Any more fun out there with these?

I think it would be useful when backpacking.

i will be packing mine up soon to fish in southfork colorado. plan on really working the water carefully, and precisely with my tenkara rod. will report back soon!!

took ,ome out today, to get some more practice. went out at the cool time of the day. 11:30. Yuck, but fish didn't seem to care. caught some pumkinseeds, greens, gills, and had a few bass on, but couldn't land em. used the furled leader today, and it worked much better.

pics from the day:

Still good for working the shallows... still glad to have a Tenkara Rod ready to go in my "backpocket". Caught these this morning, mainly little fish but did lose a decent Bass lurking about 5 feet from the bank.

I took my newly arrived Tenkara rod out for a spin yesterday. I have the Fountainhead 330 which is an 11� rod. There isn�t much sense in writing a review of a $45 rod, but my thoughts on Tenkara fishing are below:
Pros:
--Stores easily for back packing
--An extremely light tip allows for nearly imperceptible fly presentations and really does protect light tippets.
--The length of the rod allows pretty accurate (short distance) fly placement.
--The lack of excess running line at your feet eliminates any tangling on brush or grass
Cons:
--The rod isn�t nearly as light as I thought it�d be. After all, it is 11� long and that is the shortest of Tenkara rods
--You are seriously limited in distance and sometimes pools on even tiny streams need a cast to reach.
--The lack of an attached reel makes moving around and dealing with slack line really difficult.
--You are limited to 5X tippet.

Overall, I can see it is a very specific tool for tiny western streams. I think the length makes it too unwieldy in Eastern environments with lots of trees and overhanging brush.
The lack of a reel is misleading. In order to transport the rod and move around, you really need to use a plastic line holder (aka reel). It just so happens that this reel isn�t attached to the rod so you need to keep it in your pocket when not in use.
I think the suspicion of Tenkara comes from folks who are wary that this is a new fad that might change fly fishing. This rod is way too specific for it to be anything more than just another tool in your fly fishing pack. It is not cane pole fishing. You are actually casting a fly with a rod designed for that purpose.
Im glad I gave it a try, but it really isn�t for me. I thought it would be so light weight that it would make tiny fish fun to fight. In fact, the butt section is so thick to support the length that the feeling just isn�t that sensitive. If you wanted an ultra light outfit to make tiny bream really fun to catch, I�d think a short (6� to 7�) 2wt would be a better choice. I�ll keep it with my hiking / camping gear though.

Great review FlySouth...
Tenkara is a specialized tool. I do like having it available in my fishing arsenal and plan to use it on the Blue River (OK) later this year (if gas prices don't skyrocket).

Till then, it is being used to work the banks of local ponds; I have found that the furled line does not spook the fish lurking in the shallows.