I've been able to fish the Shimano Maystone 36 NW on a variety of streams over the past few weeks. The streams varied from spring creeks, mountain freestones, to meadow streams. I used flies ranging from small dries to unweighted subsurface kebari to brass beadhead nymphs. The Maystone 36 handled them all very well.
The rod is a real pleasure to fish. It casts a #2.5-3 level line beautifully with a very smooth arc, and with no excessive effort required. It didn't matter what fly I was using, the rod remained smooth and very forgiving.
One of the days I fished had gusting wind, if I had to guess, up to 15-20 mph. The rod still did fantastically. The wind doesn't affect it's casting stroke very much, probably since the rod blank is quite thin in profile. Also, although I had to make some ranging casts to increase my accuracy, the rod cast the line quite well in the wind. I was very pleased.
The fish I caught were rainbows, cutthroat and browns. They ranged from 6 to 12 inches. Yes, these are not large trout, but then again, where I usually fish there are not large trout. The rod played each trout well and without any issue. Again, I was very pleased.
Conclusion: I really like this rod! It's flex profile, materials, fit and finish, and casting ability are top notch. The handle is a bit different (at least to me) but I like it too. I'll have to get used to the rod not having a lilian, but it didn't seem to affect the my casting one way or the other. I highly recommend this rod to anyone wanting a premium Japanese designed tenkara rod with a full flex profile. Simply, it's a fun rod to fish with!
The rod is a real pleasure to fish. It casts a #2.5-3 level line beautifully with a very smooth arc, and with no excessive effort required. It didn't matter what fly I was using, the rod remained smooth and very forgiving.
One of the days I fished had gusting wind, if I had to guess, up to 15-20 mph. The rod still did fantastically. The wind doesn't affect it's casting stroke very much, probably since the rod blank is quite thin in profile. Also, although I had to make some ranging casts to increase my accuracy, the rod cast the line quite well in the wind. I was very pleased.
The fish I caught were rainbows, cutthroat and browns. They ranged from 6 to 12 inches. Yes, these are not large trout, but then again, where I usually fish there are not large trout. The rod played each trout well and without any issue. Again, I was very pleased.
Conclusion: I really like this rod! It's flex profile, materials, fit and finish, and casting ability are top notch. The handle is a bit different (at least to me) but I like it too. I'll have to get used to the rod not having a lilian, but it didn't seem to affect the my casting one way or the other. I highly recommend this rod to anyone wanting a premium Japanese designed tenkara rod with a full flex profile. Simply, it's a fun rod to fish with!
Sounds great... so many amazing rods on the market these days, I'd love to own one... some things about it I don't love "on paper" but so many things I do... the lack of lillian seems great to me.
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