Master cane pole building

So deep diving on fixed line fishing methods from around the world and it's pretty fascinating. Few dozen different varieties in Asia. Tenkara ,tango and Hera being the main ones I'm looking at right now. Anyhow alot of it just kinda boils down to cane pole but the level of specialized techniques and craftsmanship that goes into these is pretty fascinating . Also pretty cool how they use a lot of the same methods the traditional archery guy use for building arrows. Can't speak the language but these where cool to watch , figured some may enjoy :smile:
https://youtu.be/2pHRRcQb2xw
https://youtu.be/jj0-MVTB_Ms

We never went to that much trouble - but the only things we fished with when I was a kid, were trotlines and long cane poles. We would seine for minnows and baby bluegills in the shallows; live bait was the best in the river for crappie and catfish.

My dad would make these cane Pols for us kids, don't know where he got the cane from, about 10 to 12 feet long, dried them, about .75/1.00 inch at thick end, wrapped the black nylon fish line around every growth joint on out to the tip and a length down to the handle with the hook, did nothing else to them, that is what we had to fish with as kids.

My Dad loved fishing with a 14 foot Calcutta cane pole. I used to love to sit in back of the rowboat working the oars to watch the master while he stood in the front working the pole and spinner/minnow combo for bass. At that time, I started using a fly rod with a fly reel loaded with 6# monofilament working jigs (and sometimes plugs) in lakes and flies with a BB splitshot in front in tiny mountain streams. That was 60 years ago and only this year did I learn my method is very chic and sophisticated today when it is called "ten kara" fishing. It is good to be chic. Worth noting is that it is very difficult to fish "ten kara" style if you are right handed and have a revolver on your right hip which is why I have carried "cross-draw" for 60 years.

Somewhat off topic. When I was a kid we used coke bottles with the line wrapped around the bottle and a bobber and split shot with a small hook. You'd hold the bottle in your left hand, then cast out the bobber, split shot and hook with your right. Then the excess was rewound around the bottle. When the bobber started bobbing you'd jerk the line with your right hand and rewound it to see if you caught anything. All we used for bait were the worms we dug up. Frank

The only reason you need a pole is if you’re fishing from a bank and need to get your bait out away from you. I’ve fished off the southern Bahamas in over a thousand feet of water with only a hand line. You can feel any nibble taken and can quickly set the hook. Much faster than with a rod.

Remember Tom Sawyer did OK with a line tied to his toe. Mark Twain didn't make that up as it must have been a common practice.

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Originally Posted by BLAHUT

My dad would make these cane Pols for us kids, don't know where he got the cane from, about 10 to 12 feet long, dried them, about .75/1.00 inch at thick end, wrapped the black nylon fish line around every growth joint on out to the tip and a length down to the handle with the hook, did nothing else to them, that is what we had to fish with as kids.

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That's the way we fished as kids, too. I think it's the only thing grand dad ever fished with. He caught a lot of catfish on them.

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Originally Posted by samari46

Somewhat off topic. When I was a kid we used coke bottles with the line wrapped around the bottle and a bobber and split shot with a small hook. You'd hold the bottle in your left hand, then cast out the bobber, split shot and hook with your right. Then the excess was rewound around the bottle. When the bobber started bobbing you'd jerk the line with your right hand and rewound it to see if you caught anything. All we used for bait were the worms we dug up. Frank

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I used a 4x4x1" square of cork salvaged from an old life preserver. Post at the end of my grand parents dock had a couple of nails half driven into the top, the block of cork was captured by the nails.

Launched the hook, line and bobber out into the creek, lock the cork block into the nails and wait for the bobber to move. When my grandfather wasn't fishing with me like that he was on his 30+ foot work boat fishing with seine nets, pulling in fish by the ton. Model A powered, flat bottom beast of a boat he built himself.