Making a Wading Staff

Two coats of spar varnish, one more coat and add in leash, done like dinner

I used a simple lightweight hiking stick for fishing in Japan the last time I was there. It helped me nurse a an old sore and recovering ankle injury but the truth of the matter is, it helped me immensely on multiple water crossings we did. It also served as a third leg when traversing or descending a slope.

When hiking, I use a set of poles that helps tremendously with stability, and it actually helps ascend and descend at faster pace. I use the poles as I would if I was skiing. I plant the pole in front of me steps, plant the other, steps and I use the pole plant as a pivot point when I am turning on steep paths with hairpins.

The streams in my home area basically fall in to two categories, steep gradient with lots of rocks and shallow gradient with grassy and undercut banks. Both types of streams can benefit from the use of a wading staff.

During my fishing season, winter allows me to focus on the Colorado River in Glen Canyon. This is a classic big western river with heavy flow and a slick bottom. In my approach there with honryu tenkara, a wading staff will help as I am often moving from one place to another in deep water sometimes walking on "greased bowling ball" type rocks on the bottom.

My inspiration to make a wading staff comes from the fact that my travel hiking and wading pole is petite. It will not support my weight. Many times I've had to lean on it heavily and felt the shaft bow and was thankful that it did not give. I've stuck it between rocks and always have to let go, if I held on, it would break. I need stability, I don't need to get additionally hurt if my petite balance pole breaks.

Dr. Tom Davis from Teton Tenkara has been using a wading staff for some time now and swears by his. Chris Stewart uses one and his is similar to Dr. Tom's. Jean Santos and friends also use a hiking staff. Their staffs are made of wood and one piece, they will not break under normal conditions of hiking and wading.

I decided to build one and this is my story.

image by permission of Jean Santos

image by permission of Jean Santos

image by permission of Jean Santos

Further information on wooden wading staffs

Materials:
Hardwood dowels
Ace Brand Wood Leaf Rake Replacement Handle
Elmers (waterproof) Wood Glue
Minwax Tung Oil Finish
Epifanes Spar Varnish
15/16" Flat Boring Drill Bit
Gear Keeper Retractors - TenkaraBum: Gear Keeper info on Wading Staff
Paracord
Wrapping a Staff with Paracord

Teton Tenkara: Making a Human Tripod - My Most Important Tenkara Item...

Tenkara Videos of Wading Staffs in Use

Three blanks made, attaching the T-Handle with a stainless steel screw and wood glue

Tung Oil finish on the lower section is done and now I'm starting on the Spar Varnish finish

The handle is fit and tight with a oversized stainless steel screw to keep things together. Next session
I will sand and glue the T-handle on and then varnish/tung oil finish. After that it's balance then wrap with paracord and grip. They are coming out nice and each one has some character but is bomber. I'm making one for my fishing buddy, I need to order some nice pink paracord for him so he will stand out nicely on the stream. I don't want him to lose it. If you are interested in purchasing the last one, let me know, look at the boredparacord.com site and tell me what ever color you want and I will wrap it with that.

Gamakatsu Multiflex Suimu EX 500

Gamakatsu Multiflex Suimu

Gamakatsu Multiflex Suimu EX 400 (Tenkara)

Gamakatsu Multiflex Suimu EX 450 (Tenkara/Honryu)
Gamakatsu Multiflex Suimu EX 500 (Honryu)

Line Design for the Gamakatsu Suimu EX

Gamakatsu Multiflex Suimu
Gamakatsu Multiflex Suimu (English translated)

Dr. Tom Davis: Teton Tenkara - Suimu EX 400 - EX 450 - EX 500

Paul Gaskell: Discover Tenkara: Notes on Honryu Tenkara and the Gamakatsu Suimu EX

Part of developing good tenkara skills is making your own equipment. Of course you can purchase nearly all of what you need from the many vendors available however, there is not a lot available that is marketed to this genre of tenkara. So I make my own lines, clear lines which go against the marketing of "lines that you can see" in pink, orange and fluorescent green or bright and muted colors. The fish I am after are pressured and wince at a large pink moving thing above them in the ultra clear water against a sky that has no direct sunlight, the river I am making these lines for is in a thousand foot canyon. Currently, there are no lines for this application so I make my own.

Seaguar INVIZ X .330mm which equates to #3.5 Valcan

I do use a Fujino Soft Tenkara 7m line for big fish in still water, not in the river.

I use a fly line for specialized honryu situations. There are dry fly midge hatches that a fluorocarbon line at length will pull down a tiny size #22 midge dry. So I use a floating line. In the summer, there is a cicada hatch that is incredible to behold and using a fly line for plopping down a large bulky fly works really well. A fly line has demanded it's way into my quiver and I have no problem using it. It even fits into the definition of tenkara in Japan.

I use card spools as they are flat and you can stack them

I use my Suimu for larger fish. There is a very special pond that has a single bass in it and a 1m carp. It is a challenge to catch the bass and I have caught this guy three times in three weeks, each on a Saturday, my fishing partner can not believe it but he has seen me do it.

I can tell you this, the Suimu EX 500 casts excellently and feels good at it's 4.2m length. If I need some reach while manipulating the kebari or fly, I can lengthen the rod. I cast it almost exclusively at the 4.2m length. I have spent many days now on the Colorado river in Glen Canyon catching fish up to 22" in fast river flow and this rod has the ability to subdue and move those fish on 5 - 6x and I have even pressured big fish with 7x.

In the San Juan river below Navajo Dam, I am able to do the same thing. Large fish can be handled with this rod. 

This rod is quickly becoming my favorite goto river rod for big fish fighting skills.