My Simple Tenkara Line Formula
By Jason Klass / Tenkara Talk / September 14, 2018
Jason Klass of TenkaraTalk.com in Rocky Mountain National Park. Jason is an avid fly angler and backpacker. As a former fly fishing guide originally from Western New York, he moved to Colorado and became an early adopter of tenkara which perfectly suited the small, high altitude streams and lakes there. He has not fished a Western-style fly rod for trout since.
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne of the advantages of having a diverse background in fishing is that there can be some interesting crossover among the different genres. I’ve borrowed many tips, tactics and techniques from spin fishing, bait casting, deep sea fishing and (of course) western fly fishing that I’ve been able to incorporate into my tenkara fishing over the years. A recent one was inspired from my saltwater fishing experience and I thought it was worth sharing as it’s proved to be very successful for me.
4′ 4″ of #4.5 – 4′ 4″ of #3.5 – 4′ 4″ of #2.5
This forms a 13′ leader (I typically fish a 12′ or 13′ rod) that turns over extremely well (even in wind), yet still makes a delicate presentation with the #2.5 end and is easy to keep out of the water. In the photo above, it’s tied with various colors just because that’s what I had on hand, but you could use any color combination you like. In fact, you could even use clear fluorocarbon from your local tackle shop. Whichever colors you use, I’d recommend making the last segment (closest to the tippet) a hi-vis color such as orange for easier strike detection.
I use Tenkara USA level line, but you can use any brand you like. One piece of advice though … don’t mix and match brands. Even though they may use the same numeric system to describe a line, the actual diameters can vary from brand to brand. So a #3.5 Sunline may not be the same diameter as a #3.5 Fujino. It’s best to use the same brand for all three segments.
My tenkara line formula is simple, easy to remember, and easy to make with just two blood knots. It’s also very cost effective–you can tie many lines with just one spool of each diameter. And by the way, if you’re intimidated by the mere mention of “blood knots,” don’t be.
Watch this video and learn to tie a blood knot in the dark . . .
To learn more read complete story . . .
Featured Image by Jason Klass of Tenkara Talk – Tenkara USA booth in Denver, 2017.
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