Topic: Best Tenkara Rods of 2022 (Read 43 times)
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Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Zako’s high-end performance on the water makes it an excellent option for new tenkara anglers, and of the rods I tested it packs down the smallest, making it perfect for hikers and backpackers.
Pros
Cons
Product Description
The Zen Tenkara Zako is a refreshingly traditional tenkara rod that doesn’t try to be more than it needs to be. At 12 feet long, it allows anglers to deliver a quick and accurate cast, particularly when using the Zen Tenkara coated nylon level line. I find it to be an intuitive casting rod that helps anglers with both accuracy and presentation. The main con of the rod is that aluminum butt cap that screws onto the rod. It can easily co*e loose and cause issues, so be sure to stay vigilant with managing the butt cap.
The Zen Tenkara Zako is the perfect rod for the weight and space conscious angler, hiker, or backpacker. When it’s fully retracted, it’s a scant 21.75-inches long, from tip to butt. When fully extended, it’s 12-feet long and has enough backbone to handle any fish a 5-weight fly rod could handle. It’s pretty impressive performance for a 3-ounce rod.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Tenkara USA Sato is a dependable choice for anglers looking for a quality rod at a fair price. It features three fishable lengths and performs well at all three lengths, which is a bonus that can’t be ignored.
Pros
Cons
Product Description
The Tenkara USA Sato is a predictably good tenkara rod from a reputable co*pany. It’s co*pact enough to fit into a day pack or backpack, and its three fishable lengths provide more sophisticated tenkara anglers with some on-the-water options. It casts and mends level line with relative ease, and it’s backed by a lifetime warranty.
In testing the Sato I found one major flaw, and that’s the snag-prone tag on the butt cap. But beyond that one con, it’s a fascinating rod. The Sato is a rarity among tenkara rods because it’s difficult to find a rod that casts well at all its lengths. I found that the rod loads and casts very well, whether I was fishing lengths of 10 feet 8 inches, 11 feet 10 inches, or a full 12 feet 9 inches. Anglers who might need to adjust their casts or their reach when fishing tenkara will find this rod to be the most effective and most intuitive when it co*es time to throw line.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Tenkara Rod Co. Teton Zoom is what traditional tenkara anglers have co*e to expect in a rod. This tough and dependable option allows for some length flexibility without a hit to the rod’s casting and loading abilities.
Pros
Cons
Product Description
Tenkara Rod Co.’s Teton Zoom is a versatile rod that doesn’t try to do too much. It’s two casting lengths offer plenty of variety for anglers on small water or slightly larger streams where bigger trout might be targeted.
The Tenkara Rod. Co.’s Teton Zoom is a high-performing, general-purpose tenkara rod that features two casting lengths and plenty of backbone for bigger trout and bigger water. Of all the rods I tested, this one performed the best at both casting lengths—10.5 feet and 12 feet. It also has the longest handle of the rods tested, and it is bulkier in its butt section than the others I tried out. If you’re looking for one rod to handle small and large streams and small and large fish, this is an excellent option.
Yes, tenkara is a great way to learn the basics of fly fishing, and it’s also an excellent fly-fishing discipline for anglers looking to add something to their hiking or backpacking. And no, you don’t have to “graduate” from tenkara angling to traditional fly fishing. In fact, many traditional fly fishers are taking up tenkara, simply because it’s a simple craft and an excellent way to catch fish.
Choosing a tenkara rod depends heavily on the kind of fishing you enjoy. If you’re a backcountry “creek freak,” tenkara might be your new thing. If you’re a boat-bound fly caster who needs to throw lots of line or strip heavy streamers for deep trout, tenkara is probably not the right choice.
Again, what kind of fishing do you enjoy? Small water? A light tenkara rod with supple sections can make backcountry trout feel bigger than they really are. Big rivers? Larger, bulkier rods are the name of the game here, and, yes, there are tenkara rods that can handle trophy trout.
Most tenkara rods are built to cast a level line, a line that’s the same width from top to bottom. Others can cast tapered mono or even coated nylon that looks and feels like a traditional fly line.
If you have a 12-foot tenkara rod and 15 feet of line, leader and tippet, you can conceivably cast 27 feet—more if you reach. And, in most instances, that’s plenty far enough.
The rods tested above were chosen for a number of reasons. First, to appeal to anglers interested in trying tenkara, I didn’t want to select rods that were prohibitively expensive. Second, all the rods chosen are co*paratively co*patible—I wanted to try general-purpose tenkara rods that could be used in co*mon situations. Finally, I tried each rod and judged its performance based on how well it cast the line chosen by its manufacturer. Granted, casting tenkara rods isn’t rocket science, but there are differences in how each rod performed, both subtle and marked, particularly among the rods that boast several castable lengths.
I judged how well rods loaded, how well they cast line forward and how accurately they sent their line toward set targets. It’s a basic test, but for a simple implement like a tenkara rod, the basics matter most.
There’s a reason tenkara fishing is still going strong among North American anglers—it’s a productive fishing method that takes a lot of the guesswork out of fly fishing, particularly for anglers who might be intimidated by a standard fly rod. Years ago, tenkara was considered a fad. But its Japanese origins go back thousands of years—western anglers are just scratching the surface of tenkara, and there are lots of options for those interested in taking up the discipline.
From big water to small streams, tenkara rods offer a painfully simple way of casting to—and catching — trout. The rods tested above offer different features, but all of them allow anglers to participate in an age-old angling craft that is both enjoyable and effective.
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