Five Mini Rod Reviews - the reviews are mini, not the rods!

I have a lot of rods. I've cut back my purchasing lately, as I've tried almost every company's rods out there. There are a few exceptions, but I've covered most of them. I've gravitated to rods that fit my style of fishing and those that have the type of action that works for me, and as of this moment I don't plan on buying any new rods unless they have something more to offer than "Bob's Chinese me-too tenkara rod".

Although I've tried to bring you reviews on most of my rods, there are a few that I use quite often that I never did get around to writing a review. Today I want to clear the list and do some mini reviews of those rods.

Daiwa Enshou LL36SF

This rod is a premium rod from Daiwa. It is in the Enshou series and until recently has been the top of the line tenkara rods from Daiwa. Daiwa has since released the Expert Tenkara L series as their top line rods. I don't have one of the Expert L rods, and I'm not sure I'll buy one as I'm not convinced they have more to offer me than the Enshou rods.

The Enshou LL36SF is a subtly beautiful rod. Unlike many tenkara rods, there are no fancy ornamentations. It has an austere beauty. This seems to match the simple nature of tenkara perfectly.

The action of this rod is rich and slow. Although I have favored stiffer rods in the past I have come to really enjoy the relaxed casting action of full-flex rods. The LL36SF is one of those rods. It throws a #3 line without any issues, and although I have fished bead heads with it I mainly use it on small creeks with unweighted flies.

This rod can be hard to find in the market, but it's worth it. It's a true joy to fish.

Weight (all without tip plug): 70.5 g
Length: 360 cm
CCS: 15 pennies
RFI: 4.2

Daiwa Sagiri 39MC and 45MC

I love these rods. I got the 39MC in 2012 and it has become my favorite rod for creeks with smaller fish. I've caught trout in the mid-teens with the rod, and it handles them just fine, but a few of the creeks where I live have many small (interpreted as 8 inches) rainbows and this rod is perfect for them. I use TroutHunter 5.5X fluorocarbon tippet when using either of these rods and I've not had any worry about breaking them.

The rods are beautiful. I think they are some of the most aesthetically beautiful rods that I have used. Though technically seiryu rods, they both function perfectly as tenkara rods and are used as such by some anglers even in Japan.

The actions are rich and full. They are also full-flex rods. With the combination of the 39MC and the 45MC I have effective rod lengths from 340 to 450 cm covered. I sold my Oni Type III because I like the action of the 39MC better and it was somewhat redundant to keep both.

Again, both of these rods can be hard to find in the market, but they are still around. If you have the chance to get one, jump at it!

Weight: (39MC) 56 g, (45MC) 65.5 g
Length: (39MC) 340, 390 cm. (45MC) 400, 450 cm.
CCS:(39MC) 13, 15. (45MC) 14, 14.
RFI: (39MC) 3.8, 3.8. (45MC) 3.5, 3.1,

Suntech GM Suikei Keiryu Special 44

I bought this rod to compliment my Suikei 39. I've formally reviewed the Suikei 39 and most all the features it has the 44 has as well. The 44 is just a little more robust and longer, as you would expect.

This rod works great and is my main larger stream nymphing rod. I have a few streams I use it on, where I mainly fish in the 400 cm length. I use the 440 cm length when I need to reach just a little farther or when I'm landing a fish. This rod can be fished in the 360, 400, and 440 cm lengths.

The Suikei 44 is a keiryu rod, and therefore has no cork on the handle. The handle is a little larger than the Suikei 39 and as such is easier to hold when full extended. The action is more mid-flex that the previous rods I've talked about in this post, so this rod also can handle larger, heavier flies and control larger fish in faster water. When I travel I take the this rod and the Suikei 39. With these two rods I'm covered from small creeks (320 cm with the Suikei 39) all the way up to open rivers (440 cm with the Suikei 44).

The rod is slightly tip heavy at 440 cm, but really not too bad. At 400 cm it's not tip heavy at all. The rod is still quite light at 74.3 g and it throws modestly weighed flies really well. Although the recommended tippet for this rod is 6X, I personally use 5X and have not had any concerns about the rod breaking. You can get one from Chris.

Weight: 74.3 g
Length: 360, 400, 440 cm
CCS: 18.5, 20, 21
RFI: 5.2, 5, 4.8

Gamakatsu Ryokei 44

I have a love affair with the Gamakatsu Ryokei line of seiryu rods. Years ago, Chris Stewart sent me the 360 to try and I bought it on the spot. I then got a 390 and use it all the time.  It is my favorite rod in the 390 cm class. It's so light, so responsive, and so beautiful that unless you've fished with one I dare say you can't relate to what I say about it. The closest thing would be the feel of an Oni rod.

The Ryokei 44 is nearly the same as the Ryokei 39, just longer and a little softer. When it comes to rods over 400 cm I'm a little sensitive to tip heaviness. Some say that I'm too sensitive and not fair enough to other longer rods. But I have fished with rods like the Ryokei 44 and the Sagiri 45MC and therefore have reset my expectations for 400+ cm single handed rods. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. These rods blow away everything else that I've fished in the 420 to 450 cm length, as far as weight and rod inertia. They are light, have no tip heaviness at all, and although not meant to handle trout larger than 14-15 inches, they can hold their own against most other longer tenkara rods for trout this size -- as long as the water current is not too fast. Remember, it's not just the size the trout that matters to a rod or tippet, but also the speed of the current.

The action is full-flex. It is smooth, without oscillation, making the rod a very accurate rod for it's length. Because it weighs only 55 g and has a rotational moment of only 5.4 it has very little inertia, making it quite easy to cast. I use a #3 level line, which works perfectly. I like this rod a lot but not quite as much as the 390 cm version. The Ryokei 44 is not a rod to be used when there's wind.

The rod is expensive, at least compared to most fix line offerings. It's hard to get one but may be obtained from one of the Japanese rod retailers, like Plat or Tenkara-Ya.

Weight: 55 g
Length: 440 cm
CCS: 13.5 pennies
RFI: 3.1



There, I'm almost up to date. I've got one more rod that I haven't reviewed, but it will have to wait. I hope to see some new, innovative rods in the future, by both US and Japanese companies. If something comes out that I feel is different enough I'll likely buy it, try it and let you know what I think. Until then, I'll fish the rods that I have.


Disclaimer: My opinion regarding these rods 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. 

Tenkara, March 21, 2016

I was able to fish for a short while the other day. It was good to get out. I'm moving slowly now days, and the feel the water rushing around my legs, and to hear the sounds of the stream were very good for my spirits.

There were a lot of guys out fishing. It seemed that almost every pull out had a car or two. I don't fish this stream in the summer for that very reason -- it's too crowded.  I'm pretty much a loner. If I see another angler, that's one too many. I try to go places not frequented by many. I'm sure many of you feel the same way and can relate. We are a different breed of fly angler, I think.

I did get some video. Nothing too exciting. From my last video poll it seems that more people like just the sound of the stream and no background music. That's fine with me as it makes editing easier, and since my videos are mainly to document my trip, rather than provide entertainment, no music is all right.

I hope your spring fishing has been going well and you've been able to exercise a few fish lately.

Slow month

This past month has been interesting in my part of the country. Most every day that I could go fishing it was blowing and raining. The rain is of no consequence, but winds over 15 mph make it so "line off the water" tenkara is a pain.  I don't fish "line on the water" tenkara with furled or PVC lines, since to me that's not tenkara, but rather, fly fishing with a tenkara rod. So, I decided to do other stuff.

I did get some fishing in last weekend however. I was in Sun Valley for a medical conference and I hit the Big Wood on two separate days. I didn't take my camera with me, so I have no pictures -- how's that for a guy that almost always wears a GoPro when fishing.

The Big Wood is a "large" river by my standards. It's maybe 15 yards across and generally free from tree branches. It was flowing at 70 cfs and was off colored due to snow melt -- thanks to all the rain. So, although it's not all that large of a river, it's large to me. I'm a guy who likes creeks you can step across in places. Here's a photo of the river I borrowed from the internet:

I fished with my Suntech Keiryu Sawanobori rod. I've had this 6.3 m (20.6 foot) rod for a little while -- I can't remember exactly when I bought it from Chris Stewart. I've fished it on a few occasions and really enjoy it. It's casting action is smooth and unlabored. It throws a #3 fluorocarbon line really well and it will throw a dopper/point fly combo without any issues. This is how I've mainly fished this rod. I've not done actual keiryu fishing with it -- that is, bait.

The Sawanobori compared to a traditional tenkara rod.

I fished two different lines this past weekend. One was one of my tenkara lines, a 13 foot fluorocarbon line with red sighter. The other was a clear #3 level fluorocarbon line with two yarn markers. Both lines had 3 feet of 5.5x TroutHunter fluorocarbon tippet. These lines seemed to work well, and although I'm used to my line-sighter system the yarn markers were easy to see and follow during the drift.

There's really not much more I can say about this rod. It's too long for a CCS penny measurement, so I can't give you a RFI rating. But to me it feels like it would be about 4-4.5. It's easy to cast but since it's 20 feet long it has a lot of inertia, so casts are slow -- rich -- full bodied. I know those words don't mean much, that's why a CCS penny rating and RFI are so helpful, but they are the best I can do for this rod.

I caught three fish: 2 browns and one rainbow. The rainbow, and one of the browns, was 12 inches. They, of course, were no match for this rod. But the rod is plenty fun with fish of this size, due to its relaxed, mid flex, action. The other brown was something else altogether.

I was fishing a long run with two flies set in a NZ dropper-point fly rig. Like I said above, this rod has no issues doing this even when both flies are tungsten bead flies. I worked the slow run well by covering every inch of water and when I got to the head of the run (I fish working my way upstream) I hooked into a really nice fish. The hook set was solid and the fish took off for some snags on the other side of the river. It didn't get far -- this rod easily turned him, even in the current. After working him for a minute I brought him to net. He was a beautiful brown, with a full bodied girth that filled your entire palm. His overall length was about 17 inches. He was a beautiful fish, but alas, no pictures.

That's about all the fishing I've done as of late. Next month will likely be pretty slow as well as I'm going to have surgery. As long as I don't die I should be back in action mid-May. Hope for the best - prepare for the worst. Here's praying everything goes well!!

Tenkara, March 4, 2016

Today was warm and sunny and since I had it off from work I decided to go and check out one of the local creeks. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get close enough to the water, since snow is still present, but I thought I'd try.

I was able to park at a snowmobile parking area and walk the road far enough to get to the creek. After working my way through the snow I entered the water and worked my way upstream from there.

The creek is full of small, but enthusiastic rainbows. Here is the creek and a few of the fish: