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Post by mspaddler on Jan 10, 2014 11:48:10 GMT
Well lets start off with an admission. I'm a bit cackhanded when it comes to setting up fly rods. One of the many reasons I love Tenkara is that I'm fishing within minutes of stepping out of the car. I know that EZ keepers are not popular with some of more experienced and devoted Tenkara anglers but for me I'm happy to stretch the line a little before the first cast of the day. I have fished with the Sato twice now and I love the action and the weight/balance of the rod but it doesn't seem possible to fit EZ keepers due to the expandable design of the rod.
I normally carry 2 rods with me when fishing in case of a disaster, plus I love the ability to have a different set up ready to go in a flash. However, now swapping between rods becomes much more of a chore, again probably due to my lack of dexterity. Undoing and redoing level line to the lillian is a pain with cold fingers and winding and unwinding on to Leica line holder takes so much longer than the same process on EZ keepers.
Anyone out there with suggestions for line storage on the new TUSA Sato rods? Dave S I know you must have a solution!
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Post by daves on Jan 10, 2014 13:39:13 GMT
I too thought this might be a problem, but it isn't. Fit your EZ clips one at the top of the extendable butt section & one at the bottom. When fully extended the clips will be a long way apart but when completely folded down if moving between swims in dense woodland etc they will be a normal distance apart. The only problem I've encountered is that the top plug can't be installed with line attached to the lilian with it being wood & with no deep groove. Since I usually pack away my rod at the end of the day with the line still attached this is a slight problem, partly resolved by undoing the slip knot from the lilian but still leaving the line & tippet wrapped around the EZ clips. When setting up again I just unwrap the line from the clips & reattach it to the lilian. I do the same when putting a setup rod into my quiver if changing to another rod.
If moving between swims with a fully set up rod & if the line plus tippet is much longer than the rod I wrap the last bit of line/tippet around the EZ clips which of course are going to be a long distance apart if the extensions are out, or if the line is a bit shorter I'll just push back the extensions before wrapping the spare line/tippet around the clips.
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Post by JP on Jan 10, 2014 13:46:24 GMT
For my own purposes I find EZ Keepers create more problems than they solve. Even the slightest kink left in the line can have an effect on subtle presentation and particularly on manipulation. As a result I've got a set kicking around so I've just put them on a TUSA Sato and they work fine  I would imagine if you've had your EZ Keepers on another (fatter) rod for some time, the top rubber O ring may be a little too slack. You should be able to get hold of a new/smaller O-ring from any local hardware supplier. I don't think you need to worry about the zoom function hindering things as long as when the rod is packed away you line up the EZ Keepers. Once the rod is packed away just treat it like any other rod with EZ Keepers on. If you have trouble changing level lines, it's well worth using transition loops between your level line and lillian. I use transition loops a lot as it makes line changes much easier and quicker when demonstrating rods or guiding. You can quickly hitch a transition loop on or off even with very cold/numb fingers - leaving you less likely to break a tip too. For my transition loops I use a heavy duty GSP braid (around 50lb b/s). It's quite expensive to buy just for transition loops - I carry them in sets of three for sale while guiding (much cheaper than buying a 100m spool!) I find those Leica spools very fiddly to use too. By comparison the blue plastic ones (with the lighter yellow foam) are much easier to use. I think the biggest difference is because the foam is much nearer to the edge on the blue spools it's easier to keep a thumb or finger on the line to secure it while winding or unwinding. |
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Post by mspaddler on Jan 10, 2014 15:03:59 GMT
I love this forum! Dave & John thanks very much for your insight and suggestions I knew you would come through for me.
Brian
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Post by daves on Jan 10, 2014 18:39:35 GMT
Funny I never have any problems with line memory & the EZ keepers. I just give the line a good stretch then ease the tension gently to leave an absolutely straight line. I find the spools a real faff. As with all things we each have our preferences & if it works for us then that is fine.
Glad to have been of help Brian.
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Post by paul1966 on Jan 10, 2014 18:48:16 GMT
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