November 29, 2013

Coming up.....New Rods from Tenkara USA

Upcoming reviews.......





For the last month I have been fishing the new rod offerings from Tenkara USA. Coming soon will be my comprehensive review of the rods both on and off the water. As usual I'll review their design, materials, aesthetics and function. I'll compare their actions to other rods using the Rod Flex Index chart and I'll have some video of them in action.

I can't say much yet, but what I can say is I think these rods just might be a GAME CHANGER for some of you! These could very well be the rods you've been waiting for!!



November 24, 2013

The Challenges of Skinny Water

As we all know, different water conditions pose different challenges to the fly fisher. Spring has is blown out run off, summer its warm water temps, and winter its cold water, slow fish metabolism. But one of the most challenging situations I find is the very low, clear water of autumn.

Sure, summer water levels can be pretty low in places, but most stream flows reach their nadir in autumn. The rains of winter haven't yet started and the thunder storms from the summer monsoon have ended. It is autumn when the water gets really low and gin clear -- it's what I call "skinny water".

Skinny water -- low (we're talking inches) and very clear

Nice fish can be taken, if you follow some simple rules.


Skinny water was always a problem for me when I used western fly fishing techniques. Because the water is so low and clear, the fish are beyond skittish. Any disturbance of the water by the line, any false move or cast, any bright colors send the fish scurrying for cover. While fish generally look for lies with oxygenation, food and protection, so called prime lies have all three, they will hold in amazingly shallow water as long as they feel safe. Some of this water is just deep enough to cover their backs!

Now that I fish tenkara, I have found that I no longer dread skinny water. Tenkara is perfect for the challenges that skinny water throws at you. But this said, there are a some changes in technique and tackle that I have found help me to be more successful. Here I'll list a few:

#1 Rod.  When I target skinny water I try to use a rod that has a slower, more mid-flex action. A rod with a Rod Flex Index of 3.1-4.5 works best for me. This puts the rod in the 5:5 flex range. Slow action rods allow me to do two important things. First, they slow down my casting stroke. A slow stroke is less flashy or disturbing than a fast or abrupt stroke. Second, rods in this action range allow me to use a very light weight line. When I fish skinny water I try to use a #2.5 - 3 level line. I'll talk more about that in a minute.

Also, as far as rods go, in skinny water situations I prefer a rod that has a flat or dull matte finish over a rod with a glossy finish. I'm not sure if its been proven, but it seems more intuitive that glossy rods reflect more light than dull rods. However, when it comes to rods it may not be the type of finish that scares the fish -- it may just be the rod itself! One problem with tenkara is that to keep the line off the water the rod generally has to be held high. With western gear the rod can be dropped to the level after the cast is made, thus getting the rod out of the trout's visual window. Also, the western rod can be cast side-arm very easily, but of course with both of these the line is then laying on the water. With tenkara neither of these can be done effectively and keep the line off the water at the same time. Therefore, the rod itself is always in the trout's visual window. Minimal movement of the rod is best -- limit false casting and other movements to the bare minimum.

Glossy vs Flat finish -- be careful with the glossy!



#2 Line.  As mentioned above, I try to use a light weight level line. This allows me to keep the line off the water more effectively as well as minimizing line splash. "Lining" the fish is a "no no" in skinny water. It is one sure way to scare the fish -- every time!

I also try to use as long of line as reasonably possible for the water being fished. This allows me to stand further away from the fish and minimize the effects of the rod in the fish's visual window.

Use a long, light level line and stay well back!

Your reward, a wild native cutthroat.





#3 Fly.  For skinny water I prefer thin bodied flies. These are tied on a light wire hook and thus are less heavy than my usual fly offerings. These light weight flies splash much less and tend to spook the trout less. Also, I fish with a fly one size smaller than I usually use in normal water conditions. Since I almost always fish a #10 kebari I'll go with a #12 when fishing skinny water.

Although not traditional tenkara, I love beadhead flies. These, however, don't work for low water situations since they sink so fast and hook the bottom readily. But I do tie some of my favorite beadhead patterns with glass beads, instead of metal, specifically for low water situations. They give me the attraction of a beadhead but not the weight.

A thin bodied wool kebari on a #12 light wire hook.



#4 Tippet.  For skinny water I use lighter tippet than in normal water. Since I generally use 5X, for low water I use 6X. I still use fluorocarbon, as I haven't seen any improvement with nylon. Nylon has the potential advantage of floating and keeping the fly from sinking too fast, but I haven't personally seen any difference between it and fluorocarbon in skinny water.

#5 Camo and Body Position.  Keeping with the theme of trying not to spook fish I wear dull colors or camo. I look like a redneck but I am convinced that I scare fewer fish. The camo probably doesn't matter, but dull, natural colors are good. Also, stay as low as you can. Wearing knee pads helps; if you wear them you are more likely to assume a lower body position than if you don't. If something is going to be in the trout's visual window let it only be the rod, not your body!

Stay low and wear dull colors.

Hook up success!

A nice brown taken in mere inches of water. 


#6 Don't Wade through Water you Haven't Already Fished.   I can't tell you how many times I've taken trout in shallow water that normally I would have just waded through. Sure, trout love a nice safe deep water lie, but if there isn't one they will hold just in front of a rock if there is enough water. When I approach skinny water I look, at least for 30 seconds, before casting. Then I cast and work the water before I get in. It is amazing how many fish are taken from just doing this little ritual. BTW, when you wade, go S--L--O--W. Move about 4 inches per second, no faster. Slower movements spook fewer fish.





So, in my opinion, tenkara is perfectly suited for skinny water. Stay low and go slow. Cast a non-flashy rod that has a slow, full flex action. Use a very light level line and cast smaller, lighter flies. Keep the line off the water. Wear dull, natural colors -- I prefer camo but you may not.

Most importantly -- don't let skinny water deter you, just follow the rules. You are a tenkara fisher; you can handle skinny water with ease!!







November 19, 2013

More Knee Protection

In the past I have written about the importance of keeping a low profile. It is not required in all tenkara situations, but sometimes it makes all the difference. One such scenario is when the water in low and clear and when there is not a lot of streamside vegetation for you to blend in with. But getting on your knees can hurt, besides damaging your waders.

Low and clear.




Over the years I have used a few different types on knee protection. Some worked pretty well and others not so much. When I started I used knee pads from a local home improvement store. These worked OK for a while but they kept sliding down when I'd walk. Also they didn't work so well when I would "walk" on my knees.



Then I got a pair of Black Hawk combat knee pads (no longer available, as of February 2021). These worked better, but still they would migrate over the course of a few hours. Next I tried neoprene wader gaiters from Little Presents. I like these a lot. This is the wader gaiter worn by Dr. Ishigaki. They protect my waders really well, but they have very little knee padding. So even though they are better than no knee protect at all, they are not all that comfortable when kneeling on rocks.

Black Hawk combat knee pads




Dr. Ishigaki from LearnTenkara.com




Recently I got a pair of Rothco knee/shin guards. They strap on easily and because they have a shin component they don't seem to fall down like ordinary knee pads do. The knee pad portion is thick and works well protecting your knees from stream bed rocks. They cover most of your lower leg, but they don't cover quite as well as the Little Present wader gaiters do. However, one thing that is better about them is that they are readily available, while the Little Presents are not always (Chris Stewart usually has the Little Presents Wader-Gaiter at Tenkara Bum).








So I have been using these over the past few months while I've been crawling and "kneeing" my way around my small streams. I won't need to use them much more this season, as the snow is starting to fly and the small streams are closing up. But I'll be using them more next season for sure. They sure save my knees!!










November 15, 2013

Clip On Line Control

There are a lot of ways to control your line when you are moving from one fishing location to another. I have tried line spools, EZ-Keepers, and just coiling the line in my hand. Each of these has pros and cons.

Line spool. From Tenkara Bum


EZ-Keepers. From Tenkara Bum




I just received another potential line control devices in the mail. They are advertised as "Line Winder for 3.6meter (11.8ft) Tenkara rod"; I bought them on Ebay. There inexpensive at $5.50 a pair, but plus $5.50 shipping the total price was $11.00. I ordered them on November 3rd and received them November 14th. They shipped from Singapore.

These 15 cm long plastic clips have a red and/or green foam insert and are designed to clip onto your tenkara rod. The line is then wound around the holder and the fly either secured in the foam or one of the side holes. This sounds pretty promising, but let's see how it really works.







The line holders came in a little sealed plastic package along with a complimentary key chain advertising the Republic/City of Singapore. There was a peace of paper with the key chain letting you know what you can't do in Singapore. The fines are included. Why these were sent with the line holders, I have no idea.

The packaging

Sounds like a fun place, but I like chewing gum!




I used one of these line holders on the stream today. It did clip onto the rod I was using, but it didn't grip the rod at all. Because of this, it slid easily up and down the handle section of the rod. This doesn't seem that big of a problem, but it means that the holder won't stay in place. After you get your line wrapped around it, the whole contraption can slide right off your rod, if you're not careful.

The line wraps on easily and didn't come off while I traversed through the woods. My line holders are advertised for 360 cm rod lines, but I'm sure they would handle longer lines, particularly if the lines were level lines. I did not try these holder with a furled line. My fly fit into one of the side holes.

On the rod.


When I got home I tried the line holder on all of my 360 cm fixed-line rods. Once again, it would slide freely on all of them (Zerosum 360, Pro Spec 2-way, Try 360, Next 360, etc) except two. These two were the Suntech Seikui (really a 390 cm rod) and the Daiwa LT36SF.  These two rods have larger diameter handle sections than the other rods and therefore the line holder gripped them tightly, not moving. My Iwana 12' is at the cabin, so I couldn't try the line holder with it.

I then tried the line holder with my 390 cm rods. It did fit most of these better, but still a few were too small in diameter to allow the line holder to grip.

Conclusion: I'm ambivalent about these line holders. I was hoping that they'd work, but that fact they they slide mades them inconvenient. If you're not careful they will slide right off the rod, taking your tip section with it. They are streamlined and should work well even using the rod sleeve, however. But, I don't think they are any better than just using the small Meiho line spool slid over the handle section and secured.

I guess if they could be modified to grip your rod snugly they might be a good option for line control. I'll try putting some foam tape on the inside of the clip and see if that will make them grip the rod better. Maybe that will work; I'll see and let you know.

FYI: Jason Klass also blogs about this same devise at Tenkara Talk.











November 14, 2013

Tenkara in November.

The snows are getting ready to come. At least I hope they will be coming. The landscape is brown. The air is cold in the morning and nice by mid-day. It is November. I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods, but November fishing for me is hard.

It seems to me that trout are not that active in November. The browns are done spawning. The rainbows and cutthroats are restless and hard to find. The brook trout -- who cares, they're brook trout. It seems that they are all uneasy about the seasonal transition. Waters levels are low, but at least the water temperatures are cold and safe. I have looked back at my fishing log covering the past many years at my fish counts for November are consistently the lowest of every month. They are even lower than the spring months when it's crazy to fish for all the high water!!

I hit a local stream the other day. The beaver have been busy. I went to a reach of the stream that I fished just this past June and yet when I got there it was all under water! That blasted little beaver had dammed it! In retrospect I suppose I shouldn't be too upset. The beaver do keep things interesting around here, and in a few year years, when we do actually get a high water year, many of the dams will be washed away and the streams will be restored. I must have patience.

I fished the beaver pond and picked up a nice brown. Upstream I took a few small cutthroats, but the water is low and it was hard to find fish. It had to be the fish, right? It surely couldn't have been me!?







Still, it was a better day than being at work. I'm really not complaining, just prosing.

Here's a video of the outing. Two rods, one fly, some fish.






As a point of announcement, in the new few weeks I'll be featuring reviews on more gear, flies and stuff. I'll also be posting a review of a couple new rods that I find exciting and maybe potential "game changers" for some of you. So stay tuned. Good things are coming.















November 10, 2013

Zimmerbuilt Tailwater Pack -- review

I own a few items from Zimmerbuilt such as the Guide Sling, DeadDrift Pack, Chest Pack, etc.  They are all well built and very versatile. Unfortunately, these packs are not large enough to carry all the stuff I need when I day hike into a stream or creek. Sure, I know, with tenkara you don't have to carry that much, just a rod, line and fly, supposedly. But in reality you do have to carry at least a little more than that.

Bear in mind, I am talking about day hike fishing. Not "start at the stream and hike up it while you fish" hiking, but rather, "get out of your car, take a compass bearing, start hiking into the woods and in 1-2 hours reach the desired stream" hiking. That's what I am talking about here.






For this type of hiking I don't wear my waders (however, I do hike in my wading boots). Therefore I have to have enough room to carry them. If the weather is cooperative, I don't wear a jacket. But I'm just enough of a boy scout that I know I need one along. Also, I'm not stupid enough not to have some basic survival gear with me (bushcraft knife [Mora Companion], three different types of fire starting items, basic first aid, water filter straw and water purification tablets, toilet paper, signal mirror, small backup knife, insta-shelter [Mylar emergency blanket], head lamp, and micro paracord). Most of these are in a small, compact waterproof compression sack. I also need some food. This is lunch for the day and some small, compact, high calorie food in case I have to spend the night by getting injured (of course, I could eat fish, but what if your not near the stream?). And finally, my tenkara stuff (two rods, a couple lines, flies, tippet and streamside tools). Add to this other basics for my neck of the woods, such as a quality field compass (Silva Ranger CL), maps, hydration bladder, bear spray and bells, mosquito repelling stuff (time of year dependent).

My minimum essentials





As you can see, it's more than just a rod, line and fly. To carry all of this I need a pack that is just big enough, but not too big. One that will carry my tenkara rods properly. One that I can attach tenkara Strap Packs to and customize it for my specific needs. And one that is lightweight enough since I can't carry weight on my spine due to my back surgery.

This is where theZimmerbuilt Tailwater Pack comes in. It is large enough to carry all of this stuff, but just so. There is no wasted space. I can carry my full waders, if I feel the need, but usually I carry hip waders. I bought my Tailwater used and it came with the optional hip belt. This means I can carry its loaded weigh on my hips, not my back. Mine has two optional hip belt pockets for ready access items, such as the map and compass. Also, mine as two extra daisy chains on the sides to attach another Strap Pack, if needed.  BTW, there is a compression shock cord on the back that makes it easy to strap down an extra jacket or your tamo.

Tailwater Pack with optional hip belt, hip belt pockets, Strap Pack and cell phone carrier.

Extra daisy chain on the side for an extra Strap Pack.





I've taken this pack through some heavy brush and trees, down into steep canyons, up over a mountain or two, and through chokingly thick willow bogs. It is streamlined enough to not snag or tear. It rides really nicely and is easy to adjust for comfort. I have used it now for many trips this past year and feel that it is about the best pack system for tenkara day hiking that I have tried. Sure, it just a simple design top open bag with shoulder straps and a hip belt, but it does its designed job really, really well.

Tailwater Pack loaded. (the gold disc is a mosquito repellant coil)


Conclusion: I really like this pack. It is simple, yet versatile. It is customizable. It has excellent materials and is robustly built. It carries everything I need for a cross country day hike, but you have to pack carefully -- there is no extra room. All in all, it's a great pack for tenkara adventures!






November 5, 2013

More Small Stream Tenkara, October 2013

I had some left over video from my recent small stream tenkara adventures. So, last evening I edited and thew it together so that I could share it. The video is comprised of me fishing two different streams; they are about 10 miles apart. I fished the smaller of the two earlier in the morning. It was still pretty cold as I wandered among the river birches in the shade of the canyon walls. The second stream is still small, but larger in flow than the first. By the time I reached the second stream the sun was out and it had warmed up enough to shed my jacket.

The video is POV; again, because of the difficulty shooting third person among tight branches. There a little narration and music.






November 2, 2013

Some Nice Follow up -- Tenkara Rod Co. Sawtooth 360 cm 6:4 rod

I recently did a rod review on the Tenkara Rod Co. Sawtooth. I found it to be a solid offering for the entry market, but it had a few issues. One of these was that the butt cap didn't have the traditional rubber bumper. This bumper is mainly provided to decrease the rattling of the rod's sections when they are collapsed. My butt cap didn't have this bumper. Come to find out, none of the first release Sawtooth rods had bumpers.

My original butt cap

In the case of the Sawtooth, the lack of a bumper caused another issue: the first section (tip section) could slide out the butt cap's drain hole since this hole was in the center of the butt cap. This could, in turn, cause part of the first section to break off.

The problem


Well, after my review was published, I received an email from Drew Hollenback of the Tenkara Rod Co. He said that he would correct this problem quickly. A few weeks went by and I began hearing from new Sawtooth owners that Tenkara Rod Co had corrected the butt cap.

Then the other day I received a small package in the mail. I opened it only to find a note from Drew and a replacement butt cap -- complete with rubber bumper!


The new butt cap 




All I can say is that the Tenkara Rod Co. has proven to be responsive to their customers and willing to listen to criticism. More importantly, they are willing to make changes. That is a sign of a good company. I openly applaud them for this. Way to go Tenkara Rod Co.!!