More Tenkara Fishing
I just returned from a great afternoon of fishing tenkara style on Jordon Lake in north central North Carolina. That makes 4 states that I’ve had the pleasure to fish in this style. Jordon is a large lake with many species including large mouth bass, striped bass, big cat fish, sunfish, and perch. I caught a nice little bluegill on my first cast while my 2 sons and nephew watched in amazement. They were all anxious to give it a try!
My youngest son and nephew are both 12 so I let them take my Yamame rod. My oldest son has his own tenkara rod, an 11′ Iwana. He left his furled line at home in MA so I let him try one of the level fluoro lines that my new tenkara friend Chris sent me. They are bright pink and easy to see. He headed down the shore for some privacy.
With the 2 twelve year olds ready to go, I had to teach them to cast in to a slight head wind. Both boys were casting like champs in a few tries. They were both catching perch and bluegills in a matter of minutes. Perch on a light tenkara rod are particularly fun!
When the boys went off to swim, I took rod in hand and chased after some bass I saw a little further offshore. The water was warm so I wet waded past my knees and was able to reach the structure where the fish were hiding. I cast a size 12 black fly – the kind I wrote about a few weeks ago – and hooked a small striped bass within a few minutes. I’ve only fished for stripers on the ocean so this was a treat.