Woohoo…my new DragonTail Hydra v2 triple zoom rod arrived today along with a few other goodies.
Should be a nice complement to my Kaida, length wise.
I think I’ll rig it with 3.5 level line, to compare with the furled I have currently on the Kaida.
1 Like
I just picked one up as well and would love to get it on some back country Kern River spots that come to mind. 
Finally got some time today to rig the new Hydra v2 rod. Put about 12 ft of DT orange 3.5 level line on it, using a 15lb dacron loop to attach to the lillian, and about 3 ’ of #4 fluorocarbon tippet. Tied on a practice fly as well.
Damn…those lines are fine and hard to see with my ageing eyes. LOL
Did a few dozen practice casts in the yard. Feels good, but the line doesn’t seem to stream out very far…probably due to my lack of casting skills. Oh well that is what practice is for I guess…still trying to figure this stuff out.
After the fun with the new Hydra, pulled out the Kaida (rigged with furled line) for a few dozen more casts with that rod.
Real test might be this weekend if I can get out to the trout river I’ve had my eye on. 
Hello, and Congratulations on the new rod!
I know some folks use a dacron loop knot on their level lines with a knot in the lillian.
After reading these essays prior to actually buying my 1st T-rod; the Hydra V1, I decided not to tie a knot in the lillian.
As an extra measure of security, I tie two figure 8 knots into the end of the level line about 3/4" apart. The one on the very end becomes a “handle” knot to help grab onto the line to tighten and loosen the arbor knot onto and remove it from the lillian, and the 2nd knot becomes a safety “stopper” knot that prevents the arbor knot from ever slipping past the 2nd figure 8 knot.
As mentioned in the 2nd essay, the lillian must be passed through that modified arbor knot in the level line twice before tightening the knot around the lillian. Don’t ask me how I can confirm that…
To store a level line on a spool with the modified arbor knot that has the “handle” on the end, I hook my fly onto the hook catch on the spool, wind the tippet and line around the spool until I come to the modified arbor knot. I slip the knot over-around the spool so the “standing line” coming out of the knot feeds directly into the spool, then pull on the “handle” of the arbor knot to tighten it around the spool to secure it all as a package with the “handle” sticking out from the spool.
To resuse the line I pull on the arbor knot “handle” in the other direction to loosen the arbor knot, remove it from the spool, then unwind the line from the spool, and connect the arbor knot to the lillian.
Even if using a (furled) line (which so far I have not really cared for) with a soft loop on the end, passing the end of the lillian through the girth hitch 3 times will keep the line secured to the lillian.
A knotty problem, to be sure. 
In TenkaraBum’s article, he says:
"If you are going to fish with a line that requires a girth hitch for attachment to the rod, I suspect you would be safer with the knot than without. The girth hitch does slip and to be safe you should probably have a knot. "
I’m still figuring out what kind of line I prefer so have furled on my Kaida and 3.5 level line on my Hydra v2. The furled comes with a loop for girth hitching, so I figured a lillian knot is safe, though I do loop the lillian through the girth loop twice to be extra safe.
Figured I would just add a dacron loop to the end of the level line so that both lines use the same attachment method, at least for now.
Good articles…thanks for sharing!
This picture in the first essay or article of the damaged (bubbled up) finish on rod sections that can cause the sections to stick together was why I decided not to tie a knot in the Lillian.
The first time I had seen a Tenkara rod was fishing with a good friend. He had vacuumed up fish behind me with his new T-rod in two runs I had just fished with a beautiful new bamboo western rod and reel.
The finish on the inside of his new rod was bubbled up like that. It was at the end of our local freshwater season here and I began studying everything I could find on Tenkara and came across those essays before I purchased my first outfit about 2 months later. I chose to start with #3 and #3.5 level lines.
It was 6 more months before streams opened for trout again and I could actually fish. I spent that time reading articles, watching videos, and practicing what I was learning about building lines for each length of my rod, casting, fly tying, and other techniques.
I was skunked on my 1st trip but had promised myself I would give myself a full season of only fishing streams with a T-rod to see if I was going to stick with it. I was rewarded with this fish on my second Tenkara trip to a long time favorite stream.
That was 9 years ago. Since then when fishing streams for trout I have only used fixed line Tenkara and Keiryu rods.
It’s Canada Day and being clear of responsibilities, I’ve got my gear all packed up and doing a day trip north to try my hand at catching some rainbows!
Woohoo…wish me luck! I’m gonna need it since I’m a newbie and have no clue what I’m doing. LOL
1 Like
No fish…not even a bite. The spot where I saw a few dozen trout back earlier in the spring had nothing. Not sure where they went.
Regardless, had a good time. Lots of casting practice and very few trees caught. LOL Lost two flies…on got stuck in some rocks and the other just vanished so maybe I didn’t tie a good knot. Was fishing primarily with the Kaida, starting with a copper john and then switched to a different sabasa kabari when I lost the copper in some rocks. Hiked about 3 km total, but on easy ATV trails. Nice sandwich on the shore lunch before I hiked out.
When I got back to the truck, switched to the Hydra v2 for some casting practice off the dock at the boat launch, in case there were some smallmouths hungry around the dock footings, but nothing there either. Hot and humid today…maybe the fish were all sleeping or hiding in the deeper colder water.
Casting light lines and flies when there is a stiff breeze isn’t easy and almost impossible into the wind. Was having more luck doing side casts for distance than overhead ones. Probably was catching the wind less, but barring wind issues, my casts were sort of going where I aimed them, so I guess that was progress of a sort.
I think I jinxed myself by bringing a small cooler with a bag of ice! The tenkara gods are punishing me for being too optimistic, I think. LOL
10 km north of home, got hit by a big t-storm…high winds and torrential rain. Wipers on high, 4-ways on and doing 30 kph on the highway. When I passed through the nearest small town (more an intersection with a grocery store and gas station), traffic lights were out, and also got a text from the wife that the power was out. No surprise given the violence of the storm front that hit us…likely due to 30C heat with high humidity. Managed to get the generator going before the UPS units died, so guess my timing getting home was pretty good.
Next adventure with the tenkara rods will likely be trying to find some accessible streams/rivers closer to home.
Alas, no trout for the smoker this time! 
But the cold beer (well earned due to the heat and bugs and storm) is delightful! 
1 Like
Sounds like a fun trip. You definitely jinxed it by brining that cooler 
1 Like
Tea & Tenkara? Sounds like a great combo to me. I’m a tea drinker…not a fan of coffee except an occasional espresso after dinner at a restaurant.
I have about 20+ different pu erh teas that I drink regularly. Yum!
But need some smoked trout to go with. 
Been researching areas near home to go tenkara fishing…quite a few nice streams not that far from home (10-15 minutes for most of them) and one has a hiking trail called Trout Trail…sounds rather promising, non?
1 Like
I’m partial to a good oolong myself.
I do side casting to beat the wind also. Include it with your overhead and aerial mending lawn practice into a pie tin with a jar lid in the pie tin for bonus points.
1 Like
Can I eat the pie if I hit the target consistently? 
1 Like