The First Snow

Summer is over and Autumn is going fast. This weekend we received our first snow of the new season. This is a magical snow. It doesn't last long, as we often get an indian summer for a few weeks, but it seems to change most of the outdoorsmen from fishers to hunters. That's OK by me since I don't hunt. Fewer people on the water means more miles of stream to myself. Flying snow separates the real fishers from the fair weather variety.

The little stream I was fishing has suffered a little from the summers low water flows. Most of the fish have moved from their standard holding lies into deeper pockets of water; these usually being in the scoured out pools where the stream changes direction by 90 degrees. Still, as I walked upstream I did scare a few fish from their lies tight up against the bank and under protective willow branches. I wouldn't have been able to catch these anyway since they were too protected by the sweeper branches. I still try though, and lose flies in the process.

The willows were weighed down with heavy wet snow and as I passed them they imparted some of that snow to me. Soon I was dripping with snow and water. For us in the west this water is holy water. It promises a replenishing of the stream flows, so low during this past summer. When I was mainly an astroimager, I used to complain about rain and snow, but no more. Water is too precious.

As I cautiously approached a stream bend pool I stood for a few moments looking around and taking in the opportunity.  I didn't see any fish. This is not unusual, but it is nice sometimes to see your target and present the fly to it. In this case there were no visible fish. I cast upstream of the pool, allowing the fly to be swept along in the current and then swirled around in the pool's eddy. As the fly slowed down the line suddenly straightened. I set the hook as was into my first cutthroat of the afternoon. After he danced around a bit I brought him to net. He turned out to be about 10 inches. This is a nice size fish out of such a small stream.

The next few casts yielded another cutthroat, maybe a little smaller than the first, who spit the hook after a brief but energetic fight. That's OK. I didn't need to bring him to net to appreciate him. I also hooked and landed some small brook trout.

I didn't fish long. As winter approaches and the stream begins its winter pattern, I usually only fish for 1.5-2 hours. This is enough for me to catch a number of trout but not to be in the water long enough to be overly chilled. It was a nice afternoon; now back to the cabin and the fire!

***

Rod: Nissin Pro Spec 2-Way 7:3

Fly:

Here's to winter and snow!!! Cheers!!!

Small Stream Tenkara, Sept 23, 2013

Most of my streams are fairly open, but I fish a few that are pretty closed in with trees and shrubs. I enjoy them, even though I lose a lot of flies to the trees. Someday I want to fish the tightly packed streams of the east with Chris Stewart, but until then I'll be content with my small streams here in the west.

Small streams pose unique challenges. They are, however, made for tenkara. As difficult as they may be using tenkara, they can be an extreme nightmare using western gear. This I have learned over the past years.

The mantra of tenkara is "use the longest rod you can get away with", but this does always bode well for small, tight streams. First of all, there is no overhead room. Raise the rod and your rod is hitting branches. It's hard to cast when your rod hits branches. Second, your line gets wrapped around those branches. Need I say more on this point? Third, there is no need to cast very far because the fish are right in front of you -- 5-10 feet away.

Western gear does have one advantage though, only one. You may say, "If it's tight overhead, I can just do one of those way cool bow-and-arrow casts". Yes you can, but when a fish takes your fly all you can do is watch, since you can't raise the rod and set the hook -- remember the branches scrapping your head? With a western rod you could at least strip the line and set the hook, but not with a fix-line rod. So you try to set to the right or to the left. Still, you're into the branches, aaaarrrrggghhhh. But what fun!!

Despite this and other problems, I love these small tunnel-like streams. They pose chess-like challenges and they can hold surprisingly large fish. Also, there are no other people on them. Maybe it's because other people aren't as crazy as I am! More likely, other people want to catch large trout, not small native fish like I prefer.

I fished one of these streams the other day. I had one hour. My wife was with me, as we had driven to look at the fall leaves. She read in the car while I donned my Hippies, and walked into the stream.  As I approached the stream I found a small break in the riparian foliage. Before I entered, I made a few casts towards a small pool behind a rock. My casts were sloppy, as I couldn't fully load the rod, thanks to the tree next to me. Cast one... nothing. Cast two... small cutthroat! Excellent!

Before getting in the water.

As I worked my way upstream I caught and released many fish. Some were mini-fish; the however largest was 12 inches. I love those 12 inchers in a stream that is 4-6 inches deep and 4-6 feet wide. I'm always amazed how it seems that fish can be hooked in the shallowest of water; and I didn't even see them there!!

Here are some pics:

The big fish of the evening. It had to be a planter rainbow.

Video? Did you say video? Yep, we got video!





Rod used: Wakata 270 cm with a 9 foot #3.5 line. This combo was just a little too long in some spots, and a more than a little to short in others. I need a 270 cm to 330 cm zoom rod for this stream! Anybody got one?

Fly:

It's Autumn!! See you out there.

DRAGONtail Tenkara Tatsu360 rod -- review

Most all of the rods that I have used and reviewed have been mailed to me from the US, Japan, Czechoslovakia, the UK, etc. But just the other day I was able to drive across town and pick up a rod from a newly christened tenkara company, DRAGONtail Tenkara. I received the rod personally from Brent Auger, founder of DRAGONtail Tenkara.

He explained to me his own tenkara journey and why he started to have rod manufactured. He talked a little about the company, their products, and their product venture with Moonlit Fly Fishing, also a local company. So far, DRAGONtail Tenkara has one rod offering. It's an entry level rod for those just starting out, or those who want a less expensive rod with some nice amenities.

The rod is the Tatsu360. This is what they say about the rod: "This Tatsu360 DRAGONtail Tenkara fly rod is made with a high quality Japanese carbon fiber for superb performance. Its 12 foot length and 6:4 bend action is what we suggest for most situations, and especially for newbies to Tenkara. The 6:4 action allows you to feel everything the fish does, even the smaller fish will be a fun catch.

The Tatsu360 rod is well balanced for a great feel that allows you to fish it all day with less arm fatigue. The handle is long with a comfortable grip at the upper and lower end of the handle, giving you the versatility of change up your rod length as needed. The rod itself has a matte black finish that reduces rod glare from the sun so you don’t signal to the fish where you are.

Tenkara is traditionally used to catch small to medium sized fish in small mountain rivers but do not be afraid to seek out the big trout with this rod. The Tatsu360 has enough backbone to take the stress of larger trout, we have hooked into quite a few during our testing and they are a blast to fight."

I examined the rod, then took it to the stream for some on-the-water testing.

The Tatsu360 is a 360 cm 6:4 rod that at first appearance is quite attractive. This rod came in a black graphite rod tube; no rod sock is included.

The handle is 27 cm long and has a reversed half-wells style curvature. The cork is of moderate to good grading. The butt end of the handle doesn't feel full enough in my hand. Typically, it is the butt portion of the handle where my hand is most of the time. This handle feel too narrow, even right at the butt. The handle does feel better middle-front, however. The cork is more substantial at that location and feels better to my hand/grip.

The winding check is anodized black metal with epoxy coating. The blank is a handsome flat dark graphite (nearly black) with tastefully executed gold accents on the ends of the segments.

Winding check

Label

Designation on opposite site of label.

Fully extended the rod is 355 cm. Collapsed, it is 56.5 cm. Without the tip plug the rod weigh 87.6 g. This is heavier than most 360 cm 6:4 rods, but I was told by Brent that the rod blanks he chose were a little more robust than most. This would explain the heftyish weight.

355 cm extended

The lilian is a dark brown, has no knot, and is attached to the tip of the 1st section with a micro swivel. You usually don't see this premium amenity on an entry level rod. The swivel is small enough that the 1st section can be withdrawn through the 2nd section. This is nice for completely drying the 1st section.

The tip plug is wood with a rubber insert. The butt cap is black anodized metal. It has a foam insert to dampen chattering from the collapsed segments. It also has a drainage hole and a coin slot. The edge of the butt cap has fine knurling to aid in its removal.

Micro swivel and lilian attachment

Tip plug

Butt cap 

Drain hole and Coin slot

The action of the rod feels stiff; more stiff than most 6:4 rods. This is clearly a tip-flex rod and a far cry from more mid-flex 6:4 rods like those from Nissin. When extended, the rod feels a little tip heavy, but I must admit that I might be a little too hard on this point. After all, the last few rods I have reviewed have been premium rods that were feather-weights and had no tip heaviness. I need to recalibrate my brain to be fair to this rod.

On the Common Cents Scale this rod is 28 penny. This gives it a Rod Flex Index of 7.9. This puts the rod solidly in range what one would expect for a 7:3 rod. To me, this rod does feel more like a 7:3 rod than a 6:4 rod. The Tatsu360 has comparable numbers to the Daiwa LT360SF, and that is a solid 7:3 rod. The Daiwa is better balanced though. That should be expected since it costs hundreds of US dollars more.

RFI comparison chart

Fishing the Tatsu360 was nice, but mildly labored. Since it is on the stiff side, it is not a finesse rod. As it is only 355 cm I fished it on a smaller mountain stream that had trees and brush lining the banks. If it were a 390 cm rod I would have chosen a more open, larger water. As it were, the rod fished well, but casting was a little fatiguing due to its weigh and stiffness. I started with a #3 level line and found that was too lightweight of a line for this rod. I moved up to a #4, which was much better -- a #4.5 might have felt even better, but I didn't have one with me. I wanted to test the rod with a furled line by Brandon at Moonlit Fly Fishing, as this line is supplied with the rod if one purchases the DRAGONtail starter package. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm came in and by the time it had passed it was too dark to see. Still, I suspect the furled line would be a good match for this rod; a heavier furled line would likely make the rod load better.

I caught mainly 10-12 inch rainbows with the Tatsu360. One thing it does really well is keeping the fish out of the snags at the side of the stream. This rod does have some backbone! So where it has less than delicate casting, it excels in fish fighting control. I don't think this is a criticism; it is what it is. I think the rod would do well for more open waters where the potential for a larger (14-18 inch) fish may exist.

Here is a brief video of me using the rod. This is POV and without music, just a little narrative.




Conclusion: This is a solid entry level tenkara rod. It also would also make a dandy backup rod for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of money ($72.00 USD +$7.00 shipping), but wants a rod with some nice features. I like the flat dark graphite finish. I appreciate the micro-swivel. I like the ability to disassemble all the segments, even segment 1 through segment 2. I didn't care for the handle curvature or small butt diameter, but I have extra-large sized hands; maybe someone with smaller hands would like the feel of the handle better. Also, I think the rod weighs a little too much for a 360 cm rod, but if this aids in durability then that could be overlooked. After all, it does weigh about the same as the Daiwa LT36SF so maybe its weight can be overlooked! I still prefer light rods, though. I just don't like it when they break!!

Addendum, Sept 19,2013 0745 MDT:  I just received an email from Chris at TenkaraBum. He pointed out that the TUSA Yamame 360 7:3 weighs 3.6 oz (102 g). He suggested that I might have been too hard on the DRAGONtail Tatsu360's weight since it weighs 87.6 g. He said, "Easy to get spoiled, isn't it?" To that I say, "Guilty as charged!" I freely admit that I have been spoiled; spoiled by being able to fish with some of the most premium tenkara rods in the world.Conversely, by being able to fish these rods I have been given perspective. So, I'll agree that I have been spoiled, but I also have been educated!!

Thanks Chris, for pointing out the Yamame's weight. I have never fished with one. Looks like I still need more education and perspective!

Want a Tatsu360? Contact DRAGONtail Tenkara!

Sakura Masterline

As I have mentioned before, I am not a big fan of furled lines for tenkara. Like many tenkara fishers, I used them right at first, when I was learning how to cast, but as I began to understand the tenkara casting stroke I began to prefer level lines. Still, there are times when I prefer a tapered, complex line. I say complex because these lines are not just a single stand of material, rather, they are furled, braided, woven or counter-spun out of many fibers.

One situation in which I prefer a complex line is when throwing large flies. Granted, this is not actually traditional tenkara, but it is fun and can be rewarding to see a large trout nose break the surface to inhale a #4 hopper pattern. If there is any wind at all, large flies can be difficult to cast with a level tenkara line.

I have tried about 20 different complex lines, but lately I have been using a custom designed, counter-spun fluorocarbon line made by John Vetterli of Tenkara Guides, LLC and the Sakura Masterline (woven style, not level Masterline). The former line is to be discussed at another time. Here I want to talk about the Masterline.

I bought a Masterline a while ago and have been using it predominantly to throw dry flies. I bought it used (essentially new) because I was having difficulty purchasing a new one. The only place I know of to get one in the US is from Adam of tenkara-fisher.com. I had emailed him a few times regarding my desire to purchase a Masterline, and after placing an order I never received another reply. I suspect my order just got misplaced. Adam was getting ready to go to Japan and I think my order was not a high priority at the time. This is not a criticism, just an observation. After all, since I found a Masterline elsewhere I didn't feel the need to bother him.

Anyway, Sakura Masterline comes in different colors, weights, and lengths. Each has its own designed purpose. They are not like the usual furled line available to tenkara fishers. These lines are smaller in diameter (at least smaller than many furled lines), stiffer (at least initially) and are much more tightly woven than the standard furled line. Because of its properties the line will stretch somewhat but will not recoil or "birds nest" upon rebound if the tippet breaks. They cast beautifully and are very predicable.

from www.tenkara-fisher.com

The Masterline I use the most is a dark (I believe called tea colored) 4.5m (14'9") line. To this I add 16 inches of 0X nylon tippet, 8 inches of 3X tippet and then 2-4 feet of 4-6X tippet. This gives me a long line that turns over really well and casts like a bullet.

Masterline does float, but not very high in the meniscus. If desired, it takes a paste floatant readily making it float even higher. I usually don't use any however.

When you take the Masterline off the spool for the first time you will note that it feels rather stiff. As I said earlier, this is not a standard furled line. The Masterline will hold its coils unlike a furled line so it must be "released". There are essentially two ways to do this. One is to use your fingers to relax to line segment by segment and at the same time apply a little stretch. The other way is how I prefer to do it: stretch the line all at the same time. At the stream side I usually find a tree with a broken branch. I hook the Dacron loop (for the girth hitch) around the broken branch stub. I then unroll the Masterline to it full length and the apply a gentle but steady stretch to the whole line. When maximally stretched I say "Now you have a new memory" -- like I'm commanding it, and slowly release. The line now is perfectly straight!

As with all the complex lines I have used, the Masterline is more difficult to keep all off the water than a level line, but since I generally use the Masterline with dry flies I usually don't even try to. I do keep the rod tip high, but even with this, and a 14+ foot rod, the distal foot or so of the line will be floating in the water. This is one reason I prefer level lines for general upstream, subsurface fishing. They give me better direct contact with the fly and better controlled drift. But for dries, I have no problem having a little of the line floating in the meniscus. If you fish down and across there is no issue with the Masterline, or any complex line for that matter, staying up and out of the water -- the current pulls the line straight making it defy gravity. I don't fish down and across very often though.

Loop for attachment.

A tight weave.

Here is a comparison of a few different complex lines just so you can see the difference in weave.

Top to Bottom: Masterline 4.5m, Vetterli 16' FC, Streamside 16' mono, TUSA 13' Kevlar, Moonlit 13.5' Ronin

I'm still experimenting with complex lines, and I have a couple more I just received to be tested (they look promising though), but for most of my fishing I'll stick with a level line. When I do desire a complex line I find myself reaching more often for the Masterline. That's the way it is for now..... until I change my mind!!!

As for cost? I don't know, actually. If you're interested in one of these lines, contact Adam through www.tenkara-fisher.com.

Tenkara Times Try 360 6:4 Rod -- review

Just the other day I received a new rod from Oleg Stryapunin of Tenkara Times. It is their newest rod offering: the Try 360 6:4 tenkara rod. I have fished with one of Tenkara Times rod before, the NEXT 360 5:5, so I was anxious to get this new rod out of the water. BTW, Jason Klass has reviewed the 390 cm 7:3 version of this rod.

According to Oleg, the Try series of rods are "are noticeably stiffer than the Next 360 5:5 rod. It is better for casting when breeze and with heavier lines and flies. The same time it is one of the lightest tenkara rods worldwide. The most amazing thing about casting the rod is that you can easily feel the rod loading as you make the cast: the stiffer tip sections transmit the feel of the cast so much better. Also it gives the best sensitivity to feel the takes that is so important for fishing classic Japanese wet kebari flies. It gives you all the precision in casting you could want and sufficient backbone to handle larger fish in smaller quarters. Also it gives the best sensitivity to feel the takes that is so important for fishing classic Japanese wet kebari flies. Even the rod is optimized to cast level lines sizes #3-3,5, it casts sizes #2-2,5 very well and do not overloaded with size #4,5. We recommend to use the tippets not stronger than 5X." With rod in hand, I wanted to see if these claims were true. But first, I need to give you the rod description and specifications.

The rod comes in a transparent polycarbonate tube case and includes a black stretch rod sock. This rod sock is similar to what is now being offered for high end Japanese tenkara rods, such as the Shimano 34-38 ZL. An aluminum rod tube case is available for an extra fee.

Designation

The rod has the classic features of Tenkara Times rods, that is, a flat graphite grey finish with Pantone 254 C accents. The handle is 27 cm long and has a pronounced camel-back or double hump shape. The lower portion of the handle is a larger diameter then the upper portion. This allows many handling configurations to be entertained by users with different palm sizes. The cork is an excellent quality with little filler. The winding check is glossy black, and fits tightly against the top end of the handle.

What is amazing about this rod is how light and well balanced it is. When you first pick it up you will notice that it is pretty much lighter in hand than any other 360 cm tenkara rod (defined as a cork handled rod designed for tenkara, not keiryu or seiryu) you may have fished. It is even lighter than my beloved Nissin ZeroSum 360 7:3! Whether this lightness compromises the rod's durability remains to be seen. Without the tip plug the rod weighs 62 gm. Collapsed, the rod is 58 cm. Extended, the rod is 366 cm.

The lilian is red, glued into the 1st section's tip, and is quite long compared to other tenkara rods I have used. There is no knot in the lilian, but there might as well be since the tip section can't be withdrawn through the 2nd section -- the lilian-glue profile is too large in diameter. The tip plug is wood with a rubber insert plug and fits snugly into the rod. The butt cap is anodized metal, has a foam dampening insert, and does not have a drainage hole. It does not have a knurled edge so removal may be difficult with wet or cold hands. There is a coin slot to aid in removal, however.

Long lilian on the Try 360 6:4 (middle). TUSA Ayu II (top) and Daiwa LT36SF (bottom) for comparison.

Tip plug

Butt cap with foam insert.

Butt cap coin slot

The Try 360 6:4 has a Common Cents Scale of 13 penny. This give it a Rod Flex Index of 3.6. This give it very similar characteristics to the Tenkara Times NEXT 360 5:5 rod. But there is a subtle difference between the two rods. Even though they have similar numbers, the Try begins its inflection point further up the rod than does the NEXT. This is what gives it the 6:4 designation (although it acts like a 5:5 rod), while the NEXT has an inflection point more mid-rod, therefore a 5:5. In my hands, casting them side by side with the same line, they feel really similar. But when you anchor the line (hook something) and begin to impart a bend in the rods then you can see that there is a difference in the bend profiles of the rods. Subtle but real.

RFI comparison chart

Casting the Try 360 6:4 is a pleasant experience. It has a smooth casting arc with just a hint of tip over shoot. The tip dampens quickly and there is no appreciable oscillation. I cast the rod with various lines of 12 feet (plus 3 feet of 5X tippet) and it seems to load best with lines in the #3-3.5 range. A #4 line seems a touch too heavy with the rod griping a smidge. A #2.5 line was pretty manageable but when a slight breeze came up you had to push the rod a little to get the line to fully extend.


I took the rod to a standard mountain stream in my geographical region. I caught trout ranging from 8 inches to 14 inches. The stream gradient this time of year is modest due to lower water levels. It has some deep pools, but mostly pocket water. I used a 12 foot #3 line on the stream; 3 feet of 5X fluorocarbon tippet.

As expected from the initial impression, the rod is balanced wonderfully, even better than the NEXT 360 5:5. No arm fatigue is noticed after many hours of fishing. Targeting is precise; the tip action is crisp but not stiff. Throwing the kebari into small plunge pools or under overhanging limbs was easy accomplished.

Hookups were straight forward, and fighting fish was without issue. I did hook one rainbow that shot upstream so fast the my tippet-hook knot broke but that was not the rods fault. My tippet was worn and I was too lazy to replace it. I did replace it after the rainbow broke off.

Here is a video of the rod in action:





Conclusion: I like this rod. It has a pleasant balance point and hand weight. Even though it did have a slight tendency to gripe with a heavier line, with the #3-3.5 it cast effortlessly. I really like the flat, non-glare finish and I wish more rod manufacturers would incorporate that into their designs.  Sure, the rod won't win any beauty contests, but it's not on the water to look pretty -- It's there to do its job: place the fly where you want it to go. I also really liked the handle shape. For my hand it is very comfortable.

I'm not sure what the name "Try" is supposed to mean. Personally I don't think this rod is designed for beginners, as in "try this rod and see if you like tenkara", there are other rods for that. Rather I like to think that it stands for a try, meaning, a goal or score in rugby (a.k.a., touchdown in American Football). So, with that in mind I think this rod scores big and makes a goal for Tenkara Times! GGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!

If you would like to "try" this rod, go to the Tenkara Times rod shop.