I’m not referring to a cocktail; I’m talking about your tenkara line attachment. Over the years we’ve heard numerous stories about tenkara anglers taking a cast, only to watch their entire setup and line fly through the air, into the water and downstream or down to the bottom of a lake or pond. Yes, it happens but mostly to those new to tenkara. Once you’ve cast your entire line and setup away once, you rarely do it a second time (although we have heard stories…).
Not only does it ruin your fishing day, but it’s expensive. Tenkara lines, tippet and flies can add up regardless of whether you are using tenkara level line, furled tenkara lines, All-Purpose Tenkara Lines or Fusion Lines. No tenkara angler or fly angler wants to cast their line away or their flies.
So how does this happen? It is caused by not tightening your line attachment enough. When we set up our rods, typically we use a Girth Hitch to attach them to the lillian cord. Some materials tighten and cinch down more than others. A furled or braided tenkara line made from Uni thread will snug up much more securely than say, a floating tenkara line, a nylon line, or a fluorocarbon line.
The best way to avoid this from ever happening, regardless of whatever tenkara line you choose to fish with, is to do a double twist when attaching your line: Make a Girth Hitch with your tenkara line. Put the lillian cord up through the middle of the hitch. Don’t tighten just yet. Instead, twist your lillian cord up through the middle of the Girth Hitch again. Now, snug it all up.
Make sure that the hitch is completely on the cord and no part is resting on the tip section itself. You should have two tag ends, or “rabbit ears”, about 1/4 to 1/2 from the hitch knot. Final trick to never casting away your tenkara line and should be done before making the Girth Hitch, and that’s the safety knot or bumper tied into your lillian cord.
Before doing any of the above, when you first get your rod, extend the tip section and make a small overhand knot at the end of the lillian cord. This knot acts as a safety bumper to your tenkara line and will keep the line from sliding off the end of the cord. This safety knot, combined with the double twist in your Girth Hitch, will keep your line from ever accidentally coming off your rod. Here’s a short demo video:
Happy Fishing!