In this video, tenkara guide Allie Marriott will guide you through the process of how to choose a tenkara rod among our selection.
From tight waters to big rivers, and large fish or small, Tenkara USA has you covered in your rod needs. The video will cover considerations such as water openness/canopy, water size, fish size and flies to help you select the ideal rod. But, keep in mind all Tenkara USA rods are pretty versatile and can be used in a variety of conditions.
And, remember, if your rod has the name Tenkara USA on the label, then it is backed by our Tenkara Care™ guarantee. You can learn more at Tenkara Care™
I love my Tenkara rod on small open streams, but so many of the streams I fish are tightly surrounded bytrees and brush, so I find it difficult to use a Tenkara rod there. Instead, I use a 7 or even 6′ rod in 2 or 4 wt and sometimes jsut dangle a fly from about 12-18 inches of leader sticking out the end. Then I can dap through heavy brush. Not sure how I could acomplish this with a 12′ rod and fixed length line. Sure, we have big rivers in Utah, and I love them, but the tiny streams are less crowded and often full of hungry fish. Also, doing our state “Cutthroat Slam” (one each of 4 varieties of Cutts) takes me to teeny flows in out-of-the-way places, like One Mile Creek in the Raft River Mts. or Pine Creek on Boulder Mt. or even Mill creek right out of the Salt Lake City urban area. My favorite streams here for Tenkara, so far, are Huntington Cr., North and West forks of the Duchesne, and Gooseberry Creek, all of which have some nice open water with minimum brush.
Jan, a tenkara rod can always be fished shorter if you really find it necessary. For tight streams we recommend the Rhodo, which is a 8’10” rod at its shortest length. I fish super tight streams with it. Occasionally I will grip that rod higher on the blank, which would make it into a 7ft rod for when absolutely necessary. I have not had to do this yet, but you could always hold it higher and have one segment inside for a rod that is then 6ft in length. So, there are options to consider when using a tenkara rod in super tight brushy places.