My 2021 Tenkara Rod Arsenal (Plus 2021 Fishing Plans)

[@saginawdan]

You are an addict! I used to live, eat and breath fishing. I'm a fish artist too. But...I grew tired of the crazy amount of gear I owned...so I sold 99% of it. Now I own two rods, a vest that holds everything I need and a pair of hip boots. I'm no longer encumbered by my equipment. But...damn...now you have me interested in Tenkara...hmmm... Anyways, I'll keep watching you catch fish, you're a pure fisherman. Thanks Tristan! 🌲🌲🌲

[@shawn595]

I just watched this video on my TV while drinking coffee. It gave me the feeling of talking about tenkara with you on a relaxing Saturday morning. Great way to start the weekend. Our rod collections overlap a bit, so it was fun and informative to hear what you think. I have a feeling a Zen Tenkara and Tanuki rod might find their way to my house in 2021. Thanks for your SUV-RVing book, the channel, and the yarn store. Hope you have a fantastic 2021.

[@TenkaraAddict]

Thanks Shawn! Those rods you mentioned are really great. I've been happy with them 👍

[@BenKickert]

Revisiting this video for probably the fourth time... all I can say is that I am excited to see your 2022 update. From what I have seen, it seems you have expanded and refined your collection and I look forward to learn from your experience.

[@TenkaraAddict]

Yep, it's about time to do another video like this one!

[@philippemanon1032]

A sacred arsenal of fishing and good equipment to succeed in good fishing. Personally, I have several rods for fishing in France, including an extraordinary one: the Oni type1 from Masami Sakakibara. What maneuverability and what pleasure to fish with! Everything seems easy !!! A 13 with great precision. For the small streams in the south Alps, I take the Sato and the Rhodo from Tenkara Usa. They are practical, these rods are very pleasant. And then to fish the magnificent French river in the South of France, the VERDON, I use the Tenkara pyrenees Aventure 400, a very powerful 7: 3 which allows you to fight larger fish. And of course, for very small streams, I have the Shimotsuke 27 and other small aliexpress 210 and 180 rods and the tiny ten 150 like you. Thanks for all the videos you share every week. My best wishes for 2021, hoping that everything is back to normal and that we can practice our passion for fishing freely.

[@davidkaye6057]

I started fly fishing last year and quickly moved into Tenkara Fishing. When I started I bought a cheap Goture Red Fox rod and caught many many fish including an 18” rainbow in the fall of 2020. For Christmas 2020 I got a Dragontail Shadowfire 365. Waiting to catch some trout on it. You have some really nice rods. I am very impressed.

[@michaelsmith7193]

I really enjoyed your reviews and experience with these rods. Very helpful. I can offer a kind word of agreement re the Tiny Ten - it has worked well on very small brook trout streams here in the East, where sometime your only option is a “bow-and-arrow” cast on a little pool with a thick laurel canopy. Here’s wishing you great travels (and fishing) in 2021!

[@elmerblakemoreiii6718]

You have a wonderful collection of Tenkara rods. I have been sampling various types to find my favorite brand. Personally, I enjoy a light, fast action performance. Thanks for your reviews.

[@barnygogl]

Yeah, the Yamhill River, Mill Creek west of Salem on the eastern slope of the coast range and the Upper Siletz River and Beaver Creek on the western slope near Newport The Miami near Garibaldi sometimes has a nice little run of Bluebacks, Cutthroat , Steelies and Calicos, a bit much for tenkara but doable with the right rod and there's more, more, more Sometimes one has to plan some because they are weather and time(spawning) dependent, High, fast and muddy Good luck and enjoy ta

[@jemezdave]

Thanks for the rod demo and discussion, Tristan. I've got the Tiny ten and the Tiny ten two (8 foot version). I love both of those rods! I was really blown away by the packaging and rod cases from that company. It struck me that they really take pride in delivering a great product. And as a bonus their price point is really nice. I also have the Shimotsuke Kiyotaki 180. That's a great rod too but it takes some adjustments on feel in my opinion as it feels like you are casting with a sharpie in your hand. I have landed some fairly large fish with it as well in the 11 inch range. Again, that small handle takes some getting used to. My wife got me the Mizuchi for Christmas and I'm taking it out tomorrow. I'm excited to give it test. It strikes me that it could be the perfect Northern New Mexico Tenkara rod as I fish a lot of micro/small streams up to the Rio Grande locally. I'll be taking it out on the Rio Grande for it's first test and thus likely will be using the longer length. Back to the Tiny ten products I think they are ideal for lightweight backpacking and the 5 footer can't be beat for any overgrown streams.

[@TheDude1776]

Which rod has caught your biggest fish so far? And I have to say, I am super jealous that you are only 15 mins from the Southfork. Thousands of trout per mile heaven.

[@tylerhouston9746]

I still love my little maxcatch mini 9’6” variant. It may not be the lightest but when you come from a background of rod and reel fishing, it is light. My kiddos have a small cheepo each, those little brown ones. I have my eye on a few but a cork grip is a must for me.

[@stevewalcott9546]

Love your fishing and SUV camping videos! Thanks for going through all of your rods!

[@TenkaraAddict]

Thanks for watching the videos, Steve!

[@bw5260]

Dumb question from an extreme newbie here: what are the pros and cons of stiffer vs. more flexible rods?

[@Steelertubeyou]

I hope you can help me or offer some advice. Four members of my family recently bought the DragonTail Mizuchi rods. I have only fished with mine four times, and have caught a few dozen fish, the largest being a 14" Cutthroat Trout. This past weekend, my son and I went fishing and my rod snapped. I had caught an 8-10" trout and was pulling it out of the water to my net when the rod snapped like a twig. It broke about 2" up on section 6, just above section 5 (Based on the DragonTail website). I have no idea why this brand-new rod broke. The rod is stored in its sock, and inside a very heavy-duty tube. It's never been stepped on, shut in a car door, sat on, jammed into a tree, etc. We are all new to the Tenkara style of fishing, so could I have done something wrong that caused the break? My son and I love to watch your videos and I basically landed the fish like I've seen you do many, many times. Any suggestions, comments or advice? Thanks, Randy

[@Charsept]

The Tiny Ten is my only rod. A little stiff but fun to take on vacation.

[@danlibby8366]

Ok I need your input. If you were going to buy one and only one, use it for backpacking. Weight and cost is important. What do you recommend????? Thanks!

[@larrylass4268]

Wonderful collection of rods. I never had the opportunity to try tenkara or keiryu rods for comparison before purchase and not sure a few hour demo would have help the selection. I ultimately picked a Goture 24' because it was long and between the high and low priced rods. It is heavy (10 oz) and a two hand caster but catches trout and a wide variety of other fish using a keiryu rig. It has really taken me 3 years use understand it was the right choice and love the action and casting options to not look for other rods.

[@yoopermann7942]

can you recommend an ultra-lite rod? for BROOK TROUT and PAN FISH(BLUEGILL,SUN FISH) sized fish? i forgot to mention that i fish mostly fish small to tiny creeks and small lakes there is a lot of small tiny streams and lakes here in the UPPER PENINSULA of MICHIGAN you just have to find those tiny creeks

[@lukejarvie4082]

The middle and west forks of the Gila River in NM has a bunch of Gila Trout. You can make it a great backpacking loop too.

[@Lens98052]

Inspired by your previous videos, I just decided to buy and try Tenkara fishing. I bought a random rod available online and various nice ancillary gear that arrived a couple of days ago. I was watching this video and thinking, "odd, my rod is longer than the rods you are showing and feels really nice without the cork handle". I really lucked out because I bought by chance the Daiwa Sagiri 45MC.

[@FishingCircle]

Really helpful video and I am pumped to see what you accomplish in 2021!

[@TenkaraAddict]

Thanks Todd! When are we going ice fishing again??

[@capt_dam]

I live in WA. Seems like water levels would be high and murky in may? What are your options here? Are spring fed creeks the only option for that time of the year?

[@Two_Buck]

I just got the wild water 12 ft kit. I was pretty excited as I have never tried Tenkara or any fly fishing for that matter. You said its a bad rod. I'm interested to hear why. Its seems like a good starter setup.

[@TenkaraAddict]

It's heavy and stiff compared to good rods. I still had fun with it though 👍

[@Two_Buck]

@@TenkaraAddict In your opinion what is a good rod to start with that isn't too expensive?

[@savvasefsef]

Happy new year my friend, happy travels!!!

[@Bassedmen]

Greetings, loved the review... I wish I saw this video before purchasing my first tenkara rod kit... i recently (Last week) purchased my first Tentara rod from Wetfly™ the model was Kodomo Creek Tenkara Flex Fly Fishing Kit it's a 7.3 action with lengths of 8.10 / 9.9 / 10.6. priced @ 149.99 - I am eager to, but haven't had a chance to fish it yet.. have you ever tried the wetfly tenkara.. if so, how would you rate them.

[@jeremyreed2694]

Have you tried any of the Tenkara Rod Co rods? Based out of Idaho I believe

[@robertkemp622]

Just noticed that your first fish caught on the Tanuki XL1 was a 9-inch rainbow just released in your May 8, 5-stream compilation.

[@jeremydrouin9975]

I enjoyed the overview of your quiver. Do you actually fish the three lengths of your triple zoom rods? I found that I prefer bi-zoom and fixed length rods, although I did purchase the Mutant through Kickstarter and have enjoyed fishing it. The Nirvana 400 has grown on me. I especially like it for warmwater lake fishing, where there is the potential to catch bluegill, crappie, bass, catfish, etc. Small fish are still fun on the 400, but the extra backbone is nice when you hook into the occasional big fish. I also like the 400 for landing trout in faster moving water. I look forward to watching videos of your 2021 outings.

[@TenkaraAddict]

Yep, I fish at all three lengths as necessary. Thanks for watching!

[@dennischitwood4491]

Hope to see you fishing with your brother this year.

[@TenkaraAddict]

I'd like to! Do you know him?

[@dennischitwood4491]

@@TenkaraAddict No. Just saw him in a few videos. Enjoyed watching you 2 snow shoeing in Washington.

[@dennischitwood4491]

I lived in Washington State for 40 years, but retired to Boise in 2019 after 31 years at Boeing.

[@TheKPDX]

Very nice. I have a buddy who is trying to get me interested in trying this with my 9yo boy & 12yo girl here in the Cascades. We hike and offroad together and thought this might be something to try. He grew up Western Flyfishing but tired of all the gear. Any recommendations for kids? I expect we would be doing the smaller to at most medium rivers you find in the Cascades. I don't mind spending for quality but I don't know how invested we'll be. I want something good enough that neither the kids nor I will be put off by a poor rod but I'll wait until we're more interested before getting something in the $150+ category. BTW, appreciate your web site on gear and I plan to look into your SUV RVING, you have a relaxing voice, I was drawn in by your Goture YT of all things!

[@TenkaraAddict]

I don't really have a good recommendation for kids specifically. A good all-around intro rod (depending on the size of water) is the Dragontail Shadowfire 365. I think both a 9 and 12 year old shouldn't have any problem fishing with it.

[@TheKPDX]

@@TenkaraAddict Thanks for taking the time to respond. I think I'm going to go ahead with the Mizuchi for it's flexibility and probably a Goture Breeze as a stand in for now and a "throw away" to lend to other kids later. I held my buddies new Shadowfire 365 & it certainly feels nice but I worry it might be too long for all the tree cover we get in the PNW. I'm curious to see the revised Draintail Talon as a sub 18" rod that I could throw in my daypack with the kids would be great. 18" vs 24" isn't much but I expect the convenience of being able to just keep it inside the daypack all the time would mean I'd just always take it with me. Thanks again for your videos. They are very Zen. I appreciate the way you clearly care for the fish and the environment. Both my kids and even my wife have found them pleasant and relaxing to watch. We recently remarked at your very down played reaction to bushwacking through the stinging nettles, which we know is miserable. Keep up the good work!

[@willikebari5478]

Hello Tristan, another very interesting video, thanks for that! I own around 25 tenkara rods myself. Both "real Tenkara rods" and "China Tenkarastyl rods". Among them are rods from Goture (Breeze, Red-Fox and Goldlite in different lengths). Personally, I don't think these Goture rods are bad and I really like to fish with them. A happy, healthy new year and best regards from Upper Austria!

[@TenkaraAddict]

The Goture rods are definitely better than I thought they'd be! Thanks for watching, Willi.

[@andrewwayment4260]

No Tenkara USA rods? My favorite rod that I have is the Rhodo. Casts better than any rod I have including all my western rods. I want to get the Sato.

[@shawn595]

I was a little surprised at that, too. I appreciate the Tenkara USA philosophy and their customer service. I have both the Rhodo and the Sato. I have yet to find another rod like the Rhodo, and its my favorite small stream rod. The Sato is more of my "universal" rod for spring and fall, and the Mizuchi is my favorite rod for throwing weighted flies in the winter. I also have the Mutant, but its too soft for my liking.

[@TenkaraAddict]

I've been eyeing eBay for good deals on used ones, but they don't interest me enough to pay full price for one.

[@Hunter-fl9yc]

Sincere review, thank you. Have you ever tried "Karasu" of DT? They say it`s a great rod.

[@TenkaraAddict]

Nope, I haven't

[@flyweight_adventures]

Great collection and thanks for the vid. Any experience with the dragontail hellbender?

[@KayakhacksFishing]

Wow! 5 feet - I can see how that would be useful on a small stream. But, what is the maximum length of line you put on it?

[@TenkaraAddict]

5 or 6 feet is probably the longest I'd put on it.

[@robertkemp622]

@@TenkaraAddict The Japanese TV channel NHK had a 15-minute video on tanago (known as bitterling) fishing that covered the equipment-making and the fishing. The fisherman featured was a Tokyo sushi chef who fishes regularly from December through February for tanago in ditches near Tokyo with a rod that looks to be about 100cm. Here is the link if you'd like to watch it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b16xpnSbbplpZrs

[@arachnoskull6311]

I Just got the HELLbender because I needed something for biger fish and found it through your link for the Dragontail Mutant :)

[@jeremydrouin9975]

I like the wall storage for your rods. What did you use to make it?

[@TenkaraAddict]

3/4" webbing and a sewing machine 👍

[@royramdeen8864]

No mention of Tenkara USA?

[@myotherlinefishing]

If you haven’t yet get another drone 😂. Have a fun and prosperous year!

[@marklettow6610]

Do you ever fish with a section of floating fly line instead of level line?

[@robaldridge6505]

brand new Tenkara NEWBIE..what is the LEAST WORST $20 rod ???

[@eddiewalker7252]

....awesome just found ....I love catch and cook fishing drop down to S.F. for Outdoor Chef Life(vanlifetoo) and Fishermans Life! covid is not outdoors children or the fit! Also in Oregon there is a magnificient lake of my childhood that will blow you away you will probably push past it to higher mountain trout at the base of Jefferson....but be sure to stop at Lake Pamelia!! God Bless be safe!

[@carlosandreblatt]

Nice reviews! Consider adding the Tenkara Times Try and Wathershed models to your collection. They are not pricey and have great performance.

[@TenkaraAddict]

I'll look into them. Thanks Carlos!

[@carlosandreblatt]

@@TenkaraAddict be welcome... Tom has already reviewed them

[@arachnoskull6311]

I also use the Goture Red Fox and it's Good but it's not great when I compare it to Dragontail stuff but it shoots the #12 and #6 flys i use for green sunfish and it works for the Thiccc big chungus american stock trout you should give it a try it's like a $14.99 rod that works and the price makes it expendable

[@Working-in-NY]

Great info. Thx

[@itsgeoff9391]

I own a cascade from tenkara rod co. A tenkara usa Rhode and a dragontail shadowfire which I think are good rods. I had a maxcatch one but really didn't like it

[@368degreefishing4]

Go somewhere near you! I did that and found my favorite trout streams to date

[@TenkaraAddict]

Lol yup!

[@paulrobertson7980]

How much line is usually used tenkara fishing

[@calistan5431]

Same length as the rod you're using

[@nathanrains9292]

Bass fisherman rod collection= builds garage on side of house for all the gear. Tenkara fisherman arsenal= let's look in this shoe box here...

[@TenkaraAddict]

Indeed!

[@nathans.3751]

Just bought the Tiny Ten

[@jcfly1]

Daiwa Sagiri in the shorter size is a favorite, a real fun rod to fish.

[@TenkaraAddict]

I bet! That's a rod I'd love to get at some point. Thanks for watching.

[@MARTIN-ez2xh]

Auguri 😍🎅😍

[@TenkaraAddict]

👍

[@MARTIN-ez2xh]

❤️🎅👋

[@GeckoL7]

The best source for Japanese rods is Tenkarabum.com. Replacement parts for all the rods are stocked and service is very good.

[@TenkaraAddict]

I know from personal experience that he doesn't have all replacement parts for all the rods. Thanks for watching.

[@david121582]

I had a broken tip section replacement in hand within 5 days of breaking it. Here claims to carry all replacement parts for what he carries I believe but I'm sure he can run out too.

[@pr0gr4m-_-]

Ojalá tuviera subtitulo en español. De igual manera buen video, soy de chile y acá no se conoce mucho este tipo de pesca en la cual me estoy introduciendo. Suerte amigo 💪

[@nguyenuchai3769]

I am in Vietnam also passionate about tenkara. Can you celebrate for me a nissin tree?

[@TenkaraAddict]

Not sure what you mean, sorry!

[@nathanrains9292]

In principal, tenkara strips away all unnecessary components. A minimalistic approach...but that is a lot of rods for something minimalistic. And with the cost of all them together it just doesn't seems to make sense. Just my thought, but you know how that goes...

[@TenkaraAddict]

Just because I as one person have multiple rods, that doesn't mean tenkara itself suddenly becomes non-simple. It's not like I'm standing at the edge of the creek with a dozen rods in front of me while I wring my hands in confusion over what rod to bring. I look at a creek and I grab a rod. It's not rocket science. You do you.

[@nathanrains9292]

@@TenkaraAddict at least you are upfront and admit you are an "addict" I on the other hand am just a casual user currently, but can already feel the edge of the cliff coming each time I hit the like button.

[@K2mtp]

Haha watched a video today were you talk about having two rods.

[@MECH-MASTER]

👍

[@of_the_stone]

3:26 Oh yeah??? lol

[@DeeMoback]

Those little cheap uxcell are great..... I got a number of them...... great little rods.....yup

[@nickyengle9668]

Thks for practice ing catch n release, am not buying you have only fished for 2 years

[@kats1978]

I bought Tiny Ten for my little nephew but he uses as lightsaber:(

[@TenkaraAddict]

Lol at least he's using it!

[@D.Botherme]

YOU'RE DESCRIBING A TENCARA POLE❓ CALLING IT .... CUTE❓🤢...YIKES...🤐...NUFF SAID