Last year I was curious to try out a keiryu style rod using tenkara methods for a couple of different reasons. I wanted to see what a corkless handled rod was like and I wanted to use it in a place where I know there are bigger fish. I ended up getting a Suntech Keiryu FMX 45. Reading a few different places, but most noticeably on tenkarabum.com, it seems the rod performs better at the longer lengths it comes. I broke mine (due to user error) on the 17" smallmouth below and I was actually keiryu fish with it, not tenkara.
Since I broke three of the sections, I want to replace it but don’t know what size I want. The 54 seems just on the edge of not being too heavy to fish one handed and the 62 seems like it would be. Based on my understanding, I think most of the parts are interchangeable. If that’s true, I think I could get one of the longer rods, have spare parts, and potentially get two rods out of the deal by using the handle from the one I have.
The question is which length? From how I read it, seems Chris at TB seems to think the 62 may be the sweet spot for the rod - though I’m not sure. Any thoughts out there?
I would wager that yes, If you get the 54 or 62 you could use your other parts as spares or to make a “second” shorter rod.
I bet the 54 will be usable as a kinda awkward 1-hander, and the 62 will necessitate 2 hands.
My longest rod is still the Air Stage 390 that I kinda “wound up” with.
I need something like a Nissin 450ZX or Daiwa 42 of some sort. I haven’t decided yet, they both sound great.
Most of my fishing works best with rods ranging from 270 to 360cm, but there are a few places where I benefit from a longer rod and could use the additional strength.
The parts are indeed interchangeable, so you could get a longer rod and fish either one by swapping the three parts.
Which length is the sweet spot depends on what you value the most. Light weight or smooth casting. The 54 is noticeably lighter. The 62 is heavier, but the weight provides greater inertia, which helps to load the rod, making the casting stroke slower but smoother. The longer rod can spread the force over a bigger arc, and thus should be able to handle fish that are a bit larger.
I would not consider either one to be a one-handed rod.
If you ever decide to just replace the three sections, I have them in stock.
Thanks for your input. The places I would be using this rod are some of the bigger waters that I fish. They range from about 30’-75’ wide at points. Before I broke the 45, I was using it and having great fun in rivers 10’-20’ wide, albeit standing in the middle of them.
For most of my fishing, the rods lengths that work best for me are 330cm - 360cm or so. I have a few where the 270 is perfect and a few where the bigger rod would be better, but fish them less frequently (maybe a couple of times a month).
That’s exciting to know I could make two rods from one. It’s tempting to buy an entirely new one. Thanks for the thoughts on the sweet spot. The two handed use won’t bother me. When I caught the 19" brown below (highly unexpected on the river I was fishing! 12" is big there.), I was certainly using using two hands to get her in.
I like 2 major lengths which are the 320 cm and the 360 cm. I mainly fish small to medium streams
so this seems to be the easiest for casting. I do have other rod lengths but it seems I always come back to these two lengths. Some of this has to do with canopy and the ability to reduce snags. I do use 380 cm to 400 cm for pond fishing. What do you like best?
I fish small streams, and I like doing so with triple-zoom rods. I use the Dragontail Mizuchi (240/290/340 cm or 8/9.6/11 ft) and the Zen Tenkara Suzume (235/283/329 cm or 7.7/9.3/10.8 ft).
I have a 400 cm rod but rarely use it. I don’t have a 360.
I occasionally use a 275 cm (Tanuki)but mostly I use a 360 cm (Ninja or TB36) in the Driftless Area. When I’m out West on the bigger rivers I use a 395 cm(Nissin Honryu) rod.
I have a couple lengths that I use mostly, depending on if I’m in the small mountain streams or on larger rivers at lower elevations. If I have the room, I will usually have something in the 4.5m range (Oni Honryu 450, Air Stage Honryu 450, Daiwa LT H44) for better reach, one handed use, and handling bigger fish. In the small streams, I love my traveler 270 and kurenai HM30R. If I’m not expecting overly big fish and not restricted with casting, I like 390 rods (traveler 39, Tenryu 39/39TA).That being said, my rods range from 240 to 6.6 and I enjoy every one of them in various situations.
Mine go from 275cm to a 480cm which I used for the first time Friday. It was sweet casting and allowed me to get to some spooky fish on a sunny day. I just pick the rod I deem correct for the situation. They are all different but but very enjoyable.
