I Came, I Saw, I Tenkaraed, Then it Stopped!- Part 1

So yesterday I had the urge to hit a small lake near my house and catch some bass and bluegill on a fly.  I have been there and done that countless times so I decided that I needed to spice things up and try something new with a tenkara rod.  A friend of mine gave it to me years ago and it has just collected dust for that long.  I've always had the intention to use it, but it seems like I always had a reason not to plus it was a little out of my comfort zone.  I know next to nothing about a tenkara rod other than there isn't a reel.  I don't know anything about flies, casting, or leader length.  Again, in an effort to make things more interesting, I decided to just give it a shot.  I didn't do any research or watch any videos.  I decided to just jump in head first and figure it out...on the fly.  I do NOT apologize for that pun and frankly, I'm pretty proud of it.

When I got to the lake, I caught fish on my first, third, and fifth casts while I was using my 4 weight fly rod.  Before I used the tenkara rod, I wanted to figure out where the fish were in order to give me a chance at success.  While that success didn't come quickly, it did come.  My setup was simple; a small jig under an indicator.  I have no idea if this is something that is common practice or a no-no in tenkara so watch out if you decide to try it.  What I instantly found out was that I couldn't cast very far from the boat.  The rod was about 14 feet long so I decided to go with a 12 foot leader.  I figured that the two foot difference would compensate for the flex of the rod that the fish would provide and allow me to handle the fish effectively.  However, I learned that a 12 foot leader with a 14 foot rod does not get you very far in terms of casting.  I didn't like that part!

For the sake of time and simplicity, I am including some observations that I made during my first experience.  There will be more observations and pictures tomorrow when I wrap this story up.

• The rod is super sensitive and casting is accurate.
• No tangles.  No guides or line laying on the ground.
• The set up is simple.  It doesn't get much more basic.
• Great for kids and beginners- see and feel what a bite looks like
• Presentation is very delicate and giving action to flies is effortless and sensitive.  Not going to spook fish with this and can get flies in tight quarters.
• Not a lot of options when it comes to where you can fish- you gotta move
• Wears out the fish quickly- pulls with equal strength- simple physics- the more a fish pulls and the more/longer bends in the rod wear out the fish faster
• Hook sets are easy- a flick of a wrist
• Doing this the Midwest way
• Cross between a fly rod and cane pole