Clear Creek 4/6/2013 & Oni Rod Field Test
My First Fish on the Tenkara no Oni Rod
A few posts ago, I wrote about my initial impressions of the Tenkara no Oni rod and this weekend, I finally got a chance to give it a workout on Clear Creek outside of Golden, CO. Not only was the fishing great, but my field test confirmed a lot of what I had expected of the rod.
Read MoreOni Tenkara Rod – Initial Review
Tenkara no Oni Rod & Rod Sack
After several months of patiently waiting, my Oni tenkara rod has finally arrived! For those of you who don’t know what an “Oni” rod is, it’s the rod designed and used by Masami Sakakibara (a.k.a. “Tenkara no Oni”), who is widely considered to be the best tenkara caster in the world. He is notorious for being able to cast a very light level line (eg. a #1.5 or #2) in extremely long lengths with total accuracy and delicacy. While this is of course due to his great skill, it doen’t hurt if you use a rod with an action that facilitates this type of casting. And that’s exactly what he designed it to do.
Read MoreTenkara USA Ayu Series II
Tenkara USA Ayu Series II
When I first heard Tenkara USA was redesigning their Ayu rod, it was a little disconcerting. I’ve seen it too many times before: a company has an excellent product—one that everybody likes. Then, they redesign it and it becomes pedestrian. I’m not sure what leads gear companies to do this but after a few casts, I was relieved to find that it wasn’t the case for the redesign of the Ayu.
Read MoreTenkara Centre UK Seiryu Rod
The Seiryu is actually the second rod I’ve field tested from Tenkara Centre UK. I recently viewed their new Masu rod and while it’s a great rod with a specific niche action and a lot of nice finishing touches, I think of the Seiryu more as an all purpose workhorse.
Read MoreTenkara Times “Next” Rod
Not too long ago, I reviewed the Tenkara Times 1st Step rod. Overall, I really liked the rod even though it was a littler stiffer action than I generally prefer. But recently, I was able to test another rod in their lineup: the Next rod. With a 5:5 action, this rod was a little more my speed.
Read MoreTenkara Centre UK Masu Rod
The Masu is a brand new 11 ft. rod from Tenkara Centre UK (so new in fact, that at the time of this post, it isn’t even on their website yet). This is a great little rod with some nice bells and whistles not found on most other Tenkara rods.
Read MoreTenkara Times 1st Step Rod
Tenkara Times is a relatively new player in the rapidly growing tenkara market and I recently had a chance to field test one of their rods. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly on it…
Read MoreTenkara USA Ayu Review
Tenkara USA Ayu with Rod Tube & Sack
I’m not sure how it happened but somehow over the last two years I’ve been fishing the Tenkara USA Ayu, I haven’t done a review. Maybe it’s because I’ve always considered it such an staple tenkara rod that it was easy to overlook. Sometimes, the most obvious things are the easiest to miss. But, a review is long overdue. And the timing is perfect since I recently got the latest version of the Ayu to replace the one I’ve been using all this time. So, without further ado, here is why I love the Ayu…
Read MoreDaiwa Soyokaze Review
Daiwa Soyokaze Rod
While the Daiwa Soyokaze isn’t technically a true “tenkara” rod, any tenkara angler would immediately recognize a lot of familiar features. Telescopic blank? Check. Lilian cord? Check. No reel seat? Check. In fact, it’s hard to cast the Soyokaze and not consider it anything other than a “minature” tenkara rod.
Read MoreTenkara USA Yamame Follow Up Review
A while back, I wrote an initial review of the Tenkara USA Yamame. But until now, I hadn’t actually had a chance to fish it. Now that I’ve had it on the water, I wanted to report back as promised. To read my more detailed review of the Yamame’s features and design, read my initial review here. This report is strictly about how the rod fishes.
Read MoreThe “Perfect” Tenkara Rod
Sitting on the bank during one of those all-too-familiar fishless days on the South Platte, I started thinking about rod design. With my current favorite in my hand (the Tenkara USA Ito), I began to think about what makes a rod “good”. I’ve done a fair number of tenkara rod reviews and if you’ve followed this blog for any significant length of time, you know I have a passion for good design. It struck me that there are a lot of variables that have to come together in just the right combination for me to consider a rod “good”. Let’s consider the Ito…
Read MoreNissin Prosquare Tenkara Rod Review
Nissin Prosquare Tenkara Rod
Today, I finally got to fish my Nissin Prosquare rod I recently got from Japan. While I wasn’t sure what to expect, at the end of the day, I was pleasantly surprised.
Read MoreAbout Me
Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide who now exclusively fishes Tenkara for trout in the streams and lakes of Colorado...Read More