A few weeks ago I posted a review of the new Tenkara USA Ayu, series II. Around that same time, I received a small package from Daniel Galhardo at Tenkara USA. In the package were two spools of fluorocarbon line. Daniel mentioned that these were new lines soon to be offered by Tenkara USA and he felt that they were the best fluorocarbon level lines soon to be available for tenkara. As you can imagine, I was very excited to try the lines.
The line (top to bottom): T-USA pink line, green Amnesia, red Amnesia
As I mentioned, two lines were send. Both were #4.5 but one was fluorescent orange and the other fluorescent pink. Both lines are incredibly supple. They both also are easily straightened; just a slight tug on either end gets rid of the loops made from the spool. Both lines are easy to knot. All in all, I really like both of these lines!
Here are some images of the lines compared to T-USA HiVis chartreuse, red Amnesia, and Sunline HiVis fluorescent orange. Each sample is 2 feet of the respective line. The top image is against a neutral grey background under full spectrum light. The bottom image is up close:
TUSA orange (top left), TUSA hot pink (top right), TUSA chartreuse (middle), red Amnesia (bottom left), Sunline (bottom right)
TUSA orange (top left), TUSA hot pink (top right), TUSA chartreuse (middle), red Amnesia (bottom left), Sunline (bottom right)
I have now fished with both the orange and pink lines on several occasions. They cast wonderfully and both are very easy to see against my winter background. I wrote Daniel with my comments, and he stated it was OK for me to publish this preview.
If I had to pick between the orange and the pink -- I'd personally choose the pink. I feel that I can see it better against my current winter background. Would that still be the case in the autumn, when all the maples are red and orange? I'm not sure, I'll let you know this autumn!
Daniel says that Tenkara USA is planning on offering #2.5, #3.5, and #4.5 line weights. When? He plans a mid-March release, tentatively. They are currently working on the packaging.
I for one plan on getting some of the lighter versions, especially in the hot pink! Combined with the Amnesia green/red sighter it makes an incredibly supple line which is easy to cast, quick to see, and has fantastic strike detection.
When these lines become available, give them a try. See if you like them as well as I do!
Thank you Daniel for allowing me to try these lines!
I spend another few hours on the water the other day. I worked a section of the river that was compressed by ice making the current fast and relatively deep -- about mid thigh deep. I started out using the Shimano Tenkara 34-38 ZL but after hooking some nice sized browns and not being able to control them I switched over to the Daiwa LT36SF.
The fly of the day was a #14 BH Prince, but I also caught a few on a variation of the UKB.
The net hoop is 10.5 inches wide
Jumper!
It was a nice couple of hours. The largest fish of the day looked like it was about 14-16 inches. I say "looked like" because I couldn't net it. The Shimano couldn't hold it in the current.
I have been reviewing quite a few rods lately, as you may have noticed. Reviewing rods is something that I like doing. If for nothing else, I get to fish with many different rods from different rod companies!
I have personally bought all of my rods, with the exception of the Tenkara USA Ayu series II which is on loan. Because I bought these rods, at full retail prices with my own hard earned cash, I don't feel any beholding to the company which made them. If I like them, I like them. If don't, I don't. Also, I don't personally know, or feel discipleship to, anyone who designs, makes, sells, or consults on these rods (although, for disclosure, I did meet Daniel Galhardo once for a brief moment at last year's Tenkara USA Summit in Utah. He seemed like a nice guy. I also met Chris Stewart of Tenkara Bum. He seemed like a nice guy, too!).
Before I begin this review I want to, once again, for the sake of clarity, emphasize that my opinion about a rod is just that -- my opinion. I may like a rod that you don't and visa versa. Also, when it comes to a rod review there is no substitute for actually holding the rod in your hand and/or fishing with it. If you really want to know if you'll like a rod then do as I do, buy it and try it. If not, then see if you can borrow it from a friend. Experience trumps all verbal hyperbole!
Yeah, what ever -- lets get on with the review!
Shimano Keiryu Tenkara 34-38 ZL
I recently received this rod from Chris at Tenkara Bum. There has been some buzz on the internet about how wonderful this rod is, but mostly from folks who haven't fished the rod yet.
The rod is quite different from other tenkara rods that I have. First thing that is noticed, it is a 340 cm (11' 2") to 380 cm (12' 5") zoom rod. This is not too unconventional, although most zooms in this category are 360 cm to 390 cm, but what is different is the black EVA foam handle. The handle is 29.5 cm long with the proximal 4.5 cm being cork. This is not found on your ordinary tenkara rod! This handle has a very nice and stylish double hump or gourd shape, but it is not as exaggerated as the Nissin Zerosum 360 cm.
The 34-38 ZL comes in a typical plastic Japanese carton with a rod sock (woven, stretchy material with green sparkles -- looks like a headband from the disco era). The rod is strikingly long when fully collapsed. At 70.5 cm (27.7"), it has the appearance an antenna or radio aerial sticking out of your backpack! I don't think this rod was designed with the backpacking tenkara crowd in mind. Compared to other rods I have, the 34-38 ZL looks really long.
Bottom-to-top: Shimano 39NT , Daiwa LT36SF, Suntech Field Master 39, Daiwa Sagiri 39MC, 34-38 ZL and carton
Rod sock
The EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) foam lends a very nice feel to the handle. It is soft, yet not too soft and it has a pleasing non-slip feel. Why EVA foam? I'm not exactly sure, but it might have to due with the fact that good-to-high quality cork is getting very hard to find, and when it is found it is expensive. EVA foam also has better durability than cork. Many of the leading rod makers are going to this option on their rod handles. EVA foam doesn't have weight advantages over cork, so it must be cost or aesthetics.
Why the little section of cork? For looks, to stick your fly into, I don't know? It is cool though!
The next thing that is noticed is that it is shockingly lightweight. Without the tip cap it weighs just 76.1 gm. That is pretty impressive. It's not as light as the Nissin Zerosum 360 cm but then again, this rod is a zoom rod. They are typically a little heavier. Also, the Shimano is a 390 cm rod, so 76.1 gm is freaking amazing!
The rod is a dark black, with a glossy finish. The carbon is high modulus in what Shimano calls "Muscle Carbon". This is high density fibers in the same wall thickness as most other rods. Also, some of the fibers are spiraled around the longitudinal carbon fibers reportedly increasing the rod's strength. I don't know if both of these really help resist breakage, but I hope I don't find out!
The tip plug is wood and is quite long. I drilled mine, as I do with all my rods, to accept a Dacron loop. The butt cap is covered in the same EVA foam as the handle. It has a rubber bumper to silence the collapsed segments. The lilian is attached directly; no micro-swivel.
Tip plug (measure in cm)
Butt cap
It sounds like I'm completely enamored with this rod, doesn't it. Well, just hold on, I'm getting to some characteristics I don't care for.
Casting the rod really surprised me. After I took the rod out of its plastic carton, I extended it to the 340 cm length and dry casted it. Unlike Chris Stewart, who apparently liked the feel, I too said "Wow" but because I didn't expect the rod to be so soft! Chris describes the feel as "very crisp" but I don't equate this rod as crisp. To me this rod is soft in action and smooth in arc, but not crisp. I guess I should have expected this from its Common Cents Scale (CCS) rating. At 340 cm it is rated as 19 penny; at 380 cm 14 penny. This should have told me that the rod is on the softer side of what I like, more like a 5:5 full flex rod, but the word "crisp" threw me. For my waters and average fish size, I prefer a 21-23 penny rod. I'm not saying that Chris is wrong and I am right; to the contrary. The CCS clearly told me what the rod was like and I didn't listen! It is completely my fault, not his!
I liken the feel of this rod to my Daiwa Sagiri 39MC, except that the Sagiri is a little stiffer in the lower segments. Also, when fully extended, the 34-38 ZL is noticeably softer in action, like the Tenkara USA Ito fully extended, while the Sagiri 39MC is not.
I took the 34-38 ZL to the river the other day and fished it for a while. I was hoping it would grow on me. At what it costs, I was really, really hoping it would grow on me. I used a 12 foot, #3.5 line and fished an unweighted fly. I must admit it does cast very smoothly with that particular line attached, no overshoot or oscillation that I can perceive. Targeting was very accurate in the 340 cm configuration; a little less so in the 380 cm, but not bad.
I only hooked one fish, and he was a little guy. He did not test the rod at all, except that you definitely could feel him on the line! I dropped him in the snow just before releasing him. Here he is:
To give the rod another try, I took it on a different day to different waters. This river has a higher CFS flow and higher gradient. I thought it would be a good testing ground to see if this rod could handle modest size trout in fast water.
At first I tied on an unweighted sakasa kebari. After getting used to the smooth rhythm of this rod's action I could put the fly anywhere I wanted without difficulty. I fished the sakasa kebari for a while, and not hooking anything, I decided to change to a #14 beadhead nymph. Yes, I changed flies, and while I know that is a tenkara "no no", I wanted to hook some trout to feel them on the 34-38 ZL. The sakasa kebari was obviously not the "one fly" for today. In just a few minutes after switching flies I was into my first trout. It was a nice 14 inch cutthroat. The current was brisk and the rod could not control the trout as well as, say, my Daiwa LT36SF. But, after guiding the fish to a hydraulic cushion upstream of a large rock I was able to net her.
It's faster than it looks.
The first cutthroat
A few casts later, I hooked another cutthroat. This one was about 11 inches. There was no issue getting her in.
The second cutthroat
Upstream from there I hooked a few browns. The largest was 14 inches, but most were in the 8-10 inch range. Again, the rod had issues controlling the larger fish, but not the little ones. The current plays a large role in controlling the hooked trout with the 34-38 ZL. Since it is not a stiff rod, heck it bends all the way to the handle with a 10 inch trout, there is very little "backbone". You have to let the fish swim and tire itself out upstream from you, then let it come into your net. You can't "horse" them into the net with this rod!
Mid-thigh deep and pretty swift
The large brown
A smaller brown
and another,
another,
and finally another.
Finally, I did hook and net a Mountain Whitefish. This one was about 14 inches. I wasn't sure I'd get her to the net, but I was able to get her swimming just upstream from me for a few moments, then I lifted her head quickly. This brought her head out of the water and she couldn't swim. The swift current swept her into my waiting net.
The whitefish
The rod after a few hours fishing. Ready to go home.
Conclusion: I like this rod, mostly. I can say that I love the look, the handle shape and materials, the weight, and I love the concept of 340 cm to 380 cm zoom. I am disappointed in the collapsed length of 70.5 cm (27.7") particularly if this rod is designed to be a portable rod. At that length it is definitely not backpacking friendly. As far as its action, I am OK with it, but I could of wished it to be just a little stiffer -- say a good solid 20 penny in both configurations. I do much prefer to cast it in the 340 cm configuration; less so in the 380 cm. I can say that the rod casts effortlessly and is very, very smooth with a #3.5 level line.
I consider this rod a speciality rod. If you live in the eastern US, and fish mainly small streams with native brook trout or small browns (less than 14 inches) then this rod may fill your bill (if you can get it through your heavy undergrowth). If you live in the Midwest or South and want a rod that would be fun with sunfish, then this rod may fill your bill as well (I think a Bluegill of this rod would be a blast). But is you live in the Rocky Mountain or Intermountain West, where stream gradients are high and many trout are routinely over 16-18 inches, then you may want to be careful with this rod. It is not a "big" fish rod, IMO. It is a headwaters, small-moderate size trout, rod. I will not use tippet over a 5X as I would rather loose a 18 inch rainbow to some rapids than risk breaking the rod. It's too expensive to break, and not being a Tenkara USA rod, it may be hard to get replacement parts (but Chris Stewart may be able to help get them). And warranty? -- ya right, that would probably be difficult to collect on since I don't live in Japan.
One last thing. The foam handle now smells of fish. I washed it under a tap but it still smells of fish. It appears that EVA foam may not clean off as well as cork. I'll see if it still smells in the morning after drying. I just thought you'd like to know.
A while back I received some furled lines from Brandon Moon of Moonlit Fly Fishing. I've been wanting to fish these lines for a while but the air temps have been too cold. I find that below 32 degree F, furled lines are frustrating to fish with due to the fact that they gather a small amount water and freeze. But just the other day I was able to fish with these lines.
To tell you the truth, I am not a furled line fisherman. I prefer level lines almost always but sometimes I need to turn over a large fly or group of flies or even lay out a small dry fly and make it land with just a whisper. That is when I'll use a furled line.
Moonlit Furled Tenkara lines are beautiful. They are high quality lines that would make any tenkara fisher happy. Brandon offers three different tenkara line styles: Shogun, Bushi, and Ronin. All three use the finest Gutermann thread, but the Shogun incorporates premium fluorocarbon and Bushi is made with a core of monofilament nylon. The Ronin is the lightest line using only Gutermann thread.
All three of my lines are 13.5 feet and have an attached Dacron loop for joining to the lilian with a girth hitch. All three have a tippet ring.
I fished with all the lines Brandon gave me. I found them all to have excellent casting properties, turning over effortlessly. They were all easy to see and to manipulate with the rod.
Conclusion: If you prefer to fish with a furled line, or just considering having some around for certain fishing situations, then I'd recommend you take a look at the lines of Moonlit Fly Fishing. They appear to be of the highest quality and cast beautifully!
I received the new Tenkara USA Ayu , series II rod today -- just in time to fish it tomorrow. I had a series I Ayu but I sold it a few months ago to make room for another rod. The series I was a nice rod; a little heavy, but a nice rod. I had an emotional attachment to that rod, since it was the rod that I first saw in the hands of Daniel Galhardo when I was investigating the thing called "tenkara". I watched him cast the Ayu effortlessly under the branches of overhanging trees, putting the fly right where he wanted it to go. It looked so surreal. That green banded rod will always remind me of my first foray into tenkara.
The series II Ayu may have the heritage of that first, venerable rod, but it is a different rod altogether. Other than keeping the same name, handle and length, this rod has its own identity and should be taken as such. It is not the same horse with a shiny new coat; this is a whole new Mustang!
As with all Tenkara USA rods, the Ayu series II comes quickly from Tenkara USA in a green fiberglass rod tube. A brown rod sleeve is included as well.
The rod itself is beautiful. I always thought all of Tenkara USA's rod were pretty but this one is downright sexy! The handle section of the rod has a classical graphite weave pattern with coloration of both sides of the label being a subtle, but pleasing burgundy. The label section is in dark graphite grey. This design is best seen under a direct light, or even better, in full spectrum sunlight. The more proximal sections do not carry the graphite weave motif but are pleasing burgundy (looks brown in some light). The tip section is dark graphite grey. The lilian is attached directly, without a micro-swivel.
In full spectrum light -- pretty!
The rod is 58.4 cm collapsed; slightly longer than the original Ayu. Extended, it is 390 cm and its advertised weight is 102 gm (mine is 105.6 gm -- without tip plug, of course). This is heavier than I like in a 390 cm rod, but I believe is it so due to the engineering goals of Tenkara USA. They want this rod, and all of their rods for that matter, to be as fool proof and durable as reasonably possible. They don't know what you and I are going to try to catch with the Ayu-II, so it is engineered to handle whatever it is given! The Ayu-II is made with a high modulus graphite fiber but according to Daniel not the highest modulus carbon available. As Daniel stated to me: "This results in a rod that is slightly heavier than what we're capable of doing, but that should last a long time and be very durable." To clarify this point, note that the higher the carbon modulus the lighter, but more brittle, the fiber is. Lower modulus carbon fiber is a little heavier, but has more stretch and durability. Daniel has elected to go with durable and more forgiving fibers rather than super lightweight, yet brittle, carbon. Also, I suspect, but do not know for sure, that Tenkara USA rods have slightly thicker walls than other leading tenkara rods. If this is the case, then that too adds to the durability of the rod, but it makes the rod a little heavier. And you know, given Daniel's goal for this rod, I can't fault them for that!
Weight without tip plug
The handle is a reverse-half wells-like design with high grade cork; little filler. This is the same as the "new" handle on the series I Ayu. The butt cap is metal and has a rubber bumper to reduce rattle of the collapsed segments.
The tip plug is similar to most Tenkara USA rod's plugs except that this one has been drilled and accommodates a loop of spare lilian. Some of us have been doing this for some time and I am convinced that it reduces tip plug loss. This spare lilian can be used for field repairs, but of course it is still best to avoid breaking the tip by proper tip handling. From Tenkara USA:
When setting up your knots always leave the fragile hard tip inside the main segment, exposing only the string at the tip of the rod as you set up,
Never exert any sideway pressure on the rod segments when closing the rod,
Always close rod segments by holding the thickest part of the segment you're closing (closest to next thickest segment),
Handle the first 3 tip segments very carefully.
The action of this rod is a little hard to describe. On one hand, it feels like a longer, heavier, Iwana 360 cm, but the Ayu II has a noticeably stiffer butt section -- much stiffer than the Ayu I. Despite this, the rod's tip is quite flexible allowing it to bend quickly -- more quickly than then Iwana 360 cm. I believe this is all in the design, as described by Daniel: "We kept most of the original Ayu there, but gave it slightly more “backbone”, and also made it into a 6:4 tenkara rod. This change gives it a crisper feel .... yet feels great when a smaller fish is caught."
Fishing the Ayu-II is fun. I used it today on a freestone river targeting native cutthroat trout. The stream can have a fairly robust current, but this time of year it is very manageable. I have landed fish upwards of 20 inches on this water but today fish of that size were no where to be found. Today the fish were not very cooperative, but I did catch a few small guys. Even with these, the rod lets you feel the fish, mainly because the tip is so sensitive.
I cast both 13.5 foot furled and level lines. Due to the flexible tip section I think this rod does better with a level line. I used a #3.5 line without any problem. The furled line I used cast well but it was harder to keep the line off the water since the tip section is so flexible. I would suggest a level line with the Ayu-II.
Casting was spot on. Casts were crisp and easily hit the intended target. Since the rod is heavier than most, it is important to keep your casting arm tight against your body, letting most of the cast originate from your wrist. If this is followed, arm fatigue is not an issue.
Conclusion: I like this rod, mostly. It has been expressed in other reviews and in forums that the weight of the Ayu, series II is of concern. I too was a little disappointed with its weight, but really, keeping in mind the design goal of the rod, the weight is not that big of a deal. Everything else with the rod is nearly perfect. Reduce the weight by 25 gm and I would venture to speculate that this rod would be one of the best rods in the world (but then it probably wouldn't be as durable of a rod)! That said, for anyone desiring a crisp casting, robust, 390 cm rod capable of handling larger fish, I think the Ayu, series II is just the ticket.
Disclaimer: The rod I reviewed is on loan from Tenkara USA. My sincere thanks to Daniel for allowing me to borrow and fish this rod. I received no compensation for reviewing the rod, but it is on longterm lease for testing.
Epitaph:
What of the "old" Ayu -- series I? It looks like it may have a life of its own -- through clones! For your entertainment, from a recent internet offering:
The similarities are uncanny!
"new with sock and tube TENAKARA JAPAN FLY ROD 13' 5:5 action ~ this is a traditional Japanese fly rod, meant to be used without a fly reel at 5:5 this is the softest model available. extremely light-weight and with its 5:5 action, very precise. The progressive taper, ultra-light weight, and full flex action provides for great battles, even when hooking the smaller fish"
Ah yes, free enterprise at work! Copy someone else's product, make just a few minor cosmetic changes, apply a slightly altered name, and voila, it is a a new product! It is this business model that has kept Apple lawyers busy for years! Who knows, with modern DNA technology, maybe one day you'll be cloned and those clones sold online as the "real" you!!
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