How to Set Up a Tenkara Rod and Line
For many anglers, one of the most daunting aspects of getting into Tenkara fishing is the setup process. Because the Tenkara setup is so unique, it can be intimidating to figure out how to properly set up your Tenkara rod and line for the first time.
Fortunately, it’s not very difficult – simplicity is one of the key principles of Tenkara fishing, and that couldn’t be more true with the setup of your Tenkara rod and line. Without further ado, let’s go over everything you need to know to figure out your Tenkara setup and get out on the water.
Attaching the line to the lilian
The first term you’ll need to get familiar with when setting up your Tenkara rod is the lilian. The lilian is a cord within your Tenkara rod that you’ll use to attach your line to. To start setting up your Tenkara rod, find the lilian and attach your line to it. There are a few ways to go about this, but the easiest way is to connect the line to the lilian with a loop-to-loop connection.
If you’ve ever attached a standard fly fishing leader to a fly line, you’ll be familiar with this kind of connection. First, tie a simple double overhand knot at the end of the lilian. This will act as a stopper knot when you do the loop-to-loop connection. Wild Water Tenkara lines already have a pre-made loop at the end.
Once you have your overhand knot tied, loop the end of the lilian back over itself to create a makeshift loop (you’re not actually tying a knot here, but just overlapping the line to create a loop). Then, put your makeshift lilian loop through the perfection loop you tied at the end of your Tenkara line. Once that’s done, pull the rest of your tenkara line through the lilian loop, and you’ve got yourself a loop-to-loop connection!
Attaching tippet to your tenkara fly line
Attaching the lilian to your Tenkara line is the trickiest part of this setup – once you’ve finished that, all that’s left is to attach some tippet to your line, tie on a fly, and get fishing! You can attach the tippet to your Tenkara line by using a clinch knot to tie the tippet to the tiny metal ring on every Wild Water Tenkara line. A clinch knot is the same knot you use to attach the flt to the tippet.
Tying on your fly
If you’ve fished before, this step will be a piece of cake, but if not, don’t worry! Tying on your fly is one of the most enjoyable and easy steps of settings up your Tenkara outfit. Most fly anglers choose to use the clinch knot to tie their fly onto their leader. If you think about it, the eye of a hook is almost the same as the metal ring on the Tenkara line. It makes sense to use the same knot.
Here is a picture to help you with the clinch knot.
Now that you know how to set up your Tenkara rod, get out on the water and enjoy the fishing! The setup process is simple, and it’s one of the many things we love about Tenkara fishing.