Top 10 Reasons to Try Tenkara
A common concern in tenkara (and a valid one) is casting in the wind. Of course, there are ways to mitigate this and there’s been much discussion on the topic: adjust your casting stroke, use a heavier line, use the blow line technique, use a titanium tenkara line, etc. But to me, a much bigger problem with wind is the drag it creates on your tenkara line, preventing you from achieving a good dead drift. In this short video, I address that problem and offer a simple solution to overcome it (one you might have already discovered on your own).
How to you achieve a good drift in high winds?
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Jason
Great tip! I just got back from fishing in very windy conditions. I switched to a PVC line and had to still anchor the line. However, for trout fishing I prefer using level line.
Dave
Good topic. One of the key things too is that its not just about the wind ruining a good “dead drift” the wind ruins a good manipulation as well. The wind alters the way that slack in the manipulation or drift affects the fly, and so its not just when dead drifting that the wind ruins the drift, its with any drift, active or dead. On the other side of things, if one can get the wind to “cooperate” one can use a predictable or steady wind to actually create unique drifts, as you already know quite well.
For those reading that don’t yet know… dead drifting is not a commonly used technique in Tenkara fishing, so its key to be aware of how the wind affects the “live drifts” possibly even more. In every manipulation tactic, there are moments of slack in the fly. Some believe that the key lies in creating a “natural looking” change in movement between when the fly is being pulled through the current, to when the slack hits and it flows with the current, and then again between that and pulling the fly to create movement again. The wind destroys this completely in most cases too, hence why these methods to avoid the wind can be helpful in many cases not just dead drifting.
Do you shorten your line when fishing in the wind when you have to lower the rod to get a dead drift?
Hi Howard, you could. But I don’t. Of your line is in the water anyway, i don’t think it would help.
Hey Adam, that’s a good point about the drag also affecting manipulation presentations.
Use a shorter line. The optimum length is dependant on rod and arm length. It needs to be so you can easily net a fish without hand lining and no longer. It’s easier to cast and control a shorter line in a wind. As the line is so short you can go slightly heavier because there’s not as much line to sag. Fish with the rod tip lower, as you point out in your video, but less line on the water because your overall line is shorter. You can get closer to the fish because the wind ripples on the water break up your outline. Just remember to stay low and move slowly and smoothly.
Another method is to add a short length of braid to the end of your casting line which “grips” the water better than the fluorocarbon. The braid offers a better “anchor” against the effects of the wind on the line. The braid can be bright and used as an indicator or much more subtle for spookier waters.
I hope these additional ideas are useful to others struggling with the wind.
Great tips. You are the only one out there
In Tenkara land that consistently posts. Keep them coming!! Thanks
Thanks for the tutorial Jason. I use a floating line to help minimize the wind effect and lower my rod tip. I also try to position myself so I am casting quarterly or directly downwind.