Daiwa has three lines of tenkara rods: the lower priced entry level NEO series; the medium priced SF series; and the top of the line DSG rods. TenkaraBum is offering the mid-priced SF series. There are six rods in the SF series. Two are designed for level lines, the LL41SF (13.5′) and the LL36SF (11.8′). Also offered are four rods that are designed for level and tapered lines, these are the “LT” rods: LT33SF(10.7′ ), LT36SF( 12′), LT39SF(12.9′ ) and LT44SF(14.5′ ). At TenkaraBum the SF series rods range in price from $345 to $415. Certainly not an “entry-level” price for many of us – but still when compared to the cost of a premium western rod, reel and line – not too bad.
I have now fished with all but one of the SF rods, and I have to say I really like them. There are other brands that I haven’t fished with yet but the Daiwa tenkara rods are clearly the nicest ones I’ve come across. Dr. Ishigaki once told me that Shimano and Daiwa are seen in Japan as the two top rod companies. I have fished with the Shimanos and I’d have to say I like the Daiwa tenkara rods quite a bit better.
The Daiwa Tenkara rods are my new favorite rods – by far.
-Christopher Stewart
That last statement, “The Daiwa Tenkara rods are my new favorite rods – by far”, caught my attention. If you check out his rod reviews at TenkaraBum, you’ll see that Chris has fished with quite a few rods – so this had me intrigued. I had a few questions for Chris so I figured why not ask them here at CastingAround for everyone to hear. So that’s what I did. Also, I managed to get my hands on one of these rods – so in a soon to follow post I’m going to give some first impressions and then hopefully if the conditions cooperate I’ll get on the stream soon and see how it fishes.
It seems like importing these rods is a lot of trouble to go to – what is it about them that made you want to offer them for sale?
I like long rods and I like 5:5 rods. I spent some time looking at different Japanese websites just to see what’s out there and noticed that Daiwa had a 13 ½ foot 5:5 rod that was surprisingly light – only 3 ounces. I decided to get one to see what it was like. When I fished with it the first time I was just blown away. In the first place, it actually weighs less than 3 ounces. I get 2.8 ounces on my postal scale, (I always weigh rods without the tip plug because the plug isn’t in the rod when I’m fishing). Beyond the light weight, though, I really loved the action. It is clearly a full flex rod, but it isn’t nearly as whippy as the 5:5 rods (or even the soft 6:4s) that I’d fished before. I found that I was much better able to feel the rod loading, and being able to feel the loading better, it was much easier to make precise, tight loop casts. The tactile feedback is a lot more important than you realize. The difference in the feel was just really surprising. With the lighter weight and better feel, I thought it was a fabulous rod. I was sure that other people, or at least people who have fished a number of different rods, would feel the same way.
I had a couple dilemmas. Number one, I had to talk about the rod. I mean, my whole website kind of revolves around talking about rods. I couldn’t talk about this great rod that, oh, by the way, you can’t get. The second dilemma was that I expected that I would lose a good share of my line sales, which have been the core of my business, when the better known company out there comes out with their own hi-vis fluorocarbon line this spring. TenkaraBum is my full time business, I don’t have a job to fall back on, so I figured I would need something to make up for the lost line sales. Selling rods was the most logical choice.
These rods come in two designations LL (level-line) and LT (level and tapered line). Anglers might be confused by these designations, can you explain the differences between the two and why a person might choose one over the other or what fishing conditions might warrant using one over the other?
Well, trying to avoid getting too caught up in details, the rods designed specifically for casting level lines are more full flex and the rods designed to cast either level lines or tapered lines are more tip flex. Perhaps not in every case, but in general, tapered lines are heavier than level lines. To cast a heavier line, you want a stiffer rod. The rods designed to cast tapered lines as well as level lines tend to have stiffer mid sections to be able to handle the heavier tapered lines. However, the tips have to be pretty flexible to allow them to still cast the lighter level line. You get a rod with the tip being much more flexible in relation to the mid section. Being able to cast a range of line weights allows you to pick a heavier line if you are trying to cast into a breeze or if you are fishing with a more wind resistant fly. Also, if you are fishing a weighted fly, a heavier line will result in a smoother feeling cast. Some people feel that the LT rods give them more precise casts, possibly because of the stiffer mid section of the rod, but possibly also because the 5:5 or level line rods they are used to are really quite soft. I really prefer fishing with the lightest line I can get away with, so for me the LL rod is the better choice.
With fly rods, as with most else, there is a diminishing return on performance as the price goes up. Over a certain price-point it seems like one is paying for cosmetics or for high-end materials that don’t improve the actual useability very much (or at least not in ways noticeable to the average Joe). Not that there’s anything wrong with that – it can be nice to have a beautiful piece of equipment, and that can enhance your fishing experience in it’s own way. Where would you say these rods sit on that continuum?
If you read the rod reviews on my site, you’ll see several rods that I described as being cosmetically beautiful, with very detailed paint jobs. They’re expensive rods and I have to think that a lot of the cost went to pay for the paint job. I think the Daiwa rods are different. They look nice. They’re pretty rods. However, I think the biggest difference is in the rods’ actions. The rods don’t have the fanciest paint job. They don’t have the ultra top grade cork. They just have really nice actions – plus they are really light weight compared to most other rods on the market. High end materials actually do affect usability in a way that the average Joe will notice the first time he casts the rod. Now, maybe it doesn’t matter to him that the rod is a half ounce lighter, but a half ounce on a three ounce rod is a pretty large percentage. If he’s on a tight budget, he might decide the difference is a little too dear, but he’ll notice it.
There are rods more expensive than these in Japan. Daiwa has a more expensive line of rods. Shimano has a more expensive rod. These are premium rods at a premium price, but they’re not the top of the market.
What’s the warranty like and how about the availability of service and/or replacement parts?
There is a one year warranty. In order to make a claim, the broken part must be sent to Daiwa in Japan along with a payment of 2000 yen (roughly $27). I will handle warranty claims and shipping parts back and forth. I don’t know how long the warranty claim will take because I haven’t had to make any. Replacement parts are available, and I plan to stock replacement screw caps for the rod butt, tip plugs and tip sections.
I know you’ve got a lot of info on your site (http://www.tenkarabum.com/daiwa-tenkara-rods.html) about these rods that people can read, but is there anything in particular that you’d like to highlight?
Just a few points. First, I will write a separate review for each rod, although that will take some time because to do the rods justice, I need to spend a lot more stream time than I’ve been able to get recently. Second, if people have questions, by all means ask. There is a contact form at http://www.tenkarabum.com/contact-us.html. Finally, I’ve fished with a lot of rods now, and these are amazing rods. I’m very, very happy with them. If I wasn’t I never would have bought more than just that first one and I never would have decided to import them.
I’d like to thank Christopher Stewart for his time – go check out TenkaraBum for good info and good stuff.
Dead Drift follows renowned Kiwi fly fishing guide, Dean Bell, as he stalks the prodigious trout of New Zealand’s South island. The DVD, produced by Stealth Films, is filmed in the Wilderness Waters of Fiordland, South Island, New Zealand – and after watching, you’ll want to book a flight to get there. The waters are limpid and the trout are large.
Dead Drift is not one of those extreme fishing films, it is not a story, it is not about the fly fishing lifestyle. Dead Drift is about fly fishing basics. In the DVD we follow Mr. Bell along as he fishes, and he points out what he’s thinking as he stalks, casts to and lands fine, fat fish (one after another). I had to laugh at one point when he releases a nice fat fish of about 16-inches or so and he says something about how it’s not always about size. The advice you’ll get is fundamental. Mr. Bell does not spend any time discussing, flies, leaders, gear or even casting technique. Rather he discusses how to analyze the fishing situation – prior to casting. He tackles individual trout, showing us where they are and how he is going to approach them – even considering where he can land them. It is a simple message – but one the new anglers ought to hear, and one that experienced anglers sometimes need to be reminded of. Presentation, presentation, presentation. Dead Drift is not an “exciting” or flashy video – it is simple, well-filmed, and fundamental. It’s all about getting the fly in front of the fish without spooking it, making the best presentation, and making sure you have an endgame planned.
Note – Stealth Films is now offering a discount on Dead Drift.
Stealth Films also offers other New Zealand oriented DVDs at their site including wildlife documentaries and hunting videos. I watched New Zealand’s Fiordland Moose which is about North American Moose in New Zealand (who knew?) and Himalyan Tahr. Both were well made and intriguing. Stealth Films also offers personal safari filming services so you can preserve your hunting or fishing adventures for posterity.
Disclaimer: I received the above reviewed DVD, free of charge for review purposes from Stealth Films. I am in no way associated with Stealth Films, and received no compensation.
Tenkara is not dapping – not that there’s anything wrong with that. Tenkara is casting. I always try to make this point when discussing tenkara with folks. If one imagines that tenkara is dapping then they don’t really have the correct information to decide whether tenkara is something that they might like to try.
This is a nice short video showing Tenkara USA founder Daniel Galhardo doing some fishing with a long line. You get to see some tenkara casting, tenkara-style fish landing and a nice sized fish taken. But my favorite part is the image at the very end – a beautiful picture of a long tenkara cast caught mid-air.
In his book Feathers: Evolution of a Natural Miracle, author Thor Hanson takes us on a journey down the rabbit hole. Though it is not a journey along a fertile ambling limestone stream or up a mountainside along the banks of a rushing mountain brook, it is nevertheless a journey that many a fly fisher (or especially fly tyer) will enjoy. I mean, who thinks about feathers more than fly tyers? This particular rabbit hole is one that was entered when the author started thinking about feathers. Where did they come from? Why did they evolve? How do they work? How do they grow? Why are people fascinated by them? These are all questions that are pondered in this book.
I call it a journey – because that’s the feeling that I got when reading it. Mr. Hanson presents the book as an unfolding exploration and with a warm and personal writing style, he takes us along for the discovery. Along the way we meet many characters – and I think this helps keep the book from being a dry exposition about feathers.
The natural starting point for a story about feathers is that famous pigeon-sized “first bird”, Archeopteryx. And so we are taken back to the discovery of and controversy surrounding that famous feathered fossil. Then we are taken deeper back in (geological)time to the more recent discovery of the feathered dinosaurs of China. All the while the story is being told by introducing us to the people behind the discoveries. Frankly, I still find the idea of feathered dinosaurs just wonderful – it makes me smile just imagining it.
The book is divided in to five main sections, Evolution, Fluff, Flight, Fancy and Function. In these sections we learn about possible mechanisms driving feather evolution, modern birds and their feathers, flight, fashion, quill pens and much more. I found it simply fascinating – and I will never look at that little brown sparrow outside of my window the same way again. And yes there is a chapter on fly tying – but it will not offer much that is new to the experienced fly tyer.
This is not a book for everyone. If you do not find natural science interesting and if you do not enjoy pondering the miracles of nature at length, then this is not for you. Also – though it does get into some technical details here and there it is not a hard-core “science” book – it stays well within the bounds of consumer level popular science writing. If you enjoy books by authors like John McPhee and David Quammen, then this is likely a book that you’ll also enjoy.
You can learn more about the author on his webpage: thorhanson.net
Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation for this review, though I was supplied with this book by the publisher.
This past Sunday my father and I hit Yellow Creek in Bedford County Pennsylvania for some trout fishing. We considered a trip for Lake Erie steelhead but I was anxious to try out the new AMAGO tenkara rod from Tenkara USA. Also, wanted to give the new Tenkara USA 13-ft traditional line a workout, try out the new L.L. Bean Gray Ghost Studded, Rubber-Soled wading boots, and fish a new (to me) fly pattern. I had a full slate of tasks – oh and I wanted to relax and enjoy some fishing too.
Tenkara USA Amago:The Amago is a 13.5 ft rod. It’s the second longest rod offered by Tenkara USA, only the Ito is longer. The Amago is rated as a 6:4 action (a “medium” action rating on the Tenkara Action Index) – I don’t have enough experience with enough rods to comment on the relative action too much – but I’ll say that I found the Amago to have plenty of backbone. Unfortunately I didn’t hook into any huge fish, but it handled some 14-inchers with no problem at all, bringing them in quickly. I found that it cast both the new heavier, Tenkara USA Traditional furled line and a fluorocarbon level line with ease (more on lines later). The Amago is a beautiful rod. The unadulterated black matte finish is perfect – all rods should be matte black in my opinion. When I unpacked the rod at home for the first time and extended it to its 13.5-ft length I had to laugh – that’s a long rod. However, on the stream I was glad for the extra length. I have to agree with those that say to choose the longest rod that you can use on any particular stream. However, if the streams that you fish have a lot of over-hanging trees, then a 13.5-ft rod will likely be too long. Yellow Creek, in the area that I fished, is a medium sized stream, maybe 40 feet across on average, with mature trees lining the banks, with very few low-hanging branches over the stream. It’s a perfect tenkara stream and the 13.5-ft Amago matched the stream very nicely.
I do have one complaint about the Amago though – the grip design. The Amago is a long rod, and I found that the grip design did not work for me as well as I’d like. The Amago has a relatively small grip diameter, and except for the end, it is pretty much an un-contoured design. Maybe other anglers will have a different experience, but I found that the small diameter and flat profile did not fit my hand well and by the end of the day I was suffering from some hand fatigue. I couldn’t seem to find a hand position that allowed my index finger to rest along the grip (see pic to right), and the result was that I had to squeeze the grip more tightly. I believe that the Amago would benefit from a larger diameter, more contoured grip, like a reverse half-wells grip, similar to the Iwana II series.
In conclusion, the Amago makes a nice addition to my tenkara rod quiver. Because of it’s length, I would call the Amago a “specialist”, not as versatile as a 12-ft rod. Unless you fish larger, mostly wide-open streams I’m not sure I’d recommend the Amago as your sole tenkara rod. If you’re looking to expand your selection to a big-fish, big-stream rod then I would surely recommend the Amago. That said, I’m in the process of investigated ways to modify the grip to fit my hand better. I’m thinking of wrapping with leather or neoprene to create a larger diameter contoured grip.
Tenkara USA Traditonal Line (new version): Recently Tenkara USA changed up the design on their traditional tenkara lines. They are made of a new material (kevlar I believe – don’t quote me though). The new line is supple and very visible (which can be a good thing when tenkara fishing). On this day I fished the Amago with the 13-ft line (it comes in a 10.5-ft version too). So how does it perform? Well, this was only my second outing with the line – but I think my decision is in. First the good. The line is highly visible, and casts very easily with little effort. I had a little wind and it handled it well (I still haven’t fished it in very windy conditions though). As a major plus it does not get all hinky and uncoiled when snagged. If you’ve fished the older Tenkara USA lines or other furled leaders or lines you know what I mean. The new line doesn’t have any problems like that. Now the bad. The line is heavy. In tenkara fishing it is desirable to be able to keep the entire line off of the water at a distance. Light lines are easier to keep off the water at longer distances. But light lines are harder to cast, especially with wind. Achieving a perfect line design is a is a balancing between these two opposing goals. This line is tilted a little to far to the heavy end for me. I found it very difficult to fish at a distance. I would cast out, lift my arm high to keep the line off of the water and the line would tend to drag back toward me. I just couldn’t fish at a distance. Secondly, the line sinks pretty rapidly. In some circumstances, such as with overhanging trees, you may not be able to keep the rod high enough to keep the line off of the water. In these cases I find that I like a line that floats (like nylon level line or a floating furled line) or doesn’t sink too quickly (fluoro isn’t too bad). This new line sinks pretty rapidly. And that combined with it’s high visibilty makes for fish spooking in my opinion. So for my fishing preferences and fishing locales this line is just not ideal. And on this day my fishing success was much greater with a fluorocarbon level line. This line’s going into the pack to be reserved for windy days.
L.L.Bean Gray Ghost Wading Boots:The Gray Ghost wading boot by L.L.Bean is a rubber-soled boot. I have the studded version ($139), but you can get it without studs too($119). I don’t have too much to say except that I love these boots. I have no complaints. They are comfortable, light and most importantly I didn’t slip once even on mossy rocks and other slick substrates. The look well made – but only time will tell how they hold up.
Purple flies and my “One-fly”: That’s right purple. I’m not sure where I first heard tale of purple wet flies, probably it was with the Snipe and Purple traditional soft-hackle. Here’s a good video from Davie McPhail on tying this. With respect to tenkara flies the first time I heard it mentioned was probably by ERiK Ostrander of TenkaraGuides. ERiK ties a fly that he calls the Purple Haze Kebari (watch him tie it). This is where I got the inspiration for my purple kebari, which is essentially the same thing except that I used purple Pearsall’s Gossamer silk thread instead of sewing thread as ERiK does. So does it work? Well, all day long there was a sparse hatch of tiny (maybe size 26) BWO’s coming off and in one big pool (see the pic at the top of the post), there were some fish taking emergers (they were pretty much ignoring the floating duns). I took a few on tiny emerger patterns and then figured I’d give the purple kebari a try. In short order I brought two more sippers to hand on a size 16 purple kebari, even during BWO hatch activity – make of it what you will.
However, the real winner of the day, and I’d have to say, the year was the good old brown-hackle peacock wetfly. My version is basically a classic wetfly pattern – however most other dressings have a tag of red wool or red hackle tips – I use a brown hackle-tip tail in mine. I’ve been using this simple pattern as my go-to tenkara “one-fly” for the past two seasons and it has been very productive for me. I generally use them in size 12 through 16. Many tenkara fishers in Japan have a signature fly pattern that they fish almost exclusively – I am officially declaring my signature fly the brown-hackle peacock.
The pattern is simply:
brown rooster hackle tail
peacock body
gold wire rib
brown hen-hackle collar
tied on a heavy wet-fly hook.
Disclosure: I bought the Tenkara USA Amago and Traditional lines at a slight discount from retail. I purchased the L.L. Bean wading boots at full retail.
A day late and at least a dollar short - I bring to you a Freestyle Friday. Based on a comment last week from Tom of The Trout Underground today’s edition will be Sci-Fi Friday – Special Robot Edition.
Well I’ve loved science fiction for as long as I can remember. I love reading it, watching it, talking about it. And as far as I’m concerned the best science fiction should have two things: Space Ships and Robots. To be sure there are plenty of excellent science fiction stories that have neither of these elements, and I’ve enjoyed many of these. But my very favorite will include Space Ships or Robots or both. In a nutshell, robots are cool. But if I were asked to examine my love of robots more deeply I might be inclined to think that it has to do with the fact that most robot-centric stories are really about what it means to be human – or maybe more specifically what it means to be sentient. These types of stories examine the human condition, and what it means to be human amid the rush and push of dehumanizing technological advancement, or maybe they examine inequality and prejudice, any way you slice it robots are cool.
Some Science Fiction Books With Robots:
Here’s just a few books with robots that I’ve read and enjoyed.
The Caves of Steel (1954), The Naked Sun (1957): These books are both part of Isaac Asimov’s Robot Novels. Essentially these are detective novels set in the future. The protagonists are detective Elijah Baley and his humaniform robot partner R. Daneel Olivaw. Indeed these books are a bit dated and not for everyone; some modern readers might find them too naive and quaint. But I find these old sci-fi stories to be a lot of fun, they are old fashioned for sure, but I feel it only adds to their appeal.
Rendezvous with Rama (1972): This book is an Arthur C. Clarke classic, which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It is the 22nd century and a mysterious and huge (50 km long) cylindrical spaceship shows up in the solar system – first contact. A team is sent to investigate. The interior of the ship is a vast cylindrical plain divided in the middle by a cylindrical sea. Shortly after arrival the team encounters the robots. The robots of Rama are animal like and seemingly biological – they are deemed “biots” by the team. So these robots are not the machine type or the humaniform type but something cool and different. It is a good read, if a little long, and I recommend it. I cannot really recommend the sequels though.
Perdido Street Station (2003): This book by China Mieville is a force to be reckoned with. It is a science fiction, steampunk, fantasy with dimension hopping spiders, demons, garuda (head and wings of a falcon, body of a man), khepri (body of a woman but with a scarab beetle for a head), cactus people, remade people, and on and on…oh yeah and robots. The setting is a sort of broken down, industrial revolution- era city with steam-punk type technology. So the robots in this story are – you guessed it – steam powered. Pretty cool. The robots play a pretty important part in the story, which I won’t attempt to summarize, it’s just too complicated. Mr. Mieville likes to write – that much is apparent. This is a literary book. I won’t lie – it is a little challenging, but well worth the effort.
Well – for the purposes of getting this post done before next Friday I’ll keep it short. If you haven’t seen them already, the first Transformers movie was ok, the second was so horrible I had to scrub my eyes with bleach after watching it, I haven’t subjected myself to the third… On the flip side for anyone that hadn’t seen it yet – you should watch Blade Runner – a classic with bio-engineered robots. Very loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. I didn’t include this book above because I haven’t read it yet, I’m pacing myself, there’s only so many Philip K. Dick novels out there and I don’t want then to end too soon.
So what about the latest robot movie Real Steel? Well in brief I really enjoyed it. Will It change your life? No. Make you ponder the meaning of the universe? No. Is it like an onion with many layers of meaning to unravel? No. It may not be any of these things but it is a good movie. Sure it is really just a shaggy dog story, sure it is a lot like Rocky, sure it is pretty predictable, and sentimental. But in spite of it all I had a blast. It is really hard to find a sci-fi, or super hero movie that is really appropriate for kids (don’t get me started on Transformers 2). Real Steel keeps the subject material appropriate for the kids. Well, there is the robot violence which could be a bit much for some of the really sensitive tots. If you’re a dad with kids in the 8 to 11 year old range or so, then this is a really fun movie to see with them. Fighting robots – it’s fun.
Robot Music?
No Mr. Roboto for me please. Instead I bring you The Body Electric, (from the albumGrace Under Pressure) by my biggest guilty pleasure, Canadian power trio Rush. The opening line is “One humanoid escapee, an android in the run…” Then it has a binary code chorus, what’s not to love?
A little while ago I headed to a small stream in my little corner of the world (Southwestern Pennsylvania). This brook is a vassal stream of the mighty Youghiogheny River. The Youghiogheny or Yough (pronounced Yock) begins in West Virgina then flows north through western Maryland and continues northwesterly to join the Monongahela River southwest of Pittsburgh. It is generally believed that the Yough got its name from a native American term meaning “A Stream which flows in a contrary direction”. I think that’s a great name for a river – and I can relate to it, as I often feel like I’m traveling in a contrary direction compared to those around me.
So I parked in the lot, grabbed my stuff, 11-ft Tenkara USA Iwana, small fishing waist pack, larger pack for lunch and coffee thermos, and headed off down the trail full of expectations. The air was filled with the scent of pine and fallen leaves, so different than the suburbs. Often I exit my house to be confronted by a smell like burning brakes. I think this is from the steel plant over the hill – but I can’t be positive. Smells are so integral to our experience and so evocative and yet so often overlooked when we consider our experiences. When I think of the time that I lived in Maine I think of two smells – the sweet, astringent aroma of balsam and the slightly corrupted smell of ocean aerosols and lowtides. Other smells evoke other times and places.
Eventually I could hear the stream off to my right and down in a small valley. I could hear it but it was totally obscured by hopelessly, monstrously tangled rhododendron – the kind of rhododendron thicket that has you crawling on your hands and knees, praying that the snakes and bears are indeed more scared of you than you are of them. It was going to be tough fishing. The first bridge crossing that I came to revealed two anglers wading midstream – well that’s one way to tackle the brush I guess – but I hate to wade these types of streams at any time and especially in the fall, you know spawning trout and all. I don’t want to sound too judgemental and high-minded on this point though as some may question whether I should have been fishing at all at this time of the year – well that is a fair question, and frankly I have mixed feelings. I don’t do it so very often and I figure my impact is pretty small in the grand scheme – but nonetheless…at least I was not trampling all through the stream (maybe just a rationalization on my part). So with this section of the stream accounted for I moved on upstream to give the others some room.
Finally I found a few openings that I could navigate a bit easier. Now came the challenge – casting an 11-ft rod in tight brush. Easier said than done. Approaching the stream close enough to cast was a clumsy, crawling, scrambling over things, affair. Finally getting to the stream side I had no confidence that I didn’t spook every fish within 50 feet. So I would sort of weave the rod out over the stream and using a bow-and-arrow cast send the fly to the water (hopefully). Success was not forthcoming. I’m pretty sure that snagging the low-hanging branches and the subsequent shaking to free the fly was not helping in the stealth department. As expected this was tough going but fun anyway.
A little further on I finally found a spot where the stream spilled into a “large” pool and the canopy opened enough to allow a short-stroked side-arm cast of sorts. Still not easy but better. Crawling up to the stream and casting I finally found success on a size 14 Parachute Adams – a beautiful resplendent male brookie in full fall array. That’s what it’s all about. Certainly not the largest trout I’ve caught – but ranking right up there on the satisfaction scale.
The celebration didn’t last long. Somewhere in the landing of the fish I managed to snap the second segment of the tenkara rod. Kneeling down I had laid the rod across my thighs and, I think, my elbow came down on the rod to break it. Total user error – I want to make clear – not equipment failure. So that was the little bit of fishing that I was allowed that day, oh well it was a nice spot to sit for lunch anyway. As a footnote Tenkara USA has an easy system for getting the rod repaired. You can order the replacement parts online (for a very small fee), and so within a few days I was back in business for a lot less $$ and time than many other rod warranty deals, which usually require you to send the rod back.
Need some Tenkara flies? Check out the TenkaraBum for flies by myself and others, as well as Tenkara lines, nets, other accessories, reviews, how-to and more...
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, 
: These books are both part of 
: This book is an Arthur C. Clarke classic, which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It is the 22nd century and a mysterious and huge (50 km long) cylindrical spaceship shows up in the solar system – first contact. A team is sent to investigate. The interior of the ship is a vast cylindrical plain divided in the middle by a cylindrical sea. Shortly after arrival the team encounters the robots. The robots of Rama are animal like and seemingly biological – they are deemed “biots” by the team. So these robots are not the machine type or the humaniform type but something cool and different. It is a good read, if a little long, and I recommend it. I cannot really recommend the sequels though.
: This book by China Mieville is a force to be reckoned with. It is a science fiction, steampunk, fantasy with dimension hopping spiders, demons, garuda (head and wings of a falcon, body of a man), khepri (body of a woman but with a scarab beetle for a head), cactus people, remade people, and on and on…oh yeah and robots. The setting is a sort of broken down, industrial revolution- era city with steam-punk type technology. So the robots in this story are – you guessed it – steam powered. Pretty cool. The robots play a pretty important part in the story, which I won’t attempt to summarize, it’s just too complicated. Mr. Mieville likes to write – that much is apparent. This is a literary book. I won’t lie – it is a little challenging, but well worth the effort.
) by my biggest guilty pleasure, Canadian power trio 
