My wife bought a tenkara rod from Tenkara USA last year and caught many fish until the rod tip was broken. Tenkara USA was not able to replace the tip after a month of waiting, so they sent her a new rod instead.
It seems tenkara fishing is natural to her.
During off season last winter, I researched tenkara fishing and bought two rods from Japan, in different length and action.
I started fishing at the spot in West Branch where I caught a large and nice brown in the beginning of the season last year.
Soon after I had fished, I hooked a brown even larger than the one of last year - over 17".
My tenkara rod was bended so much that it looked like a weeping willow.
I had difficulty pulling the fish up close to my net.
It was swimming lively around me while my arm was extending upward to the back trying to control the fish.
It was a tough battle. My extending arm became tired.
When I was finally able to grab the line to pull up the fish, the tippet broke immediately.
I figure once I grabbed the line, my 5X tippet lost the cushion of flexibility from the tenkara rod. It just got too much pressure and broke
If I had landed this fish, it would have been a perfect picture of my first fish caught by tenkara rod.
As a first-timer, I was not ready to land such a large fish. I have to learn how to do it.
However I managed to catch three small trouts in other spots of the River.
I would say my first tenkara fishing was a success and I enjoyed it.
But there is a negative side. I broke the tip section of the rod when I tried to retrieve the line caught in the river bottom.
During my research, I read many warnings about the fragility of tenkara rod tips.
Unfortunately I proved it to be true in my first tenkara fishing.
It seems the rod tip can withstand the pressure from the fish's pulling, but it becomes very weak when the impact or pressure comes from the side. How weak is it? It is as weak as a tooth pick.
When fishing with tenkara rod, I really need to be extra cautious.
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