The Joy and Frustration of Small Streams; March 2014

I've written about my love for small streams before, but I need to refine my statement in that they are more of a "love-hate" relationship than a pure love one. Here is my tell of frustration and wo.

We all have are small streams. But I'm guessing that my small streams are different than yours or the next guys/gals. I suspect this is so, just as Idaho is different than Colorado, Iowa, Arkansas, North Carolina or New York, let alone Spain, France, the UK, or Germany! But what I'm really beginning the appreciate is that even in Idaho every small different.

Let me give you an example. Most of the small streams I have fished are true mountain streams. They are higher gradient and vary from 2-3 feet across to about 10-12 feet. Mostly all of them have a fair amount of riparian vegetation which makes casting, directing the float of the fly and fighting the fish challenging. I'm sure that this is like your streams too. But lately I've been fishing a creek that runs right through the middle of my small town. It is surrounded completely, its entire length, by private land and so before this spring I've never fished it. But recently I've gained access to it by one of the land owners and boy, am I being schooled! This stream or creek is killing me!

Sorry about the hat.

When I first fished it I wasn't sure what to expect. Did it have fish in it? If so, what size and type were they? Would they cooperate and be "fly friendly", or would I get skunked. What fly would they prefer? And on and on....  But what I learned on that first trip was Yes, 6-12 inches, Trout, Yes, and beadheads.

Trying to be optimistic, I took my camera along. I've shown you a little portion of the creek already in one of my previous posts. Well, I've been back twice now and those fish, and that creek has kicked my butt. I thought that I had been frustrated before on some small water, but this creek has really taken the cake, so to speak.

The main thing I've learned is that for me on this creek, a short line (like 7 feet) and a stiffer rod works best. What I mean is that there are a lot of snags both above and below the water line. Also, these fish only, and I mean only, hold under the overlying snags. Casting has to be very precise. You have to have a tight loop and good line speed. If not, you're not going to hit the target, you'll spoil the approach and lose your fly. Then, even if you do hit the target your fly only drifts a foot or two before you have to pick it up again or risk a snag.

Underwater branches cover the fish holding lie

For this stream I need a rod that has enough "immediate onset" backbone to be able to pull fish away from snags since as soon as they are hooked they dart in among them. What I mean by "immediate onset" is a rod that not only has some power to handle the fish, but has a stiffer lower section so that when I pull the fish comes with me, not the rod bending to the fish. I've used the Nissin Pro Spec 2-way 7:3 successfully on this water before, but it is just a little soft for this type of work. I used the Daiwa Soyokaze 31SR and it does have the power, but it doesn't load well with a 7 foot #3 line. The Suntech Suikei 39 and the Gamakatsu MultiFlex Suimu both seem to work the best; at least on this water. They load quickly at their 3.0-3.2 meter lengths and have plenty of backbone to steer the fish out of the snags.

 A particular problem I'm having is setting the hook. In many spots I can't cast normally, so I have to bow and arrow cast. That's perfect in tight places but when the fish takes the fly I can't set the hook, due to all the branches. If I raise the rod rapidly I hit branches. This makes me concerned about damaging the rod. Therefore, for many of these fish, I just slowly raise the rod and tighten the line. This hooks the fish but does not set the hook. With barbless hooks the fish is off after just a few jumps. I catch and release always, but I do find some pleasure in bringing the fish to hand.

I know that my situation is not unique, and that many of you face the same challenges on some of the small streams that you fish. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm just thinking out loud and talking out my frustrations. I'll be back on this water soon. I'll try something different until I find out what works -- you can bet on it!

Here is a video of two different days on the same water. As you will see, I hook but long line release quite a few fish -- a couple are pretty nice size for this water.

Shimano Folding Damo Keiryu 25 net

Over a year ago I purchased a lightly used folding net for tenkara. It is a Shimano Folding Damo Keiryu 25 and it has been a great little net. It serves a purpose for me that it really excels at -- getting through tight brush and snags without getting hung up.

I have another folding net, a Handy-Pak Insta-Net, but I wanted a small net for smaller fish. I still wanted it to be a folding net though.

This 25 cm diameter Shimano net comes in a formed Cordura case. Since the case is formed, it is easy to net the net into and back out of when it is needed. The case closes with hook and loop closure strips. Getting the net out is as easy as grabbing the handle and pulling up. The net immediately unfolds and is ready to go.

The case is well ventilated with large holes on the ends. There is a belt loop provided making it easy to attach to your wading or trouser's belt.

Net in case

Case shape and end ventilation holes

Belt loop

Belt loop

Net inside case. Hook and loop strips seen on lid.

The net has a 16 cm handle that is plastic and coated with a very effective non-slip rubber coating. The handle attaches to the rim firmly and there is no wiggle or play, even after a years worth of use. The rim of the net is stainless steel covered with a woven nylon braid. The stainless steel rim attaches to the handle with a Phillip's screw and the nylon braid is held in place with clear soft plastic friction tubing. All of this works very well and appears quite robust.

Handle

Stainless steel rim attachment with friction plastic

Nylon weave over stainless steel rim straps

There is no lanyard attachment point, but I created my own by drilling a small hole in the tip of the handle. I attached a lanyard at this point. I know, the lanyard sort of defeats the effect of keeping the net snag free, but I've lost too many nets to go without a lanyard. Besides, the lanyard is easily tucked into the case while walking through brush and hasn't seem to be a problem getting snagged.

My net with lanyard attachment (it does not come this way; I modified mine)

The netting is a soft woven mesh that folds easily and dries quickly. Personally, I prefer a stiffer net material, like nylon mesh offered by Tenkara USA as it's easier for me to extract the fish from the net, but this netting material is still quite good. Sometimes the fish's head is hard to extract from the netting making the fish squirm a little more, however.

Folding the net is very easy. Using one hand you hold the net by the handle while the other hand hold the net rim at its apex. Rotate the handle hand clockwise while rotating the rim hand counterclockwise. This causes the net rim to form a figure 8. Push your two hands together and the figure 8 collapses into three small loops that lay one on top of the other. Bunch up the netting material and stick it net back into the case. It's that easy and takes about one second. Here is a short video showing how to fold the net:






Conclusion: I like this small net. I works great for bushwhacking to those small headwater streams. It appears durable and very well constructed. I keep mine in my car so I always have a net with me.

If you'd like one, you can get one from Chris Stewart at Tenkara Bum.

My tippet

I've had a few folks ask me what tippet I use. In my mind it doesn't really matter, since the majority of tippets materials produced now days are generally high quality and share very little difference. Sure, there are a couple notable duds on the market but they are few; most tippet produced today will work just fine.

Fluorocarbon versus Monofiliament 

I use fluorocarbon in 90% of my fishing. Why? I'm not sure. I don't fish a lot of spring creeks with ubber skittish fish, rather I fish mountain streams with opportunistic fish. I am aware that fluorocarbon may have some advantages in that it is heavier, or denser that mono (fluoro is 1.75 to 1.90 where as mono runs 1.05 to 1.10; with water being 1.0). It has a refractive index of 1.42 more closely matching water's 1.33, whereas mono is closer to 1.62. Does this make fluorocarbon harder to see underwater? I don't know what trout see so I'm not sure.

I'm also aware that fluorocarbon has increase abrasion resistance over mono and that it is also more UV stable than mono. Fluorocarbon also doesn't absorb water like mono, and it has reportedly better knot breaking strength. But is this why I use fluoro?

So why do I use fluorocarbon instead of monofilament nylon? Now that I think about it, I don't rightly know! I haven't done a head to head comparison between the two types of tippet fishing the waters that I fish to compare catch rates. So, I have no data, sorry. No data, no facts.


My Tippet

I use Rio Fluoroflex Plus. I carry one spool: 5X. Also, I prefer the guide spool instead of the regular spool since it is much less likely to run out on the stream, thus making me go back to the car to get more. The guide spool has 110 yards while a standard spool has 30 yards. The spool is the same size so the guide spool takes up the same space in my chest pack as a regular spool.

My guide spool. It has lasted over 2 years (years, not seasons. I fish year round) and still going strong.

Standard spool. Note the different look and yardage between the two.

Why Rio?

Why do I use Rio? Call me silly, but I use it because it is an Idaho company and I've met Jim and Kitty Vincent. They don't own the company anymore but they are a nice folks, so I use their products. Trouthunter is also an Idaho company, so why don't I use their products? Because they are fly fishing snobs. Every interaction I've had with one of their employees has been rude or indifferent, unless you are going to hire a guide or buy a $600 rod from them. I'm sure their tippet is a good product, but I won't support snobs. You may have had a different experience, but that's been mine.


So I use Rio. It works for me. No gimmicks, just function. After all, that's all I can ask of any of my gear.

Ah, spring.

This is the down time of year for me. The water is still cold and run off hasn't started yet. I usually visit the Henry's Fork for the BWO hatches but the river temps are still below 40 degrees and BWO need warmer water temps to hatch. Yes, there are midges hatching but the fish are too cold to really get excited when the water is 36-38 degrees F.

Still, I've been out over the past few weeks. I visited two small mountain streams recently and did catch some smaller mountain trout.

I also fished, for the first time, the little stream (or creek) that flows right through the middle of my town. This creek is completely surrounded by private land its whole way, but I talked to a rancher at church the other week and he gave me permission to trespass on his land and fish the creek.

My home town creek. Tough fishing due to the riparian vegetation.

I didn't know what to expect. I've heard stories from some of the kids in town that there are fish in the creek and they catch them, but I've never actually seen anyone with fish from the creek. The old timers talk up a good story about trout in the creek but that was in the 30's, 40's and 50's. So to me, the creek was a big unknown.

Here is a video of two of the creeks, one mountain and the other is the creek in my town. Nothing exciting but I did catch fish. I hooked a few on my home town creek, but I had problems getting them to net.

Shimano LLS36NX -- review

Perfection. What is perfection? Does it exist in a tenkara rod? I don't know. Perfection means different things to different people and therefore it must exist in a different form for everyone.

When it comes to tenkara I am still looking for the perfect tenkara rod.  I have some tenkara rods that I really, really like. I have some that I just like, too. But I don't yet have a rod that I just outright love -- one that embodies my expectation of perfection.

Most of the waters I prefer to fish take a 360 cm rod nicely. On these waters I'm going after 8-14 inch trout. I don't generally fish waters that have the big boys in them. I prefer the waters that are over looked, with fish that are wild, native and just plain fun.

I find myself reaching more and more for the Tenkara Times Try rods. They are light and have an action I enjoy. I also reach for my Nissin Zerosum and Pro-Spec rods frequently. In fact, these rods, the Try and Nissin rods get the most use from me. Oh sure, I have other rods that are pretty nice as well, but I really like these particular rods. They seem to be different than other tenkara rods; different in a way that I like.

Well, I think I have found another -- another rod that will likely rise to near the top of my "frequently reached for" list. This rod is the Shimano LLS36NX.

I have fished with many, many rods. A few were duds, but most were at least adequate.

Some of the rods I have fished with are C to C+ rods. They lack the better materials and design. They can fling a line but they are not refined in performance. They are often "me too" rods, offering nothing more to the pleasure of tenkara than what is obtained on a basic level. They are often inexpensive and serve as entry level rods.

Some of the rods I have used are B to B+ rods. They are solid in design, material, and performance. But, they the lack refinement needed to take them to the next level. Better, but not great.

A few of the rods I have used I would grade as A- to A rods. These are not only great in design, materials, balance, and performance, but they seem to have an extra "magic" about them. They set themselves apart only when you cast them. They have that "WOW" factor that has to be experienced -- it can not be fully described.

I have not yet found an A+ rod.

I think the Shimano LLS36NX falls in the A- to A category.




The LLS36NX comes in the typical Japanese plastic carton instead of a rod tube. That's OK by me since I don't use the rod tube. A rod sock is included.

The rod finish is glossy and the coloration is a subtle vegetation or olive green. There are metallic flecks in the finish paint. This gives the rod a very "finished" look without being to austere. For accents, there is a simple gold band near the tip of each of the lower segments.  These are simple but elegant. Collapsed, the LLS36NX is slightly shorter than the Nissin ZeroSum 360, and slightly longer than the Daiwa LT36SF. The LLS36NX is 98.8% carbon materials which are manufactured and designed in Japan, but the rod is assembled in Indonesia.

Rod Designation and finish

Gold accent bands

Troika of great Japanese 360 cm tenkara rods (left to right): ZeroSum, 360, LLS36NX, LT36SF

The handle has very good to excellent quality cork with little filler. The shape is camel or gourd shape but with more subtle curves than some other rods. It is 28.5 cm long. The winding check is gold metal and fits tightly against the cork handle. On the butt end of the handle, the female insert for the butt cap is gold metal and fits snugly against the cork. This finishes off the handle nicely.

The winding check

The butt end of the handle 

The lilian is dark brown and is without a knot. It attaches directly to the tip segment without a micro-swivel. The glue point profile is neat and tight allowing segment #1 to be fully withdrawn through segment #2. The tip plug is wood and is smoothly finished. The butt cap is green anodized metal. It has a rubber bumper, drainage hole, and O-ring. The O-ring aids is preventing the butt cap from spontaneously unscrewing. The butt cap has a smooth, curved profile. There is no knurling to aid in removal, but a coin slot is provided.

The lilian and attachment point

Tip plug

Butt cap

The rod fully extended is 363 cm. Fully collapsed, with tip plug, the rod is 50.5 cm. Without the tip cap the rod weighs 70.5 gm. I measure the rod at 21 pennies, which gives it a Rod Flex Index of 5.8. This puts the rod in the 6:4 action range. The COG is at 75 cm. Thus the Moment is 5.25, a very respectable number.

Rod Flex Index comparison chart

Casting the Shimano LLS36NX is crisp and easy. Since it is a 6:4 comparable rod, it requires a slightly shorter casting stroke than the Tenkara Times Try 360, which although classified as a 6:4 rod acts more like a 5:5 rod. The LLS36NX is just a hair slower than the TUSA Iwana 12', which has a Rod Flex Index of 6.4.

Even though this is a 6:4 comparable rod it answers to a #3.5 line very well. It will also handle a #3 line and a #4 line just as well, but in my hands a #3.5 level line seems to be the ticket. I have not used this rod with a furled line.

In-hand balance is excellent. There is little-to-no tip heaviness perceived, as one would expect from the rod's Moment calculation. Accuracy is very precise.  This rod has a tubular hollow tip section, while many other 360 rods have a solid tip section. The hollow or tubular tip make the tip slightly stiffer. This allows a higher line speed to be generated and thus more precise accuracy in casting.

I have been using this rod quite a bit lately. I have mostly been using it on higher gradient mountain streams with trout between 8-14 inches. It easily handles this size of fish in these current flows.

Conclusion: I really like this rod. This is a premium tenkara rod designed and made for a premium Japanese rod company. The fit and finish are excellent. The action is fast but not stiff. The balance is wonderful. It feels robust, yet is elegant, and should last many, many years. That said, this rod, like all the Japanese tenkara rods I have used, does not have a working warranty. You must be careful with all of them because even though replacement parts can be obtained, they can not be obtained very quickly, easily, or inexpensively. Also like other premium Japanese tenkara rods the price is higher than other available tenkara rods.

So, is this rod an A or a B? I'll let you be the judge.

Want one? You can get one from Chris Stewart at Tenkara Bum. He can also get replacement parts in the unlikely event that you needs some.

I already posted a video using this rod. If you want to see it again, it is here.