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

Tenkara Fishing for Smallmouth Bass with the WISCO 2

5/30/2017

2 Comments

 

Balance, Power, and Precision for
Unconventional Tenkara Fishing 

Tenkara fishing for smallmouth bass
Mike rides the power curve with a nice smallmouth on the hook.

As Summer slides ever closer and the weather here in Wisconsin continues to stabilize, our tenkara fishing focus shifts from trout to bass. We've started making the rounds on our local smallmouth streams, and slowly but surely, the bite switch is definitely moving into the "on" position! The timing couldn't have been better - we just got our first shipment of the new WISCO 2 rods in and we've been excited to get them on the water. We took them out to "Little Left Branch" to see if the Bronzebacks were ready to play, and got to put the rods through the paces on some nice fish... 

It's no secret that Badger is a big fan of tenkara fishing for smallmouth bass. We designed the original WISCO rod to target bigger fish, and the refinements we made to the WISCO 2 make it an even better fixed line fly fishing rod for throwing larger patterns at bigger prey. 

We both rigged up with Badger-lite floating line and hit the water. The rod threw 13-16 ft lengths of line with another 6 ft of 6lb test mono-filament line with ease. We cycled through streamers and crayfish patterns ranging up to size #2 hooks, dropping them in place with smooth, accurate casts. Weighted patterns up to about a size #4 were manageable to cast, though not particularly gentle on the presentation.

The new design is extremely well balanced. Dropping the grip length down to 14 inches shaved off an ounce of weight. The refined 7:3 action casts and loads the force of a hooked fish at an exceptionally smooth and consistent rate.  
We spent most of the trip fishing streamers on down stream swings, which produced about 20 bass up to 17 inches. Most of our luck came prospecting low in the water column.
The direct control offered by a tenkara rod makes for amazing streamer action! You can move it up and down different depths pretty much at will, making it easy to adjust tactics quickly. 

Once hooked, the rod managed both fish and current without breaking a sweat. It sets into a firm but flexible power curve and puts you in control. The 17 incher in moderate current felt like it was on the low side of the rod's comfort zone. Foot-longs and below fell well below the rod's radar, truth be told.

All and all, it was a great day out. Its clear that we are still a few warm weeks short of kicking Smallmouth season into high gear. Regardless, it was a perfect opportunity to test drive the WISCO 2 on the bass we've been waiting for since we finalized the design!  
  

Smallmouth bass caught while tenkara fishing
Another nice bass we caught tenkara fishing
2 Comments
Bob Long Jr
6/18/2017 07:46:50 pm

thank for this report. very nice, helpful and affirming in several ways.

Reply
Matt @ Badger
6/21/2017 04:25:03 pm

Glad you enjoyed it, Bob. I think you'll find that we target Smallmouth in wadable water in similar ways to the techniques you describe in your presentations. Looking forward to hitting the water once the rains give us a break!

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.