Fisherman's Spoon What I Noticed in the Second Year After Starting Tenkara

Tenkara
#1

I think what I found most interesting about this video wasn’t so much what was in the video but what Etsuji Katayama-san wrote in the comments to the video.

片山悦二
素晴らしい動画ですね。
僕は我流でテンカラを始めて40数年、まだまだ勉強中です。
Etsuji Katayama
It’s a wonderful movie.
I started learning Tenkara at my school (or I am self taught) and I am still studying for 40 years.

Always something new to learn. If you’re paying attention.

At the beginning of the video, when you see a close up of his Daiwa Expert LL 360 rod, just above the grip, on the rod barrel, is a bit of velcro or other material, which I think he uses to stick the kebari in. I’m not sure what it is. I can real Japanese more than I can understand spoken Japanese. I’m unsure what he says when he describes it. A good idea. I cringe when I see pictures of people sticking there kebari into the cork or foam grip.

Also in the おまけ, omake, Bonus - section of the video.
He fires a few rounds from a small revolver. He fires it with his left hand, but he cast with his right hand. Seems strange. I’m not that ambidextrous.

テンカラを始めて２年目で気づいたこと① For TENKARA beginners
What I noticed in the second year after starting Tenkara ① For TENKARA beginners

テンカラを始めて２年目で気づいたこと② キャスティングについて
What I noticed in the second year since I started Tenkara ② About casting

#2

Why do you cringe when you see a fly stuck in a cork grip? I do that all the time and think it’s extremely handy. In fact, it would be hard to convince me to buy another keiryu rod because I like having a grip so much (partially for that very reason).

#3

OK cringe was the wrong word, with “shy away from” - being a better choice.

It just seems to me that over a long period of rod ownership doing it often would eventually damage the grip material. Maybe not. Cork is used to make pin boards, foam not so much. And people often criticize the poor quality of cork today commenting that the cork has to much filler in it. I always assumed cork or foam is chosen for how it feels in the hand and how it effects the total weight and balance of the rod, not chosen as a place to sick your hook. Perhaps I am wrong.

I wouldn’t do it to my rods. I’d prefer a renewable collar as shown in the video as a place to store the hook. What others do is of course their choice. :smile: