Tenkara Line Holder

I have several Tenkara USA rods. My first was the 12' Iwana, and I was hooked. I also have the Amago, Rhodo, and the Hane'--my favorite. The Hane' is perfect for carrying on the motorcycle here in SW Ohio, because it fits easily into the bike's bags. Having all these Tenkara rods, I have a variety of lines in type and length. The Tenkara Line Holder is perfect. I keep the holders in their plastic bag, and mark the bag with what length the line is, and the attached tippet, something like: 15' 5X. This keeps my gear somewhat organized and easily recognizable.

Most of the people that I know locally who use tenkara, started with this line holder. It is inexpensive, simple and does the job. I was fortunate enough to go to Japan and I saw several fishermen using it there. It is not flashy, but you can use a marker on it so that you know which line is on which spool. Simple and efficient, how can you go wrong.

Absolutely LOVE this line holder. Simple, small, lightweight. I just carry this, a small vial of extra flies, some extra tippet, clippers, and forceps. Nothing more needed!

Simply a must have. I keep one for each rod, and a couple for Level lines as well. Simple, light and inexpensive.

This line-holder definitely does its job. Lines do not fly all over the place while walking and if you pay attention to keep the wraps alternating behind the yellow foam section, the line does not unravel. However, I think the simplicity of the system lowers the functionality in this context. The fact that the line has to be hand-wound around an object that itself can spin (in that it is circular makes this a bit of a difficult task. A simple solution might be to keep the circular yellow foam on the inside but to change the blue plastic to a square or at least a version where gripping is easier due to corners. This way the line would still not develop kinks by being smoothly rolled on, but the user would have an easier time holding on to the holder with wet or cold/gloved hands. In addition, the slots meant for flies are not always the most functional. I usually fish a double nymph rig with a size 8-10 stonefly nymph above a smaller #12-16 dropper fly and the dropper stays in the slot very well but the larger fly tends to get torqued out as the wrapping continues. Perhaps making the slots a little deeper (i.e. extending the plastic towards the center of the holder, not towards the foam) would help accommodate anglers using larger flies who still want their rig to stay snugged up to the wheel while they are walking. Overall a functional product but I think more development would make something that is greatly improved and would make life easier.