There seems to be a fair amount of confusion among tenkara newcomers when it comes to level lines. People talk about level lines in terms of “lb. test” or “breaking strength” and people don’t seem to get the rating system used in tenkara so I thought I’d make a post to clear it up and hopefully shed some light on this mysterious line rating system.
Test vs. Diameter
First things first. It is not accurate to talk about level lines in terms of “lb. test”. The breaking strength of a line does not tell you anything about how it will cast. Instead, it’s more accurate to talk about lines in terms of diameter. The reason for this is that two lines with identical diameters from different manufacturers could have different breaking strengths. But it’s the diameter, not the breaking strength that determines how a line will cast.
The Rating system
Having said the above, let’s try to understand the tenkara rating system. You’ll usually see level lines referred to by a number such as “# 3” or “# 5”. Basically, the smaller the number, the smaller the diameter and vice versa. Now, there is no “official” consensus on exactly which numbers correspond to which diameters, but here is a handy chart from Tenkara Bum that will give you a good reference point:
# 1.5 (diameter .205mm = .008″),
# 2 (diameter .235mm = .009″)
# 3 (diameter .285mm = .011″),
# 4 (diameter .330mm = .013″)
# 5 (diameter .370mm = .0146″)
Again, these are approximate numbers but much more accurate than describing lines in terms of breaking strength. For diameters in between, a “.5″ is added to the number. So, a line that is .012” might be considered a # 3.5 line.
So, which line do I choose?
This might seem like a cop out, but it’s the right answer: it depends. As a general rule, lighter lines like # 2 or # 3 make more delicate presentations but are a little harder to cast and don’t perform well in the wind. On the other hand, heavier lines like a # 4 or # 5 cast easier (especially in wind) but won’t make as delicate of a presentation. I generally prefer a # 4 line but ideally, you would have a few different diameters to match different conditions. My advice is to try some different diameters and settle on two that you like: one for more delicate presentations and one for windy conditions.
Fluorocarbon vs. Mono
In general, tenkara anglers prefer fluorocarbon over nylon monofilament because it’s denser and tends to turn over better (especially in the wind). You can fish with mono, but if you cast mono and fluorocarbon side by side, you’ll notice a difference and I’ll bet you’d prefer the fluorocarbon. Another benefit is the fluorocarbon sinks faster than nylon and the traditional tenkara presentation uses wet flies so it’s probably the better choice.
Sources for Fluorocarbon Tenkara Line
Most tenkara anglers prefer a line that is very visible so they can track their casts and strikes. Unfortunately, hi-vis fluorocarbon is hard to come by in North America as most fluorocarbon sold here is clear. These are the only two sources for fluorocarbon that are easy to see and easily attainable in North America:
thanks. This clears up my confusion over the level line numbering system.
This is a very good article for anyone who doesn’t understand the level line system. Good job Jason.
I think you are right that we should be talking/thinking/casting lines by diameter rather than breaking strength. The only problem is that the Japanese line system, which is what everyone uses to describe tenkara lines, is not standardized (at least, not by diameter).
That explains why, for example, my size 4 line is .33mm, my size 5 line is .37mm and the Tenkara USA size 4.5 line is .365mm, not the .355mm that is halfway between .33 and .37. Similarly, the Tenkara USA 3.5 is much closer to my 4 than it is to my 3.
Hi Chris, thanks for the clarification. I understand that the Japanese system is based on breaking strength and isn’t standardized. I guess this was my attempt to try to get people thinking about diameter more than breaking strength and suggest that we do come to some kind of consensus. It’s already confusing enough for people with regards to tippet (you have the “X” rating, the diameter, and the lb. test). The last thing new tenkara anglers need is another convoluted system where you need to do math to figure out which line to use. I guess the only problem is, if you want to standardize something, how do you do it? Who “officially” forms the consensus?
Thanks Jason, big help to a newbe like myself.
Jason, thanks for the information! In trying to pare down (once again) would appreciate if you could recommend tippet size in pairing with the above.
Hi Chris,
Tippet size selection has less to do with the line size and is really more about fly size. So if you’re fishing small flies (#18, #20, #22, etc.) thinner tippets like 6X or 7X are usually a better choice. But if you’re fishing larger western flies or sakasa kebari in sizes like #14, #12 or #10, usually 5X is a good all around tippet. Recently, I have been fishing more and more sakasa kebari so I’ve pretty much been using 5X. On tippet I’ve been using a lot is 5.5X tippet from Trouthunter. It’s in between 5X and 6X so eliminates the need to carry two sizes.
Kinda like I thought. Thanks again! Assurance from another angler is most invaluable. The waters at LMFR encompass all the above within.
Hi Jason,
Glad I found your blog & web site. I’ve been reading about this Tenkara form of FF and in less than 2 weeks, I think I’ve formed a new addiction in my life & at 72 that could be dangerous. Thanks so much for clearing up the level line equerry that I’m certain puzzles every newby to this game.
1. Where can I touch, feel & buy Tenkara gear in Colorado? I’m in Estes Park for the summer. & I’m itching to try this new form of fun out before I have to head south for the winter.
2. On a personal note I read where you are from Western NY. I left Niagara Falls,
NY back in the last millennium but travel back from time to time to fish & visit brother & sisters that still live there. I’m not certain that Tenkara would be the best choice for fishing the lower Niagara river for Kings or Browns or Steel head, but Smallmouth bass would be an absolute kick in the fanny pack with it.
3. Where can I find the Fountainhead rods you speak of?
Thanks for your time and replies.
Kind regards & tight lines,
Robert Traver
Hi Robert, the only place to buy Tenkara USA rods in CO right now is at Rigs Fly Shop in Ridgeway; however, I would be happy to let you try one of mine out. Funny, I just got back from Estes Park a few minutes ago. If I had seen your email earlier, I could have brought one up for you. Email me and we can arrange something.
Tenkara for Great Lakes tributary browns, king salmon, and steelhead? No. You will end up with a broken rod. Trust me. Tenkara is intended for stream trout and while Tenkara USA rods can handle big fish, it won’t work for lake run fish with miles and miles of river to run. Not even Jesse Owens could keep up with a King salmon on a tenkara rod. But smallmouth and other warmwater species, yes. I’ve had good luck with bass and panfish using a tenkara rod. Again, if you contact me, I’d be happy to talk more with you about it.
Thanks for your reply Jason. I just found it tonite. Hadn’t realized you entered here on your blog category about rating lines. We’ve been corresponding back & forth today via E-mail and never thought to look here for you reply. You are right about using Tenkara on the lower Niagara river, that would be foolish. I took your advise this evening and added your Dacron loop to my two lines and viola, drop dad simple way to get ready to get ready without all the rigamarole on stream. My first outing was last week with my new Diawa Kiyose-33 F and after 1 fly change and another half dozen casts, I hooked & landed a pretty little 11″ Brown. Had the wind been more favorable that day I would have landed more than I missed. That being said all I have to say about Tenkara is: “The good folks from Japan have put the fun back in ultra lite fly fishing.
I would like to start building my own lines as shown above. Do you have any line recommendations that can be bought locally (In Colorado) as flying to the Orient is a little pricey these days.:-)
Also what knots do you recommend for joining the sections of line?
The two I received with my outfit from Chris Stewart look to be tied using blood knots.
Thanks again for your reply,
Bob T.
.
Hi Robert,
You can’t get high visibility fluorocarbon in Denver (yet). I would recommend either the yellow level line from Tenkara USA or the orange line from Tenkara Bum. In my opinion, the Tenkara USA line casts better and has less memory but the Tenkara Bum line has better visibility. It’s kind of a trade off. As for knots to connect sections, I don’t make tapered lines for tenkara as I think they’re unnecessary. I just use level line. But if you did want to make tapered lines out of fluorocarbon, a blood knot would work well.
I’m just getting into Tenkara, and one of my goals this year is to prove that Tenkara is viable for BIG fish (king salmon, lake trout, steelhead, northern pike, musky, carp, catfish, etc.). I’ve got a Wasatch Rodzilla, and will be working all year to figure it out (I am also here in the Great Lakes region). I can’t run quite as fast as Jesse Owens, but I’m hoping that proper line selection, fish-fighting technique and the strongest American tenkara rods will help me get it done!
You should talk to Karin Miller from Zen Tenkara. She’s the big fish expert. https://www.zentenkara.com/
She’s super cool! I was just looking through her blog the other day at some articles and checking out their floating lines because of one of your reccomendations. She definitely knows her stuff – bonefish, tarpon, sharks – wild!
Yes, if you get a chance, try to catch one of her lectures at the Fly Fishing Shows. She’s got a really good presentation.
What about fluorocarbon coated lines? example asso ultra cast?
regards.
Hi Vasco, they cast pretty much the same as nylon. They’re not dense enough. 100% fluorocarbon is best.
Hi Jason, thank you for your post. It is a shame because being a very good trout fishing country you can´t find nothing elese than western style fly fishing. Florocarbono? just tapered leaders 0X to 7X, furled lines? just forget it. What happend if I make an hibrid line with fluorocarbono and asso F, coated? I think is similar to your amnesia line or not?
Hi Vasco, why don’t you just order the fluorocarbon lines online? You can get them here: http://www.tenkarausa.com/product_info.php/products_id/136
Or here: http://www.tenkarabum.com/tenkarabum-store-lines.html
Both will deliver to Chile.
Hi Jason, I am here just back from seven days full of Tenkara fishing, fantastic, beautiful and all others adjetives that you know.
Know you something about this floating tenkara furled line?
regards.
Vasco
http://fishrigs.com/products-page/rigs-hand-tied-lines/
Jason, thank you again, when I bougth my complete tenkara gear in TUSA few weeks ago I ordered everythig necessary to start , included one traditional, two spools of level 4,5 and one level 3,5, it is just I am searching for local alternatives so it not so bad.
Hi Jason:
I`m just back from seven days full of tenkara fishing, beautiful, fantastic and all that adjetives that you well know.
Know about this tenkara floating line http://fishrigs.com/products-page/rigs-hand-tied-lines/
Regards.
Vasco
Hi Vasco,
That’s great! I haven’t tried that line but have always wanted to. I might try to get one and do a review.
Tks…very very good…!!!
The line chart provided is probably one of the easiest to read and extremely useful reference tools available. Thanks !
hi jason,
i came across a “braided mono hi-vis running line” from cortland. have you ever used anything like it?
Hi Mike. I haven’t but I just googled it and it looks interesting. I am going to try it and will post my findings. Thanks for the tip!
i picked up 100′ of 30 lb on clearence for like $15. i messed with in the store and it seemed like it might work, but now i’ve got it home i’m not sure. i thought i’d check with you before i started cutting into it. i’m going to go for it and i’ll let you know how it works after i try it out tomorrow…
Mike, please let me know. You might save me some money if it doesn’t work.
jason, it seemed to me to work pretty alright. i’m far from a expert on the subject, but it acted a lot like the tusa furled line. i set up about 13 feet of it tied to a yamame on one end, and 3 feet of 4x with a umpqua micro popper on the other. i messed around with this rig for a bit, and when it seemed to work fine, i gave it to my dad to use. he has fly fished only a couple of times and this was his first day with a tenkara rod. when he didn’t try to muscle things, he was able to lay that popper out the full legnth of line. one thing that stood out was the color. i could see it from 100 yards away.
p.s. don’t buy any just yet.
p.p.s. …cuz i’ve mailed some to you.
Nice! Thanks Mike! When I first read that I thought you were having second thoughts.
The Japanese line numbering system numbers are multiples ( or ratios) of the Cross Sectional Area of the lines referenced to the Cross Sectional Area of 1号 line.
The Japanese line tables provide a list of lines in the order of the Issue or Index number ( 号). The tables give the diameter of the line in millimeters ( mm).
To understand the 号 system you only have to understand that the numbers are the ratios of the cross sectional area of the lines in square mm, ( mm^2) referenced to the size of 1号 line. Not some multiple of the diameter of the line.
The line industry only has a standard for nylon line of 1号 = .165mm diameter. Fluorocarbon line borrows this standard. And size 1号 is the reference point. iow : 4号 will have 4x the cross sectional area (CSA) as the CSA of 1号 line.
( CSA = pi x radius squared)
For example:
CSA 1号 = pi x (.0825mm)^2 = .021382465 mm^2.
{ diameter 1号= .165mm. .165mm/2 = the radius of 1号 line = .0825mm}
Thus .021382465 mm^2 is the reference CSA for the other sizes of line.
CSA 1.5号 = pi x (.1025)^2 = .033006358 mm^2
CSA 1.5号/CSA 1号 = .033006/.021382 = 1.54
CSA 2号 = pi x (.1175)^2 = .043373614mm^2.
CSA2号/CSA1号 = .043374/.021382 = 2.02
CSA 3号 = .063793966 mm^2.
CSA3号/CSA1号 = .063794/.021382 = 3 (actually = 2.98347)
CSA4号/CSA1号 = .0855299/.021382 = 4.0
And so on. It also works for smaller sized line.
5X = .8号 = .148mm.
CSA .8号 = .017203361 mm^2 .
CSA .8号 / CSA 1号 = .80455.
Hopes this helps you to understand the 号 line sizing system.
However, you will find variations. The line diameters Chris posted for his line, which match Jason’s table, all work out correctly. However, he gave TUSA 4.5号 having a diameter of .365 mm.
Which works out to CSA TUSA 4.5号 = .10463467 mm^2
CSA TUSA 4.5号/ CSA 1号 = 4.89348 . Which is closer to 5号 than to 4.5号. Apparently they are rounding down to 4.5号.
Maybe making the line table this way makes it clearer:
1号 = .0213825 mm^2
2号 = .0433736
3号 = .0637939
4号 = .0855298
5号 = .1069123
And of course to work backwards to find line diameter.
D = 2x {square root ( CSA/pi)}
D of 5号 = 2x {sqr (.1069123/pi)} = .36895. Very close to the .370 mm listed in line tables.
Thanks for the useful information Jason!
Hey Jason!
I was just wondering if I could use some traditional fly fishing line in stead of a level line. I have a few old lines which are about 10m long which I could trim to a better size. Otherwise, I have some extra long fly fishing leaders. Any thoughts?
Hope to hear from you soon,
Constantin.
Hi Constantin, you could, but it kind of defeats one of the main advantages of tenkara which is the ability to keep the line off the water to achieve a drag-free drift. PVC lines are heavy, will sag and create drag on the fly. Also, most tenkara rods are designed to cast lighter lines so a 10 meter PVC line would likely overload the rod. I think the leaders might work better.
While this is a good and clear comment of cast ability of a line, there is the practical matter of having a line that will handle the fish you are targeting. That gets into the pound or strength rating.
There has to be a balancing choice of ideal castability of the line – vs – the fish being too much for the line.
It would be better if there was included the line size rating and the strength of the line.
Hi Mark, the break strength of any tenkara level line is far greater than any of the fish tenkara was intended to target. Most manufacturers recommend that your tippet be no heavier than 4X or 5X so the would break longer before the line ever would. I’ver never heard of anyone break a tenkara line on a fish. I suppose if it got abraded enough, it could break–but that would be due to damage–not the actual lb. test of the line itself.
Hi Jason
Is there much of a difference in rod loading characteristics between a Nissin Oni Orange Level Line size 3.5 and 4? I currently have the size 2.5 and want to buy another spool for my new 12′ Iwana (actually have not received it yet but want to order new line ASAP to be able to use rod when it arrives) but am torn between getting the 3.5 or 4 (maybe even 4.5 for that matter) for use with the new rod. What is most important to me is ease of casting and balance between presentation. Can you make a suggestion?
Thanks
Ken
Hey Ken, I don’t think you’d notice much of a different between the 3.5 and 4. But Thin you will notice a difference between the 2.5 and 3.5. I really like the Tenkara USA 3.5 line now and use it in both colors depending on the conditions and the stream. Hope that helps.
Thanks Jason. So if it were you would you get the 3.5 or 4? Is it better to go just a bit heavier?
I’m guessing that fluorocarbon specifically marketed as “Tenkara” comes at a high premium, like the tenkara rods and everything else marketed as “Tenkara.” However most standard fluorocarbon lines used for all forms of fishing has information about both the breaking strain and the line diametre in millimetre percentage, so in theory you could buy any fluorocarbon and use it for tenkara fishing
Hi Peter, that’s true. Really the only difference is that the fluoro for tenkara is high-vis. It’s hard to dye (unlike mono) so that accounts for some of the extra expense.
Hi there. I just started with Tenkara fishing and I find this all very helpfull. I bought a whole new Tenkara set (Dragontail Shadowfire plus a whole bunch of lines and tippets) from a guy who never fished with it. So for me everything was a lot of abracadabra. Especially with all thise Japanese indications on spools and bags.
When cleaning up my fishing storage I found a couple of spools Amnesia. They are used as running line or to fill up your flyreel. It isn’t fluorcarbon and there’s no diameter indication on the spool but this 3,6kg breaking strenght looks a lot like a #4 level line. This line cast quite well for a non expert like me. Maybe it is worth trying for you Jason. And if you think it works you could include this in your article.
Regards from this Dutch guy who lives in Sweden.
Hi Wilfred, yes, I tried it 10 years ago. Here were my thoughts: https://www.tenkaratalk.com/2012/08/amnesia-as-tenkara-level-line/