April 30, 2013

A Windy Weekend -- Trying the Titanium LIne

This weekend I decided not to travel to water, but rather, to visit some of the local streams and see how they are fairing. Two of the little streams I visited were higher and off-colored; a testament that the spring run-off has begun. I hooked three cutthroats but I did land them. I did loose a lot of flies to the trees though! Thanks goodness they were just UKB; it takes all of 60 seconds to tie one up!

Another challenge was the wind. We had a cold front come through and the winds were about 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Since I wasn't catching much in the little streams I decided that it would be a good day to test the Tenkara Times Titanium line. It is reported to be good in the wind but I hadn't yet fished it. Today was the day. If 30 mph gusts won't challenge a line, I don't know what will!

The water for the test is wide open and flat. The current is slow. Since there are no trees or shrubs to act as a windbreak, the wind was uninhibited. I used the Seikei in 390 cm mode to cast the line.

Fish on!


The Tenkara Times titanium line comes on a small EVA-foam spool. The line I was using is 13 feet long; I have an 11 foot as well. There is a loop for attaching to the lilian via a girth hitch. I don't care for this since my rods don't have knots in the lilian and to use a girth hitch I have to tie one. The line itself is very small diameter titanium wire. It is not sharp. Running it through your fingers its not any sharper than monofilament or fluorocarbon line. The terminal end has 60 cm of Hi-Vis yellow monofilament nylon line. This ends in a large loop.





I tied 3 feet of 5X fluorocarbon tippet to the loop and started the test.

The line casts very well, even in fast and blustery wind. I must say I was pretty impressed! Casts were straight and laid out well. I tested casting directly into the eye of the wind as well as varying angles to the wind. This line did well at all angles. As a side note, the line is very hard to see against the background of the river, but the mono section does help quite a bit.

Still, despite its great casting properties the titanium line would "kite" just like any other line in the wind. The wind would pick up the line and move the fly, even though I was keeping the Hi-Vis portion anchored to the water. I think I would not have had such as issue with this except for the speed of the wind. But to combat the wind speed I tied 2 feet of floating Rio Powerflex shooting line onto the end of the Hi-Vis mono to make a more firm water anchor. I then tied 3 feet of the 5X tippet to the anchor. This worked much better. Not only could I cast in any direction and have the line lay out perfectly, but I could anchor the line on the water's surface with the floating Rio. Yeah, I know the water anchor defeats the "off the water and in direct contact with the fly" concept of tenkara, but then again, the high winds I was dealing with sort of defeated that concept anyways. It's hard to keep in contact with your fly when your line is dancing all over the place like a drunken dervish! At least the anchor segment gives you some control and contact with the fly!!

I did pick up two rainbows with this line and technique. Both were healthy and fat 14-16 inches in length. The titanium line was not an issue when hand lining the fish in. I didn't feel concerned about cutting myself since it feels "duller" than ordinary wire.




I like this line and think that it has great potential. For strong winds, like I was dealing with today, I prefer to have a better water anchor such as a short section of Rio Powerflex floating shooting line. If the wind wasn't as strong, I think the included Hi-Vis mono would have worked just fine.

Have you used this line? If so, what do you think about it?






April 26, 2013

Suntech Suikei GM 39 Rod -- review

(UPDATE: This rod is now called the TenkaraBum Traveler 39. Also, the original butt cap has been replaced with a solid one-piece plastic butt cap. So, it will not fall apart like mine did in this review. ) 

I had a chance to fish the Suntech Suikei GM 32-36-39 rod and I want to give you my impression.

The Suntech Suikei is another of the zoom rods from Suntech. Like its more stiffer and faster sibling, the Field Master, the Suikei can zoom from 320 cm to 360 cm to 390 cm just by pulling out the lower two sections. However, compared to the Field Master there are a few noticeable difference with the Suikei.

The Suikei comes in a typical Japanese plastic carton. There is a simple but effective rod sock included. The rod is lightweight; it weighs 60.5 gm.







Superficially the two rods look very similar. The Suikei however is a little longer when collapsed, coming in at 54 cm. Also, the Suikei is a little narrower through its handle and lower sections. This, I assume, is in part why the Suikei has a slightly softer action compared to the Field Master. The Suikei has a Common Cents Scale rating of 18, 21, 21.5 for it 3.2m, 3.6m, and 3.9m configurations. This gives it a Rod Flex Index of 5.8, 5.8, 5.5 respectively. The Field Master is stiffer at 7.5, 7.2, 7.2 for the same three lengths. The Suikei acts like a 6:4 rod while the Field Master is a stiffer 7:3. But one thing the be aware of: this rod's RFI may fall within the 6:4 range but it is a stiffer 6:4. If you like soft action rods, then this rod may not for you.

Field Master (left) and Suikei (right)

Rod Flex Index (RFI) chart



Cosmetically, the Suikei is charcoal with metallic flecks. The handle is the lower section of the rod and is covered with a very effect slip-resistance coating. This works well both dry and wet. The Suntech brand and symbol are right in the handle, just the Field Master.

Designation



The lilian, red material, is attached with a micro-swivel. It is nicely done; no frayed edges or glue globs.

Micro-swivel



As previously mentioned, the Suikei can zoom twice and therefore be fished at three different lengths. The lower three sections of the rod have printed on them their individual length. To fish at 320 cm leave all the lower section collapsed  360 cm, extend the appropriate segment; 390 cm, all segment extended. It's pretty simple and effective.






This rod, like the Field Master, does not come with a tip plug, but rather, it has a universal top cap. This protects the rod very well as is unlikely to get lost or fall off. The butt cap is rubber and rounded. It has a post with two O-rings that capture the two zoom sections effectively. There is also some friction tape on these two sections that help keep them tight when collapsed.

Fuji KTC-12 top cap
Butt cap

The rounded rubber portion is glued to the metal

Fishing this rod is a pleasure. Since it has a slightly smaller diameter handle than the Field Master it can be a little fatiguing to hold for long periods of time -- if your hands are extra large like mine. I suspect for most folks that would not be an issue.



As I mentioned above, the casting action is within the 6:4 RFI but feels on the stiffer side of other 6:4 rods I have used. Interestingly enough, its RFI numbers are lower than the Iwana-12 but the Suikei feels slightly stiffer. I think this may be due to difference in the bend profile. The Suikei is stiff in the lower section with a flexible tip. This may also be why it does so well controlling fish in currents. The rod casts best in the 3.2m and 3.6m, but does fine in the 3.9m as well. It does feel a little tip heavy when in the 3.9m configuration -- but I have found that this is common with most zoom rods; they balance better in the shorter configuration.



I used a #4, 12 foot line with 24 inches on 5X tippet. Casts were accurate. The casting stroke is brisk and crisp. This is not a smooth, slow casting rod, but it's not as stiff and brisk as the Field Master either.

I caught brown trout ranging from 8-13 inches, in water of moderate gradient and fast current. The rod handled them without any issues. I could even pull the larger trout up current and guide them to keep them out of snags. All-in-all this is a very nice rod for this type of fishing.

Net hoop diameter is 12 inches 




One issue arose while fishing. The rubber portion of the butt cap separated from the metal portion and must have floated down stream without me knowing. I tend to hold my rods low, with a portion of my hand covering the butt of the handle. Maybe some side pressure popped the rubber cap off, I don't know. Since the metal portion of the butt cap was still in place the segments didn't fall out -- that's nice. I took a picture of broken butt cap and sent it to Chris right right from the streamside. He emailed me back that he'd send a new one right away.  Now that's great service!!





Conclusion: I like this rod. It has a pleasing brisk action, if you like moderately fast rods, but it's not too stiff so to not be able to feel the rod load. Its light weight is wonderful and its collapsed length is good for travel. I could wish the handle was a little wider in diameter but that could be modified if desired. The zoom feature is really convenient for streams with varying degrees of canopy, or if you wanted just one rod to cover most off streams/rivers you may fish.

If you would like one of these rods, contact Chris Stewart at TenkaraBum


Here is a video of these fish:
















April 24, 2013

Rod Flex Index

I recently posted a chart on how I felt the rods I have reviewed could be placed in relation to each other. After receiving some comments and suggestions from readers I have revised the table. The modification made is what I call the "Rod Flex Index". This is a way to try to keep rod actions independent of their respective lengths. For instance, a 450 cm rod that has a Common Cents Scale (CCS) of 15 pennies will feel and fish much differently than a 240 cm rod of 15 pennies. Yes, they are both 15 penny CCS rods but the length factors into their casting actions. The Rod Flex Index tries to neutralize these differences.

Basically, the Rod Flex Index (RFI) is the CCS penny rating for the rod divided by the length of the rod in meters. The lower the index number the slower the action, the more full-flex the rod -- the higher the number the more fast and tip-flex the rod. Using this index will let a fisher immediately have some idea of how the rod will feel when casting and what others rod he or she may have that might be similar. Slow or full-flex rods have an RFI of 2.5-4.5. Moderate or mid-flex rods have an RFI of 4.6-6.5. Fast or tip-flex rods 6.6-8.5, and very fast or minimal-flex 8.6+. Using the rods described above as an example: TUSA Ito 4.5m is a 15 penny rod. The Shimotsuke Kiyotaki 24 is 2.4m and also a 15 penny rod. Using the above formula, the Ito at 4.5m has an RFI of 3.3 (slower end of full-flex rods), while the Kiyotaki 24 has an RFI of 6.3 (faster end of mid-flex rods). The Kiyotaki 24 is a much faster, tip-flex rod while the Ito at 4.5m is a very slow, full-flex rod, yet they are both 15 penny on the CCS.

Some rods maybe categorized as a 5:5, 6:4 or 7:3 but by their RFI may fit better with rods of a different category. Take the Nissin ZeroSum 360 7:3 (one of my favorite rods) for example. It is categorized as a 7:3 rod but its RFI is only 5.2. That puts it in the range of some 6:4 rods! When you cast the ZeroSum 360 7:3 you can immediately tell that it is not a classical 7:3 rod! The RFI tells you this before you ever pick it up! Also, the TUSA Amago has an RFI of 7.6. That puts it in the 7:3 category, not the 6:4 category.  When you cast it you can tell it's not your typical 6:4 rod.

As you can tell from my last table, I have moved some of the rods. Why? It's hard to argue with data. The RFI caused some of the rods to move -- usually not too far -- a little to the right or to the left.

I think the RFI is a good way to compare rods to each other. One of the challenges of tenkara is that the rod ratings are subjective and therefore are not always as billed. The CCS is a good approximation of a rod's overall flex, but it must be corrected for the rod's length to be able to compare its "real" flex action to other rods. The RFI does this.

Here is the table modified for the RFI. Labeled is the manufacturer, rod, type of rod (T=tenkara, K=keiryu, S=seiryu, ( )= all purpose), CCS penny rating, then RFI score. The full-flex category has been divided into slow and very slow, but they are really in the same overall category. I might have to adjust some of these scores if I measured any of the CCS penny ratings incorrectly. There is at least one rod on here where my CCS rating is different from TenkaraBum. We are still trying to figure out why. Click on the table to make it larger.

Rod Flex Index
TUSA=Tenkara USA; AFB=AllFishingBuy; TW=Tenkara Worldwide




So, what do you think? Does it make sense? Is it useful to you? I'm sure that as I get more experience with even more rods I'll continue to modify the RFI, but I think this is a good start. As always with any rod, if you want to know how it casts, cast it!




April 21, 2013

Hurricane Fishing

On my way up to Teton Valley, I stopped and fished the Henry's Fork. It was not a great day for fishing as demonstrated by the number of people on the river -- none. I had the big water all to myself. Why? Because the wind was blowing a sustained 20 mph with gusts to 25 mph. No one but me wanted to put up with the wind.

The water level was good and the clarity was reasonable for this time of year. Snow melt has not really started yet.

I started with a 390 cm rod and #4 level line. As you can imagine, the line was blown all over the place. I was fishing at a right angle to the wind and it was strong enough to bend the rod! After a while I changed over to my wind line. This made it much easier to control the fly. As long as I kept half or more of the floating line portion on the water's surface I didn't have to compensate to the line being blown in the wind.

I only caught 4 fish, all rainbows -- but I really didn't stay that long. I fished for not quite 2 hours then decided there were other things I could be doing more profitably than fighting the wind. BTW, a drift boat with a guide and two clients did float by about 1 hour into my stay. They were throwing streamers.  I didn't see them hook up once.








I'll try it again another day when the winds not blowing, or at least when it's more manageable!








April 18, 2013

Rods, Rods, Everywhere -- are you confused yet?

As most of you are aware, I have fished with and formally reviewed a lot of fixed-line rods. To date I have reviewed 28 rods; that's quite a few but not all that are out there. Why do I review all these rods? Because I like doing it! I look at it as a way to help anyone who is considering buying one of these rods. It is frustrating when you are researching a certain rod and there are no formal reviews -- it makes buying the rod more of a leap of faith than if you could read unbiased product reviews (BTW, I strive to be unbiased).

You probably noticed that in the above paragraph I said "fixed-line" rods and not tenkara rods. This is because many of the rods I have review are not tenkara rods, but in fact are keiryu or seiryu rods. Do I care? No. They all look close enough and fish close enough that what's in a name. I however don't want to offend the tenkara-only crowd, so I will keep them separate in designation.



One down side to reviewing rods is that you, the reader, is subject to my likes and dislikes. Unless you fish the same waters, for the same fish, in the same way, with the same goals your likes or dislikes, particularly regarding a certain rod, will probably be different than mine. Take for instance my Internet friend, Chris Stewart (I say Internet friend because I have only met him once, briefly, at last years Tenkara USA Summit in SLC, UT, but I communicate with him probably more than he wants). Chris fishes for trout and warm water species in or relatively near NYC. Most of his home waters are smaller, more closed in, and flatter in gradient than mine. He likes a rod with more of a full-flex, moderate-to slower delicate casting action . He likes very light lines, #3 or less.  He frequently uses unweighted flies.

I on the other hand mainly fish for trout in moderate to large water, of moderate to high gradient, in wide open rivers. I frequently fish weighted flies, or even multiple flies in a dropper setup. Because my currents are generally fast, even small fish, 12-13 inches, can tax a rod's ability to control the fish, let alone if the fish is 16-18-20 inches! They don't call the big browns in Cardiac Canyon of the Henry's Fork "Screamers" for nothing (big trout in high gradient flows)! Those are the guys that can take you into your backing -- but I don't have backing!! Therefore, I prefer a rod that has an upper mid-flex (tending towards a tip-flex) faster action that allows me to throw my flies and control my fish in fast currents.

So you see, what I like in a rod you may not. You have to take what a reviewer says with a grain of salt.



To help differentiate the types of rods I have reviewed I devised a table. On the X-axis is flex action. This is divided into five categories: very slow-deep flex-4:6, slow-full flex-5:5, moderate-mid flex-6:4, fast-tip flex-7:3, very fast-minimal flex-8:2. Also included are the Common Cents Scale ranges for these rods, if they are available. On the Y-axis is rod length. Zoom rods, in their different configuration lengths, are treated as individual rods.  The rods are noted as (T) for tenkara, (K) for keiryu, and (S) for seiryu. TUSA=Tenkara USA; TW=Tenkara Worldwide; AFB=AllFishingBuy.  As you will see, I feel that some rod's actions may be transitional, that is, stiffer than a 5:5 but softer than a 6:4. These rods I place in between the two action ratings. And always remember, this chart is how I feel the rods should be placed -- it may not be how you'd place them

Click on Chart to Enlarge

One thing you may have noticed is that the Common Cents Scale (CCS), although a good approximation of a rod's action, is not always that helpful. For instance, the Shimotsuke Kiyotaki 24 has a CCS rating of 15. This is the same as the TUSA Ito in 390 cm mode. If you could cast these two rods one after another you'd quickly see that the Kiyotaki 24 feels much "stiffer" than the Ito. It requires a short, brisk casting stroke while the Ito has a much longer, slower casting stroke. Why is this? Well, I think it is that the Kiyotaki is such a short rod with little mass to flex when casting. Another reason may be that the majority of it is smaller diameter tubing than the Ito. This smaller diameter tubing can't hold up the pennies very well so it bends quickly, that is, fewer pennies. This same rod, in its 390 cm sibling, has a CCS rating of 33 -- much stiffer than the Ito! Although the Kiyotaki 24 rates a 15 CCS it feels like a 33 CCS when casting! So bear in mind that the CCS is a estimation of the flex of the rod. To really know how the rod feels when casting you must cast it!

So there you have it, the rods I have used/reviewed in a tabular format. Maybe it's helpful. Maybe it's not. I at least hope that it is interesting. Guess what? More rod reviews to come! Peg out the fun meter!!














April 16, 2013

Tenkara Worldwide River Master rod -- review

I recently received a rod from Martin Levy at Tenkara Worldwide. They offer a couple of different rods but the one I received was the River Master. This is a 13 foot rod and is rated as a 6:4 rod. I recently took it on my trip to Arkansas and also have used it on the freestone streams of Idaho.

Tenkara Worldwide is a UK company that currently offers two tenkara rods and a pesca alla Valsesiano rod. Their rods have been specifically engineered to be light and yet strong. They have been fully tested and withstood fish up to 6 pounds. Their Stream Master rod is 11 feet long while the River Master is 13 feet.

Martin was introduced to tenkara about 4 years ago when he met a Japanese fellow on a fishing trip. He loved tenkara's simplicity, and 3 years ago embarked on a project to design, and have manufactured, his own line of rods. Currently Tenkara Worldwide offers their rods in the UK, France, Italy, and Scandinavia. They are in talks with a US distributor so these rods will soon be available to tenkara fishers in the USA.

Martin and Tenkara Worldwide are actively involved in helping underprivileged children go fishing and experience the fun of tenkara.  He describes this in his own words: "One of my passions is teaching kids to fly fish and Tenkara is the idea tool for the job.  We promote a youth program where 5 or 6 times per year we take a group of children for a day out on the riverbank and provide then with tuition, the equipment and fishing permits to experience Tenkara. This is funded by us and supported by some of Europe's top fishing beats who donate their waters for the day.  Working closely with institutions and schools we offer kids with disabilities, underprivileged or inner city kids who simply wouldn't get the opportunity to try it first hand. Anyone under the age of 16 can participate and we believe contributes to encouraging kids to take up fly fishing (all disciplines) full time."  I think this is a wonderful cause and deserves support.




The Rod:
The rod came from the UK in a protective cardboard tube. It cleared US Customs without any problems. Inside the cardboard tube, the rod was protected in a fiberglass rod tube. This rod tube looks very similar to those provided by Tenkara USA with their rods. Also included is a nice, moderately heavy material rod sock or sleeve. It has tie closures and a flap at one end. Tenkara Worldwide's name and mission statement is printed on both the rod tube and sock.


Rod, sock and tube



The rod appears to be well made and attractive. It is glossy black with green and gold accents at the tips of every section (except the for the final two sections which are just glossy black). The glossy black finish with the green accents is reminiscent of the first generation Tenkara USU Ayu. This motif is straight forward and classical, but not too different to be out of step with other tenkara rods on the market.

Rod designation




The handle is AAA cork with appropriate filler. The overall shape is similar to a large version of a reverse-half wells. It is very comfortable to hold and offers different areas for different palm sizes. The winding check is gunmetal-blue metal and fits tightly against the handle


.



The lilian is classical red and is attached directly to the tip section without a micro-swivel. The lilian attachment point is so thick that the first section (the tip section of the rod) can't be withdrawn through second section. This may make it harder to dry the first two sections. There is no terminal knot in the lilian, which I like. The end of my lilian was a little frayed but this was easily remedied with just a quick touch of a lit match.







The tip plug is different than other tenkara rods. It is metal with the standard black nylon insert, but what is unique is its flared shape. I have one other tenkara rod with a metal tip cap (Nissin Zerosum 360) but the River Master tip looks totally different. It is gunmetal-blue; not matted but not overly glossy either. Set in the crown of the plug is a marbled stone or faux-stone. This overall design makes the plug look like a piece of costume jewelry and makes this plug unique among tenkara rods. Personally I prefer either an all nylon plug, or one that is wooden, since I could then drill a hole through it and secure it with a loop of Dacron or lilian -- but that's just me. The plug fits snugly and shouldn't fall out, but with its current design there is not way of securing the plug. I suppose this doesn't matter though, since on the stream I use a Fuji KTC-16 cap to protect the tip anyway.


Tip plug

Marbled "stone" in end of tip plug
Rubber disc (with hole) that can be adjusted to tighten or loosen the fit of the tip plug
Universal rod cap I use on the water (not included with rod)




The butt cap is also gun-blue metal. It's rounded and as an effective knurling around the rim aiding in removal of the cap. But this cap is unique as well. Unlike any other tenkara butt cap that I own, this one has a small post with a mini-split ring attached. I'm not quite sure what this feature is for. Again, personally I'd remove this and leave just the butt cap with a small centrally positioned drainage hole. There is a rubber bumper on the inside of the butt cap which aids in reducing the rattle of the collapsed segments. The bumper only works for the smaller segments; the larger ones still rattle since the bumper doesn't cover all the metal of the butt cap

Butt cap
Rubber bumper -- doesn't cover all the cap.

Metal post with split ring
Tip plug and butt cap are "blued" making then not as shiny as silver or chrome
.



My rod is 12 feet, 9 inches (389 cm) long when fully extended and 20.5 inches (52 cm) fully collapsed.  It weighs 89.2 gm (3.2 oz) without the tip cap. The rod is made of high carbon composite 30T and 36T fiber.






I understand that all of the above is pretty much mumbo-jumbo and what you really want to know is how does the rod cast and fish. Well, I can sum this up in one word: fantastically! I really like the action of the River Master. It has a smooth, mid-flex action that is a pleasure to use. I used three different types of line with it: #4 level fluorocarbon, furled Spectra, and PVC 0.024 running line. Each were between 13 and 15 feet long and had a 24 inch tippet. They all cast effortlessly. The rod dampens well and does not have annoying tip oscillation or overshoot. There is no inappropriate tip heaviness either, but rather an excellent in-hand balance. The rod is light enough to make casting easy and non-fatiguing over many hours of use. Cast targeting was precise with all of these lines.

I have caught fish ranging from little 4 inch bluegill to 16 inch cutthroats with the River Master. The rod is absolutely delightful to fish. It handled the larger fish in fast current without any issues. I had plenty of power to direct the fish anywhere I needed it to go. Yet despite this, the rod has enough flex to make smaller fish fun to catch. I used it again the other day and caught 10 wild cutthroats out of one pool -- I only have pictures of a few browns I caught though.





Conclusion: I like this rod. This rod is a pleasure to cast and fish. It is lightweight enough to be non-fatiguing, and it has an easy action that I enjoy. I haven't caught anything that is large enough to tax this rod, but if the rod holds up over time then I'd say Martin has a winner. It's action is reminiscent of the AllFishingBuy Hirame-ML-3909, but I like the River Master's handle much better than the Hirame. I don't like comparing rods to each other as part of a review, but if I had to compare this rod to any other, I'd say this is similar to the original T-USA Ayu in handle shape, looks and length, but with a really nice 6:4 action and much lighter weight (89 gm versus 102 gm).

The unique tip plug and butt cap design, and lack of complete coverage of the butt cap's internal rubber bumper do not make me dislike the rod. I do wish the tip section could be withdrawn through the second section since I worry about moisture damaging the tip section's finish. These, however, are small complaints that do not, nor should not, detract from this really fine tenkara rod.

You can purchase one of these fine rods through eBay or FishingMegaStore.com.