Line Systems and Storage

I use all kinds of lines. Yes, I primarily use fluorocarbon level lines and most of my lines are clear however, some of my favorite tenkara lines are tapered nylon. Other great choices are furled lines and the first line I used to learn tenkara was a lite fly line cut to length. At one time or another, I've used just about all the line type available. As I develop further, the different types of tenkara that I do (keiryu and honryu tenkara) I tend to choose a couple of different line types for specific types of streams and rivers. Yes, primarily I use a #3.5 line, if I had to choose one, that would be it but over the years, I have developed a systematic approach toward crafting lines for my type of technique. 

Sunline, Fujino and Nissin make the lines I use. Seaguar makes the conventional tackle fluorocarbon line that I create my favorite lines from. Seaguar InvizX in 15lb is the equivalent size of a #3.5 tenkara line. I cut a piece to length and add in a stepped downsize of fluorocarbon and then a tippet ring to terminate my line. This system helps presentation by making a lighter end line that transfers the energy easier as it loses energy. It also helps with accuracy and is a smaller presentation to the target fish I am going for. Thats the basic concept of my favorite line. I might use a Nissin Oni in PINK with a clear fluorocarbon tip or a different type of fluorocarbon main line suggested to me such as Seaguar Tatsu by a suggestion from Dr. Worthing. 

In the past, I might have made a line before I went fishing but that is not the case now. I have a trio of rods that I use for ALL of my tenkara. Rod lengths from 3m to 5m divided by 50 cm lengths with overlap. With my line storage system, I can easily travel and be prepared for all of my tenkara.

I use a wooden spool in the bag I carry. I keep the spool in my bag to stow the line when I am hiking and or moving with the rod nested. I also use it for any rod that I am using at the time. The line storage system allows me to choose a type and length of line, my wooden spool lets me store it as I move to and from the stream.

This is the totality of my tenkara system. I do the homework, put it all together and take it on the road. It is much better than figuring it out each time I go fishing. I choose a rod first, line length second and away I go.

"Tenkara is a game and you play the game by the rules you decide. Eiji Yamakawa"

If I travel with a couple of rods, I take the line storage system with me to choose lines from. Again, the wooden spool is what I use for the days fishing.

In my fishing bag, I have a spare line stored on a card spool as a backup. Again this is a pre made line in the configuration above longer than any line I would use on stream. I choose a backup that long in case I am using a 4.5m rod or a 2.4m rod. I can cut this backup line to the length needed. All of my tenkara rods are based on the ability to cast a #3.5 level line so that back up line can be used for any of my tenkara rods.

The line storage boxes I use are inexpensive and available from general online retailers. I did not purchase them from a tenkara specific store. I use a hair tie to hold the lines on the spools and a black marker to designate the line type.

If you are still reading, below is a list of other line articles that I have written that might be interest for you.

Tenkara Line System and Storage

Clear Lines

Designing a Level Line for Your Tenkara Rod
Tenkara Line Building

Notes on Making a Portable Fuji Style Line Making Machine

Lines for the Tenryu TF39TA

Lines for the Gamakatsu Suimu EX

Line Rigging and Rod Repair Kit

Line Box, Rigging Secrets

Tenkara Backing Type Lines

Fujino: Straight Line - Soft Tenkara Long Type - Soft Tenkara White

Sunline: Long Cast - Extra Cast

FC Systems: Tenkara Level Line

Fluorocarbon Tippet & Knot Comparison

I spend a lot of time, money and effort to go fishing. My nearest trout stream is ninety minutes by highway drive from my home. My favorite fishing area is four hours by car and beyond that, I often drive or fly to Colorado which is an eight to twelve hour drive and often, quite a hike at the end of the road. I have fished for trout in the Waimea Canyon streams of Kauai and have fished with many experts in Japan on a couple of trips in the various mountain streams of their area. I've used two types of tippet on my trips and what follows are my reasons why I choose what I do.

For all of the time and energy that I take to pick out my target stream, I have had even more time to think about my equipment and compare it to all the other equipment that I've used. I use a technique of minimalism to maximize the quality of my kit. 

With all my experience choosing equipment, the long drive, the plane trip and the effort of getting to where I want to go, the last thing I want to happen is to catch the fish of a lifetime only to have my tippet let go...

Tippet choices are important to successful fishing. Nylon and Fluorocarbon are readily available in many sizes. I choose fluorocarbon for my tenkara rigging. It sinks and is nearly invisible in water as well as it hold knots well. In addition, it is stable in that it does not readily degrade with age or sunlight. Often a spool will last over a season so I continue to use it till it is gone without concern that it will become weaker. I choose a tippet that does not alarm the fish, if I know there are fish and they do not take, I will step down a tippet size until I am catching. .

.8 or 5x is my go to tippet size.

The rod I use basically determines the size tippet I choose.

For example, one of my tenkara choices is a travel rod that I throw in a bag not really as a primary rod but to have if the opportunity presents itself. Opportunistic tenkara fishing is one of my favorite types of fishing. I'm on a trip with my family and I come upon a stream, my travel kit is in my backpack and takes a minute or two to be rigged. The rod I choose is strong but fragile, I don't want oversized tippet if I get into a large fish, I want it to break if I catch a fish too big for the rod.

The lines I design are contrary to most tenkara fishers. I design a line for the shortest length of tippet. I want control over my kebari/fly. I want a naturally presented kebari but the shortest length of tippet to feel the take. Shortest being fifty centimeters or about eighteen to twenty inches, that's where I cut out the tippet and start over. 

I design my lines for one meter of tippet or less.

Over the years, I've used all kinds of knots. I keep returning to the basic 5 to 6 turn clinch knot to attach to the tippet ring on my mainline and the same knot to tye on my kebari. Often I use a silk bead cord eyed Japanese bait hook Sakasa kebari or a Ishigaki pattern on a Tiemco, Gamakatsu or a Owner eyed hook. I also use a tippet ring on the terminal end of my custom designed lines. The tippet ring works very well to give the clinch knot an even surface to break. If I I have to pull off my line because it is stuck, ninety percent of the time, my tippet breaks at the tippet ring. This is what I want to happen. One hundred percent of my fish are caught with a tippet ring and not once ever has my tippet ring failed. They work very well, I suggest you try them.

I use a clinch knot for the tippet ring and to tye on the kebari.

In the last 35 years, I have used many different brands of tippet. Rio, Orvis, Varivas, Scientific Anglers, Seaguar and Trouthunter.

Seaguar GranMax FX and Trouthunter are my favorites for several seasons.

I don't see that changing.

GrandMax FX and Trouthunter are available on fifty meter spools. That's nearly a hundred tippet changes for me. Enough to last through a regular season as I often re-use my tippet from day to day. If I know that I am fishing over rocks in a stream and I'm playing fish around them, I check the tippet for abrasion and replace it if I see evidence in the form of fray or discoloration.

I want my tippet to stay strong until I don't. 

I quit fly fishing more than ten years ago now to learn tenkara from the Japanese. I quit fly fishing, I did not give up my knowledge of where the fish where, the dynamics of casting or the skill in playing fish. Tenkara is a specialized technique and purpose built equipment for that technique yet many of the skills in Western fly fishing apply. I am not fly fishing with a western rod, I am using my knowledge of fishing a stream using tenkara techniques and equipment.

There is no tenkara specific tippet and if there was, I probably would not use it unless it was better than GranMax FX or Trouthunter. There is a single application where I use a non-specific tenkara line for Honryu tenkara techniques because there is not a Japanese tenkara line that does a better job. I do not adhere to a specific recipe in my tenkara, I choose Japanese tenkara techniques because they are superior to western fly fishing in mountain streams and in some applications on a river. The Japanese have refined their tenkara equipment and techniques over the decades and have shared their knowledge readily in their language and through ambassadors such as Hisao Ishigaki, Masami Sakakibara and Yuzo Sebata. There are many other experts in social media that also comprise the body of Japanese tenkara anglers.

Given that, I use the knowledge of our western fly fishers that test all kinds of tippet in a scientific method that is easily replicated multiple times in order to find the properties of each tippet. 

Below you will find a few links that may be of some assistance to you.

02X : 4.0 Go
01X : 3.5
0X : 3.0
1X : 2.5
2X : 2.0
3X : 1.5
4X : 1.0
5X : 0.8
6X : 0.6
7X : 0.4
8X : 0.3
9X : 0.25
10X : 0.2

Yellowstone Angler Tippet Shootout - Knot Comparison

Animation of Tying a Clinch Knot

Tippet Rings

This is a Karasu 400 with 5x or .8 tippet with a silk bead cord eye Wrong Kebari. Big fish that resulted in the hook pulling out. The tippet held strong.

Minimalism is Everything

Tenkara fishing is simple however the skill behind it is not.

This is the process of how I arrived at the way I practice tenkara.

Use a list to prove to yourself what you use and what you don’t need.

My definition of tenkara is more about skill than the equipment I carry.

The skill in reading water, the approach to a stream, the technique of delivering a fly can be honed razor sharp by using only what we need.

I suggest a process of improving your skill by using a written list. Write it all down, every last piece of what you carry in your kit. Go fishing. When you come back, the things that you didn’t use, cross off. The things that really helped you, circle. Carry the same kit next time and when you get back, cross off the things you didn’t use and again, circle the things that helped you. Now remove the things you crossed off and improve on the things you circled.

You carried two rods but only used one?

Next time use one. (You will learn to protect it.)

It’s a process of identification and elimination.

Use the list until you can do it in your head.

Focus on improving what you use, eliminate what you don’t and do that by being honest with yourself.

Filter your outlook on tenkara through this process.

Why choose minimalism?

Improving your skill in fishing is how you will improve over your lifetime.

Do you really need all that extra stuff?

I bet you use very little out of your kit.

I carry one rod, two lines, a few kebari, a nipper, a hemostat, rod un-stick pads in a small bag and sometimes a net, that’s it. The rod I use is versatile and compact. Each component of my kit is designed to be versatile and useful.

I use a zoom rod to handle a variety of stream types. I carry a long and short line to enhance the diversity of the zoom rod. I use a slightly heavier line to handle a little wind. I developed my own kebari, a style of fly that I use on the surface, wet or sink it deeply with the addition of hidden tungsten bead.

Focus on what works, get rid of unnecessary habits or equipment that you do not use. Move away from the comforts of stuff. Rely on your skill. Improvise in difficult moments, what you need to do with what you have. Minimalism enhances learning new skills. Fishing is about skill.

1. Carry just what you need.
2. Focus on improving the things you use the most.
3. Your fishing skill becomes a process of improvement.

Minimalists are constantly sharpening their fishing skill. People that carry a lot of gear become good at shopping.

You only need what works.

Your skill determines your success.

Improve your skill by efficiency.

p.s. I was asked by Anthony Naples to write an article for his web site, "Casting Around" I have updated that article here. If you liked the article, there are more that go with it, "Wrong Kebari" -  "Casting Practice for Accuracy" - "Lightweight Travel Tips"

Wrong Kebari with Tungsten Bead

My "go to" kebari is a pattern that I have settled on and have been tweaking to use at all depths. It is the "Wrong Kebari" and I've named it that way as a twist on words. If you click on the link, you will see why I name it that. But this is a variation on the theme, I use tungsten beads because of the limited reach of a tenkara rod. I want to preface "limited reach" because I use relatively long lines compared to everyone I have fished with. For a 3.9m rod, I'll use a 5-6m mainline plus about a 50cm of tippet. Most people I have fished with use a line as long as their rod which I find much too short to reach and play big fish. All of this into account, I want the fly/kebari to sink NOW and I want the hook point to ride up as I am swimming or playing the fly. 

Integrating tungsten beads, I tye in the silk bead cord on the underside of the hook to keep the end flare from turning the hook to it's side. Eiji Yamakawa tyes his hooks like this and by the way. I do not overwrap, it does not take much to hold the silk bead cord on to the hook. It only has to be stronger than the strongest tippet I use. I have never broken or had a silk loop let go. Tye them in tight and straighten out the loop with your whip finisher. You can also strength check your loops like I do with the whip finisher. I give all my loops a couple of good tugs to simulate a fish fight. Tying in the loops is a little bit of extra time but the hooks are so sharp and I love the shape. You can check out why I use bait hooks in the article about the "Wrong Kebari."

I also use "Owner Super Yamame" bait hook that are available from Tenkarabum or Tenkara Ya. I use this hook on the suggestion of Yamakawa-san. It is super sticky sharp and has a slight barb that I am still able to back out without forceps if I do not have them.

The above Wrong Kebari have 2mm tungsten beads tyed in the black body. The bodies are coated with "Sallys Hard as Nails" clear nail polish. I find that this helps keep the thread from wearing and or the bead from chipping. I think it may help, maybe not. I do know I catch a lot of fish on this version. On a lot of trips, my friends end up using this one a lot. I always tye a few because I end up handing them out. I really enjoy it when people catch fish on flys that I have tyed, quite an honor.

You can use different sizes of tungsten beads depending on what you want to do with your kebari. These are size 7/64, I do not go much heavier than this, these sink RIGHT NOW and they lose action when they are heavier than this.

I use BLACK beads to match the Uni thread that I tye with. I do not wrap thread over the beads, I tye off and then tye back in and taper the body.

I have caught fish 10' deep in good flow with my 3.9m rod and a 5m line. That is casting straight upstream and letting the kebari drop into the deep pool with the flow. Catching fish this deep is a skill that I like to hone. I learned this using heavy gauge hooks. Often I knew there were fish but I was not catching them. I started to use typical brass beads with the bead in the placement behind the eye but the way I was observing the fly, I did not like the way it swam and rode over rocks. So I started tying in the bead a little bit farther back until I found the sweet spot.

You may like to try this sometime. If you do not like Japanese bait hooks or do not have them, you can use a "jig hook" to keep the point up. Or, you can use a slotted tungsten bead on a jig hook if you are a fly fisherman and follow those lines of fly tying. 

What ever way you want to do it, tungsten beads help get your fly down NOW so that they are in the fish catching zone much longer with our limited tenkara rods and line lengths.

Fujino Straight Line

I use Fujino Straight Line on my favorite rods and have caught many fish of all sizes with it. I also use it in a variety of applications, in ponds and lakes and also tenkara in mountain streams. It's a versatile line capable of the lightest and most sensitive presentations. It rivals single strand lines while it is a braided line, a totally different construction than a typical fluorocarbon level line.

Dr. Ishigaki designed the line and it works really well for sub surface presentations. The construction appears to be some sort of spectra or kevlar. This line is very tough, almost like gel spun backing but a little different. What ever it is made of, it is strong, limp and has no memory, perfect for casting tight loops. 

As with most lines, preparing them for fishing is a quick process of straightening coils and stretching the line. With this line, all you have to do is to attach it to the lillian, unspool, rig and cast. It is super limp, no memory. No running it through your fingers, no stretching it out before using it. It doesn't coil or knot up when you break off the tippet unsticking your line from the trees. The construction of it is braided, not furled or twisted, it just breaks the knot and it is ready to rig once it is free.

Indicator tip removed and Stonfo tippet ring tied directly on to the line.

Fujino Straight Line suspends well. It is not heavy like a multi strand line that lays on the water. It suspends at length and I use the 5m line with 3.9m and 4m+ rods. For the Furaibo (zoom), I cut the braided end off the line. The Furaibo is 3.9m rod stretched out and I like a line that is 1.5m longer than the rod. Cutting off the braided tip gives me a line closer to 4.9m and add in a 50cm tippet and there is my formula, a rod with +1.5m line. 

To rig the line, I add in a tippet ring. The Fujino Straight Line is comes with a stopper knot. Adding in a tippet ring does not degrade the performance of this line, it just gives it a nice connection (termination) without a kink and a uniform place for the tippet attachment knot to break off while protecting the rod. It's interesting, I've had many people cast and catch fish on my lines, all with tippet rings, and when I tell them the line has a tippet ring, they couldn't tell.

Stonfo Tippet Ring tied into the petite braided indicator tip

I also fish one of these lines almost stock, again, I just tie in a tippet ring on the braided indicator tip. It is clean and petite.

The reason why I am writing this endorsement is simple, I enjoy the line and use it quite a bit. I buy mine from Keiichi Okushi at Tenkaraya if you are interested. I think your favorite vendor may also carry them too. 

I like the tactility, it transmits well. I sometimes use tungsten beads on my kebari and I can feel it dragging along the bottom, hesitating at a rock, loading the line slightly and crawling up a rock, releasing and over the rock, I can feel that. I can feel the subtle take of a small fish and it's tail fluttering. It just might be more tactile at transmitting than a fluorocarbon level line.

I like Ishigaki-sensei approach with tenkara. He does a great job at promoting level line. If you don't know, historically, Dr. Ishigaki is the leader of level line promotion in Japan. When tenkara started to become sport decades ago, much of the community at that time used other types of multi strand lines. Hisao Ishigaki is the guy who turned a lot of people on to "Level Line" style of equipment and technique. Fujino Straight line is a very light braided line with a straight profile it's entire length, same as the fluorocarbon level lines as we use today. Dr. Ishigaki developed this line to accentuate the attributes of the level line single strand techniques he originated. 

Fujino Straight Line is light and durable, it handles well, is strong, limp (no memory) and is sensitive, it also rigs nicely. I've used one regularly for two years and it is durable. I think it is an excellent line that competes within the class of single strand fluorocarbon lines. It is relatively inexpensive and with it's durability, it is more than sustainable. It makes sense and I really like it.

For those of you following along, below you will find the Fujino company links and also Christophe' Laurent's "Tenkara Enso" blog. I have read a couple of reviews on the Fujino lines and Chrisophe' and I seem to agree closely, our styles of tenkara are similar.

Fujino: Soft Tenkara Long Type - Tenkara Straight Line

Tenkara-Fisher:  Soft Tenkara Long Type - Tenkara Straight Line 

Tenkara Enso: Soft Tenkara Long Type - Tenkara Straight Line

This is a 4.9m Fujino Straight Line without the braided indicator tip.

One Rod

Simplicity or decision anxiety?

I get it.

Both simplicity AND decision anxiety.

My quiver keeps growing, I keep knocking it back.

Buying a rod, selling another.

Why?

I get sick thinking about how many tenkara rods I’ve owned.

Am I getting any better by owning more rods?

Or selling them?

I keep thinking, “You get good at what you practice.”

Recently, I purged my quiver down to just a few rods, only those that I need. It felt great. I should do that with everything I do.

Yet the few rods I have left, as great as they are, each one is a choice for a stream type, long rods, short rods, compact rods, rods rods rods.

Which rod for this stream?

What rod shall I use?

Why can’t I use just one rod for all of my tenkara?

The progression of my equipment is not in big steps. It is small decisions with experience dictating my choices. The last few years I have been using compact rods because of their utility. I want a system that I don't have to think, “Which rod and what length do I use today?”

I’ve been thinking about using just one rod for everything.

I can choose one from the small quiver I have now yet each one will have a compromise. Every time I use just that one, I’ll want something more in the rod. Too short, too long, too many twos, not enough, "This is the one."

Here is what I want in one rod for the streams I fish at home and as I travel.

I want a strong rod that won’t break. I like a rod with a higher matrix percentage of fiberglass for strength and built fine for a delicate yet accurate cast. A zoom rod for versatility and compactness. A short nested length for ease of travel. The multiple sections of a compact rod actually contribute to its higher percentage of accuracy, more joints (doubled area) that takes out long sections with more spine that induce twist into the tip. A nicely crafted cork handle, beautiful aesthetics and well, I prefer a finely made tenkara rod from Japan. Tenkara is Japanese style fly fishing, I want a rod from Japan.

I want a versatile rod that I can fish short or long.  A compact rod that I can put it inside of my bag.

My favorite streams take a 4.5m rod and the small tight quarters streams need a 2.7m. I want a rod that at a minimum will go 3.3m and at length will stretch out to 3.9m, that will work. I can adjust line length to accommodate the compromise in configuration at short and long lengths.

I chose a rod that fits what I want, a compact multi length zoom rod and I’ve configured my line system for it.

I’ll primarily use a #4. This line size is useable in wind and will cast a variety of kebari and fly sizes.

I've built my kit for variety and at the same time, focused specialty. It comes from many years of my experience with tenkara and at the same time, I am a just taking my first steps with uber minimal, a kit for everything with as few compromises as possible.

Tenryu Furaibo TF39TA

Level Line

Kaizen Bag

Kebari Box

One Fly

Optics

Fishing Itoshiro River (sasoi for Amago) with Masami Sakakibara

In 2013 I had the wonderful opportunity to visit and fish the Itoshiro river with Masami Sakakibara and Go Ishii as Sakakibara-san's interpreter. Satoshi Miwa and I were traveling together and drove up to the Itoshiro from fishing around Takayama and staying at the historic villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama. Miwa-san fishes a fly rod (only) and wrote a story about our trip. Subsequently, Miwa-san returned at a later date to help with translation services and more fishing.

Two Hand Rod

Shimano 7.5-8m Zoom Two Hand Bait rod, 9m shooting line, 24" Class V sinking head

I have been using Tenkara rods and techniques for a few years now and I have really enjoyed the process of immersion into this genre of fishing. As with my fly fishing before, and switching to Tenkara, my interest is again outgrowing the narrow scope of fishing mountain streams. Telescoping fixed line rods and tackle have become my interest and I have started moving outward from Tenkara. Last year I purchased a 6.1m bait fishing rod to use on streams and rivers. I did this with success and this year I have purchased and rigged an 8m two hand rod for fishing rivers for large trout.

The term Tenkara for many people in America and now around the world, in and outside of Japan, has been taken on as an umbrella term for fixed line fly fishing. In Japan where the carbon fiber composite telescoping rods for this genre of fishing was developed; the anglers there have specialized the equipment for the many different types of fish and water where they live. My interest in learning further types of fishing with the telescoping rods does not come from anglers in America, I take my lessons from Japanese anglers and that community where the techniques have been highly refined through experience. The reason why is simple, I want to learn efficiently from experience at the source.

You can use any long bait fishing rod for this method.

My information stream comes from multiple sources. I have been purchasing books on Tenkara and mountain stream fishing techniques as well as mainstream and bait fishing through purchasers helping me in Japan. Through this process, I am able to obtain subject focused books on each specialization and understand the desired equipment and techniques. My process is two fold, the Japanese language is translated by close friends here and in Japan and it serves as a deeper understanding of the Japanese fishing culture. I also subscribe to “Headwaters” magazine, a Japanese language periodical with content on lessons and stories of Japanese style fishing. My friends there also assist me in my pursuit of varied fishing interests by helping me with specifically designed equipment and techniques that again, have already been developed and perfected after decades of experience in Japan. This process is how I learned Japanese Tenkara on my own, in parallel with Daniel Galhardo. That same effort created Tenkara-Fisher that is homologous to our subject.

Recently in Headwaters magazine, I realized a story of a gentleman that uses an 8m bait rod for two hand casting of a floating running line with a lead head (section of sinking line) for large trout in a river. The story and images of the two hand rod fishing resonated with me.

Using a long 8m rod and a fly line, the successful dead drift nymphing fly fishing techniques that I have used before in fly fishing now become available to me. In the past, I tried Tenkara techniques with level line and kebari without adequate success. Generally the trout in the Colorado are sophisticated and feed on tiny midges and scuds in deep water. They also move from deep to shallow water depending on the time of day and the dam release flow of the river. The flow release also changes with the calendar yet the spawning of the trout does not. Not only must the anglers “match the hatch” but he must also be available to move efficiently to find these fishing in a rock canyon swift flowing river, one so powerful that created the Grand Canyon. The vast majority of the fishing there must be done with specialized boat or with a guide and it is dynamic in nature.

As an experienced fly fisherman before starting Tenkara, it is difficult for me to approach a large body of moving water with a relatively short reach and limited choices and mending ability of a 4m level line Tenkara rod system. Yes, there are anglers here and in Japan that use 4m class rods with long level lines for trout fishing in rivers and I have done so as well with limited success. There are also anglers that use fly lines with 8m class rods for the same techniques that ring true with the successful techniques that I used with a 7-weight fly rod. This variety of choices reminds me of the “ten colors” term used in the Tenkara community. This term has also become the umbrella term for anglers that are using Tenkara rods in all different ways. I understand the Ten Colors concept however, I also like the highly developed equipment and techniques that the Japanese have developed.

Recently I contacted Keiichi Okushi to help me understand the equipment that I wanted to use. He is a personal friend and lifelong Japanese angler that has created a business of helping English speaking Tenkara anglers with Japanese equipment. In addition, Keiichi is also an expert fly fisher and has a business of fly fishing equipment too! I’ve helped Keiichi-san develop his business with the relatively new community of Tenkara anglers (worldwide) and have seen his ability first hand in teaching people about the “new” equipment and related techniques of fixed line fishing outside of Japan.

We began discussing the rods and lines that Koken Sorimachi had adapted and written about in Headwaters. Keiichi taught me about how the long bait rods are geared towards strength of protecting the weakest point of the line system. The rod type I was interested in was developed for bait fishing and the gist of those rods is to protect the gossamer thin line used in that technique. The rods are long and contain a lot of carbon fiber, they are very strong yet easy to break. The flex of the rod serves to “play the fish” and to protect the weak link in the system. You do not want to use too heavy of tippet when fishing these rods as you will either break the rod or stick the sections together. The actions of this length bait rods can be geared towards the fish and tippet strength desired. I do not have the money to purchase all different kinds of rods to figure this out on my own, I want to understand the established methods that have already been learned and to use the equipment and language as it was intended. For me, there is a school, a body of knowledge in Japan. It is available to me and I will utilize it as described here. My intent is to show others how to research a Japanese fishing interest and how to go about researching and obtaining the knowledge and applying it yourself as I am doing here.

For my choice in rods, we came up with a Shimano H75-80ZT. My 6m bait rod is also a Shimano and the rods I’ve used from Dr. Ishigaki are designed for Shimano. I have come to know that company as making quality fishing rods, especially the telescoping fixed line rods. Breaking down the nomiclature of my rod, Shimano being the manufacture, “H” for Honryu or the Japanese term of mainstream, 75-80 being a “zoom” (two choices of adjustable length) ZT being the particular model of many within that rod class.

We did not discuss the fly line until I had already had the rod in hand. I configured a 0.24 Rio shooting line for the rod. I already had 9m line and whipped in three nail knots, coating the nail knots to prevent unravelling, this is done to create a strong petite loop on each end of the line. The rod handled and cast the line very well. My experience in two hand casting helped me with overhead casting and the modified underhand cast that I will use. The 9m line felt great and was easily manageable.

Adam-san, the writer uses 9m to 11m running fly line + leader & tippet. In case of using sinking leader, it is type 3 or 4.

Keiichi indicated to me that the line length that I had already had was acceptable and in line with Koken Sorimachi's article. Since then, I have purchased another running line and will configure a couple of longer lines from it to have choices in feel and a back-up line just in case.

For me, I enjoy sharing what I know through my words and pictures. I research the equipment and techniques. I make sure that I am accurate in my terms and have a reference, in my experience, this is the best way. Even more important, I pay tribute to the people that help me, the people that have worked hard in creating the equipment and techniques. It’s much more fun being a part of a community and helping build it by sharing knowledge.

Before we go any farther, my article is not meant to present myself as an expert. I am a “day one” new angler using this technique. Although that is not exactly true, it’s the way I am presenting myself. I can suggest many things based on what I know but the fact of the matter is that this is a diary, a log book of my first days in trying this method. I am creating the article for myself to look back on just as much as I am creating it to generate interest in the Japanese method.

At this point, I am just about ready to visit my home river, the Colorado River in Marble Canyon. It’s a 250 mile one way trip across the desert, mountains and then the Navajo reservation high desert. It’s a place that I will visit only a couple of times per year yet if this experience goes well, that will change. I have fished many methods there and will now begin to try my hand at the Japanese method of a fixed fly line on a telescoping 8m class rod. And to be perfectly clear, I plan to take this system to the ocean for appropriate sized fish. I’ve fished the Sea of Cortez as much or more than my home river. I’m absolutely sure that this method will work very well for the lightning fast fish there. An 8m rod will effect quite a fast sweep…

[End of part 1, part two will follow]

My Kaizen Pack

Zimmerbuilt: Kaizen Pack - Sling Lite - Tailwater Pack

Review by Teton Tenkara