Texas & Tenkara? Those two things don’t sound like they’d go together well. However, if you take a step back, remove its Japanese mountain heritage, and focus on tenkara rods simply as tools to catch fish, they’re a match made in heaven. Enter Hill Country Tenkara.
Editor’s Note: I’m totally delayed in making this introductory post (as I was first contacted during October’s trip with our Japanese friends), But I figured with today being Black Friday, and a new company like Hill Country Tenkara featuring a strong pre-sell offer of 20% off site-wide, now is as good as ever!
Owner Dorion Adams, a Texan and avid fixed line angler set out to build a company focusing on warm water fishing in the watersheds of his home state, but applicable anywhere. In order to do so, he’s starting with a two rod line up – a 9′ rod for small creeks and all that swim in them, as well as a 12′ model with a little larger backbone designed to catch fish like largemouth or Texas-native Guadalupe bass.
Cakawtic 275
The Cakawtic, named after the Tonkawa word for “creek,” is a 9-foot (275cm) rod that is short and robust. It is intended for fishing narrow and meandering waters with target species including trout, chub, or panfish.
Killix 360
The Killix, whose name means “river bank” in the same native tongue, is a 12-foot tenkara rod built for tackling wide rivers, lakes, or larger ponds. The extended length provides the ability to reach distant spots and cover more water, helpful when taking on larger trout, bass, or other sizable warm water species.
These two rods are available for pre-order now and should ship in early January. In the meantime Hill Country Tenkara is currently selling complimentary items such as tippet, lines, flies, and accessories. They were also written up in a trip report within a recent issue of Southern Culture on the Fly, certainly worth the read.
In closing, I think it’s nice to see a company focusing on the use of tenkara rods primarily in warm water. Give Hill Country Tenkara look if this is something of interest to you!
Michael,is there anyway to keep level line from coiling?Stretching works a while then back to coils
Hello Adair – Try reading our article on the subject. Also storing your level line on a rod spool when not fishing as opposed to wrapping it around your rod’s handle helps too. Not all level lines are the same, so maybe even try a different brand. I like the Nissin Oni flurocarbon level line that several tenkara brands sell.
https://tenkaraangler.com/2023/05/26/getting-the-kinks-out-tips-to-straighten-tenkara-level-line/
Thanks for the write up! Like the idea of the shorter rod, looks perfect for some of the smaller creeks I fish for bass and sunfish.
Can’t wait to see a review of it.