USA?
Sabi, I too am! I'll take the rod up north next week, there's some good streams there so maybe I get lucky!
Sleepy Balrog (great nickname!), I got that box from my local tackle shop. Was 6€ and is nice and light, and also sturdy.
Juha, I am sure I will find time for both fishing and photography =) I don't remember the percentage, it wasn't to high. I paid for all the stuff 55€ taxes (import & sales). I'm planning a small UL events in a few weeks, and can bring the tenkara gear along, in case you would like to take a look at it.
Simplicity is beautifull.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried fly fishing here in Finland? I think that it won't work too well on the southern lakes but works better on the big streams or in the northern (Lapland) lakes... Remember to also pay your fishing permits. ;)
Line, hook and worm is free and will quite likely give you something though it usually means särki (roach?) which isn't the best fish I have eaten...
Hi Hendrik,
ReplyDeleteI feel the same as Juha Ylitalo - been tempted by fishing the small Japanese streams while hiking, and your post now tempts me to go out and buy a rod. That Tenkara: almost 4 meters for 100 grams? Amazing.
My eye was caught by the Ayu (sweetfish) model name. The traditional way of catching them in Japan is not by fly, but by tomozuri, which involves pre-hooking a live sweetfish to your line, which other sweetfish then try to attack and get hooked. I think I will prefer a fly! Thanks for the great information and incentive.
Lightening up, I always pay my fees - even if I never get controlled!
ReplyDeleteI am wondering if tenkara would fall also under the free category, as it is a rod and line, no reel, thus logically speaking this could fall under it - maybe need to inquire at Metsähallitus.
hanameizan, thanks for the comment & welcome! I agree, nearly 4 meters for a 100 grams is amazing, really happy with it. Tomozuri is forbidden in Europe, all bait needs to be death. I'll be looking forward to your & Hana's fly-fishing adventures in Japan =)
I see you have the 15# level line. Consider also the 10#. That line will give you even greater delicacy in your presentation and I like it much better for the Ayu rod.
ReplyDeleteQuote from http://www.mmm.fi/en/index/frontpage/Fishing,_game_reindeer/Recreational_fishing/mita_lupia_tarvitsen_2/angling_jiggling.html
ReplyDeleteIn angling the rod or line is in the fisher's hand or within his or her reach, the rod has no reel which could be used for casting, and no jig, plug, spinner, surface lure, fly or other artificial lure is used. In practice this means angling with a natural bait, such as worm or fish.
[quote ends]
It looks like rules in Finland about free angling have rules about rod as well as what is at the end of line.
What comes to UL event, just let me know when and where you are planning to have it and I'll do my best to get there (if I don't have prior engagements).
Hook remover?
ReplyDeleteare you going to some catch & release thing ?
veggie?
hey was that hard to order from shop,can it be bought thry paypal,im curious to get one:) !
Since you don't have net in your gear list, you are planning to lift them to the ground or grab them straight from the water?
ReplyDeleteI guess both strategies might work. Its just that in most cases they seemed to be using net in Tenkaras videos before they lifted fish out of water.
Thanks Juha for the link and info - good to know! You can mark the 5th + 6th of June in your calendar, we are still discussing the location and hope to settle on that soon. And yes, I plan to land the fish without a net, I have a small handnet which would be suitable, but I think its a bit too heavy for taking on a trip =)
ReplyDeletePerkunas, catch & release in case the fish is not big enough. It should be easy to remove the hook without, though I prefer to be on the safe side. They accept PayPal and it is very easy to order with the shop, stuff was here in about a week!
Nice small fly box you got there, what brand is it ?
ReplyDeleteAnd where did you get it.
Moski, bought it at my local shop, no brand name on it, sorry.
ReplyDeleteNice small fly box you got there, what brand is it ?
ReplyDeleteAnd where did you get it.
Hey Hendrik,
ReplyDeleteLove your blog, been reading off and on for a while now.
I'm coming to finland for 3 weeks on may 23. I would love to bring my Tenkara rod and fish some streams in finland, but I have no idea where any good spots are. Let alone if there's a fly fishing shop to ask.
I would appreciate it if you could give me some insight.
-Richard.
Hei @49881e81c794921fc488ac93b869d312 and thanks for the kind words! Where are you going? That might make it easier in helping you to find out =)
ReplyDeleteA beautiful set-up. I just put one together myself and I absolutly love Tenkara!
ReplyDelete