More tapered leaders

by Sean W
(Rochester NY)

So this weekend I ended up doing some two-handed tenkara-type casting with my Fieldmaster Suguru Long H54.

Trout were rising in a pond, but it was just out of reach from shore with a keiryu rig the length of the rod. Thankfully I remembered I had a 7ish meter tenkara line from another rod on me. The line was originally size 4.5 Sanyo Valcan with 3x nylon attached, but I quickly cut that off, and added 1 foot each of 2x and 3x fluorocarbon, and then 2.5 feet of 4x fluorocarbon as tippet, with a futsu kebari at the end.

It cast much better than I had thought, and allowed it to be a many many day. Too bad I didn't have any 0x or 1x fluoro on me, as it would have cast even better!

For next time I think I'll try to make a quasi-spey line with a "shooting line" of 3.5 Valcan, "shooting head" of 5.5/4.5/3.5 Valcan, with a leader of 0/1/2/3x fluoro. Time to test if spey-kara might be possible (aside from Chris's attempt).

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.