8 replies to this topic

[Irate Mormon]

I have been toying around with the idea of building rods, and I wonder what features would comprise the perfect Micro rod?

 

I have had some great feedback already from another member, but I would like more input.

 

 

[Matt DeLaVega]

Tons of inexpensive China made Tenkara rods around. Most would do perfectly.

[Ken Kilby]

I don’t know about the perfect part. I looked around on the Tenkara Bum web site and he has some interesting stuff. I used an old fly rod I had and it seemed to work ok. I had planned to just use the tip section but when I got to the creek I realized I needed the full 8 feet and thankfully I had brought the butt section along. I wasn’t using fly line or reel, just a hand tied leader tapered leader.

After that experiment I thought I would be better off rigging one of my 7 foot Loomis spinning rods the same way.

The purpose built Japanese style rods are telescoping, while that feature would obviously be great for transport I’m not sure about the benefits when you got to the water.

I actually looked around for some rod blanks myself with the same idea. Seems to me of the commonly available conventional rod blanks an 8 foot, or longer, light weight but super fast action would be the way to go.

All that said, for actually catching very small fish I think the rig is going to be way more important than the rod.

[MtFallsTodd]

I use a 15 ft extendable pole. It's a fiberglass "cane"pole with 6 ft of 2 lb test tied to the end of it. It is less than 4 ft long when not extended making it easy to stash in my car. It is my go to pole when I want to sample a new body of water. Can't say what brand it is, that wore off from use long ago.

[Irate Mormon]

I'm looking for a sub-tenkara price, one can already get those for the bucks...Y'all seem fixed on rod length.  What about action, reel seat,  guides, hook keeper, etc.??

[Ken Kilby]

The micro fishing is new to me but I’ve been fishing, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, for over fifty years.

Generally tackle selection is driven by the water and quarry. There isn’t a one size fits all, I think I have about two dozen rods.

If you are planning on fishing very small streams I don’t think you want a reel. I like “stuff” and have thought about buying a tenkara rod but I really think I would catch just as many fish with a cane pole, hickory switch cut stream side, or my dads old junker fly rod.

If you do want a reel then I would advise against going overly light. The PITA factor goes way up with lighter lines without much benefit that I could ever see.

If you would give more specifics on exactly what you want to do I might have more ideas.

Lastly, if cost is a main concern I don’t believe you can build one cheaper than buying an equal quality already built.

[Irate Mormon]

I am looking to make an affordable rod that would be targeted towards those entering the micro realm.  The one member I approached earlier spent a number of years in Thailand, studying micro fishing from people who ate micros or starved.  This is somewhat different from Tenkara, which is ritualized and formalized.   His suggestion were a 5-foot rod, medium action, with a hook keeper close to the tip.  He considers a reel important, but I am trying to keep weight down and i wonder if some sort of line keeper might do just as well.  Y'all make me think a modular system might do.  For instance, a 5 foot rod, a 3 foot extension, and a handle that can fit either section, with attachable optional reel seat.  Perhaps snake guides (like those used on fly rods), and a hook keeper sized small enough to be usable with micro hooks.  Any more ideas??

[Ken Kilby]

I like the idea of the modular section, it would be more convenient if it telescoped though instead of being a separate piece.

[TimothyHD]

I've been very happy with my Suntech Kurenai.  The super light weight makes even a small creek chub feel like a large mouth bass.