Why Tenkara Fails in Retail
Sitting on the bank during one of those all-too-familiar fishless days on the South Platte, I started thinking about rod design. With my current favorite in my hand (the Tenkara USA Ito), I began to think about what makes a rod “good”. I’ve done a fair number of tenkara rod reviews and if you’ve followed this blog for any significant length of time, you know I have a passion for good design. It struck me that there are a lot of variables that have to come together in just the right combination for me to consider a rod “good”. Let’s consider the Ito…
I like the Ito for a lot of reasons. I love the soft 6:4 action in its default 13 ft. mode. I love the fact that it’s a zoom rod and can give me a little more reach when I need it. The handle is just the right length and is very comfortable in my hand. And, let’s face it–it’s a handsome looking rod (don’t discount aesthetics). So all these properties had to align in order for me to favor this rod. Of course, nothing is “perfect” and everyone has their own idea of perfection so that begs the question…
What is the “ultimate” tenkara rod?
If you could design your ideal tenkara rod, what would it be?
- Would it be a 5:5, 6:4, or 7:3 action?
- What length would it be?
- Would it be a zoom rod?
- What type of handle would it have?
- Would it have some kind of integrated line storage system?
- What would it look like?
I’m giving you carte blanche to design your ultimate tenkara rod from the ground up so don’t pull any punches. Anything goes.
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I like a mid to stiffer action rod myself, so for me a 6:4 (not a soft one but just like the Iwana 12′), and the rod would be as lite as a feather feeling of the 13′ Ito mode but yet the rod is 15′ long.
So, take an Ito, make it a mid 6:4, and the first length it locks into is 14.5′, and it feel as lite as the current Ito in 13′ mode, then make the max mode be a whopping 16′ and have it feel balanced.
Not asking too much am I.
hehehe
tj
Well, you guessed it, the Ito is my perfect rod.
Coming from a position where I can develop the ideal tenkara rod, the Ito was the rod I developed after fishing with tenkara for almost 3 years and getting a very good idea of what I wanted in a tenkara rod.
It would be soft, but have a crisp action and good recovery. It would be long, but not too long that it would feel top heavy. It would have a matte finish with some cool color scheme. And, yes, it would have the zoom feature. However, it would remain uncomplicated, no integrated line storage for me.
Great question though, would love to see what else would make everyone’s ideal tenkara rod, knowing that we’ll never please everyone.
Hi Daniel,
Well, I think a lot of tenkara anglers would agree that you hit a home run with the Ito. But as you say, you can’t please everyone all the time. I’m just looking forward to hearing other peoples’ ideas of what their ideal tenkara rod would be. Tenkara anglers tend to be very creative and detail oriented so it will be fun to see what people come up with!
Action: 6:4
Length: 12′ – 13’6″ zoom
Handle: Ito shape/length
Features: Line friendly flutted end plug
Finish: low glare Matte Black
Thom,
Sounds like a good design. I’d fish that.
Ideal Tenkara rod ‘ll need ideal fish…
I would like an Ito with a nice wood handle turned fairly thin and custom painted butt sections, but standard tip sections. I would also like a turned wood tip plug with fluted foam insert and a turned wood cap over the screw cap with an ‘O’ ring.
This may actually happen if I ever get the nerve to do this to a rod.
Gerrit, nice. Very artistic.
Ideal is tough. The closest I’ve found is the Daiwa LL41SF. Long, light, full flex without being too whippy, very simple, and collapses to less than 24″. If I designed my own rod, it would be a little different, but not by enough to make it worth it.
Chris, just curious. What would you do differently?
I have been lost to fishing for awhile but this post is great. I used to work 6 days on then be off for 8 at Bishop, CA; and would then live backpacking in the Sierras. Small and light for us non-hardcore folks would be nice.
http://tenkara.phpwebhosting.com/tkf_vb/showthread.php?230-Design-your-own-tenkara-rod
Here is my idea of designing your own rod.
The Ito is a good rod and I’ve cast, fished, owned a bunch of different rods by different companies.
I think there are rods just as good, if not better than the Ito but the main point here is that the Ito is a good rod.
The enemy of good is better…
Not a lot of people may understand that.
My ideal rod would be a 11ft iwana with a bigger bulb at the end of the handle for me to hold on to. and gold accents instead of brown.