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.
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.
Tom thanks for the write up. Will this rod make it into your semi-permanent quiver along the lines of the zerosum?
ReplyDeleteI really like the look of the jig head nymph in the first image. Do you have a recipe for that or a link to a recipe?
Thanks again. That looks like some nice water your fishing.
I think that rod will make it into my more permanent quiver.
DeleteThat fly is my version of the Bloody Prince. It's a top producer for me. I use SLF olive dubbing.
The fish always seem to behave so well for you when you hold them, is there a pressure point trick to that?
ReplyDeleteNo pressure point. In fact, I try to use very light pressure; just enough to hold the fish. If its wiggling a lot then turn it upside down and the fish will quiet down. Otherwise just use light pressure and little contact.
DeleteGreat write up, beautiful cutt in the video!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adam.
DeleteHi Tom. Your variant of the Bloody Prince: it's on a jig hook? I've never dealt with tying on that style of hook, so I looked (in vain) through all your (many, many!) Youtube videos to see if you had filmed the tying of one. Did I miss it?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Steve
Hi Steve,
DeleteI haven't made a tying video for jig hook flies. I'll see if I can get one done.
Thanks so much! I really enjoy your White Takayama variant video - easy to watch, and it forced me into learning how to use a dubbing loop, which after awhile, gets easier and more fun.
Delete-Steve
Hello Tom,
ReplyDeleteI met you at the ONI School (John from Calif.), and I noted that I had no luck getting rainbows in the winter up in the Sierras. You explained that you mostly targeted browns in the winter because they are more temp tolerant. But you're getting some good bows in the review (later later reviews). Any hints on how you're getting them? Of course, you're using the bloody prince, and I've been using unweighted flies; that could be the problem :)
- John (really enjoy your blog!)
My only suggestion is to go, as Chris Stewart says, low and slow (fish deep with weighted flies). In winter, in freestone streams, you have to put the fly right on the trout's nose. As you see, I fish mainly bead heads in winter. Tailwaters are different since their temperatures are more stable.
DeleteThanks Tom! Pretty much deduced your thoughts of that from you other posts and reading Cnris's. As I mentioned, I have been fishing unweighted flies, but winter may be the time to go beyond that.
DeleteJohn