Tenkara Rod Company Mini Teton rod

I recently received an email from a fellow tenkara angler and blog writer, Adam Klagsbrun, asking if I would like to borrow his Tenkara Rod Company Mini Teton rod for a review. I had previously decided not to buy another Tenkara Rod Company rod until they came out with some rod that was worth it, but getting the chance to borrow one from Adam was a deal I couldn't pass up. So not to become biased, Adam did not tell me what he thought of this little rod, although I'm sure he had already made up his mind. Adam is very experienced, has traveled the world in pursuit of trout, and has fished many different rods. His blog is called "Of Rock and Riffle" and I encourage you to subscribe to it if you haven't already.

Here's what the company's propaganda says regarding the Mini Teton:

"The Mini Teton rod goes everywhere with you.  At just 10 inches when collapsed, you can easily throw it in your pocket, glovebox, saddlebag, briefcase, etc.  And whenever you find that piece of water that looks fishy, give it a go!  It extends out to just under 12 ft so you get a lot of length with this rod.  We recommend it for fish up to two pounds.  And don't worry about how small or thin it is, it is made from extremely high quality carbon fiber and comes with a lifetime warranty!  

Details:

-Collapsed Length: 10 inches

-Extended Length: 12 ft (360cm)

-Weight: 1.9 ounces

-Includes: Rod, rod sock, and rod tube.

-Warranty: Lifetime"


As always, I like to see how close this information comes to reality, so I took a look at the rod.

The rod comes in a glossy black rod tube and is provided with an appropriately sized sleeve. The rod's finish is glossy black with sliver and gold accent rings at the tip-ward end of most sections. The rod has 20 sections and the carbon fiber walls are reasonably thick, so that they don't deform much with squeeze pressure.

The handle is the butt section, like a keiryu rod. There is no cork on this rod. The butt section is where the rod's graphic designs are placed. There is a non-slip coating on the butt section which incorporates the company's "wrapped around fish" logo. It covers half the butt section.

Tip plug

Butt cap

The tip plug is large, and would be harder to loose than some other rod's plug. It fits snugly into the tip of the handle section. The butt cap is black plastic, has a rubber bumper and a very tiny air hole.

The lilian is bright chartreuse and is attached to the tip section with a micro swivel. The glue joint is compact and smooth.

My measurements are:

Fully nested: 24.7 cm
Fully extended: 343 cm
Weight (without tip plug): 51.6 g
CCS: 19 pennies
RFI 5.5

The flex profile of the rod is that of a tip flex rod. Although the RFI is 5.5, most all of the flex is in the upper fourth of the rod. The main body of the rod is fairly stiff. This affects it's casting arc. Since I only use level lines that is what I tested the rod with. The rod requires a heavier level line, such as a #4 to effectively load. I suspect this rod loads better with a furled line, but since I don't like furled lines I can't really say how it works with one.

I find the action stiff and not very pleasant. At one point in my tenkara evolution I preferred stiffer rods, but I have gravitated to rods that give more feedback and require less energy to use. This is not one of those rods.

Conclusion: I harbor no ill will to the Tenkara Rod Company, but I'm sure they probably hate me as it seems that every rod I use of theirs I dislike. I know they sell a lot of rods, but what they have just doesn't inspire me. It's probably that I have used so many high quality rods that anything less than a top Japanese offering, or a rod engineered to cast like one, just leaves me wanting. Even with this rod's advantage of compact size, it's just not for me.

I appreciate Adam allowing me borrow this rod.

Tenkara -- February 13, 2016

I was able to go fishing yesterday, due to a break in the weather aligning with a day off.  The inversion had broken, so the air temperature was reasonable -- right at 32°F. We've received a lot of snow over the past few weeks and the road department is having troubles finding places to push it. So, all the usual turn offs and parking areas are snowed in. I had to park right along the road.

The water was nice, 38°F. The flow was at winter levels, but accessing the water was a challenge, again, because all the snow. Still, I got in and waded along the stream's edge.

The part of the stream I fished was closed in with over hanging tree limbs. I was using a 375 cm rod, but I should have gone with a 360 cm one. Sometimes even a few extra centimeters can make all the difference between hitting branches and not.

I used bead head nymphs, attractor patterns, with moderate success. The section of the stream I chose was higher gradient than other sections, so there's fewer paces to target your fly. The wading was challenging; just the way I like it! I hooked browns, cutthroats and whitefish.

Here's the video. 3rd person view.

The Eyes Have It

Most all fly anglers know that one essential stream side tool is polarized sun glasses. But to us tenkara anglers sun glasses are critical. Not only do they increase your ability to see into the stream, to detect fish and to see the bottom better (if you are wading), but they also allow you to see the line better.

In level line tenkara all of the line is off the water's surface. This is what makes tenkara so effective. Without this fundamental concept, tenkara is just fly fishing without a reel. Keeping the line off the water allows the tenkara angler to direct the fly around obstacles, adjust for stream currents, and detect subtle subsurface takes with more efficiency than traditional "line on the water" fly fishing. Essentially, keeping the line off the water allows the tenkara angler to achieve that "holy grail" of fly fishing, the drag free drift.

But to keep the line off the water you must have a light line. Monofilament nylon in too light to cast, unless it's a tapered line like a Midi, Soft Tenkara, or Fujiino Tenkara line. Because of this, fluorocarbon level lines have been the tenkara anglers line of choice. But to effectively keep the line off the water, especially of you fish upstream, like I do, you must use a lighter gauge line like #2.5 or #3.

Light lines work great at keeping the line off the water, but the smaller the line diameter the more difficult it can be to see the line -- even if the line if blazing orange! A #2.5 level line can be exponentially harder to see than a #3.5 line.

To help my tired old eyes see the takes better, I use a sighter, a 6-8 inch section (not 3 feet as mentioned in Jason's article) of contrasting colored nylon (Amnesia). This gives me a focus point and, at least I'm convinced, helps me miss far fewer fish. But even a #2.5-3 orange level line with green sighter is difficult for me to see, particularly if the line is longer than 9 feet.

Enter polarized sunglasses. I have found that wearing polarized sunglasses increases my ability to see the sighter. But more important than sunglasses alone are sunglasses with side shields. Light entering between my eye and the lens causes unwanted glare, and thus greatly reduces contrast. Adding side shields dramatically improves contrast and lets you see the line better -- just like wearing a hat does. Personally, since I wear corrective lenses I wear optical grade fit-over sunglasses. These surround my eyes and eliminate any stray light from entering at odd angles.

Another thing that helps me is the tint of the lens. Many sun glasses are grey or neutralizing. These are OK in full sun, but on overcast, foggy or rainy days they may actually make seeing your line more difficult.  So, if its overcast, raining or the like, I have found that amber or yellow polarized lenses bring my line out of the background much better than grey scale lenses. The line I use is orange and the sighter is green; amber or yellow lenses makes the orange line color "pop". They also help accentuate the green sighter.

So, here's what helps me see my line:
     1) always wear a hat (I wear a long bill baseball-type hat with dark under brim)
     2) side shields help improve contrast and reduce lens glare
     3) polarized lenses are a must
     4) amber or yellow tint help you to see orange fluorocarbon level lines.

Moonlit Fly Fishing hooks

Moonlit Fly Fishing is expanding their offerings for fly anglers from just furled lines to now fiberglass fly rods, Loop fly rods, reels and hooks. I was at their office the other day and picked up a few of the new hook offerings. They come in various hook shapes, sizes and gauge of wire.

The hooks are competition style hooks -- barbless, needle point and, in one model, jig style. They are strong and competitively priced.

On one of the styles that I received the eyes were pretty small, but usable. Other than that, I can't find any issues with these hooks.

So, if you are in the market for some new hooks (or new fiberglass fly rod, Loop rod, furled line or reel), give Moonlit a try.


Disclaimer: I have no formal affiliation with Moonlit Fly Fishing. I receive no compensation for reviewing their products. I did receive the hooks free of charge, however.