Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Tenkara AND Western

Looking for some advice on western fly gear -

I've fished Tenkara exclusively for two years in Colorado and really enjoy it. I have three Tenkara rods (the 12 ft and 11 ft Iwana, plus a 9 ft handle). I usually take at least one with me on every hike, backpacking trip, scouting trip or backpack hunt.

The thing is, I'm kind of getting bored with how easy it is. Yep, it's easy catching naive high elevation brookies and cutthroat on my Tenkara rods. I've also found that I occasionally need longer reach on alpine lakes, particularly when the wind picks up. I know that longer casts are possible with Tenkara but I don't want another Tenkara rod.

I love my Tenkara rods, and am just wondering if something like a seven foot 3wt or 4wt would do most everything in the Colorado backcountry, or supplement my Iwana. I've spent a little time casting the Orvis Superfine Touch 3wt at the store in Cherry Creek and it seems like a lot of fun, and I can get more casting range out of it.

I think my future includes both Tenkara and western fly fishing, in part because I want more versatility and in part because I just get bored.

Would love to hear your thoughts about western rigs for the backcountry if you fish both!!!

Thanks

I would not own anything shorter than 9ft in CO. A 7ft rod is for eastern streams with Laurel hanging over the water everywhere.

On large streams the long rods are a blessing and great for handling line and flies. Get into some of the willow choked alpine settings (these might be streams one can step across but 3 ft deep), however, and 7 ft 2 or 3 weights are fine. The fish are seldom weighed in pounds or measured in feet, and one hardly ever makes a cast as he is dapping between limbs and undergrowth. Also one is near likely to break off anything that takes anyway.

Get out in the open with a 2 wt and one cannot bust the wind with 70+ ft casts, but they'll typically lay out enough to work with under calm conditions. Much like golf, one needs some variety in his clubs.

Good luck out there,

TAK and 1minute, appreciate the feedback.

What I'm hearing is "the right tool for the right job" and it sounds like I should be thinking about a longer, heavier rod for the Colorado high country.

Thank you.

A 9ft 6wt will land any smallmouth most of us will ever hook. Overkill for panfish and all but probably steelhead trout but if you could only have one rod....

Were it me, I'd only be thinking slightly heavier, and perhaps slightly longer from what I'm reading as your intended use. That is, no mention of streamers. No mention of the Dream Stream in March and April with mountain winds. No mention of 30' chucking and ducking with AB size shot. Just more distance than your Tenkara rods, and backcountry alpine lakes.

I've not cast the Superfine Touch series of rods from Orvis. But if you like the feel of the 7.5' 3 weight, why not see if you also like the 7.5' or 8' 4 weights? I'd also test cast the Superfine Glass rods in 4 and 5 weights, if the Cherry Creek or Centennial Orvis stores have them in stock. Rave reviews on this series, and they're a C-note cheaper than the Touch. If you're not needing 70' casts on a regular basis, forget the ultra-fast rod hype, and check out the incredible feel of fiberglass.

Use the above mentioned 9' 6wt for Smallies and Steelhead when you run into them at 11000'. Oh wait... Actually, that cannon or something bigger, would be just right for carping Arbor Lake, or downtown on the South Platte.

As for Tenkara, well I'm not really in love with my Yamame. I don't dislike it, but the nearby waters that I've tried it on are not really conducive to Tenkara. Deer Creek is mostly too overgrown for the 12' rod (perfect for my 6'6" rod) and the lower Yuba is a tad large. I've done well in more open areas on Deer Creek, and for panfish in the pond. I'm seriously contemplating using it as a second dry fly rod for kayaking on the lower Yuba due to its ease of stowing when not in use. However fish bigger than 16" are not uncommon, and even a 14" fish on that river can pull all out of proportion to its length. I foresee break-offs using 5X tippet. I do know of water that would be great, but that involves driving 2-5X longer.

So, where do you actually fish, if you don't mind my asking? RMNP? Crystal Creek? Purely backcountry? No mention of Browns or Rainbows, so it doesn't sound like you're fishing Deckers or other parts of the South Platte.

Scott

Well for more than thirty years my go to trout rod and I have a bunch of fly rods from 2 wt to 10 wt. is an Sage Graphite II Fly rod 8'6" for a 5 Wt. Its my rod of choice for 90% of my trout fishing according to my journals since 1982. an Hardy LRH reel ,DT floater and a extra spool with the fastest sinking tip I can get. As for Tenkara, I am no expert on that, this past year was just my third season. I fish a 12' rod, most of the streams and rivers I fish, I found it to be more than long enough. Then again I like to get as close as I can to the spot were I think a fish will be. I have always been a short line caster. I caught way more fish with casts under 30 feet than over. I tend to move and stalk on the stream. My biggest fish to date on a Tenkara Rod, 19 inch fall Brown trout, on 6 x tippet and a # 16 hopper pattern back in Oct-13 low water levels the first week, I had to move a bit to keep the fish on, but it was one of the most memorable trout catches of my life , my most memorable one being my first trout on a fly when I was all of 7 years old. To this day I consider that 10 inch stocked Brook trout out of the 8 mile River in Devils Hopyard State Park to be my best. I currently live just 2.5 miles from the very pool I caught that fish in 1962. The pool is not as deep as it was then. I may fish it this year come May just because.