Tenkara Fishing

Welcome to Tenkara Fishing, a HubPages article that collates information about Tenkara Fishing searched on Google, updated from RSS Feeds, and videos posted on YouTube.

Its intent is to peak fishermen's interest in Tenkara Fishing - a simple and fun fishing technique that originated in Japan.

Feel free to navigate the site, and do check back frequently as we update searches on a periodic basis.

^{Note: Picture in the sidebar is a Bass caught using a Tenkara Rod!}

^{"Should someone take up Tenkara Fishing"}

^{Do check out the poll at the end of this article and put your vote in! In time!}

^{We hope to see an overall trend for or against Tenkara Fishing.}

<sup>Better yet, provide your thoughts in the Comments Section at the end of this article!

For the COAF Field Team, we say, "Yes,... It's FUN, it's SIMPLE, and it's another excuse to go FISHING!"</sup>

Tenkara fishing in its simplest form is a stick, a line and a fly!

Tenkara Fishing originated in the mountain streams of Japan centuries ago but has been gaining popularity outside of Japan in recent years. Of note is Tenkara USA who was first to introduce Tenkara to the United States in 2009.

Using long bamboo poles, delicate lines, and soft hackle fishing flies where the hackles are tied in reverse compared to Western fishing flies, Japanese fishermen were able to present their fishing flies so as not to spook the skittish trout that inhabited the mountain streams.

Today, the bamboo poles have been replaced by carbon/fiberglass poles that telescope to ten feet or more in length! The lines are made of furled monofilament or fluorocarbon with the option to use a level line that reminds us of a traditional fly line but shorted and lighter.

The fishing flies remain unchanged, and they continue to take their fair share of fish! However, some enterprising fishermen have developed innovative lures that work well with a Tenkara Rod (see the Tenko Fishing section below).

For more about Tenkara Fishing, do read on!

Less is more...

Less is more when it comes to Tenkara Fishing. Personal gear used to fish local ponds consists of:

• A Fly – Bead Head Olive Wooley Bugger
• A Line – Homemade Furled Line
• A Rod – 12′ Caddis Tenkara Rod from Fountainhead
• Add a Flybox with a dozen flies, Line Clippers, and Forceps on a Lanyard!

Less is more.... keep it simple, Tenkara Fishing is a fly, a line, and a rod!

Keep This One In Your Backpocket!

On a whim, we decided to try fishing at night well after sunset using the Tenkara Rod.

We fished a local pond to work the shallows in hopes of sneaking up on Bass lurking in the area.

Good thing… had several strikes, one missed hook set, and two Bass landed.

Tenkara Rod worked out nicely, making accurate casts in the dark with no “extra line” to deal with.

Good to keep this one – Tenkara Fishing at night, in your backpocket.

Tenkara Fishing and Senko Worms = "Tenko Fishing"

Allen, Texas – 7/31/2011. In the heat of the Summer when the Trout Stocking Season is just a distant thought here in the Lonestar State, Tenkara Fishing gives way to Baitcasting Gear and Bass Fishing.

Although walking pond banks and fishing with the Tenkara Rod has proved successful during the Spring Spawn, the Summer Pattern shifted to using Baitcasting Gear and fishing Senko Worms for the Field Team.

The Team has been doing well fishing with Senko Worms but knowing our Tenkara Rods were gathering dust was not settling well with us, especially when fishing the early morning for Bass lurking near the banks. With a Tenkara Rod and Furled Line, we had the ability to quietly present a lure without spooking the Bass. So, with a little brainstorming the Field Team decided to combine Tenkara Fishing and Senko Worms and call it Tenko Fishing.

To make it happen, we down-sized a hand-poured version of the Field Team’s Senko Worm variant that we call the “Half-Quatro”. We then made two prototypes and tested them out…. calling them the “Mini-Mum1″ and “Mini-Mum2″ for ease of reference.

We caught a few Bluegill and Sunfish and lost several Bass. The lost Bass were largely due to the small hooks we were using; however, we plan to try other hooks and see which works best for a downsized version of a Senko Worm.

Till then, we are looking forward to more Tenko Fishing!

^{Tenko Fishing combines Tenkara rods with small hand poured plastic worms modeled after Gary Yamamoto's Senko Worm to create a Tenko Worm, which can also do double duty as an unscented Trout Worm!}

^{For more information about making your own small hand poured plastic worms for your Tenkara Rod (as well as your Ultralight Spinning Rod), check out the HubPages article, Tenko Fishing!}

^{Make your own small plastic hand poured worms that work as Tenko Worms as well as unscented Trout Worms!}

Here are a few YouTube videos that may be of interest to our Readers!

Here are few videos from the COA Field Team as we try our hand at Tenkara!

Tenkara Fishing at the George Bush Library Pond (Texas A&M)

While on the road, made a brief stop in College Station, Texas.

Decided to checkout the pond behind the George Bush Library at Texas A&M to do some Tenkara Fishing! Good thing…. managed to hook a nice size Bruiser Bluegill that made for some fun fishing on light tackle!

Really liking the ease of packing a Tenkara Rod and minimal gear while on the road. Makes for a nice break while on a long road trip!

A Few Bass and Lots of Bluegill

Decided to do some Tenkara Fishing at a local pond that has a healthy population of Bass and Bluegill. Fished using a Damsel Fly and was able to land a Bass and a few Bluegill.

Switched to a smaller fishing fly and different pattern – Olive Wooley Bugger, and was able to catch a lot more.

Fun stuff, despite the windy conditions. Really like the sensitivity of the Tenkara Rod especially when fishing after dark!

Goldfish On A Tenkara Rod?

Flexed the Tenkara Rod today while running errands around town. Decided to stop at a little city pond in the area.

Had a few nibbles, and then a solid hook set,… on a Goldfish! Caught and released it unharmed!

Surprised to have caught it but still good to know the rod can catch these little guys, too!

COAF Field Team Report - April 3, 2011

A short video clip of an outing back in 2011 to a local pond.

Had fun catching Bass and Bluegill.

Bluegill were nice sized ones that put up a god fight on the rod!

Readers' Thoughts and Opinions

There are arguments for and against Tenkara Fishing.

Some say Tenkara Fishing is basically fishing with a cane pole and line like many of us used as kids. The gear is just "more expensive".

Others argue that it is a specialized technique for fishing small streams and wary fish that spook easily.

So, in an effort to provide Fishermen, who are debating about taking up Tenkara Fishing, do participate in our Readers' Poll (see sidebar)!

Also, you can provide your thoughts and opinions in the Comments section at the end of this article.

Moreover, on an occasional basis, we will post the comments in the Notable Comments section below!

We look forward to your thoughts and opinions, and please keep things courteous as we are a "G" Rated article!

Good Luck and Good Fishing!

The COAF Field Team

Here are two comments from our Readers. The first one comes from an avid Tenkara Fishermen:

^{Anyone who likes to fish should at least try tenkara once. It's such an enjoyable way to fish that I can't see anyone trying it and NOT liking it. It's much easier to learn than Western flyfishing and great for kids. It's also much cheaper than Western fly fishing so there's less of a barrier to entry. - jasonklass}

The second comments comes from a Fshng84, a member of our local fishing club we call the COAF Field Team:

<sup>Having added a Tenkara Rod to our arsenal of fishing gear, the COAF Field Team's opinion is that Tenkara Fishing is a specialized technique that has proven to catch fish in situations where fish spook easily.

We really like its ease and simplicity - a fly, line, and a rod! Moreover, the sensitivity of the rod and its ability to cast fishing flies cannot be duplicated with a cane pole or crappie rod.

Although the price of Tenkara Rod was the main driver in why we delayed taking up this form of fishing, we were not disappointed after using one in the field!

All that said, our reasoning for why we took up Tenkara Fishing, "It's FUN, it's SIMPLE, and it's another excuse to go FISHING!" - Fshng84</sup>