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Post by daves on Sept 22, 2013 7:06:20 GMT
L'Ambleve & Tenkara Times TRY 360 6:4 RodOur first river on the Austria trip was the Ambleve at Ligneuville in Belgium, a convenient way to break the 800 mile drive to Austria. The Ambleve is a lovely little spate stream with plenty of broken, pockety water that is ideal for Tenkara. It is quite heavily wooded in places & I wish I'd taken my 8' Tenkara Centre UK Issui for some of the spots. I fished with the TRY 360 which confirmed my initial opinions about this rod: incredibly light, very precise casting & it handled the Ambleve brown trout up to 14" with no problems at all in the afternoon & early morning sessions when I tried the TRY. Just over 40 fish fell to a size 14 Scarab Noire, size 16 Elk Hair Caddis or size 16 F Fly. Unfortunately on the second morning there was a catastrophic case of user error!!!!!!! In a very tight spot I failed to notice a tree trunk just behind me (too focused on a rising fish), furthermore instead of using a Bow & Arrow cast I tried a side cast, hooked the tree on the back cast with the inevitable result on the forward cast. The break was no fault of the rod, just c..p casting on my part. I ordered a replacement tip set over the internet, asking for it to be posted to my home address & later that same evening I received an email from Oleg to say if I prefered he would post it to my hotel in Austria (WHAT SERVICE!!!!). Since we were moving a lot between hotels I decided it was better to get it sent home. I would have liked to use the TRY more on the trip but look forward to giving it more of a try with tiny CdCs for the autumn grayling on my home rivers. It really is a superb rod for light line tenkara with dry flies, Sakasa Kebari & small nymphs. I should mention that Steve used his 13' 5:5 Tenkara USA Ayu & really enjoyed its soft action which surprised him as he usually likes quite crisp actioned rods. Rod preference is inevitably a very subjective thing.
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Post by flatsghost on Sept 22, 2013 10:24:19 GMT
Dave I did not realise that there were Tenkara opportunities in Belgium as it appears so flat! I have just returned from a week in Holland and all rivers seen were quite placid even though flooded. You are so right - just about everything to do with fishing is subjective so I guess the moral is don't pre-judge and/or try before you buy. Personally that is what I think makes the sport so interesting. Look forward to some more info. on Austria unless you are keeping it under wraps! Cheers Glyn
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Post by daves on Sept 22, 2013 14:24:26 GMT
The Krummbach & Tenkara Centre UK's 13', 7:3 HamonThe second water we visited was the Krummbach, a small, tumbling tributary of the Gerlos River. Water levels were high & many of the pockets we'd fished previously were water-shutes, however there were enough pockets for a decent day's fishing. Some sections of the river are quite wooded & I decided to use the 13' Hamon, whilst Steve opted for his 13' 5:5 Ayu. It was dull, calm, cool & raining, with fresh snow on the nearby hills when we started but brightened up a bit during the day. Virtually no risers were to be seen & only an isolated Stonefly was about. Nevertheless the rainbows, browns & brook trout in this stream are virtually always on the look-out for terrestrials. Over 40 fish to 14" fell to a size 12 Scarab Noire, size 12 Hi-viz Super Pupa, size 10 Black Klink or a Size 10 Yellow Chernobyl Ant. Steve did equally well with a range of flies: fly choice was less important than presentation, as long as the fly floated well & preferably made a plop when it landed the fish would usually have it. Later in the day we moved on to the Gerlos River where a few small olives were hatching & I had a few nice rainbows & browns to 16" on size 18 Hi-viz Parachute Olives. Some of the bigger Gerlos fish put an alarming bend into Steve's Ayu, but the rod held up to the job. The Hamon coped well with 11' of 0.35mm copolymer & a 2 to 3' tippet. I've used the Hamon quite a bit at home & it is one of those rods that immediately feels right to me. It is a crisp, accurate caster which copes well with decent sized fish on 4 or 5x tippet & yet does not overpower smaller fish. I also like the matt black finish & the short handle with composite cork at the ends.
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Post by daves on Sept 22, 2013 14:52:38 GMT
The Krimmler Ache & Esoteric Tackle's 13' 6", 6:4 & Tenkara USA's 13' to 14' 7" ItoAfter fishing the Krummbach we fished several other small streams & a lake in the Gerlos area before moving to Mittersill & having 2 days up above the Tauernhause on the Krimmler Ache. This is Tenkara heaven if you like tumbling pocket water & are not afraid of lots of walking. The river is full of brook trout & brown trout, plus a few grayling. Below the Tauernhause many parts of the river are wide with some slow deep pools & some big fish but above it gets smaller & more & more steep & tumbling. Yet again we had sleety rain, cold (minus 2 degrees C at the start of the second day) & snow just a few hundred feet above. At over 5300' above sea level you have to be prepared for all weathers. Last year, in September, we had blizzards but still caught fish on dry flies. The river was quite high on day one but had fined down nicely on day 2. Between the two of us we had over 400 fish, mainly brookies up to about 13", with a fair sprinkling of browns to 14" & a few grayling to 12". Steve used his 13' 6:4 Ayu II & Ito, whilst I mainly used Esoteric's 13' 6" 6:4 & the Ito for the widest parts. There is no doubting that the best presentation can be achieved by fishing across to the far bank pockets & keeping all the line off the water so rod length is important. The extra reach of the ESO 410 6:4 was a real advantage, as was that of the Ito. Since there was a downstream breeze & no tree cover to inhibit high sticking, I teamed the ESO 410 with 12' of number 4 fluorocarbon (rather than my usual 0.35mm copolymer which is just under 3 weight). The combination was perfect for casting big Klinks, Foam Beetles & Chernobyl Ants, all of which caught fish. Despite its length the ESO 410 does not feel to be a heavy rod & I fished it all day without any sense of fatigue. Like the Hamon it is a nice crisp caster & yet not so stiff that it overpowers smaller fish. I used it on the Dee at LLangollen a few weeks ago & found it to be great for both dry fly & nymphing for the quality grayling which I caught up to just under 40cm. Daniel at Esoteric Tackle has just brought out a 7:3 version of the 410 which I suspect will be great for bugging for big grayling in high winter flows.
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Post by jonathan27 on Sept 23, 2013 14:16:21 GMT
Fantastic looking Brook trout Dave
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Post by phil on Sept 23, 2013 15:06:14 GMT
Fantastic reports and images Dave. Would love to have the opportunity to fish those rivers. One day ...
Cheers
Phil
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Post by daves on Nov 1, 2013 8:57:13 GMT
I have been so impressed with the Tenkara Times TRY 360 6:4 rod that I bought a TRY 390 7:3. I was not disappointed, just like the 360 it is incredibly light (73g) & well balanced. I fished on my local Yorks. Derwent a couple of days ago, using size 20 CdCs & nymphs. Casting a number 3 fuorocarbon line (11' plus 3' of tippet) was very precise even against a stiff breeze. In fact, a friend, Alan, was surprised at how well it cast into the wind with the tiny CdC dry fly. The grayling were not in a feeding mood & I only managed one of 12" (32cm). The out of season browns were unfortunately well on feed & I caught 18 up to 14" (36cm). The rod handled them perfectly on 6x (4 lb) Stroft tippet. A few days earlier I'd caught a couple of grayling on the 360 TRY, plus a few brownies, when a big brown of well over 2 lb latched on to my nymph. This is not, in my opinion, a big fish rod but it handled the big brown very well & the only reason that I didn't land it was that just at the net it plunged into some bank side brambles that were trailing into the water. These are superb rods for what I'd call Tenkara sized fish (5 to 14") on 6 or 7x tippet. Oleg suggests a maximum of 5x but I'm not sure that I'd go that heavy with them since they are such light rods. I've ordered some number 2 & 1.5 fluorocarbon line which I'm sure will work well with the TRYs in calm conditions.
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Post by daves on Nov 1, 2013 9:05:40 GMT
Another rod that I'm really impressed with is Esoteric Tackle's ESO 410cm 6:4. I've been targeting a huge grayling on Driffield Beck over the last week. Unfortunately it keeps telling me that my presentation is cr*p despite the advantages of Tenkara. I've had several small grayling of 11 to 12" on my nymphs/bugs. One problem has been the attention of some big brown trout that have been all too eager to take my offerings before the grayling have had a chance. In the 3 half hour sessions I've had 5 brownies from about 1 lb 8 oz (estimated) to 3 lb 0 oz (weighed out of interest). With 5x tippet the ESO 420 6:4 has handled them easily, soaking up all their runs & plunges despite my being in a position where I could not follow the fish. This rod was great fun with tiny brookies in some of the tiny alpine streams of Austria but can handle sizeable fish very well. Furthermore it does not feel heavy for a 410cm rod.
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Post by custheyder on Nov 1, 2013 11:32:50 GMT
Fantastic fish. I'm glad you enjoyed the rod and it proved that it is more than capable of good sized fish.
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Post by daves on Nov 1, 2013 19:13:48 GMT
The new ESO 410 7:3 that I had a waggle of at the Nidd Tenkara Day should be an even better 'big fish rod'.
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Post by phil on Nov 3, 2013 19:56:50 GMT
Super fish all the same Dave. More evidence for good sized fish landed on tenkara gear.
Cheers
phil
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Post by daves on Nov 8, 2013 9:11:43 GMT
I was giving a talk on Tenkara yesterday evening in Bakewell & took a few rods to show folks. 4 rods in particular drew quite a bit of attention:
Esoterics ESO 360 6:4 : Tenkara Centre UK's 8' Issui : Nissin's Pro Spec 2 Way 330 to 360 7:3 Zoom rod (which is on offer at Tungsten Beads Plus at the moment) & Tenkara Times' TRY 360 6:4.
All are great examples of how a Tenkara rod should handle.
They were a great crowd with lots of questions & quite a few are already Tenkara addicts (some after a demo that Stu Crofts, Steve Donohue & I did on Cressbrook & Litton's water on the Wye near Bakewell a couple of years back).
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Post by daves on Nov 9, 2013 13:42:22 GMT
Today I was using the ESO 410 6:4 rod again, targeting the big grayling I'd located on Driffield Beck. Previously big trout had been a problem, taking my offerings before the grayling & so it proved during today's hour long session; I had 2 trout in the 2 lb 8 oz to 2 lb 12 oz bracket, plus a 12" grayling. Fortunately they didn't seem to have spooked the big one(s). Eventually one of two big grayling took my Ultra Violet Shrimp Pink Ice Dub Shrimp (UVSPS) as I gently lifted it in front of them. The rod was, as usual, superb absorbing all the fish's plunges (& jumps) & protecting the 5x tippet. After quite a tussle, more so than the trout, a 3 lb 2 oz male grayling lay in my net. Attachment Deleted
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Post by flatsghost on Nov 9, 2013 16:48:09 GMT
I have been watching this thread with interest especially as you mention the ESO 410 6:4 which I have and have caught some good fish on it.I have considered getting the 7:3 in that length but am undecided as to the question of playing big fish on it. I guess, and it is only that, that having the softer 6:4 would be a better tool for playing bigger fish as it is more forgiving that the 7:3. Am I right in thinking this? I tried the 410 7:3 at Ladybower with Dr Ishigaki but did not catch any fish with it so cannot compare. Anybody any thoughts please? DaveS? Daniel? Cheers Glyn
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Post by daves on Nov 9, 2013 19:36:58 GMT
I've not had a chance to try the ESO 410 7:3 so I can't comment. A rod with more guts might well be needed if you got a big grayling downstream in a fast flow. However I've had some grayling over 2lb on Tenkara USA's Ito which is very soft & I've had no problems on 6x (4lb Stroft). The ESO 410 6:4 has coped admirably with several brownies around the 3lb mark & this big grayling using 5x (4.8lb Stroft).
I'm sure that Louis will have some thoughts on this as he fishes a fast flowing, big grayling water.
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