Wapsi Fly Tying Jig Hooks

I like to fish bead heads. Although not as widely known as other styles of kebari or kabari (fly), bead head style flies are considered traditional flies in some regions of Japan.  Many U.S. tenkara anglers get the idea that sakasa kebari (reversed hackle fly) are the only flies used in Japanese tenkara, but this is not true. Many styles of kebari are used from western style dries to traditional looking soft hackles to bead heads. It all depends on the needs of the angler.

But as I said, I like bead heads. I fish them all year round, but they seem to work especially well for me in winter. In my streams, trout hold tightly against the stream bottom in winter and will not move far to take a fly unless it appears to be worth their effort. It's the law of conservation of energy. If the trout feels that it will get more energy out of the morsel than it expends getting the morsel then it will more likely take it -- especially if you drift it right into its nose. Bead heads work great for this.

But because you are fishing right along the bottom you tend to lose a lot of flies. Also, secure hook ups can be more difficult because of the resistance of the water column on the fly. To over come both of these issues, I have gone to fishing jig style bead heads and using stiffer tenkara rods (Suntech Suikei TenkaraBum 36 or Shimano LLS36NX). These rods have the ability to cast bead heads well and yet they are stiff enough to set the hook positively. Their rod flex indexes are 5.1 and 5.8, respectively.

Jig style bead heads are commonly used by competition fly anglers from around the world. They provide more secure hook ups and tend to snag the stream bottom less. It is for these reasons that I have gone to jig flies.

You can buy jig hooks and use different sizes of slotted tungsten beads to make your own jig bead heads, but I have found an all in one hook that works very well for my needs. It is the Wapsi Fly Tying Jig Head hook.

These hooks are premium Mustad 32762 hooks with lead beads already attached. They come in various weights and three styles: gold, nickel and plain. The gold and nickel are electroplated, while the plain is just that, plain. I prefer the 1/124 and 1/80 oz. sizes. They are high quality hooks and provide very solid hook ups. Unlike other styles of jigs, these hooks have a horizontal presentation. That is, the hooks ride horizontally though the water column rather than vertically, which is more common with other style of jigs, including tungsten jig heads. This presentation is better when trout fishing than when, say, crappie fishing.

The three different types of Wapsi Fly Tying Jig Heads (nickel, plain and gold)

The difference between the 1/124 and the 1/80 oz. is that the 1/124 oz. is flat on both sides. 

Here's a better view of the difference between the two.

Another advantage is that they are less expensive than buying jig fly hooks and tungsten beads. With these you get both the hook and the bead together.

Are there any down sides? Yes. First, these are lead. So if you are fishing in certain lead-free waters, like Yellowstone National Park, you can't use these. Second, because the bead is fixed in place, you have less ability to vary the weight of your flies by choosing a different bead weight to go with any given hook size. Third, lead is not as dense as tungsten. The density of pure tungsten (19.25 gr/cm³) is significantly above both brass (around 9 gr/cm³, depending on alloy) and lead (11.34 gr/cm³). This may be an issue for some, but casting a tungsten bead is difficult with a tenkara rod; lead is easier and still productive. I like the intermediate density of lead, personally.

Tying materials on these hooks is the same as tying a regular bead head, but you just have to adjust some of the materials since the fly will ride hook up. It takes a little practice but the learning curve is not steep at all.

So if you like bead heads, like I do, you may want to give these hooks a try. More secure hook ups and fewer lost flies!

And we're off...Winter Begins!

I love the challenge of winter tenkara. Snow, cold, limited stream access requiring some imagination, ice lined banks and best of all, silence. I love the silence of the woods in winter. I don't ski or snow machine. I do snowshoe, but my winter sport is fishing.

The last few days has seen some beginning of snow. Not a lot, as I live in the high sagebrush desert, but just enough to begin to close down some of the national forest access roads. Today it was 32°F for a high, with a gusty breeze and scattered snow flurries.

Wanting to get out of the house, today I drove to one of my most challenging streams. I never fish it during summer, as the vegetation is too restricting. But winter allows some great casting practice. Sure, there are branches everywhere, and lots of frustration, but it's worth it.  It challenges me and my equipment. Most of all, it gets me outside.

I used the Nissin Yuyuzan 2-Way 290ZX. This has become my go to short game rod. It's not a rod that I immediately fell in love with, rather, it's an acquired taste. It's stiff through the butt and midsection and flexible in the tip section. This makes casting just a flick of the wrist, something that is good when you have no room for a more traditional cast. It allows you to set the hook with very little wrist movement and the stiff midsection fights trout without you having to make large movements with your arm. It performs the sling shot cast with great energy, placing the fly with unparalleled accuracy. But what I like most of all is that it is a 240 cm to 290 cm zoom rod. On a stream like I fished today, 270 cm is too long most of the time, and you can just get by with a 240 cm rod. But every once in a while there is an opening and the 290 cm is a blessing. Still, it's a rod you have to get used to; it's not made to flip light weight flies.

This stream also allows me to stalk my prey. With so little room, you have to set up your shot, or cast, like playing billiards. My line is short, only 6 feet plus 2 feet of tippet, so I'm right on top of the trout. One cast, that's all you get. If you miss the hook set then your fly is immediately in the branches. It's great fun, in a masochistic sort of way.

Today I hooked a dozen rainbows. Many got off, because I couldn't set the hook well due to low lying branches. A couple of the trout were 12 inches, big for this small stream. One was even larger, probably about 14 inches. I almost had him to the net when he spit the hook. I probably scared some woodland creatures when I yelled ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHH! Here's a few of the trout I bothered to photograph.

The water was 42°F with the edge of the stream holding icicles. I fished from 1150 to 1345. It was a beautiful day. I'm going to try to get back to this stream one more time before the snow blocks me out. If I can't, then I'll be back in spring.

Norre Tail Scale -- Kickstarter project

Here is a cool Kickstarter project. It is a new way to measure your fish without a ruler. Called the Norre Tail Scale, it would help keep the fish in the water and yet let you document the size of the fish.

Prototype

This lightweight tool seems to be a ground breaking device. I decided to support it.  I don't target large fish, but I can sure see the potential for this neat tool!

So, if you are looking for quick and safe way to measure the size of your fish, consider supporting the Norre Tail Scale.  They're coming down to the wire.

Suntech Suikei TenkaraBum 36 -- review, part II

I took the TenkaraBum 36 to my winter stream. It's a moderate to high gradient freestone stream that has browns, cutthroats and mountain whitefish. I used bead head flies, traditional and jig hooks. For the jig hooks I used both lead and tungsten beads.

The TenkaraBum 36 handled this water really well. It cast these flies without issue. As with anytime I use bead heads I cast the rod using an open loop, so to avoid the fly hitting the rod.

The fish I took ranged from 8 to 14 inches. Some of the fish were taken in long, deep runs and others in pockets surrounded by fast water. Again, the rod handled the fish fine. I misjudged the run of many fish and they ended up getting off, but the rod didn't fail me.

Here is a video of some of the fish:





Conclusion: I really like this rod. The Suikei TenkaraBum 36 is a well balanced, dynamic rod. It casts a light line flawlessly and fishes weighed and unweighted flies without issue.  It easily handles trout up to 14 inches in fast water, therefore I suspect it would handle trout up to 18 inches in slower water. If you fish a variety of flies and not just unweighted kebari, and want a Japanese rod designed to handle those flies, then the Suntech Suikei TenkaraBum 36 just might be the rod you're looking for.

Disclosure: I don't have any vested financial interest in Tenkara Bum. They did purchase an advertising spot on the Teton Tenkara blog site, but that purchase came with no preferred treatment or stipulations that I would favorably review their products. I purchased this rod for review and personal use. My opinion regarding this rod may be different from yours, as we all use rods differently and on different waters and fish species.

Suntech Suikei TenkaraBum 36 -- review, part I

As most of you are aware, Chris Stewart of TenkaraBum recently released a new rod to the international market. It is a collaboration between Chris and Suntech, a Japanese rod company known for fixed-line rods of high quality. Suntech has mainly made and marketed rods for keiryu fishing, but they have some seiryu rods as well. Many of us have been using their keiryu rods for tenkara for some time now. A couple favorites of mine have been the GM Suikei Keiryu Special 39 and 44, and the Kurenai rods.

The new rod is called the Suikei TenkaraBum 36. Chris wrote to me in an email that "the goal for the TenkaraBum 36 was to make a rod that fits the way American tenkara anglers fish: dries, wets and tungsten bead head nymphs." It's made in Japan by a highly respected rod company and will be sold both by Chris, in the US, and Suntech, in Japan.

Here are my impressions:

The TenkaraBum 36 (TB36) comes in a standard plastic rod carton with a rod sock. The coloration is dark charcoal, which is finished with a glossy coating sprinkled with prismatic-silver metallic flecks. It looks similar to the finish on my GM Suikei Keiryu Special 39 -- although the Special 39's is more subtle with finer speckle size. The finish is perfectly done and the rod is aesthetically beautiful. There are subtle silver accents rings at the tip of each section, excepting the tip three section sections.

Dark charcoal with metallic flecks. Glossy finish.

The handle is EVA foam, black, and is an aggressive camel or gourd shape. It is 24 cm long and is  well proportioned allowing multiple different hand hold positions. The tip-ward part of the handle is 2.5 cm wide, the waist is 2 cm wide and the butt bulb is 3 cm wide. The winding check is nickel stainless and fits tightly to the handle.

The tip plug is black plastic and fits snugly into the handle section. The butt cap is nickel stainless metal. It is knurled for easy removal and there is a rubber bumper to quite the rattling of the collapsed segments. A small air hole is also present. However, there is not an o-ring to aid in prevention of the butt cap from working itself loose during fishing.

The lilian is red and is attached to the 1st section (tip section) with a micro-swivel. The glue joint is perfectly executed and the 1st section can be withdrawn completely through the second, allowing full disassemble of the rod for drying and cleaning.

Here are some specs:

Fully extended: 363 cm
Nested: 50.5 cm
Weight (without tip plug): 64.5 g
CCS: 18.5 pennies (my measurements match Chris')
RFI: 5.1

RFI comparison chart

As far as action, the rod is sweet. It is very similar to the Nissin Zerosum 360 7:3, if you have one of those. It has a little more flexibility through the mid sections than the GM Suikei Keiryu Special 39, when in the 360 cm length. The casting arc is smooth. There is no over shoot or tip oscillation; the rod dampens perfectly. The rod really sings with a #3.5 fluorocarbon level line. Chris uses a #2.5 or 3, but I prefer a #3.5. I didn't use a furled line with this rod, as I normally don't fish furled lines.

The handle is a little too aggressive in curves for my liking; I think the waist is too narrow. But as you would expect in a rod coming from Chris and Suntech, this rod is very comfortable to hold, easy to cast, and functionally perfect for a moderate-fast tenkara rod -- it is aesthetically beautiful as well! With a #3.5 line you can feel the rod load and unload without it griping and casting accuracy is very precise. It easily passes the tuna can test.

Coming up.....my take on the rod after fishing with it on a typical mountain stream.

Tenkara -- November 2, 2015

I was able to get onto the river on this past Monday. The weather was supposed to be rainy but it turned out to be a pretty good day. I should have brought my video set up but I didn't because of the forecast for rain.

I fished a section of the river that I had fished just once before. I did pretty well at that previous trip, but there was one pool that I could see the trout but I could not get them to take anything. This time I was determined to get some hook ups in that pool.

I was able to get many fish out of that pool by lengthening my line and approaching the pool from a different angle.

As I worked my way upstream I took mostly cutthroats. I've watched this water change over the years, from brown trout water to cutthroat water. This doesn't break my heart. I like them both but I prefer cutthroats, since they are native.  I did take a few rainbows too.

Shimano LLS36NX

After fishing about 2 hours, and taking just under 20 fish, I walked back to the car and headed home. I was another beautiful late autumn day in the mountains.