First I want to tell you that NOT all lines are created equal and the Moonlit & DRAGONtail Tenkara furled lines are simply the best you can get. Many claim to be hand made and and high quality but are imported from China and are poorly designed. Our Furled Lines are designed and MADE IN THE USA and truly have a premium cast and performance. They are made with a very well thought out blend of materials and line taper that has been tested and improved and tested and improved and keeps getting better, setting them ahead from the rest. All of our furled lines come with a premium Japanese tippet ring that works great on all sizes of tippet and will not cut your tippet.
Bushi (our basic line)
A great all-around light duty line with a fluorocarbon-core and a weight-forward taper that is great for casting light flies or even poppers, great turnover but still light presentation. With line floatant it floats like a dream for dry flies. Although the Bushi is not a premium line (compared to our Tachi, Katana, and Oudachi), it is better than the majority of the furled lines available on the market.
Oudachi (Nymphing & Heavy Flies)
This is an incredible line for nymphing, weighted/big flies, and casting in windy conditions. It has a fluorocarbon sink-tip that not only casts and turns over weighted flies easily but helps them sink fast to get into those deep holes and the fish on the bottom. The fluorocarbon sink tip also hooks your line into the water allowing you to keep your line tight so you can set the hook fast and keep your line off the water. It also has a hi-vis section above the fluorocarbon tip section that makes it easy to see strikes and gauge fly depth. We have even used this line for casting streamers with good luck and it still does great with your weightless kebari flies and will sink them faster. This is an easy line to cast for beginners and is one of our most popular selling lines for the past 5 years.
Tachi (Heavy duty all-purpose)
The ultimate powerhouse all-around line with a fluorocarbon-core and a weight forward taper that is great for casting all flies from weightless small flies to weighted nymphs or even hopper dropper setups. It will float with line floatant and give you a smoother presentation than the Bushi line but has more power to cast heavier flies if needed and casts better in the wind because of it’s 3-leg furl. We call it the Katana line on Steroids. This is an easy line to cast for beginners and is one of our more popular lines this past 3 years.
Katana (premium light line)
Our thinnest and lightest line but it still casts very well even at long lengths because of it’s 3-leg furl. This is the best line for light presentation of un-weighted flies and dry flies but not a good choice for weighted flies or nymphs or big flies or stiff rods. It has a weight-forward design that makes cast accurately very easy with medium-soft to very-soft Tenkara rods. A great alternative to level line and floats great with line floatant applied. It has our softest presentation. Not the best line for wind. This is probably my favorite line for un-weighted flies on calm days.
Nodachi (powerful wind casting line)
Our most powerful casting line by far. It has power taper that starts your cast with power and rolls out despite wind or bad casting habits. It is made of mostly fluorocarbon which makes it stiffer than most furled lines. This also makes it a great choice for winter because it is easy to rub off the ice build up and keep fishing. I used to be a huge fan of the Oudachi furled line for my long lines and for casting heavy flies but I have switched to using this line for those things because it casts so easy and is not very heavy. This line cast fantastic for newbies and is our best line for casting in the wind.
Shogun (light all-purpose)
This line is similar to the Bushi furled line but has some upgrades in materials and blends that make it better casting and easier to tight line nymph with. This line will do very nicely for un-weighted flies to lightly weighted flies and it will float with floatant applied to it. I love the Katana but I use this line when there is a little breeze or when I cast bead head soft hackles and nymphs. This line gets a lot of use from me.
Summary
My 3 favorite lines are the Katana for calm days with light flies, Shogun for lightly weighted flies and lightly breezy days, and the Nodachi for windy days, longer lines, and heavy flies.
written by Brent of DRAGONtail