I am sure many of you are saying do I need another rod in my arsenal, yes you do. I have taken up the Tenkara Style of fishing and it sure is fun. Simplicity is the best way to describe this style of fishing. All you need is a good graphite rod from one of the Tenkara USA, I use the Iwana and Ito rods, various lengths of 8 to 20 pound fluorocarbon material for the base of the leader, 2 and 4 pound fluorocarbon fishing line for the finishing leader, and some 2mm tippet rings. Mount the leader base to the rod via the Girth Hitch connection, a 6 to 8 foot section is good. Add some 4 pound fluoro by loop to loop to the base, tie on a tippet ring with a Davy Knot. Now add to sections of the 2 pound fluoro to the tippet ring, one about 3 foot long and another about 6 foot long with Davy Knot’s. On the shorter tippet tie on a smaller fly of your choice, I prefer a Tenkara style soft hackle. On the longer tippet tie on a heavy Czech style nymph for getting things to the bottom quickly. This system works well in slow deep pools as well as shallow fast riffles. The possibilities are endless on how you can fish with Tenkara.
For dry fly fishing you will need a furled leader in a 10 foot length, add about 3 to 5 feet of 2 pound fluoro tippet with a loop to loop connection and any dry fly of your choice. With all the length on these rods it makes high sticking very easy.
One more thought on Tenkara style fishing. When your lines are freezing in your guides on those cold weather trips, no problem when using a Tenkara rod. Things that make you go hmmmmm!!