Tenkara TalkTenkara Talk
Tenkara Talk
a tenkara fly fishing blog
Search Tenkara Talk
  • Home
  • Tenkara Gear
    • Tenkara Rods
    • Tenkara Lines
    • Line Holders & Spools
    • Fly Boxes
    • Nets
    • Packs, Organization & Storage
    • Clothing & Accessories
    • Wading Gear
  • Flies & Fly Tying
  • How-To & Resources
    • What is Tenkara?
    • Tenkara 101
    • Presentation Techniques
    • Streamcraft
    • Tenkara Videos
    • Tenkara Knots
    • DIY & Hacks
    • Warmwater Tenkara
    • Books & Media
  • News & Fun
    • Trip Reports
    • Interviews
    • Philosophy
    • Humor
    • Art
    • Tenkara News
    • Events
  • Tenkara Links
  • About Me
  • Contact
FacebookTwitterYouTubePinterestInstagram
  • Home
  • Tenkara Gear
    • Tenkara Rods
    • Tenkara Lines
    • Line Holders & Spools
    • Fly Boxes
    • Nets
    • Packs, Organization & Storage
    • Clothing & Accessories
    • Wading Gear
  • Flies & Fly Tying
  • How-To & Resources
    • What is Tenkara?
    • Tenkara 101
    • Presentation Techniques
    • Streamcraft
    • Tenkara Videos
    • Tenkara Knots
    • DIY & Hacks
    • Warmwater Tenkara
    • Books & Media
  • News & Fun
    • Trip Reports
    • Interviews
    • Philosophy
    • Humor
    • Art
    • Tenkara News
    • Events
  • Tenkara Links
  • About Me
  • Contact

Fuji Tenkara Rod Cap

August 21, 201218 CommentsTenkara RodsBy Jason Klass

While fishing with some of the Japanese anglers the day before the summit, I found myself admiring a strange looking contraption at the end of Masami Tanaka’s tenkara rod. It was a clear plastic sleeve with a black strap around it. Much different than the wooden rod plug most of us in the West are familiar with (and sometimes curse for its unrivaled ability to go AWOL). I made a quick inquiry about it and went back to getting rigged up. But very unexpectedly, Japanese generosity was about to shine in my favor (again).

 

While I was rigging up my rod in the trunk of TJ’s FJ Cruiser, Eiji Yamakawa walked up to me. He noticed that I took a liking to Tanaka-san’s rod cap and said that he would give me one. I graciously accepted but felt a little bad because I didn’t have anything to give back. Tanaka-san brushed it off saying that they were cheap and it was no big deal but it really meant a lot to me.

I’ve seen pictures of these caps before but never in person. Right away, I can see the advantages. First of all, they’re bigger than the ubiquitous wooden rod plugs and thus harder to lose (if you’ve ever tried to find a dropped wood colored rod plug on the forest floor, you know what I mean). Second, they’re very secure. The rubber strap holds the cap very tightly and there is no chance of escape.

Tenkara Rod Cap

 

They come in different sizes to accomodate different rod diameters. Unfortunately, you can only get them in Japan but if anyone is interested in a group purchase, let me know and I can put one together.

About the author

Jason Klass

Jason is an avid fly angler and backpacker. As a former fly fishing guide originally from Western New York, he moved to Colorado and became an early adopter of tenkara which perfectly suited the small, high altitude streams and lakes there. He has not fished a Western-style fly rod for trout since.

Like this article? You might also like these ...
Tenkara Rod Plug
Hi-vis Tenkara Rod Plug Holders
February 4, 2022
Tanuki Tenkara Pocket Ninja
Tenkara Tanuki Pocket Ninja
June 17, 2020
Tenkara USA Ebisu
Tenkara USA Announces Reissue of Ebisu Rod
July 27, 2019
Tenkara Tanuki Ninja Rod Review
Tenkara Tanuki Ninja Rod Review
June 28, 2019
How to choose a tenkara rods
Tenkara Rod Grips: Cork, Foam, Wood, or Other?
June 16, 2019
Tenkara no Oni Type III Rod Review
Tenkara no Oni Type III Rod Review
June 13, 2019
18 Comments
  1. Reply
    August 21, 2012 at 8:24 am
    Alex

    Yeah I’ll take one! I just lost my rod cap again, probably for good this time.

    • Reply
      August 21, 2012 at 9:15 am
      Jason Klass

      If it loves you, it will come back.

      • Reply
        August 22, 2012 at 7:08 am
        Alex

        Alas, I think it’s gone. It was in my waders pocket and now it ain’t. It may have ended up in my parents’ car or perhaps in the mud next to the river that I spent two days on in Vermont. Anyway, regardless of how it feels about me, I love it, so I’ve set it free.

  2. Reply
    August 21, 2012 at 11:48 am
    Jason Mills

    Hi Jason, I think I’m on my fourth home-made rod plug. I would be interested in on of these. Cheers.

    • Reply
      August 21, 2012 at 12:03 pm
      Jason Klass

      Actually I just got word these might be available in the States soon. I will keep you posted.

  3. Reply
    August 21, 2012 at 4:27 pm
    loften

    That looks pretty cool. I would be interested in getting a few. Thanks

  4. Reply
    August 21, 2012 at 6:13 pm
    Bruce P

    I could be interested in a couple, though so far I’ve not lost a plug.

    I’m having lunch with tomorrow with a colleague who spent the summer doing research in Japan — and whom I’d asked to scout out some line spools for me, based on one of your earlier posts. How close she got, as a non-angler, remains to be seen.

  5. Reply
    August 21, 2012 at 8:13 pm
    Steven

    Luckily I have yet to lose one…..but I did just start a few months ago….fingers crossed

  6. Reply
    August 21, 2012 at 8:23 pm
    Vladimir

    Hi Jason
    Good device named as it is called in Japanese pravelno?

  7. Reply
    August 21, 2012 at 8:58 pm
    Sean

    I lost my rod plug about a month ago, however with my particular rod keeping it rigged with the line spool and all seems to keep the rod together pretty well, but I was deffinitely be interested! Oh and can you leave you road rigged and ready as with standard rod plugs?

  8. Reply
    August 22, 2012 at 6:13 am
    the tenkara ambassador

    Glad to see your blog active again. Always good reading.

    • Reply
      August 22, 2012 at 8:04 am
      Jason Klass

      Thanks! Good to be back.

  9. Reply
    August 22, 2012 at 9:01 am
    Bob4st

    …I’ll be happy to participate in a group order… I could use 4 or 5… Do we need to rod diameter, etc.?…

  10. Reply
    August 22, 2012 at 9:55 am
    MARK

    I would be interested also. I like the idea…… Let me know

  11. Reply
    August 22, 2012 at 1:06 pm
    Daniel @ Tenkara USA

    Thought I’d write here very quickly.
    Jason and I always seem to be in the exact same wavelength regarding a lot of things in tenkara. Just a few hours before this post went up I had placed an order for these caps. This was not known to him. It is a way for us to be able to offer a “universal” rod cap that will fit all rods as well as a good system that will allow the line to be tied to the rod tip while still having a protecting cap on. It was simply incredible to see this post go up so shortly after. It is not even the first time something like this has happened.
    We expect to have these ready for sale in early October. They should fit all the rods and will be very reasonably priced.
    Daniel
    Tenkara USA

    • Reply
      August 22, 2012 at 1:46 pm
      Jason Klass

      Hi Daniel, thanks for the update. So it will be a “one size fits all” cap instead of various sizes?

  12. Reply
    September 10, 2012 at 9:32 pm
    Cliff

    Funny that I missed this post.

    I actually purchased a handful of these in July for some telescopic interline rods (non-tenkara). They are simple and do the trick well (although a ballpoint pen cap can also do the trick in a pinch).

    Now that Tenkara USA carries them, ordering them will be greatly simplified (hopefully it’s the size 12 that the carry, which should work well for both my interline AND tenkara rods).

  13. Reply
    April 5, 2015 at 3:20 pm
    Bob Blakely

    VERY interested! I would probably want 4 of them…. Let’s get the group buy going! 🙂

Leave Comment

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

clear formSubmit

About Me

Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide & casting instructor based in Colorado. He was an early adopter of tenkara in the West and has been fishing the method for a variety of species since 2009. Read more >>

Get an Email When I Post!

* indicates required



Tenkara Talk Sponsors
Tenkara USA   Yonah Tenkara Packs   Dragontail Tenkara     TAO Tenkara   Tenkara Tanuki
Search by Category
Send Jason an Email
Search Tenkara Talk
Tenkara Talk Archives
Tenkara + Backpacking!
Is there any other sport that goes better with tenkara than hiking and backpacking? Be sure to also check out my ultralight and DIY backpacking gear blog.

Tenkara and Backpacking
Latest Posts
  • DIY Wine Cork Fly Dryer
    DIY Wine Cork Fly Dryer
    May 24, 2022
  • Wader Bag
    How I Pack My Wading Gear (+2 Tips)
    May 15, 2022
  • Tenkara Strike Indicator
    New Tenkara Line Sighters (Strike Indicators)
    April 23, 2022
© 2022 | Tenkara Talk by Jason Klass | All rights reserved