Freeing a Stuck Section on a Tenkara Rod
Whether from lack of use, improper cleaning, or just bad luck, your Tenkara rod sections may get stuck from time to time. This is pretty common, particularly due to the interlocking style of most Tenkara rods; it’s a great design, but it does occasionally cause the odd rod section to get stuck.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to free stuck sections on your Tenkara rod and get back to fishing.
The Best Way to Free Your Stuck Tenkara Rod Sections
There are some great ways to free stuck tenkara sections, but there are also plenty of bad ways to do it as well. Before we get into the best methods, we’ll cover the main things you should avoid:
- Slamming the rod on a table or other hard surface (with your hands)
- Trying to pull the pieces apart with your hands
These are some of the first things that come to mind when you have stuck sections on your rod, but you should avoid them at all costs. Both of these methods pose a high risk of breaking or damaging your rod, because the side pressure from either hitting your rod on a hard surface or pulling the pieces apart with your hands can end up snapping the rod in half.
Instead, one of the easiest and most effective ways to get your Tenkara sections unstuck can be done with a rubber band and a table (or any other hard surface). To get a Tenkara rod section unstuck with a rubber band, first take out the rod sections that are stuck. The section that’s stuck should be the highest section that you pull out – for example, if the tip section is stuck, pull out the tip section and the section below it.
Then, tie a rubber band around the lower part of the thicker section so that you have two equal length loops on each side of the rod blank. Put one of the loops around your thumb and the other around your middle or ring finger so that there is tension being applied to the rod. After that, pull the rod upwards (creating more tension) and let go. This will drive the rod quickly downwards into your table or hard surface. If the rod is stuck badly, it might take twenty or thirty tries to get this to work, but it will eventually free the stuck section.
Using a rubber band is likely the most foolproof way to get a rod section unstuck on a Tenkara rod, and it’s also the easiest method out there. Some people like to put down a rubber pad or even a book on their table to allow their rod to drive into that instead of a rock-solid surface like a table. This can be good as it protects your furniture and provides a softer landing for the rod as well.
The technique described above should help you get your Tenkara rod section unstuck, and it’s one of the most popular techniques out there with Tenkara anglers!