A friend and fellow outdoor journalist and I went fishing earlier this week. He is doing a story about tenkara and posed an excellent question, “can you suggest a good tenkara setup?” I’ve expanded on my answer to him below. If you are tenkara curious, you may find it helpful as well.
If we were standing in the shop and you asked that question, this would be my answer for fishing in small streams, like our mountain brook trout water.
The OG in the U.S. tenkara market is Tenkara USA. My first rod was a Tenkara USA Iwana and it is still a popular choice.
For a line, I use a Rio Euro Nymph Shorty. It’s 20’ in the package, so I make two lines out of it, an 11’ and 9’ line for different rods and fishing conditions.
I add a 3mm diameter tippet ring to the end of the line, then attach a short (18-24”) length of 3X tippet to that. Depending on the fly, I’ll add 24” to 36” of either 4X or 5X tippet, then the fly.1
For mountain streams, Tenkara USA's Rhodo is hard to beat because it adjusts to three lengths: 8'10", 9'9", and 10'6". I usually start with 11’ Rio Shorty and keep the 9’ line handy if I’m going to be fishing in close quarters. Adjustable rods are wonderful, allowing you to fish a variety of distances without having to change position in the stream.
If I was fishing our spring creeks, like Mossy, I would use my Tenkara USA Sato. The Sato, like the Rhodo, has three lengths, 10’8”, 11’10”, and 12’9”. I would use the 11’ Rio Shorty line but also have a longer line (14’) in my kit in case I had to make longer casts.
I have half a dozen other rods, but they are mostly specialty rods and not something I would recommend for someone starting out.
Today there are many more choices than when I started some 14 years ago. That’s a testament to the popularity of the style and the willingness of folks to look for tweaks and features to enhance their enjoyment and effectiveness on the water. A quick search online yields a variety of options. Check them out and don’t hesitate to ask me about them.
The tippet ring is a very convenient way to attach the tippet but is a “nice to have” rather than a “must have.” You can easily tie the tippet directly to the line with an overhand knot in the end of line then use a clinch knot to secure the tippet to the line.