Long Line Release Marathon - March 30, 2021

 Sometimes the trout get off. It's all part of the challenge when fishing barbless hooks. 

Lots of Fish - March 24, 2021

This creek is full of rainbows. The willows and other riparian vegetation make it a challenge to fish, but it's one of my favorites, especially early in the year. 

My Favorite Engineered Line

From the very beginning of my tenkara adventure, I have preferred using level lines for tenkara. They just seem to work better for me on the type of streams that I fish. But every once in a while I need to use an engineered line. 

One situation where I find level lines to be less desirable, at least for me, is when fishing small, delicate dry flies. I don't do this very often, but occasionally I fish a Baetis hatch with surface flies in the #18-20 size range. I find that a level line with a long tippet doesn't turn over very well with these flies (probably due to their small mass and high wind resistance). In this situation I find an engineered line works better for me. 

But one thing I don't line about many engineered lines is that they often pick up a lot of water and spray it over the intended casting area. On turbulent moving water, this is not an issue. But for highly selective trout in smooth surfaced spring creeks, this spray can put them down. These trout don't suffer fools, and any indication of your presents will put them off the feed. 

But a few years ago I found a line that works well for me in very specific situations. The line is the Nissin PALS Orange nylon line. This line is a twisted nylon line, not a furled line, and is hand made in Japan by tenkara master Hiromichi Fuji. Being a twisted line, it is very small in diameter and doesn't seem to pick up water the way furled lines can.

Since the Nissin PALS Orange line is made from nylon monofilaments, it floats better than most engineered lines. But that nylon does have the downside of memory, causing the line to have some curves when the line is removed from the spool. These are easily removed, but it does take a few minutes of stretching the line, whereas a fluorocarbon or string furled line doesn't have this issue. 

Still, I like this line. Unfortunately, Nissin isn't carrying the line anymore, as Hiromichi Fuji isn't making them anymore. I have a couple lines (both 3.3 and 3.6 meters), and these will last me years, but it's sad to see the tenkara masters getting old and their skills being lost to time. 

The good news is that you can make your own twisted lines, engineered to your specific needs. Adam Trahan, of Tenkara-Fisher, has written an excellent tutorial on making a twisting jig, and following his instructions would allow you to not only make your own twisted lines, but keep alive a Japanese tenkara tradition. 

If making your own twisted lines doesn't interest you, DRAGONtail Tenkara has a few of the Nissin PALS Orange nylon lines available, but after they are gone, they are gone, even from Japan. If you are interested in buying one of these lines, contact Brent at DRAGONtail. 

Wasatch Tenkara Rods Daikyu T-Hunter review

A few weeks ago I received a rod to review, the Daikyu T-Hunter. It was graciously sent to me by Ruben Garza, owner and founder of Wasatch Tenkara Rods. After fishing with the T-Hunter, I called Ruben and we talked about the rod, his goals in design and manufacturing of the rod, and how he found tenkara. 

Ruben has been fishing for over thirty five years, but it was in the last seven years that he has been concentrating on tenkara. Shortly after being introduced to tenkara by a friend, he purchased a tenkara rod from a top USA tenkara rod company. Unfortunately, Ruben broke the rod quite soon. He purchased a replacement part, but then broke the rod again. This act of repeatedly breaking his tenkara rod is important, in that it bothered him so much that he decided to investigate tenkara rods and try to find one that wouldn't break. He purchased many other rods and despite proper techniques, many of them broke. 

After these experiences, he decided to design and get manufactured a rod that was strong enough, well balanced enough, and long enough to do the type of fishing he liked to do. After a number of years the Daikyu T-Hunter was born. BTW, a daikyu is a type of Japanese longbow. 

My T-Hunter arrived in a branded rod tube and sleeve. The rod came with a clip-on line winder and a furled line. The rod's over all coloration is very light gray, which has a matte finish. Most of the segments have red band accents on the tipward portion, the tip segment being excluded. The rod designation is nicely done and states "Premium Reinforced Carbon". The rod is a triple "zoom" design and can be fished at advertised lengths of 12', 13'5", and 15'. The advertised action is 7:3.

The handle is cork and is in an elongated reversed half-wells shape. It's length is 30 cm (11.8"). The cork quality looks very good. The winding check is blued metal and fits tightly against the first cork ring. 

The tip plug is a standard style plug and fits snugly into the first zoom segment. The butt cap is blued anodized aluminum and has knurling to aid in removal. The "zoom" post has only one O-ring to retain each "zoom" segment, but this seems adequate for this rod's design. I didn't have any issues with zoom segment retention, being too loose or too tight. There isn't a rubber dampener (the segments do "chatter" loudly when the rod is shaken) or decompression air hole. 

The lilian is dark brown and is fixed to the tip segment via a micro swivel. The glue joint is well executed, but the joint profile is too large to be withdrawn through the second segment (the tip segment traditionally being labeled the first segment). Therefore the top two segments can't be fully disassembled for drying and cleaning. 

Here are my measurements:

Fully nested (with tip plug): 58.5 cm (23")

Fully extended: 364 cm (11' 11.3"), 408 cm (13' 4.6"), 450 cm (14' 9.2")

Weight (without tip plug): 130 g / 4.6 oz.

CCS (12'/13'5"/15'): 21.5 / 23 / 24.5 pennies

RFI (12'/13'5"/15'): 5.9 / 5.6 / 5.4

Rotational Moment (12'/13'5"/15'): 7.4 / 9.6 / 12.7

For the larger version of the RFI Comparison Chart, CLICK HERE and request the link.

One thing you can say about this rod is that it is substantial! It is the heaviest rod designed for tenkara that I have used (although there are heavier rods out there). But given Ruben's design goals of the rod being strong enough to not break, I'd say that weight is appropriate. 

As you would imagine with that weight, the T-Hunter has noticeable startup inertia when casting at its longer lengths. The rotational moment (estimation of swing weight) for this rod is significant in all three lengths. At its shortest length, 364 cm, the rotational moment is 7.4. At the rod's fully extended length (450 cm), the rotational moment is 12.7. Remember, any measurement over 6 and the rod begins to be noticeably tip heavy. But even with these rotational moment measurements, the T-Hunter has a pleasing action and is very fishable.

I cast the T-Hunter using a #3.5 level line and found that it fit my casting style best in the 364 cm length. In the longer lengths, I had to use more effort in overcoming the inertia of the rod. The overall action is that of a 6:4 with Rod Flex Index (RFI) measurements a little above 5 in all three lengths. I liked the action of the rod, particularly when loaded with a large trout!

I fished the rod on a tailwater in central Idaho. The tailwater is known for trout in the 20+ inch range. At first I used a different rod, but the trout kept breaking off, due to the required thinner tippet. I then changed to the T-Hunter and even the largest rainbow (a 21 inch fatty) was easily controlled, even with 4.5X tippet. 

Conclusion: Recalling that Ruben had designed the T-Hunter to be a "strong, well balanced, and long rod", I'd say he definitely achieved his overall goal. This rod is strong and could, IMO, handle pretty much anything you could hook with it (within reason). I do have concern with the swivel failing at some point, and would rather see the lilian glued directly to the tip segment, but that's just me  (I'm not a fan of micro swivels). Ruben claims the T-Hunter will handle any fish up to 15 lbs., and you know what, I believe him! Ruben has designed the T-Hunter not to break, so that anyone can have fun fishing without the worry of inadvertently breaking the rod. He wanted a rod tough enough that individuals and families could have fun, worry-free, fishing. With its action of an RFI near 5.5, even smaller fish would be fun with this rod. 

So if you are in the market for a rod designed to be durable, a rod that can handle large trout and even large warm water species, then maybe the Daikyu T-Hunter by Wasatach Tenkara Rods would be the rod for you. If you have any questions, contact Ruben. He's friendly and very personable, and I'm sure he can answer all your questions regarding your specific fishing application and this rod.

Disclaimer: My opinion regarding this rod is just that, my opinion. Your opinion may differ.  Also, your rod may not have the same length, issues, or functionality as my rod. There are variations between rods, even in the same production run. No description can fully tell you how a rod feels or fishes. For this, you must personally hold, cast, and fish the rod then make up your own mind. 
I received the rod from Wasatch Tenkara Rods, but there was no expectation for a positive review.