Trout fishing season is closed.

After not going fishing for two months because of the drought that hit the rivers hard I decided to go to the stream for the season closing Sunday, September 16th. I arrived very early to hit the river at the right time and it was probably not going to last very long because of the very low water level for almost two months. The first half of August had been stormy, as is often the case in the area, but these storms were too dry and did not bring the necessary water to the rivers.

I quietly prepared my rod in the soft light of the morning. I knew I did not have a lot of time until the temperature went up and the fishing became even more difficult than it was going to be already with such low water level.

I was using exactly the equipment with which I had fished with for the last time this year, during the discovery of the Ubaye in June: Zerosum Oni Honryu 395 rod, 号 2.5 level line, 号 0.6 fluorocarbon leader and a copy of my faithful Yamato kebari.

I waded upstream targeting only the most "deep" places, even though it is a little bit strange to call "deep" spots in a river where there is only 8 or 9 inches of water, but it did not pay. So I came out of the water not to be spotted because the vibrations of my footsteps and then returned to the water to fish downstream a position that I know well where I often took trout housed under a trunk parallel to the edge. It was the right choice and I did take a very beautiful trout that I will barely get out of the water to not expose it to the hot air.

The heat raised very quickly and I went up the river without fishing for nearly a mile to find a shady and cool spot for a last snack, the last I will do this year with a fishing license in my pocket.

This break did me the greatest good and was an opportunity to observe a trout that I might not have seen if I had fished.

After this trout had gone back to a place where I could not see it anymore, I put my kitchen kit in my pack and went up the river for about 1.5 miles to go to the exact place where I had taken my last trout of the previous season. I caught a trout in exactly the same spot but it was not the same fish, it was smaller than the one I released last year.

One more trout season has closed but the good thing is that another trout season will start soon. 

A trout season ends

The canicular month of August was long to me as I did not go fishing any single time but hopefully September has started with rain and this was good news for the streams and their inhabitants. I did go back fishing last sunday which was the day of the trout season end in most of streams. The sky was overcast and the air mild. 

The few rains of the previous days have obviously not had much effect on the water level, but a supply of water makes a lower temperature and brings the fish back in feeding activity. So I prepared myself quietly. My gear was a Nissin Zero Sum Oni Honryu 395 rod, six meters of  line 2.5 号level line, a meter of  号0.8  fluorocarbon  to which was tied a Yamato kebari.

I did fish all the fish spots downstream. After casting I did give my rod an oscillating movement to make my kebari drift erratically up and down just like does a real nymph trying to swim to the surface but carried away by the current. I successfully tested this technique last summer with Masami "Tenkara Oni-no" Sakakibara and as I had already experienced the techniques developed in Japan by true tenkara experts are effective on any stream because they are based on rational observation of the salmonids behavior and on long experience of tenkara fishing.

All trout caught during this matinee took my kebari when ascending, when it was going  towards the surface. This technique gives very good results for the focused angler on its fishing because the constantly tension in the line helps very effective strike detection and hook setting.

Finally towards the end of the morning the sky cleared and I did take a break for lunch by the river as I like to do as soon as the weather allows. The place is usually much frequented but I did not see anyone which is pretty unusual for a season closing day.

I took during this last visit many trout revived by recent rains. I do not go through a long distance during  the morning but I did fish every potential fish spot within cast reach. 

After about three hours of fishing I collapsed my rod back and disconnected the line that I put up on a spool and turned back to my house. Autumn starts well for trout, rain so beneficial to the rivers after a very hot summer is back, and fishermen will have the next six months to prepare for next season.

This morning I was driving near that river, having some time I stopped my car on the side of the road to observe; trout rising to the surface in the fog disappearing under the sun.

Nissin Zerosum Oni Honryu 395 rod

Masami Sakakibara has surprised us last year with Zerosum Oni Honryu 450 released by Nissin and this time they strike again with the rod this post will deal with: the Zerousm Oni Honryu 395.

Theoretical specifications of this rod are:

Length: 3,95 m
Pieces: 8
Collapsed length: 64 cm
Weight: 85 g
Tip diameter: 0.65 mm
Butt diameter: 11.7 mm
Tippet: from 号 0,8 to 号 1,5 

Blank: 96% graphite

The length of my rod is 3.98 m to which adds the lilian; its weight without the tip cap is 82.5 grams. The handle is made of very high quality cork and its subtile camel gourd shaped handle is very comfortable and provides, in my opinion, a better handling of the rod than the curvy handle that can be seen on the Royal Stage or Zerosum rods. 

The Zerosum Oni Honryu 395 is aesthetically similar to its big sister released last year the Zerosum Oni Honryu 450 and the quality is of the same level and that means one of a kind.
Clearly this duet of tenkara rods stand out from the majority of current productions by a great work in design as well a rarely attained production quality level.

In fishing action this tenkara rod is perfectly balanced. Thanks to its balance this tenkara rod can with great ease adapt to any kind of tenkara line one light use and be as performant with any type of line.
I think that the person who best described this tenkara rod is John Vetterli, one of the founding member of Tenkara Guides LLC: "The new Nissin Zerosum Oni Honryu 395. This rod pushes the maximum performance limits into uncharted territory. Light weight, superb balance, massive power in reserve. This rod and its big brother the Nissin Zerosum Oni Honryu 450 are the tenkara equivalent to today's hyper cars like the Porsche 918, or Koenigsegg One:1."

NISSIN Zerosum Oni Honryu 450 (Part 2)

Saturday morning I got up at dawn and consulted the weather reports that announced the imminent arrival of a huge depression in a few days that would bring wind and rain so I decided us not to waste time and took the road to enjoy a hanful of hours fishing. I did take to the bare minimum gear: landing net, rod, line, kebari.

After sunrnise, the light remained discreet. It was a typical November matinee: gray. There was some wind but nothing to worry about. However, I find an advantage to these conditions: I did not need polarized glasses to view the fish and I observed several of them near the edge seated on a bench while I was rigging my rod. 

I tied to my tippet a Zenmai-dou. My first cast was targeting a rainbow trout that did not make ways when the famous kebari sank slowly in front of her ...The ZeroSum Oni Honryu rod does not only allows long and accurate shots but also delicate. 

The tenkara matinee was starting pretty well! There are on this pond a tiny island around which usually I see many trout but several fihermen were already trying their luck there so I decided to go to another spot. It was a wise choice because the place where I had decided to fish revealed the presence of many brook trout.

I did not regret not to fish the originally planned spot and with at look at it from time to time it seemed to me that nothing exciting was happening happening there. I did fish calmly letting a little bit of time between each cast for the coveted fish do not flee or descend deeper where I will see them no more. 

My strategy paid off and I had very little failure.

Despite the breeze increasing over time the rod did a great job, my casts were still accurate and delicate and I had only to move a little to place myself so that my kebari could drift naturally. I used a line Fujino Soft Long Type of seven meters and although this line is not as dense as a fluorocarbon line that I did not meet any major problems.

The cane is very sensitive, does not emit vibrations when a fish is fighting at the end of the line but transmits very well all the sensations of the battle. 

By late morning I decided to make a break for lunch and this is when the rain announced for the following week started. Not being equipped to fish in the rain I did take my time, thinking back to this very pleasant morning fishing with a great tenkara rod. After a good coffee I did take the road back home with new and enjoyable fishing memories.

NISSIN Zerosum Oni Honryu 450 (Part 1)

Until now tenkara rods were designed for fishing in Japan but with the international development of tenkara appeared to manufacturers a new challenge which is to put on the market tenkara rods designed to catch fishes which are bigger than their Japanese counterparts . Masami Sakakibara has successfully met the challenge in cooperation with Nissin to design, once again, an exceptional rod: the Zerosum Oni Honryu 450.

Like all Japanese tenkara rods it is sold in a plastic box, the rod sock being in a pale purple velvet of good quality. The overall aesthetic is simple and very beautiful; the rod is glossy black, and only a woven carbon accent surrounded by fine chrome edging is visible at the tip of the handle section.

Like all the Nissin rods the Zerosum Oni Honryu is made in Japan and it shows with a very high quality work and perfect finishes.

The theoretical characteristics of this rod are as follow: 

Length: 450 cm

Sections: 9

Folded: 64 cm

Weight: 100 gr

Tip diameter: 0.65 m
Butt diameter: 13.3 mm

Advised tippet: 号 0.8 to 号1.5 (from 0.148mm to 0.20mm)

Composition: 97% Graphite

The ZeroSum Oni Honryu reviewed here actually weighs 98.8 grams without the tip cap, so ready to fish, and has a length including the lilian of 448.5 cm. The collapsed length is 63.5 cm with the tip of cap. The handle, a foot long, is made of a high quality cork and a subtle camel shape that makes it particularly comfortable. The winding check is made of chromed aluminum and fits perfectly to the handle.

The tip cap is made of nylon, it fits tightly in. The butt cap is also made of nylon, it is rounded for comfort especially for fishermen who hold their rod in a very low position. It is knurled to facilitate tightening and loosening. It has no drain hole. 

Upon receipt of the rod I disassembled it as I always do and could see that there was no dust inside the blank or in the threads of the butt cap which shows that great care has been given to the quality control during the production process.

As always with Nissin rods the connection of the lilian to the rod is perfectly executed.

This rod features no mention of its action, but it is a "6: 4" and I want to make a brief digression on the topic: this is not the rod that makes you cast "good" (even if a well balanced rod is a plus) it is oneself cast properly, by making the "back" and "front" casting strokes at the same speed and blocking at the right time which will allow the rod to load energy enough to get the correct deployment of the line.

During my stay with Masami-san I had the chance to test this rod when it was just available in Japan and I must say it pleasantly surprised me.

Balancing a rod of that length is particularly complex because you have to avoid the feeling of heaviness in the tip but it has to be powerful enough to transmit the energy of the casts and has to be strong enough to hold big fishes, with ZeroSum Oni Honryu these three aspects are gathered.

The rod is very pleasant, despite its length it does little effort to cast even if you fish with small diameter line level. As I have always thought and written on many occasions, a really good tenkara rod is versatile and gives the best results results with all types of lines and ZeroSum Oni Honryu is no exception to the rule. One can cast with accuracy and delicacy with level, tapered and furled lines with this rod. 

I asked Masami-san describe briefly the ideas he had put into play in the design of this excellent rod and this is what he sent me:

-Fishing big fish with a really adapted rod to reduce the risk of losing beautiful specimens.

-Casting more accurately and with less effort than any other existing rod of that length.

-Get a better balance than the other rods of equal length. Most of 450 cm rods have too much weight in the tip.

Try this rod and you will enjoy it and take a lot of fun to fish with it. Bye!