Moonlit Fly Fishing's Oudachi and Katana: Line Reviews

Moonlit Fly Fishing has been making excellent furled Tenkara lines for a while now. There's a good chance you have a few of their lines, know someone who has some, or have at least read a review on them. What I'm trying to say is, they're out there! And for a good reason too. Moonlit's Tenkara lines have been renowned as some the absolute best out there. Recently I've been able to fish with their newest additions to the line up, the Katana and the Oudachi Nymphing Line.

The Katana is a traditional line in it's own class. It is the lightest furled line that is on the market. If you're a little afraid of level lines or outright just don't fish with them, but you're still on the search for a light line to present the smallest or lightest flies, the Katana is the line for you. Moonlit Fly Fishing has a particular process using a 3rd leg furl which gives the line a very steady, even circumference. This results in being able to produce a very thin line that gives you consistency throughout the entire length of the line. 

The Katana in Hi-Vis Orange. 

Moonlit has also incorporated a very slight weight forward taper into the Katana. The reason for the taper is because it is allows the Katana to have the best turn over when still allowing you to fish the lightest traditional line of your life. 

The Katana in Camo Pattern with chartreuse tip.

You can bet I tried multiple combinations of rod flexes and fly weights on the Katana to see what it could do. On a softer rod, such as a Tenkara USA's Iwana or DragonTail's Shadowfire rod, the Katana graces the air like it was spreading butter on the clouds. It was so smooth, I actually got arrested for tickling a cop on a backcast.....ok, no I didn't, but you get the imagery.  On a stiffer rod, such as the Zen FFG Baichi or Daiwa Enshou LT39SF, it's fishable but not optimal. The line does turnover but you must change your casting stroke. If you attempt to lady finger the cast, the line will nest up at the end of your rod. You really have to have good follow through with a stiffer rod while using the Katana. As you can imagine, it handles small kebari with ease. It can also be a great dry fly line if you're a traditional line only guy or gal. When I began casting larger flies that were hook sizes 10 or larger, the turnover performance began to decrease. The line would still turn over, but the tippet would not want to follow as the weight of the fly was greater than the force of the Katana. Just like with lighter level lines, I found the Katana to be frustrating with wind. 

The Katana in Patriot Theme, this is personal favorite design.

Moonlit's Katana line will serve you well as a light furled line for casting on softer rods and kebari sizes 12 or smaller. It comes in a wide variety of colors and lengths (from 9 feet to 20 feet). Get yours HERE.



Brandon, owner of Moonlit Fly Fishing, has been working on a special line in a secret, underground lab in the ruins of Chernobyl. He took flights to and from the Ukraine, month after month, week after week! All to give us the most advanced Tenkara line ever: the Oudachi Nymphing line. That's right, you read it correctly, Chernobyl. Ok, again, I lied. But oh man! In some ways the Oudachi line does seem like it came from another world. 

The Oudachi's main "catch" is its sinking tip, which gives it one purpose: to sink flies! Many times, your target (fish) may be down 5-10 feet deep in a hole you can't seem to get down to. Adding weight on your tippet isn't an option, mostly because you may not be carrying any using Tenkara. This is where the Oudachi gives you the advantage you've always wanted. Its sinking tip is comprised of furled fluorocarbon. I'm not going to lie this time, it's weird- but it works!


The Oudachi comes in one color scheme: gray with a Hi-Vis orange strike detection section. Starting at the sinking end, there is 2 ft 8 in of this sinking tip which is then taper furled with 3 ft of the Hi-Vis orange section. The remainder is a standard furled gray line.

The sinking tip will sink 3 times faster than your standard level line.

During my testing of the Oudachi, I tried a few different actions of rods, much like with the Katana. Whether it was a soft rod or a stiff rod, the line was a treat to handle. Which really surprised me given the different material types that went into the line. I assumed it was going to fall dead and have just too much heaviness to it. I thought, only fast action or stiffer rods would do well. But even full flex rods casted well with the Oudachi. 

If you have an inkling if casting 2 bead-headed nymphs is doable...it most certainly is! That was my biggest question with this line. I tried non-weighted and weighted nymphs, a heavier nymph in the front, a heavier nymph in the back, and even with tungsten putty weight between the two. Let me save you some time, you're set up will not matter with the Oudachi line. With all my variations, the flies all unfolded beautifully in the end. I had a great time with small streamer patterns in still water; I was convinced after 6 fish.

A noticeable prep step is to soak the sinking tip in the water first. This allows water to set in the tiny spaces of the furl to aid in fast sinking for your first presentation. Oh, and by the way it's also one of the best lines in the wind too. You can get your super-line HERE.

You can also get a great combo deal on the Katana and Oudachi for a limited time HERE!