Hey,

New to tenkara and was wondering if there was any way to build your own telescoping rod. I think it would be great to be able to build a rod suited for a certain small stream in Western PA that I fish. I didn't know if I could find a place to buy blanks and then just finish it or what. Anyone ever attempt to build one?

Steven

_________________
WWW.THEFLYFISHINGBOWHUNTER.COM

Not sure where you'd get a graphite blank for a tenkara rod. They are a bit different than a blank for other types of rods due to their telescopic nature. In order for the sections to lock in place yet still fit within the next largest section they have an extra wrap or two at the bottom end of each section (my 11-foot Iwana is like this anyway).

People can and do make bamboo tenkara rods. No reason you couldn't have a go at that.

_________________
2012 Days Fishing - 18/366
Iwana : Series I : 11 ft ◊ Iwana : Series II : 12 ft

I just didn't know if there was a company that sold unfinished rods that one can custom make it to their specs....

_________________
WWW.THEFLYFISHINGBOWHUNTER.COM

I've looked around a bit, but not found blanks so far. They may be available in Japan, I am not sure.

I know Jason had a bamboo tenkara rod built for him. Split cane not like the traditional Japanese bamboo tenkara rods.

_________________
2012 Days Fishing - 18/366
Iwana : Series I : 11 ft ◊ Iwana : Series II : 12 ft

The only telescopic blanks I've seen are pretty low quality and aren't designed for casting flies so I'm not sure how well they'd work for tenkara. As far as bamboo, I have a split cane one I had custom built. It's too heavy (and tip heavy) to really be practical. There's a reason why they used hollow bamboo for traditional tenkara rods.

_________________
My blog: Tenkara Talk
Tenkara USA Rods: Amago, Ayu, Ayu Series II, Ebisu, Ito, Iwana 11', Iwana 12', Yamame
Other Tenkara USA Gear: Tamo, Strap Pack, 3.5 & 4.5 Level Line, 10.5 ft. & 13 ft. Traditional Line, Line Spools