(Part 2) Top products from r/Tenkara

If you're interested in fly fishing I'd strongly reccomend WildWater's 5wt (technically 5/6wt) rod. It's $90 on amazon, is amazon prime eligible, and has an awesome lifetime warranty (its like $15 bucks to replace a rod with the warranty). Oh yeah, it also comes with a handful of trout flies, 4lb leader and a nice fly box. If you have any questions about fly fishing I'll do my best to answer them.
https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Water-Fly-Fishing-Complete/dp/B001IAHX6A/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1498081368&sr=1-1&keywords=wildwater

I remember you asking about how to cook and clean trout last year; your transformation to the dark-side (Tenkara) is almost complete. :)

Shadowfire is a good first rod for sure. Anything from TUSA is good, TRodCo stick with the Teton or the Sawtooth. (EDIT: Massdrop runs sales on Teton packages semi-frequently. It's worth keeping an eye on if this is the rod you want)

With all that said, I do prefer Japanese rods and would recommend THIS NISSIN as your first rod.

Generally speaking, you want something that is 6:4 flex and about 12' long. 7:3 flex will work too, but for the Sierra's and smallies, I like 6:4.

You are going to want level line probably in Size 3 to start. You will need tippet as well (6x is good,) and flies. Don't get hung up on Tenkara-specific flies (kebaris, etc.) any unweighted fly will cast the same and may be more productive.

I wet-wade both the Silver and S. Fork American, -its cold but no big deal. Quick-dry pants and good water shoes for me. Be safe though, especially in Spring.

If you want, I can meet you and your hubby up there sometime and let you try various rods. I have 2 TRodCo rods (Sierra/mini-Teton,) 2 Daiwas (Sagiri 39MC/KeiryuX39,) 2 Nissins (ProSpec36/RoyalStage36), and a Tenkarabum Traveler 44

Tenkarabum does a really good job breaking down the differences.
I currently own three corkless Keiryu rods: Kosasa 150 (4.9ft), Kiyose 24SF (7.4ft), and Kiyotaki 36 (11.5ft). They are all on the stiff side, with more tip flex and a stiff mid-section and butt.
My next rod will likely be something in the 2.9-3.2m range, and i want something softer as well- a 5:5 or 6:4, possibly even a LL (level line) rod with very slow action.
I'm looking at the Nissin Air Stage 290, Suntech Kurenai HM30R, and mostly the Nissin Pro Spec 320. I think the Pro Spec will win out, with the added flexibility of the zoom from 2.7 to 3.2m, and it'll be my first cork grip rod as well.
Here's the fun part- the first two rods are right around $100 on Amazon.jp, and the Pro Spec is like $90. Look how much TenkaraBum asks for them. I'll only be paying $18 for 2-3 day EMS from Japan through Tenso.

Not necessarily a great way to start out, but just showing how much this route can save you.

Personally, of all the "starter kits" mentioned above, I'd either go with the cheapest american company that has a great warranty/service, or I'd get the Nissin kit from TB or Amazon.jp:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00B7YHYZ2

Thanks for the article. It is helpful to know the pros and cons. Although I can see it being helpful to have different lengths for different waters, I feel like the rivers and streams that I fish aren't that much different in terms of size and i could just change my tippet size to make up the difference.

Can you buy any fluorocarbon bass fishing line and use it as a level line?

For example something like this? http://amzn.com/B008J4CBBU

This guy seems to like the level line a lot better.

http://www.tenkarabum.com/level-line.html

I have a Teton, slick little rod, great feel. He'll be happy. If this is for Christmas, I bet they will have a Black Friday deal, so you could save a little money, or spend the same amount and buy him an accessory, maybe a little chest pack or similar. I have this one, paid $25 for it on a Black Friday sale two years ago and love it.

I hate to be that guy... but Tenkara Rod Co offers terrible equipment. I'm sure they sourced the cheapest tippet rings possible and it probably wasn't polished properly.


Not to be that guy (again)... but tenkara isn't that great of an option for alpine lakes. It simply isn't meant for it. You can certainly cast to fish cruising the shore line, but you're not going to be booming out 35-50ft of line with that rod. TRC copied a keiryu rod design, which was never meant to cast tenkara line and a fly, but rather lob bait with splitshot within relatively short distances. The odds are unfortunately stacking up against you.


I'm pretty sure I recognize your name from r/Ultralight - so I'm guessing volume/weight of your fishing gear is a concern for you. I'd still much rather carry a telescoping spinning rod and small reel for alpine lake fishing. An UL spinning rod will perform well in small streams, but a tenkara rod is never going to truly excel in alpine lakes.


Daiwa makes relatively cheap collapsible spinning rods that are not much heavier than tenkara rods. Add an UL reel that holds like 75-100yds of #4 mono and you'll have a fishing setup around 10oz.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B003860VKM/ref=s9_dcacsd_dcoop_bw_cr_x__a_w

You can try making your own furled leader if that's what you prefer

I bought this level line I first started tenkara because it seemed like what most were recommending.

I don't fish tenkara much these days as I've fallen for euronymphing. However last summer, I had my tenkara rods on a family trip and no leader. I ended up just used this indicator line by Rio and it worked great!

Personally, I think any preferable size of nylon or fluoro will work for level line so long as you can see it. You probably don't need to spend $20 on imported, Japanese fluoro. I haven't messed around with it, but I could see Amnesia being effective as well

i recommend the nissin fine mode kosansui 270, i still use that rod for small creeks, and i have 8 fixed line rods

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edit- https://www.amazon.com/Uzaki-Nissin-Fine-landscape-contrast/dp/B005NGTQRY/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nissin+fine+mode&qid=1554752310&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spell