Yari Tenkara Rod

[Emerson Mata]

Irecently received an email from Tristan Higbee (Tenkara Addict) where he asked if I'd like to take a look at his newest tenkara rod acquisition, the Tenkara Rod Co. (TRC) Yari. I had seen the Kickstarter campaign for this rod, but having elected not to purchase one, I didn't have any expectation of reviewing the rod. So when Tristan offered to lend my his Yari, I of course said yes.

There has been some buzz online regarding the mystery manufacturer of the Yari, a "well known" company in Japan. Many have guessed Tenryu as this mystery manufacturer, and after reviewing the specs, handling, and casting the Yari, I would agree. The Yari is a rebranded Tenryu rod.

The Yari is a slim, and overall svelte looking tenkara rod. It is red-orange in coloration and has a hard, smooth, glossy finish, almost like red Asian enamel. Accents are held to a minimum (unlike most of TRC's overly painted rods) with some white bands on the tipward portion of the handle section. The rod designation is likewise simple, just stating the name of the rod and "Made in Japan". There is an unfortunate "rising sun over river" line drawing on the front of the rod. Graphics like this shouldn't surprise anyone, as TRC is well known for their "young and hip" over-the-top graphics. BTW, a Yari is a traditional Japanese blade in the form of a spear.

The handle is very good to excellent cork and is the simple Tenryu cylindrical shape. It is quite thin in diameter (relative to most non-Japanese designed rods), which is common in Japanese made tenkara rods. There is no winding check and the top of the handle tapers slightly. The handle is 25.5 cm in length.

The tip plug is dense wood and fits into the handle section snuggly. The butt cap is red anodized metal which has a slightly knurled edge. There is a coin slot to aid removal and a decompression air hole. There is an O-ring, to minimize spontaneous loosening of the butt cap.

The lilian is red and moderately long. It is attached to the tip section via a perfectly executed micro-swivel. The tip section can be withdrawn through the second section (Japanese order of section numbering is tip section is #1), and the rod can be completely disassembled for drying and cleaning.

Casting the rod is wonderful, as you would expect from a rod made by one of Japan's premier rod manufacturers (Tenryu, not TRC). The action is smooth and rich, but not slow or full-flex. The rod feels very similar to the Tenryu TF39 and TF39TA, but of course, that makes sense. The RFI puts the Yari squarely in the 6:4 flex action.

I used a #3 fluorocarbon level line, but the rod feels like it would prefer a #3.5 or maybe even a #4 in certain conditions. There is no oscillation at the end of the casting arc. Linear and rotational dampening is excellent.

I didn't fish with the Yari, as the rod is Tristan's personal property. Too much can happen when fishing, and I didn't want to risk anything untoward happening to the rod. But Tristan has fished with the rod. His video can be seen here.

Is there anything I don't like about the rod? Well, yes. I don't like the slim handle diameter. Skinny handles make my hand cramp after a short time casting. I don't like that. I also don't care for red rods. I prefer black, with a matte finish. I'm not a fan of micro-swivels either. They are a weak point in the system and I've had too many pull off under line pressure. That list isn't very long, but it does outline my complaints.

So why do I think Tenryu manufactured the Yari? Well, I've cast and fished with the Tenryu TF39 and TF39TA. The coloration and finish are the same. The handle is the same. The tip plug and butt cap are the same (excepting butt cap's anodized coloration). The lilian and micro-swivel are the same. Finally, the action is very close to the other Tenryu rods. The Yari is a Tenryu rod, I'd bet on it.

Can you buy one of these rods? No, you can't, not at this time. Unfortunately, the Yari was produced in a limited run and sold through a Kickstarter campaign. If you didn't get in on the campaign, you didn't get a chance to buy the rod.

Conclusion: This is a very nice rod. The action is rich and unlabored. The light weight is wonderful. The fit and finish is near perfect. This is a true Japanese tenkara rod. Is it any better than readily available premium Japanese tenkara rods (Nissin Zerosum and Fujiryu, Shimano, Suntech TenkaraBum, Oni, etc)? I don't think so. But it's an excellent Japanese tenkara rod, none the less.

I'm not a fan of TRC's rods in general, but this rod raises their standing in American tenkara rod companies. That said, TRC didn't design the rod, Tenryu did, as well as manufactured it. This rod is designed for people who want to fish tenkara as practiced in Japan. It is not like TRC's typical rods, which are designed for people who want to fish in a "simple way", and don't give a fig for Japanese tenkara.

Even though I'm pretty hard on TRC and their approach to tenkara, I think they should be commended for getting the Yari produced. They should make the Yari readily available on their website store, rather than only doing an occasional production run. If TRC wants to be accepted by Japanese tenkara enthusiasts, they should put the Yari at the head of their line up and keep it readily available. This is a TRC rod that I would buy! Congratulations TRC!

There were a couple of interesting comments on the last blog post wondering why I bothered with super cheap tenkara rods, referring to the bargain basement AliExpress and Amazon rods that I sometimes fish with (and that I talk about more in this video). Steve said:

I wake up at 5:30 am Tokyo time. I slip on my Montbell wading boots and turn on the remote start in the Honda to warm it on this chilly afternoon in early August. The mountains are calling, and I must go. It is time to become one with the tenkara. It is time to become the tenkara.

There are just eleven other cars in the roadside pullout when I arrive. Perfect. The dozen of us have this untouched headwater stream all to ourselves. I grab my 700 cm Shimaiwa rod, heft it over my shoulder, and slide down the embankment to the stream.

I like to sit and observe a stretch of water before I fish it, so I pull out my weathered emergency poncho and settle in for an all-nighter. I stuff the poncho with gathered mushrooms to provide more loft and insulation, more warmth and comfort. I see many fellow anglers fish my stretch of water. I pity them. If success in fishing is defined as catching many, many fish, then yes, they are successful. But they do not understand that perfection is reached not when there are no more fish to pull out of a hole but when one does not even need to fish the hole in the first place. Fishing is the weakest form of fishing. I am not weak. I am the tenkara.

This comes into play when people ask me which tenkara rod to get. I get asked this at least once a week, if not more. I am not all that great of a tenkara angler, and I have not tried dozens and dozens of rods, so it always makes me a bit uncomfortable to answer questions like this, but I try to give my best answer with the knowledge I do have.

The rod arrived today. It was packaged in a standard plastic Japanese tenkara rod carton inside of a bunch of bubble wrap inside of a thick, heavy PVC mailing tube. Needless to say, it arrived in one piece.

In case it is not obvious from the TiF Episode above, Shin Takahashi is a LEGIT tenkara angler (top few percentile) with an extensive, successful base in fishing Japanese tenkara tactics using unweighted kebari (Japanese tenkara flies).

Then, using what he already knew about tenkara, he took the mechanics and flies of competition fishing methods and combined them all. The most important step in that was using his deep knowledge of FISH habits and rivers to design rigs and presentations using his combined knowledge and discoveries.

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