Why We Don’t Use Leaders in Tenkara
Not too long ago, I wrote a post about using Red Amnesia as a sighter for tenkara level lines. Having fished it for a while now, I can say really like it. The bright red Amensia is easy to see in all lighting conditions and makes it much easier to follow your fly and detect strikes. But it got me thinking…why not try a full line made of Amnesia? Today, I got a chance to put it to the test on the stream and here are the results.
I opted for the 12 lb. Amnesia since its diameter is 0.330 mm (a line size I frequently fish). As soon as I made the first cast, I knew my suspicions about its visibility were right. These pictures don’t do it justice. The line almost glows neon in the sun and is highly visible against a variety of backgrounds:
I was absolutely thrilled with the visibility. There was only one problem: the line doesn’t cast well. Most tenkara anglers use fluorocarbon for their level lines and there’s a reason. Fluorocarbon is denser than monofilament and transfers the energy of the cast better. Amnesia is monofilament and it just doesn’t turn over anywhere near as well as the fluorocarbon lines I normally use.
Don’t get me wrong: you can cast it. It just takes a little more effort and you kind of have to adjust your casting stroke a little to get it to work. But even then, the lack of power is noticeable and it’s almost useless in the wind.
I can’t fault Amnesia for not being a great material for a tenkara line. After all, it’s a shooting line that is designed to be pulled through guides by the momentum of a heavier line in front of it. It’s not meant to be cast and turn over a fly. And although the visibility is tempting, I won’t be switching from my fluorocarbon lines. It was worth a try though.
If only someone could make a fluorocarbon line that was the color of Amnesia, but cast as smoothly as the Tenkara USA lines (and also had low memory), then we’d have the ultimate tenkara line. I don’t think that’s asking too much, do you?
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Do you use amnesia a lot as a strike indicator? I have been thinking about adding some to the end of my level lines.
Yes. I have been and like it.
I think an amnesia fluorocarbon line would be outstanding! Also going with lines, I recently picked up some fluorocarbon tippet material(2lb) and love it! It really casts nice for me and even on weak casts it rolls nicely.
Hi Sean, the problem is I don’t know that it’s possible to dye fluorocarbon such a bright color. I know different line materials are better at taking dye than others.
.330 inches? No wonder! Must have been like casting a log. But I guess you mean millimeters or 0.013 inches.
I had no clue about that. I’m sure someone will figure it out eventually!
DOH! Yes, millimeters, not inches. Thanks for catching that. I’ve corrected it in the post.
You could also try adding a piece of chameleon (dark brown) maxima mono to the red amnesia and top it with some of the bright yellow line to give you a banded sighter (red-dark-yellow) that is even more prominent. It’s an old nymphing trick – the banding helps you find a sighter for a long line in shadows.
Hey Jason,
That line really is bright. I get the question about colored florocarbon all the time. The reason that they don’t color it is because the dye pigments get in the way of the molecular strains and make the line weaker. The only solution I could think of is to try a ferruled line out of it. That may make is stiff enough or mix in some strands in a floro ferruled line. Just some ideas.
Hey Lance! I’ll just wait until the technology advances I think.
I am testing another option. One that is used by at least one of the masters in Japan. I will know better tomorrow if it will work. It will be a possible DIY solution that we can offer the materials for if it works.
You’re killing me with suspense Paul!
I am working on it this evening but want to test it out on the water before I get the cart rolling without the horse.
I am getting ready to make a tapered furled Amnesia line. I will send some photos to you when I get it done and test it. I have recently made a furled tip section out of 6lb amnesia for my 16′ and 20′ florocarbon furled lines. So far, it has been working well. Well enough for me to build an entire line out of it to see if it is a viable alternative.
I would like to hear how that works out John. I am playing with some bright colored mono and want to see if that will work for a furled line but furling with the Amnesia is an interesting idea. I can’t find any variety of sizes locally though, just 12 pound.
Oooh, here’s a though guys. Not sure if this makes any sense but just tossing it out there. What about a hybrid: half furled, half level line? So the but is a tapered furl but after that, it’s a high vis line like Amnesia. The tapered butt might compensate for the Amnesia’s lack of thrust but will still give you the visibility where you need it–at the end of the line. Just an idea.
I had though some about that. Not sure how it will work but I am going to be playing with a bunch of new stuff tomorrow and could give it a try. I have new lines to do some more testing for the shop and some things just for me to play with including some new flies I just tied this evening.
What about using a heavier Amnesia to improve casting? Say a 20# test? I know that theoretically it may not work because of additional wind resistance, but I wonder how it would behave in real life. Perhaps a hybrid line made of heavy weight Amnesia and lighter weight Amnesia?
I am waiting for my new spools of Amnesia to arrive later this week. I am building a tapered furled Amnesia line in 16,20,24,28,32 ft lengths. I will post pics when I get the materials on our website tenkaraguides.com
I forgot to mention that Amnesia comes in red, neon green, clear and black colors. The colors seen most are the red and green. Those other colors could be useful if the furled lines work well.
I think you might be able to get the castabilty desired if you started off with a 6lb test amnesia line which comes in the high viz color, but you can try twist furling this to get a little more mass and a increase in the test poundage on the completed line. I will try to find a article on twist furling to link later. I’ve built leaders this way in the past, but nothing of the length require for a tenkara line.
Here is the link I promised earlier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbcVaEe3RIs
Hi there,
My favourite level line is 0.35mm, 15lb, Ultima Seastrike Copolymer ( a bit thicker than the Amnesia you tried). It is fine to cast in all but a brisk breeze & is very supple & memory-free. Although not as easy to cast as fluorocarbon it is much better for holding off the water. I’m just waiting for some bright red 18lb copolymer also made by Ultima (available in the UK) to test how it compares.
The problem I find with fluorocarbon is that on heavily wooded streams where I can’t hold the rod high to keep line off the water the line sink, snagging on submerged rocks & impeding the strike.
I thought the video on making furled leaders was interesting and has potential. I’m still thinking about how I would connect the leader to the lillian. What material would you use to make the girth hitch?
This summer I have always used 20 lbs amnesia line as my tenkara line with an amago rod. I fished several days with this combo and I liked it a lot. It’s sufficiently stiff and allows to cast also big foam flies with accuracy under the trees.In 20 lbs size also the clear color has a good visibility. I think you shuold try…
Hi Jason,
I am using a combination of Tenkara USA level line with a 2 foot section of Cortland Indicator Mono. I will post a photo of the set up on the Tenkara USA Facebook page. The mono has 12 inch bands of yellow and flourescent orange. As much of my Tenkara fishing is highsticking nymphs, the indicator mono allows me to follow the flys downstream and detect the depth the flys are drifting on. The Tenkara level line(#3.5) is .32 mm. and the Indicator mono is .33.mm which transfers the energy of the cast smoothly. For the 13.5 foot Amago I have 3 feet of flouro tippet(4x or 5x) 2 feet of indicator mono and 8 feet of level line. Hope this helps in your search for the perfect line setup.
Thanks Mike. Interesting idea.
Ok, the first furled Amnesia lines are done! I made a 16 ft and a 24 ft line. They are tapered lines made from 10lb, 8lb, and 6lb red Amnesia. They don’t have quite the punch that the florocarbon lines have when casting in the wind but they really turn over nicely.
My initial thoughts are this will make a great dry fly line. Not because it floats but because of how softly it lays out the tippet. EriK, Rob and I are going to be dong some testing of the new lines this weekend. I will let you know if these lines really work once we get some water time with them.
I will say this, it you want hiviz, there is nothing and I mean nothing that is higher vis than furled Amnesia.
Hi John,
I bet those will burn your retinas right out! Can’t wait to hear the feedback on them.
Jason, email me your shipping info & I will send one out to you. What length would you like to try?