Thread: Merry Christmas to All...and to me!

Merry Christmas, guys!

Originally Posted by s_v

Congrats, Alphahawk. I'm planning to get into stream and lake fishing in High Sierras and have been eyeing a Spectra BFS model and one of the heavier spinning models for plugging. While the choice of a reel for the BFS model is rather easy (Calcutta Conquest BFS?), I'm curious which reel you are planning to pair with your Twitchin' Custom.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

I can reply to this now that internet has been restored after the Nashville bombing. I have had the 2000 Luvias and the FW 1000 series on it and they both balance well. I would use the Luvias with the 4# test Troutist line if fishing the White River and the FW 1000 with the 3# test if fishing the Little Red.

Regards

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

... This rod is what I call "heirloom" quality. It is TenRyu's flagship trout rod. ...

It is their flagship stream trout rod. The Tenryu Rayz Alter is their flagship Area trout rod, and is as nice as the Spectra - just designed for lakes rather than streams.

What size trout are we talking, in a stream in Japan? Here I fish a fast cold river for 8"-16" stocker rainbows, and hope for one of the big browns and survivor rainbows that are around, but rare. I prefer little sinking plugs like the Rapala countdown, HD Trout, Spearhead Ryuki, Yo-Zuri Pins minnow, etc. . I found that TMs and hand-tied crappie jigs work very well, too. Other than that I am not in trout country at all. I use my 7'1" BC TZ-Nano JHS. I had a big trout break me off, so I went up in power with that rod and 4 lb FC line.

I have the Rayz Alter 6-2 UL and it is the finest rod I own. I would think it's one of the very best panfish rods out there. I'm surprised more here don't own it because it's an excellent rod.

you secret santa'd yourself for being very good this year? Nice

Glad you got you a new stick while you are on the mend... I have the same rod in the 5’1” version and it is a funny rod and has tamed several stream trout. I think you will enjoy it for sure!

Originally Posted by jawjatek

What size trout are we talking, in a stream in Japan? ....

Most Japanese anglers go their whole lives never catching a 16" trout. There was a video a few years ago that was quite popular among Japanese anglers about a guy who set out on a quest to catch a trout that would measure one "shaku" in length. He spent quite some time trying to achieve his goal and in the end he never did catch a one shaku trout. Puts things in perspective when you realize a shaku is a little shorter than one foot.

There are bigger fish in Japan, sea run salmon in some of the larger rivers get to be several pounds, and some rivers in the northern island of Hokkaido have 20 inch trout.

The design of the rods is driven not so much my the size of the trout most anglers catch but by the lures they use to catch them. Most of the trout will be under a foot long, but the anglers generally use heavy sinking minnow lures. The most popular size is 2" long and weighs a bit over 1/8 oz (like the Spearhead Ryuki 50S), with longer, heavier lures used in larger streams. They fish them fast and many use a very jerky retrieve, so they want rods that have sufficient stiffness to work the lures. Plus, many of their mountain streams have very fast current. If a trout of any size gets below you, you need a rod with the ability to get it back when you are fighting the current as well as the fish. A 16" fish in fast current should be no problem for any of the L, LL (light light - between light and ultralight), or LML (light medium light - between medium light and light) rods.

In contrast, the trout in the Areas are larger (to much larger) but the rods are softer. The key is that anglers don't fish heavy lures that are aggressively worked. The most popular lure, by far, is a micro spoon that would weigh 1/16 to 1/64 oz. You don't need a stiff rod for a micro spoon or a small crankbait in a lake - even if you are catching 16-20 inch trout. I'd have to say I am as surprised as redearhoosier that Area rods are not used more here, at least by guys who fish anything other than jigs. For micro spoons or small cranks I'd take an Alter over a Lunakia in a heartbeat.