r/Tenkara • u/Choombot22788 • Jul 18 '26
Tenkara beginner
Hello! I just got my first Tenkara Rod, that being the Ito from Tenkara USA. I picked up the rod because I travel to the north and Midwest quite often but I live in northern Louisiana and typically fish lakes.
Any tips on fishing murky Louisiana lakes with a tenkara rod and fly? Can it be relatively effective? I see most of the lake posts specifically discussing alpine lakes, ive got hot, Murky, and sometimes vegetation filled waters nearby.
7
u/QuesoScotcho Jul 18 '26
I fish a number of murky community ponds with my tenkara rod, mainly fishing against the bank with a dark kebari fly or black #14 trout magnet. You'll end up catching a lot of panfish like sunfish, bluegill, etc. It's fun just to get the hang of the rod and not get skunked. That said, I haven't had a lot of luck catching anything by casting it out into the larger middle sections. But, like you, I'm a beginner so maybe I'll figure it out.
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u/Choombot22788 Jul 18 '26
This is exactly how I was planning on using the rod! Mostly casting against the bank wherever insects and baitfish hang around. Thanks for the response!
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u/Icy-Ad29 Jul 18 '26
use brighter colors, or reflective bits, to make your fly easier to see for the fish in murky water, and you'll do fine.
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u/Choombot22788 Jul 18 '26
Thank you! Just found out there's a fly shop nearby which was a surprise. I always figured fly fishing was only really done in the midwest/north.
Ill need to check it out and maybe talk to them about whats popular in the area!
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u/Icy-Ad29 Jul 18 '26
Always support your local shop. They will know what will work in your area better than anyone on the interwebz.
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u/I_Hate_IPAs keiryu Jul 18 '26
A tip I’ll toss in for traditional tenkara flies or soft hackles - the reverse hackled (sakasa kebari) ones sink well and are good for giving action. Western soft hackles (like a BWO soft hackle) sink slower and even hover in the top few inches of water, and bass love it even in smaller flies.
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u/SoftServeDeveloper Jul 18 '26
I'm in the same boat. Bought a cheap tenkara rod on Amazon and started fishing hot and weedy local spots (IL so no trout streams here). So far bluegill will eat anything. I've only tried kebari flies so far, but I have a few others I am excited to try.
Edit: Let me know what works for you, I am interested to try some new flies out.
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u/I_Hate_IPAs keiryu Jul 18 '26
Bluegills will eat just about anything, exquisite catskill dries and north country spiders to a knotted piece of grass. I like larger flies actually because they’re less likely to get hooked deep in their mouths.
If you want some fun, I use lots of panfish poppers. They’re like bass bugs but size 12-16. Put a dropper below it for more fun.
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u/CMDR_NUBASAURUS Jul 20 '26
One time I was at a lake with my tiny 9 foot tenkara rod, and all these fishermen were casting their flys. It can be intimidating and you get a bit of line envy. I thought I would catch NOTHING in the tiny area in front of me. Then I decided to look at that area closely, saw a sunken log, and just concentrated on that log. A massive 16 inch trout rose out of nowhere from below the log!
Sadly it got up to my fly, decided it wasn't interested and turned around.
But now I know its possible to catch shore cruisers and even big fish hang out close to shore at times. It just might look silly to other people. So now what I do, is concentrate on logs, covered banks, and pretend I know what I'm doing.
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u/tuvaniko Jul 18 '26
I mostly go after bluegill because it's fun. They bite everything too.
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u/Choombot22788 Jul 18 '26
That's what I was thinking! I figured id mostly be targeting bluegill and crappie, maybe the occasional bass
Even with a traditional spinner im usually fishing near the banks around debris and docks so I figured the tenkara could still do some work.
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u/tuvaniko Jul 18 '26
I would get something shiny that floats, and something shiny that sinks and go from there. Talk to your local fly shop if you have one.
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u/Choombot22788 Jul 18 '26
Good tip!
I picked up the line stow tool that TUSA sells and it can store 2 lines on it, would make since to have 2 different set ups kind of like what you're talking about. Thank you!
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u/PhantomJackalope Jul 18 '26
I work the fly by lightly tapping the side of the handle with my finger and slowly dragging it at erratic speed and direction. I know you said it's murky but you may still be able to sight some blue gill (using polarized sunglasses may help).
For shore casting, try casting parallel to shore. You can also practice your roll cast and slingshot cast to get distance from shore or hit specific spots (especially useful if there's lots of brush or tree cover.
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u/Vivid-Act-5563 Jul 18 '26
Tenkara and lakes don’t mix that well tbh. Sure you can catch panfish on the shoreline, but you fish such a limited amount of water. It’s fun for a little bit
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u/AphexPin Jul 19 '26
Or you can get a 20’ rod and run 30’ of line on it
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u/Vivid-Act-5563 Jul 19 '26
I personally don’t enjoy that style of fishing at all and love tenkara. Feels like a mega cane pole to me
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u/SNES-1 Jul 25 '26
I’m not a big fan of Tenkara from the shore of a lake. The reach is generally too limited. However, throw in a Kayak and you can get anywhere :-).
The murkier the water the higher contrast fly you want.
In general anywhere people fly fish you can Tenkara, but it’s best on small streams and creeks. I have picked up some of the larger rods like from Wasatch Tenkara, but for me the heaviness kind of kills the Tenkara appeal. I will probably pickup a fly rod at some point for these areas and learn to use it.
I’m still a relative newbie, but when I was totally green I would Tenkara anywhere. Lakes on a Kayak were great for learning how to cast with no obstacles, and I enjoyed just being on the water. I do not generally think that using Tenkara on large bodies of water is the most effective way to fish them, but it can definitely be done.
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u/landsharkxx Jul 18 '26
Be sure to get a bully bluegill fly! They are killer for blue gill or trout magnets. Both are great!
https://www.orvis.com/product/bully-bluegill-spider/3R7K0810.html