First of all, a big thank you to Michael over at
Troutrageous for his Tenkara advice and for sending me a few of his hand tied Kebari, pictured below. If you haven't been to Michael's page be sure to check it out. Lots of great information, humor, and links over there.
So yes, Tenkara fishing round two. This time around was much more successful. Landed four Crappie and lost three. Enjoyed it a lot more this outing but it still feels a bit ... alien. All new things take time I am sure. My biggest obstacle was learning how to fight the fish and bring them in, hence I lost those three. I felt with the long rod I wasn't able to get the hooksets I otherwise was used to and felt clumsy bringing them in. Beyond that I had a good time. The fish were a tad bigger this time, and thus more fun on the other end. Still getting use to the "retrieve" and the feel of the rod. Look forward to trying it on some Bluegill perhaps next time, but more than anything, I feel the real verdict will come when I can try it on moving water. All in all it was a successful and fun trip.
I had been debating trying Tenkara for several years now, so I finally took the plunge. Following Michael's advice over at the blog
Troutrageous (be sure to check out his blog if you haven't already), I decided on a 12 ft Iwana.
As with all things new, the first attempt is a mix of frustration, excitement, and an ever present learning curve. All three described yesterday. First impression: the system of knots I found to be innovative, the casting fairly intuitive (had to be careful not to overpower it though), but what struck me as must peculiar and difficult to get use to was the lack of any line near my hand to manipulate the fly with. In moving water I think I would have been more okay with this but fishing for warmwater species it was difficult to manipulate a 12 rod while trying to think what the tiny fly on the other end was doing. On top of this the rod was a tad heavier than expected.
Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself greatly. I see great potential in small streams in rivers while trout fishing, but in a stillwater situation like a lake or pond I just wasn't completely sold on the idea yet. I like to manipulate the fly more and have a more direct connection. That said I am going to give it a couple more shots and hopefully catch some bigger bluegill and some crappie. I only had one willing participant this outing and lets just say he barely put a bend in the rod. I am still excited to try this new style of fishing (new to me) but still unsure what the utility will be for Bluegill and Crappie in ponds, which was my hope. Needless to say, the jury is still out but I will keep you up to date on future outings regarding how my opinion has changed or not.
