Tenkara USA's other blog

All orders placed before 11:59PM PST (GMT -8) are shipped the next business day.

Domestic Shipping

US orders are optimized based on best shipping method for your delivery address and should arrive in approximately 5 – 7 business days. Most orders will ship via UPS or Fedex, please email us if you need USPS shipping. At this moment we do not offer Express/ Overnight shipping.

Shipping costs  within the United States is based on the following table:

up to $40.00 (e.g. t-shirt, couple of flies, line, etc)  = $5.50

$40.01 – $80.00 (couple of shirts, couple of lines) = $7.50

$80.01 – $600.00 (most orders, rods, lines, flies ) = $9.00

> $600 = $15.00

International Shipping

We ship to pretty much any country. International orders ship via USPS (United States Postal Service) and most orders arrive within 10 business days. Estimated International shipping costs for most commonly requested regions and most orders (please note, these may vary on larger/heavier orders, but these reflect most orders):

Canada   =   $ 22.50

Europe    =    $ 27.00

Asia         =    $ 30.50

*Customs: buyer is responsible for any customs fees, tariffs, duties, VAT, etc. Our shipping costs do not include these fees. Unfortunately we have no control over customs charges and no way to estimate what customs fees will be. For customs inquiries you may contact your country’s customs (HS Tariff #:950710).

Sales Taxes

We’re based in San Francisco, California. Thus, any sale to a customer with a billing address or shipping address in California will be charged California sales tax. And, any customer with a billing or shipping address in San Francisco will be charged San Francisco sales tax.  Customers in any other locations are currently not charged sales tax.

It may seem odd that we’d start by talking about Closing Rod before we even covered opening and setting up. That’s because closing the rod requires special care. Tenkara rods are excellent and strong fishing tools thatcan take a load and handle fish well. But, they are delicate forhandling, and most breakages will occur when closing the rod. It’simportant to never exert any sideway pressure on the rod segments when closing the rod.It’s best to put the bottom of the rod on a flat and stable surface when closing it. And, then push pieces straight in. As soon as the piece is loose, you may letit slide down. The 3 tip segments are particularly fragile and specialcare should be taken when handling them.

Opening Rod Tenkara rods are telescopic. Opening the rod is nothing complicated, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind to make it easier/quicker to open and prevent damaging the rod:

Keep control of the rod segments when opening or closing the rod!

1) Remove rod plug. Tilt rod down a little to expose the rod tip.

2) Keeping the hard tip inside, and exposing only the braided tip, attach line to rod tip. 

3) Once line is attached, hold rod tip near opening of rod. Pull the tip, and each subsequent segment out, sliding them out between your fingers. Pull each piece (tip, second segment, 3rd segment, etc) out completely until next segment is snug and pulled out before pulling the next segment out. Pieces should feel snug, not overly tight.

Warning: (1) When pulling the cap out, pull it straight out without any sideway pressure. (2) Never swing the rod open, and do not apply too much pressure when pulling the segment out as that will cause pieces to get stuck together.

Attaching Line to RodOne major difference between tenkara rods and other fishing rods is the absence of a loop at the tip of the rod, or any guides throughout the rod. The tip of tenkara rods are made of strong braid material, where the tenkara line is then tied. this greatly enhances the sensitivity for detecting subtle strikes and also provides for a smoother cast.

To tie the line to the rod, simply tie an overhand knot on the braid material at the tip of the rod (leaving a 1/8 to 1/4 inch tag sticking out), then girth-hitch the small braid loop on the tenkara line to the rod tip (behind the stopper). Though a bit strange, this is an extremelly secure connection.

All tenkara lines come pre-tied with a short loop made of Spectra braid. This short, and soft loop is what you use to hitch the tenkara line to the rod tip.

Line to tippet
All tenkara lines come pre-tied with a 5-inch monofilament extender at the tip end. We highly recommend you always use an extender to help extend the life of your tenkara line and prevent any accidental snipping of the tenkara line. Then, tie the tippet directly to the extender (we recommend a loop-to-loop connection. To replace the extender, simply tie an improved clinch-knot the the tip end of the tenkara line, and form a small loop about 5 – 8 inches away.

Alternatively, you may also connect your tippet directly to your tenkara line by using a loop-to-loop connection.

Replacing Rod Tip or Tip Stuck Inside Rod: