Anyone try Tenkara?

[briansnat]

It looks a lot like the long pole method I've seen people using on back country Catskill creeks. The main advantage I see is the compact rod, which would be nice for backpacking. The disadvantage I think would be if you were to hook into a nice smallie or a breeder trout. I can't see just hauling one in on one of those rods. A reel, or at least the ability to hand strip line would be a necessity.
They would be fine for the cookie cutter stockies or wild trout on small backwater streams though.

But if you are truly interested in fly fishing, I would still recommend getting a standard fly outfit. No need to learn fancy casts at first. The roll cast is easy to learn. You can probably learn to do a functional roll cast with less than an hour of practice. I've been flyfishing for about 45 years and probably use 90 percent roll casts when I'm fishing NJ streams. And at least you have the option of trying more advanced casts when you have the time. Why keep putting that off if it is your eventual goal?

No need to spend a ton on a fly outfit at first. I used a very cheap beginner outfit bought at Two Guys for about the first 15 years or so and caught some pretty nice fish on it. I used it for bass bugging and trout. Then I "splurged" on a $100 LL Bean fly rod and have been using it ever since. It does the job well. The fish don't seem to care that my rod is 30 some years old and was inexpensive (as fly rods go). This year I upgraded my reels from the ancient, 40+ year old Pfleugers I was using (they were finally falling apart) and bought two very decent reels for LT $100. I've seen no need for a $600+ rod and reel outfit yet.