Bonefish landing on the Zen Kyojin Tenkara fly rod. Quick and fun. 

The first burst is always explosive. If you can stay connected in that moment you usually have a good shot at a successful landing.

Justcant let them get ahead of you too much

The rod is very bent but I'm afraid that the angle of the camera does not show it very well. It is more visable in some of our other videos. There is more to it than Showing the fish the butt of your rod. If you overdo that, you will put too much pressure on the tip sections and a break will occur. THe rod is your tool but it's not doing all the work and the angler just holds on. Instead it is a give and take and requires the angler to understand their rod and how to apply pressure on the fish to maintain control and keep it from running but not simply dragging it in or horsing it in. When a bonefish runs you can't just stand there and let the rod flex. Infact too much flex will mean you loose the ability to steer and manage the fish and can also mean too much "bounce" in the rod increasing the chance of the fish throughing the hook due to uneven tension on the line. Landing big fish on tenkara takes skill, understanding the foundations of fish managemewnt and angles, AND a rod build for the task.

You bet your bippy you did! WHAHOOOO!

Generally we recommend either two of our rods - the Zen Taka or the Kyojin. While we've used the Sagi on smaller bones up to about 3lbs saltwater is unpredictable so a beefier rod ilike the Taka or Kyojin is safer. When considering these rods the Kyojin is hands down the strongest and most capable rod when dealing with wind, long lines and potentially bigger flies. It has a much stiffer tip than the Taka which allows uou to cast 30ft even 40ft setups into heavy wind, and has the backbone to land bones, tarpon, shark, baracudda, jacks, junior permit...even trigger fish. No lie, it takes some skill and understanding your rod flex and the Fishing Triangle. But we've had incredible success and landed fish people would think impossible. The Taka is an awsome and very strong rod but the softer tipcan make it difficult to cadt a really long line if there is strong wind.

@@ZenTenkara Thank you. Will look up that rod. Will be travelling to Southeast Asia soon, and my target species would be barramundis, png snappers, milkfish, mahseers, snakeheads, knifefish. And if possible, GT's and Wahoos too.

​@@herphermitswe actuaaly had acustomer geta Kyojin for a similar trip to visit family. He landed a number of snakehead....so it is doable (not the prettiest fish though)

@@ZenTenkara Oh i love snakehead fishing. Used to catch them on BFS setup, now can't wait to catch them on tenkara. For toothed predatory fish like snakeheads & barracudas, do i or can i attach a wire leader to the tippet? So the fish won't bite off the line? Will it still be able to cast well i wonder.

​@@herphermits you sure can. Just know you may have to move. Keep the rod in an even flex position, to the side, stsy out of the tip and maintain even pressure. Tons of fun.

It gets your heart pumping.

@@ZenTenkara When I was a kid growing up in Hawaii, I would catch bonefish with a 6 ft. bamboo pole and monofilament line. I would wade out to waist-high water at my local beach and played each fish that I hooked right up to the sand. It was so much fun!

@@ericinouye803 Yes!! Awesome. Bonefish on tenkara definietly brings out that kid again. So you should be a pro 😄

No worries. And I apologize for somehow missing this and not replying sooner. I love my reelsand I land many bones on them. Its fun and exciting, but landing a bone on tenkara is just a whole 'nother level of excitement. It's just one up. It takes thrilling into another category. It's just so intense.

Well fun is a personal thing... We use both methods. But after 30 bone fish, its was time to spice things up and be challenged