March 31, 2013

Arkansas Panfish for First Timers and Tenkara Starter Kit

I arrived in Northwest Arkansas and met up with my daughter, son in-law, and grand kids. Yesterday I took them fishing. Trent, my son in-law, used his new Shimotsuke "brother" 3.6 that I got him from TenkaraBum. My daughter used one of my 390 cm tenkara rods.

After just a few casts both were into their first fish. Granted, the fish were bluegills and other panfish and very cooperative, but the two of them were having great fun catching them.

Every few casts they hooked a bluegill and would laugh and laugh. Another tenkara success story. Looks like I need to buy a Shimostuke 3.6 for my daughter!

The Shimotsuke 3.6 is a excellent rod. It has an action I'd call a 6:4. It is light and easy to cast. I had them use a Spectra furled line and then a PVC line, but this rod will handle a level line as well.

Trent's tenkara kit from TenkaraBum included the rod, a spool of #4 orange flourocarbon line, a spool of Maxim tippet, 6 kebari in a plastic fly box, and two empty line spools. He also received a hand written note from Chris. I consider this the best starter kit out there for tenkara. It is quality stuff at a very reasonable price put together personally by a guy who really cares about your tenkara/fishing experience.

Of course, the rod, whether a 3.3 or 3.6 would make an excellent inexpensive backup rod.

I'm still writing this blog on my iPhone so I can't link you to his website but if you want to look at the starter kit, just go to TenkaraBum. com.

Here are some images of the kit, rod, and the fisher guys with a few of their fish. As you can see, they even had a double at one point!














March 29, 2013

Traveling with Multiple Rods

I'm currently on my way to visit the grand kids in Arkansas. There is a creek near where they live; actually it is a small river. It has panfish and bass and I fished it briefly last summer when I was there last.

Little Sugar Creek, that's the creek, goes right through Bella Vista, AR. Since I'll be there a week I plan on fishing it a couple hours each day, weather permitting.

To carry my rods, I am using a Cabelas rod carrier. I am bringing a Shimano 39NT, a 390 cm 6:4 rod from the UK I am reviewing, a Daiwa Sagiri 45MC, and a 5wt with reel. The Sagiri is for the panfish, the Shimano for the bass, the UK rod for either and the 5wt if the wind is too strong for the tenkara rods!

The Cabelas carrier is 36 inches long and 4 inches in diameter. It is fully padded and lined and easily carries all these rods and the reel. I could have brought even more rods but I'm sure this will be enough. The carrier is large enough in diameter to accommodate a small chest pack with fly box and streamside gear as well.

The carrier is green Cordura. It has a convenient handle as well as a padded, adjustable shoulder strap. The tube itself is Poly plastic and very crush resistant.

There is a nice discussion currently on Tenkara Talk. Jason asks whether you use the rod tubes that come with certain rods. I said I don't, and the reason why is that I use the Cabelas tube. Usually when I fish I carry multiple rods -- sometimes just to fish them but usually to review. If I'm in the car or on the plane I carry my multiple rods in the Cabelas case.

So here I sit at DIA waiting for my flight to XNA. I'm typing this on the iPhone. I'll keep you updated on the fishing. I'm really hoping to catch some Smallies, but I'll be just as happy with some feisty bluegills. We'll see what I come up with!!



March 27, 2013

Don't Drop that iPhone!

I had an iPhone 3S years ago and unfortunately I baptized it in Spring Creek while fishing the Fort Hall Bottoms. I was able to recover its functionality by using the "bag of rice" trick, but ever since then I have wanted to avoid dropping my iPhone again.

I usually don't take pictures while fishing with my iPhone but sometimes I don't have a choice since I don't have another camera with me. But over the past 2.5 years I have felt a lot more safe using my iPhone around water. This is because as soon as I got an iPhone 4 (now I have a 4S) I bought and started using a Voi! Interim case. I have a black version, but you can get this case in many different colors.

I bought this case specifically because it has a built in lanyard. When I'm in a compromised place, such as around water, the lanyard makes a safe and secure way to insure I don't drop my phone.







The case's plastic is easy to grip and the hole for plug-in adapters is large enough to fit third-party designs. The opening for the camera is large enough to accommodate the flash too. I have never found the lanyard to be in the way when the phone is in my pocket -- I carry my iPhone in my pocket, not a carrier case. I doubt the lanyard would be in the way in a carrier case anyways.

As you can see, you can accumulate a small amount of pocket flotsam between the camera and the back of the case, but I have never found this to be excessive or troubling. All phone cases gather a little schmutz. 

Conclusion: This is the best case that I have found to avoid dropping my iPhone in the water. I often hook the lanyard to a strong zinger for extra protection.  As I mentioned, I have been using this particular case for about 2.5 years now. It has held up really well with no cracking, separating, or other issues.









March 23, 2013

More Micro-fishing -- Utah style

I visited and fished a little stream today. It is just about 3-4 feet wide and is in a very tight canyon with lots of trees and Red Twig Dogwoods to frustrate casting. I have fished this stream before, but not in winter so I wasn't sure what to expect.

Small waters -- this is an open section


The stream is so small that my Daiwa Soyokaze 27SR felt really long! This rod is classified as a tanago rod but it makes a great tenkara rod for short casts in tight places. It love its easy action too. I started with the Soyokaze 27SR but after working my way upstream I got into an area that it, combined with a #3, 7 foot (without tippet) line was just too long to cast. This is where I switched over to the Shimotsuke Kiyotaki 24.

Shimotsuke Kiyotaki 24


The Kiyotaki 24 is also a tanago rod. It is stiffer in action than the Soyokaze 24SR but that is OK because it also has nice backbone for working the fish. At first I thought that I would want a flexible rod, like a 5:5, for tight small streams. I thought that I would need that flexibility for casting light lines in tight places. But what I have learned is that for my streams, and the size of fish in them, that I prefer a rod that has more backbone. When my fish are hooked they immediately shoot for the nearest obstruction, like tree roots, snags, boulders, etc. Since the average fish is about 10 inches, a rod with little backbone can't stop the fish from winding itself up in the obstruction and thus breaking off. Since this stream is so tight, there is very little room and time to stop the fish running. You have to be able to stop the run immediately! The Kiyotaki 24 can do just that.

Casting the Kiyotaki 24 in such tight quarters and with such a short, light line is different than casting a regular tenkara rod. First of all the Kiyotaki 24 is stiffer than a tenkara rod and since the line is so short and light there is no appreciable rod loading. The casting style is a short and quick flick. Your backstroke is a little slower but the forward stroke is sharp and deliberate. It's all with the wrist; essentially no forearm at all.

Here is a 30 second video of what the water is like. I wasn't wearing my GoPro today; this was taken with my regular camera -- no fishing action, just the water.




Despite the full contact fishing, I caught a number of browns today.  The smallest was 6 inches and the largest was just over 12 inches. They were all healthy and full of fight. They came out of surprisingly small lies where the cast had to be spot on. Of course, with such a short rod and line I was hitting 6-8 inch lies only 10 feet away!

Here are some of the fish. I didn't image all of them, but these will give you an idea of what the day was like:




The smallest of the day

Red hook UKB firmly imbedded


The largest brown of the day.


The fly of the day was the #10 Utah Killer Bug. This seemed appropriate since I was fishing in Utah!

Fly of the day; well chewed after catching many fish.

As I said, this stream is full contact fishing. I lost over 6 flies to the trees and snags, but I didn't break the rods, so that is good. I'm sure I'll be back to this water, but it won't be my first priority. All this climbing over rocks and under low lying trees makes my back hurt!!

BTW, you can get this little Kiyotaki rod from Chris Stewart at TenkaraBum.



March 21, 2013

Wind and Water Conspire against Me -- video

I fished one of the more local rivers this past Monday and it was somewhat frustrating. The snow is just starting to melt and thus the river water is starting to rise. I have made it a goal to try to fish the entire lower section of the river this winter and I'm almost there. The sections left are higher gradient and deeper wading. This could get interesting as the runoff begins over the next couple months.

The water wasn't the problem though -- it was the wind. Normally, I am pretty protected down among the trees, but Monday the wind was swirling creating difficult casting and line control issues. I started out with a new rod that I am reviewing and casting a #3 line but the wind just blew it all over the place! Then I switched to my Daiwa LT36SF, a #4 line and a heavy fly. This was better but still the wind would kite the line. I didn't have my wind line with me as I thought I had so I couldn't use it. A combination of water and wind made it a less than productive day. I only caught 4 fish; two I netted and the other two were long line released just before netting. One of those was a large whitefish. He was probably 16 inches -- very heavy and a strong swimmer.

Me on the water with the new rod




Here are some of the fish:


In the hand -- finally!!


Jumper!

I really don't have much to say since it was such a frustrating outing. I did learn a lot though. I guess it is the frustrating sessions that improve our skills -- at least it is for me. 

Here are a few more pictures.

Working deep water between willows



Just out of reach! The whitefish.


There he goes -- down in the current. 


I am not yet done with this river for the winter, but the water from here on out looks really challenging. It will test me and that is good. I just wish that while I'm being tested I can catch a few more fish!

Here is a video of the outing. Not too many fish, but you get to see me in this one for what it's worth.










March 18, 2013

Henry's Fork tenkara 3-14-2013 -- video

It's been a while since I have fished the Henry's Fork. You'd think that since it is near in my backyard that I'd fish it all the time. Well, I don't frequent it for one main reason: fisherman. I don't like fishing anywhere I can see another fisherman. I developed this aversion when I lived in Colorado. I remember fishing the South Platte and seeing every pool or bend in the river occupied with a rod slinging, double-haul casting, wader wearing guy tromping around in the water. I had moved to Colorado from Oregon where I mainly had every stretch of river to myself (except for the Deschutes, and that's a whole other story).

Now I live in eastern Idaho and for the most part, as long as you avoid the "famous" waters like the South Fork or the Henry's Fork, you don't have to see anyone else. I like that. I generally stay away from these waters, but every once in a while I feel the need to work the waters of fly fishing Mecca.

Big water -- looking upstream towards the confluence


Today was warm, 50 degrees F. As I arrived at the Warm River confluence parking area I saw that I was not the only one wanting to hit the water -- after all it is the Henry's Fork, I knew I wasn't going to be alone. There were 6 pickups in the winter parking area. It looked like there were two guys downstream --  maybe a guide and client by the way they were interacting. Upstream at the confluence itself were 4 fishermen. No one was on the western bank so I geared up and walked across the bridge. I walked down the road a ways then entered the water. The water was slightly discolored but mostly clear and moving pretty briskly.

Looking downstream


I rigged up with a two fly dropper setup. The dropper was a #10 DC UKB and the end fly was a #14 Prince. I started with the Tenkara USA Ayu-II. After about the 5th cast I hooked my first fish, a 10 inch rainbow. He spit the hook.

As I worked upstream about 25-30 feet I hooked a nice brown. He shot out into the current trying to escape but with the Ayu-II I was able to get him back into the calmer water near the bank. Measured against the net hoop he was about 15 inches. He had a satisfying girth and weigh.

The nice brown

I got into a pod a small rainbows. They were all about 10 inches and I suspect they were planters. I had a hard time keeping them off the flies. I was wanting to target larger fish, but these little rabble rousers kept taking my fly! OK, they were fun too, but on a river like the Henry's Fork I want larger fish!!

Here are some of the fish:


Another brown

A small whitefish





Further downstream I caught a nice 14-15 inch rainbow as it surfed in a large hydraulic directly upstream from a boulder.  I took a second rainbow in the same hydraulic.

The larger rainbow

Last trout of the day

It was a fun day. I'll have to come back another day despite all the fisherman around!


Here is a video of the fish:








March 15, 2013

TFO Soft Hackle SH 116 rod -- pseudo-review

Recently I was able to see and sort of use a Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) Soft Hackle 11' 6" tenkara rod. Up until now I have only read about this rod, but I was unable to actually cast one. Given what I have read, I decided not to buy one but rather wait until I could cast someone elses rod.

The rod is the first tenkara rod made by a major western fly fishing rod company. TFO had some big name consultants on board when designing this rod, but as far as I can tell no Japanese tenkara masters or anyone who had practiced tenkara for many, many years. Of course, tenkara experience in the US is pretty immature with only a handle full of folks practicing tenkara for more than 4 years. Chris Stewart saw what was probably a prototype in the summer of 2011 in Montana. He was able to see Yvon Chouinard's tenkara rod and Chris has stated that this rod was likely where the TFO SH 116 came from. That's not hard and fast knowledge, but an educated guess. I'm sure if I have my facts too far off I'll hear from some folks.

Chris Stewart with Yvon Chouinard and possible TFO SH 116 prototype (from The FLy Line)


Chouinard with his rod (from LearnTenkara)


Since I was using a fly shop demo rod, I wasn't able to get any detailed pictures. I'll use pictures already available on line.

from TFO

 The SH 116 is a handsome rod weighing in at about 83 gm (2.9 oz). It collapses to 52 cm (20.5 inches). The cork appears to be high quality, but the one I played with was used so it is hard to say how it might have looked new. The handle is pretty much cylindrical with a very subtle curvature. The butt cap is hard plastic without any knurling.  The tip cap is similar to Tenkara USA's cap -- wood with plastic and rubber. The lilian is attached directly. The overall finish of the rod is pretty cool. It is in what would be best described as a faux bamboo motif. It is quite artistic for a tenkara rod!

from TFO



I wasn't able to fish with the rod, but I was able to handle and cast it for quite a while. I used a 13 foot Streamside Leaders furled tenkara line (because that's what was available at the fly shop) with tippet and fly. I have casted/fished with enough different rods (to date, over 25 different fixed line rods) so I think I have a pretty good idea how the rod would be on the water. The first thing that struck me was how stiff the rod was. In fact, as I was first casting it, the fly shop guy asked me what I thought and then appeared puzzled when I answered "it's stiff". What he couldn't appreciate is that although the TFO was the only tenkara rod he had ever used, it was one of many that I had used! This rod is pretty stiff. The 10' 6" version is measured on the Common Cents Scale (CCS) as a 31. That's pretty stiff -- right in the same stiffness range as a Tenkara USA Amago. I am told that the 11' 6" version is a little softer, but it didn't feel very soft to me. I'd say it is on the stiff side of a stiff-tip7:3; probable CCS of 30-31. That's just a educated guess though.

As far as casting, the rod did cast the heavy furled line extremely well. It provided excellent accuracy; I would have liked to have had a level line available for comparison though.

Conclusion: I mostly like the rod, but it feels a little too stiff for me. To me, it felt stiffer than my Daiwa LT36SF, and that is supposedly a 7:3 tenkara rod. Believe me, I have some stiff, power rods (Shimano Kozuka 39NT, Shimotsuke Kiyotaki 39, and Daiwa Sekkei 36M) so I know what is a stiff rod. This rod isn't as stiff or "fast" as those rods, but not too far off. This rod has enough backbone that it could easily handle any fish I would be likely to catch, but also not "feel" the little guys that are so much fun on a tenkara rod. But, match a long PVC line to this rod and you could have a blast with bass flies on your favorite pond or lake -- irregardless of the wind!

Another complaint is the handle. Personally, I prefer a handle that has a prominent bulb or bulge near the butt end -- a so called camel hump, gourd, or hour-glass shape. I think the SH 116 handle would give me hand cramps and hand fatigue after fishing it for a while. If you have a small palm size, this handle likely would not be an issue.

I feel that this was sort of a hemi-semi-demi review, since I wasn't able to actually fish the rod. Sorry about that. Would fishing this rod change my mind? Maybe, but I doubt it.

You may ask, am I going to buy one? My answer: No.








March 12, 2013

TrailLite Designs Ti Net Plus -- review

I have owned two TrailLite Designs Ti Nets, both were the angled versions. The first had a black mesh and went floating down the river as I was releasing a stubborn cutthroat. The second has a white mesh and is tethered to my belt so I don't repeat the same stupid act as with the first! I have written about the Ti Net before, and as I stated then, I really like the net.

Recently I received a TrailLite Designs Ti Net Plus. This is the larger sibling of the standard Ti Net and has many of the same innovative features -- just on a larger scale.



The net came from Thom Darrah of TrailLite Designs in a USPS Priority Mail box. The net was wrapped in a separate protective envelope inside the box -- good packaging! After opening the protective envelope (be very careful so not to cut the net mesh when removing the bag) the full net is revealed. My Ti Net Plus is a straight (non-angled) version, but I don't think an angled version is offered. My mesh is black and is secured at the titanium hoop with 22 wraps; These are 4 cm apart giving excellent support to the mesh. The hoop itself is 11 inches (27.9 cm) and has a thicker titanium gauge wire than the Ti Net standard. The net is fine nylon mesh, uncoated. The net depth is 8 inches ( 20.5 cm).

Coke can for scale (not included)


The handle is carbon fiber and has a glossy woven appearance. It is 14 inches ( 35.5 cm) long (but advertised as 16 inches). The diameter of the handle is 17 mm compared to the standard Ti Net which is 15 mm. The whole Ti Net Plus weights about 130 gm.




On the river, the Ti Net Plus is great. I thought at first I would have preferred an angled version, but now that I've been fishing with the non-angled Ti Net Plus I'm not sure I really care. It fits just fine into my Smith Creek Net Holster and is easy to both remove and re-holster. It also will fit through your belt, but because the handle is a larger diameter and longer in length it is a little more difficult to get out and then back into your belt.



This net is made for larger fish. I have netted trout up to 18 inches in my standard Ti Net, but the largest (so far) I have netted in the Ti Net Plus is 16 inches. I did net an 18 inch Mountain whitefish though.  Given its diameter and net depth I'm sure it could easily handle a trout well into the 20+ inch range. All I have to do now is convince a 20+ inch trout to take my fly!



Conclusion: I like the TrailLite Designs Ti Net Plus. Personally, I could have wished it had another 1-2 inches longer handle, but that is just me. All-in-all, it is pretty great just the way it is. Oh, and I have a tether attached, so I don't loose this one!