It's almost 2023, name your favorite brookie setup

[k-bob]

One post mentioned that reels are often too heavy to balance short fly rods. Yes, but it is also the weight of reel seat hardware on the rod. I had some used rods I bought cheaply and shortened ... glued a grip on blank with a notch, attached reel with wire ties. Not the usual, I know, but this has worked well ... the reels have never really moved despite some drops and the weight reduction helps. Some shortened rods cast great for me, others didn't.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

You can also "choke" up on a tenkara rod. I'll hold the 11' 2wt tenkara at about 5 feet up the rod. Just because they telescope to 11 feet doesn't mean you have to fish the rod at 11 feet in length. The biggest benefit I've found is exactly what you said. If you have to crawl through some mountain laurel tunnels, a collapsed tenkara is hard to beat. The first few times I did that, it was a revelation.

That said, I only use tenkara if I'm out on a whim since it stays in my truck 24/7 whereas I don't haul around any other rods. I just prefer a reel and more line control. I'll never bash tenkara though.

That shortening up factor is pretty cool. You and @Bamboozle have made compelling and sound arguments for Tenkara, however I'd lose a lot of "creek cred" with the flat-brimmed SAGE R8 wielders if I was ever caught with one. My biggest detractor for getting into it is that all of the ads for Tenkara always state how great Tenkara is and how inadequate regular fly rods are. I know I like to think of myself as a logical thinker and I shouldn't be persuaded to do or not do something based off of what someone says on the internet, but those ads always make me grind my teeth and flock to the keyboard to dispute!

 

[Bamboozle]

One post mentioned that reels are often too heavy to balance short fly rods. Yes, but it is also the weight of reel seat hardware on the rod. I had some used rods I bought cheaply and shortened ... glued a grip on blank with a notch, attached reel with wire ties. Not the usual, I know, but this has worked well ... the reels have never really moved despite some drops and the weight reduction helps. Some shortened rods cast great for me, others didn't.

Not everybody has the skills you do. Morons like me are stuck with the hardware we got.

 

[Bamboozle]

That shortening up factor is pretty cool. You and @Bamboozle have made compelling and sound arguments for Tenkara, however I'd lose a lot of "creek cred" with the flat-brimmed SAGE R8 wielders if I was ever caught with one. My biggest detractor for getting into it is that all of the ads for Tenkara always state how great Tenkara is and how inadequate regular fly rods are. I know I like to think of myself as a logical thinker and I shouldn't be persuaded to do or not do something based off of what someone says on the internet, but those ads always make me grind my teeth and flock to the keyboard to dispute!

There are also "zoom" Tenkara rods that can be converted to three different lengths in a second differing total length by the length of one section.

I own three of them and there are many times they are the ticket when things get tight.

Don't worry about the flat brimmers...

Anybody who disses Tenkara and doesn't it consider it "fly fishing" is missing the whole point that it's just ANOTHER way to catch fish and no different than "Euro Nymphing" is compared to what we consider traditional fly fishing. Anyone who disses regular fly fishing as inferior to Tenkara is equally delusional.

I started with it because I fish a lot in winter; almost exclusively sub-surface on small creeks and I thought it would be a perfect way to fish short casts without the fuss of using and exposing two hands to the cold and dealing with ice in the guides.

I still remember one day when it was around 25 degrees and I was fishing on Donegal Creek. I was using one of my zoom rods and having a blast while all my buddy was doing was complaining about ice in his guides...

These days it's about the only way I fish when it's really cold because it is easier and less fussy than using a regular fly rod. I keep about 5 or 6 Tenkara rods and tiny pouch for flies & lines in the back of my car year round so I can fish in a moments notice. However when it's warm I am usually fishing with a regular fly rod unless I see an advantage to using one of my Tenkara rods.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I have thought about the factor of having ice on the guides. That's a good way to avoid ice in the guides. On the topic of keeping ice off of the guides I thought of an invention that could alleviate it. What if you ran a heating coil throughout the rod, basically using it as the guides in the rod to keep ice from ever forming? I have no idea how to actually implement this device nor am I an electrical engineer, just food for thought. I think a system like that would cost a lot to make and may not be safe do to combining electricity with water.

 

[silverfox]

That shortening up factor is pretty cool. You and @Bamboozle have made compelling and sound arguments for Tenkara, however I'd lose a lot of "creek cred" with the flat-brimmed SAGE R8 wielders if I was ever caught with one. My biggest detractor for getting into it is that all of the ads for Tenkara always state how great Tenkara is and how inadequate regular fly rods are. I know I like to think of myself as a logical thinker and I shouldn't be persuaded to do or not do something based off of what someone says on the internet, but those ads always make me grind my teeth and flock to the keyboard to dispute!

At a certain point, you don't care what anyone else thinks.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

At a certain point, you don't care what anyone else thinks.

Well I haven't reached that point yet.

 

[redietz]

That shortening up factor is pretty cool. You and @Bamboozle have made compelling and sound arguments for Tenkara, however I'd lose a lot of "creek cred" with the flat-brimmed SAGE R8 wielders if I was ever caught with one.

Personally, annoying flat-bimmed R8 wielders would be a sufficient reason to fish tenkara even if I didn't like it.

 

[Bamboozle]

Personally, annoying flat-bimmed R8 wielders would be a sufficient reason to fish tenkara even if I didn't like it.

Actually, I enjoy Tenkara the most on Fly Fishing Only sections where sometimes an ill informed flat brimmer will challenge the legality or ethics of my tackle...

...it never turns out well for those morons.

 

[troutbert]

At a certain point, you don't care what anyone else thinks.

True.

And a certain point you don't even care what "flat-brimmed R8 wielders" is intended to mean.

 

[Swattie87]

I find it amusing how often anglers are more concerned about how other anglers are fishing, than fishing themselves.

This isn’t limited to FFing. I watched a very good 90 minute documentary on the surf casting (spinning gear) scene at Montauk the other day and the same applied. Everyone thought their own methodology was the only way to catch fish, and anyone doing anything else was a “googan” - highly technical term meaning “fishing miscreant”, synonym to “spincaster” in FFing nomenclature.

 

[Bamboozle]

I find it amusing how often anglers are more concerned about how other anglers are fishing, than fishing themselves...

...and anyone doing anything else was a “googan” - highly technical term meaning “fishing miscreant”, synonym to “spincaster” in FFing nomenclature.

...And let us not forget the other terms of endearment often heard amongst the elite:

"Pinner" AKA "dirty pinner" AKA "dirty center-pinner."

 

[sixfootfenwick]

So I can conclude to **** everyone off, that I should make a double brimmed hat. One in the back that is bent with catch'm and grill'm & PFBC patches and one in the front that is flat with NFC, TU and save the brown trout patches. Wet wade one leg in blue jeans and Converse shoes and have a expensive Sims hip wader on the other. Fish a tenkara rod that is double guided, that has a fly reel on the bottom that is converted to a center pin and an upside down spin reel on the top. Harvest fish around fly anglers and releasing them around others while telling everyone why they should be doing what I do but only after 500 pictures on released fish landed by hand and none on harvested fish that are netted. All the while keeping my flies in a Hills Bros can and worms in a Richardson.

 

[Bamboozle]

I'm gettin' P'd off just reading that!!

 

[pcray1231]

All the while keeping my flies in a Hills Bros can and worms in a Richardson.

That line wins the internet.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Actually, I enjoy Tenkara the most on Fly Fishing Only sections where sometimes an ill informed flat brimmer will challenge the legality or ethics of my tackle...

...it never turns out well for those morons.

How could someone question that legality of what you're doing? Have people actually tried to challenge that with you?

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I find it amusing how often anglers are more concerned about how other anglers are fishing, than fishing themselves.

This isn’t limited to FFing. I watched a very good 90 minute documentary on the surf casting (spinning gear) scene at Montauk the other day and the same applied. Everyone thought their own methodology was the only way to catch fish, and anyone doing anything else was a “googan” - highly technical term meaning “fishing miscreant”, synonym to “spincaster” in FFing nomenclature.

Imagine arguing over conventional tackle, that's like arguing about "sports cars" with automatic transmissions or EV's.

I can't say I'd argue over methodologies in this sport as there are many ways to effectively catch fish, but one think is for sure, I am most likely the best dressed person on the creek with the latest "fly bro" attire, mainly ORVIS, and I WILL, barring bamboo rods and vintage Hardy reels, have the nicest stuff on the water. That's good enough for me.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

So I can conclude to **** everyone off, that I should make a double brimmed hat. One in the back that is bent with catch'm and grill'm & PFBC patches and one in the front that is flat with NFC, TU and save the brown trout patches. Wet wade one leg in blue jeans and Converse shoes and have a expensive Sims hip wader on the other. Fish a tenkara rod that is double guided, that has a fly reel on the bottom that is converted to a center pin and an upside down spin reel on the top. Harvest fish around fly anglers and releasing them around others while telling everyone why they should be doing what I do but only after 500 pictures on released fish landed by hand and none on harvested fish that are netted. All the while keeping my flies in a Hills Bros can and worms in a Richardson.

I think I'd have a stroke...

 

[Bamboozle]

...I am most likely the best dressed person on the creek with the latest "fly bro" attire, mainly ORVIS, and I WILL, barring bamboo rods and vintage Hardy reels, have the nicest stuff on the water. That's good enough for me.

Besides looking like a kook doing the Tenkara thing with a tiny pouch over my shoulder; excluding my regular fly rods & reels, I actually go out of my way to look as unlike a "sport" angler as possible.

That includes wearing a "blank" ball cap (NO logo of any kind), no fishing vest or purpose made fly fishing chest/sling pack (I use a MOLLE/PALS belt with pouches & a Richardson), no chest waders (I wet wade 90% of the time or use Muck Boots when possible) and no visible net when I'm inclined to carry one.

You will also frequently see me with a firearm on my hip so with the duty/MOLLE belt I could be mistaken for a SWAT team member carrying a fishing rod.

How could someone question that legality of what you're doing? Have people actually tried to challenge that with you?

Back in the early days of the Tenkara craze in the USA which was BEFORE the "no fly leaders longer than 18 feet in PA Fly Fishing Only sections" rule was eliminated, people questioned the legality of Tenkara in FFO sections as most practitioners used level lines which were just fluorocarbon fishing line.

In the minds of the disturbed, if you had a 12 foot Tenkara rod with a 15 foot long "level" line line on it plus 3 or more feet of leader, you were using 18 feet of "fishing line," and thereby breaking the 18 foot rule. This didn't include also being upset over that fact we used no fly reel...

For years I actually carried around a copy of a letter from PFBC Law Enforcement stating that Tenkara was fine on PA FFO waters. I only used it once when I heard a few comments on the Little Lehigh which prompted me to educate the misinformed.

Apparently on New Hampshire FFO sections there is a requirement that a fly reel must be employed so technically I couldn't do Tenkara there although I could Euro Nymph with 30 feet of mono so go figure...

I have also been "challenged" by people including WCO's & DCNR Rangers when using my float tube on PFBC or DCNR waters informing me I was in violation of the "under 7 feet inflatables" rule which never applied to float tubes. I still carry around a copy of the Float Tube regulation (§ 53.19 relating to use of float tubes on Commission-controlled lakes) in my float tube just in case.

In other "holier than thou" examples I have also been hassled fishing Class A's during the closed season by truck chasers who can't read at all or refuse to read the Summary Booklet...

...it must be the way I dress.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

That's crazy that there was a regulation on leader length. Though I must admit, it would be funny to see a Tenkara user get booted for fishing that style, I'd definitely ruse the fisher as he was leaving the creek.

When fishing the Little Lehigh I am just happy to see someone play/hold a trout properly enough to not kill the fish or not chumming for trout with hatchery pellets (I did witness horrible fish handling and chumming this year). Wish your self-righteous judgers would have been around to see that!

Once on the Little Lehigh I had some comments made to me by a person who claimed to be affiliated with PFBC though he had no attire on suggesting any sort of PFBC/DCNR affiliation nor did he present to me any sort of ID indicated affiliation. He was mad that I was fishing for suckers, I'm being serious, and wanted to kick me off the water. I did leave eventually just to get him to shut up. I think the next time someone tries to pull something like that on me they'll be going for a swim, hopefully in cooler weather, and maybe then they can think about a better way to approach people.