BADGER TENKARA EXPEDITIONS
1 (608) 218-4133
  • Home
  • About BTeX
    • Contact
  • Tenkara Rods & Gear
    • The Tenkara Rod
    • Tenkara Line
    • Tenkara Flies
  • Tenkara Rod Fishing
    • Tenkara FAQ
    • Tenkara Fly Fishing
    • Unconventional Tenkara
    • The Best Fishing Rod for Kids!
  • Media
    • Badger Tenkara Blog
    • Expeditions Blog
    • Tenkara Fishing Videos

Kids and Family Fun with Tenkara

10/30/2016

2 Comments

 

Tenkara is fun and easy fishing for kids 

Picture

My friend Don is an avid fisherman with two young sons. Like all dads in his position, he couldn’t wait to be able to share his love of fishing with his kids. The problem he was running into was this; Even with youth sized gear, manipulating the controls on a push-button reel, warding off bird’s nest tangles, and keeping the boys engaged was a chore. He ended up with the rod in his hands fixing problems or resetting the rig much more than the boys had it in their hands fishing, and they quickly became bored. He was beginning to think that he might just have to wait a few more years to share that kind of quality time with his sons...

Over the summer, Don and I discussed the situation and considered Tenkara fly fishing as a potential solution. Mike and I have had success teaching children as young as 6 to use this simple style of fishing gear, and suggested that if anything was going to be suitable for a 4-year-old angler, this would be it. Tenkara fly fishing features an ultralight rod with no reel – the line is attached to the tip of the rod.  This makes it exceptionally simple to cast, and removes the vast majority of the “maintenance” problems that require constant attention when fishing with kids.
 
Don’s son Emmitt took to the rod UNC rod immediately, and was happily lawn-casting the 2oz, 8.5 foot length the moment it came out of the package. They moved down to the neighborhood retention pond and started catching sunfish instantly! Other than removing fish from the hook – Emmitt was able to cast and fish the rod independently from the get go. The lack of a reel meant that they didn’t have to stop fishing to fix rigging problems, keeping Emmitt engaged and enthralled. Success!
 
Then the unexpected happened. 2-year-old Austin had been watching all the fun and wanted a turn. But surely an 8.5-foot rod is too much for a 2-year old to handle, right? It turns out that it isn’t! Austin was able to cast the rod one handed and pull in fish on his own! Don had ended up having to get a second rod so that both of the boys can fish at the same time, which is pretty amazing.
 
It's very exciting to see a father and his young children empowered to fish together without stress and difficulty. Tenkara fly fishing offers an ideal system for keeping youth anglers engaged and fishing, rather than sitting bored and watching an adult battling the gear to make it function.

2 Comments
Jon
6/7/2017 01:26:33 pm

This is awesome. I have been thinking about tenkara for my kiddos... I think the simplicity will really make it more enjoyable for them.

Reply
Matt @ Badger
6/8/2017 11:42:56 am

Hi Jon,

We think you'll really enjoy it - Tenkara removes so much of the frustration barriers that come from equipment, and just lets kids FISH! This makes it much more fun for the adults, too!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    WE FISH
     RODS AND GEAR FROM: 

    Tenkara Rods

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required

    Categories

    All
    Badger In The Media
    Badger Products
    BREAK THIS ROD Contest
    Casting
    Colorado
    Conventional/Western
    Driftless
    Fall
    Guest Post
    Japanese Tenkara
    Kebari
    Kids Fishing
    Machaca
    Musky
    Panfish
    Rigging/Lillian
    Scout Jamboree
    Smallmouth Bass
    Spring
    Streamers/Poppers
    Summer
    Tactics
    Travel Fishing Rod
    Trip Report
    Trout
    Winter

    Archives

    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    October 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.