hello guys,
the purpose of this question is to see if fishing tenkara style is more productive compared to other styles.
my experience with tenkara is quite limited to warm waters and as a general observation, with tenkara style
I’m able to catch more fish but they seem to be smaller compared to spin fishing style. In my case, if I’m
going for spin fishing with lures I’m able to get bigger fishes, while with tenkara fly fishing I get more
diverse species (like roach, rudd ) species that until now I didn’t catch them on spinning lures.
Looking also on youtube I ran over this video and even though a lot of things can be discussed on this
(I wouldn’t use only a spinner I would use a minnow lure, or for the fly, maybe I would change that fly … )
So what’s your experience on this? Thanks
PS. sorry for my english , but I’m not a native english speaker so … you get it
Hello, I’ve seen that video and I think it’s good. Like you, I got more fish using tenkara but they are smaller compared to when I spin fish. But more is better than the 1 solitary fish I would get spin fishing! So my spin gear is just for big rivers and lakes now.
I think a good spin fisherman can catch more fish, in more different places - from small streams to big rivers, - spin fishing is just more versatile - once you get good at casting. The stealth of spin fishing is unbeatable. You just need to match spinner weight and blade to conditions - or even spoons are very effective
I used to spin fish for trout in small and big streams using spinners and spoons - it’s very very effective and casting in tight locations and and great distance is possible if you’re good at it
I really want to give BFS (bait finesse system?) a shot, with a light rod and baitcasting reel, but the cost of entry for the reels is so high! I feel like the combination of tenkara and BFS would easily cover just about any water i fish or would like to fish in my region, and with BFS and light spoons I could prob get into a whole different group of fish that I haven’t been able to catch so far.
I just started spin fishing for trout again after not having done it for close to 50 years. The last two times I was out, fishing tenkara for part of the day and spin fishing for part of the day, I caught more and larger fish spin fishing.
I suspect some days would favor spin fishing and some days would favor tenkara.
Interesting conversation. I haven’t been spin fishing in over 30 years and last I thought about it was almost as long ago.
Unfortunately, and much to my own loss and detriment, I got caught up into the elitism of fly fishing from my 20’s to early 30’s and thought I was too good for spin fishing and bait fishing. Then life taught me some lessons. I feel lucky that I was in a place to learn them. All that too say, it may be kind of fun to try it out again.
Peder, it is fun. Very different from tenkara, but a lot of fun. The equipment that is available today is a lot nicer than what I fished with decades ago - but then again, decades ago I wanted the cheapest rod that would get me on the stream.
I recently launched a new website offering spinning rods and reels designed for the Japanese Domestic market - and also ultralight bait casters that guys in Japan are starting to use for trout in streams. Had an interesting conversation with a guy just the other day about ultralight baitcasting. He loves it, says spin fishing just can’t compare, and intends to use 2# test line on the baitcasting reel he just bought. 2# line on a baitcaster was unheard of just a few years ago. Even now most people couldn’t imagine it.
This is where the abstract comes in…the eccentric…and a step further into the obsession.
Fishing for me transcends fish count and size. I started fishing with spinning gear, and until recently I had only fly fished twice and that was back in the mid nineties. My motivation for the recent change to tenkara… I was bored and spinning became too easy. My spin setup was a trout rod and a small box of spoons and spinners. It was about the size of a fly box. For those of you who do spin fish and have never fished a gold super-duper…give one a try. There is not a trout on this planet that can resist me dancing one in the water column.
How I want to take fish is specific. So specific that it is not about catching fish anymore. If it were, I would reach for a nightcrawler, grub, or shiner, and drift it into a pool. This is about challenge and entertainment…not trophies.
Over this past year, there was some drama over the definition of tenkara. Tenkara purism is a further extension of all of the above, and no different than folk who define fly fishing as fishing with dry fly only. Method transcending the assumed motivation.
These days, I truly enjoy tenkara and would not consider a spinning outfit for the task tenkara was designed. there is something delicate about the method that flows with the natural rhythm of the river. Its a meditation that spinning just doesn’t provide.
For me…Tenkara also serves as a counter weight/polar opposite for my saltwater angling. My saltwater pursuits are spinning only and focus on targeting the striped bass. Using a flyrod or fixed line can be done but is not practical in this environment or for the size of fish I am targeting. The interesting thing is that there are a lot of parallels in method even though the species and method are different.
