Below, you'll find an abbreviated, written review of the Baichi.
 |
| Zen's rod markings are placed halfway up the first blank, most companies place their down towards the handle. |
Have you ever been to the hardware store and noticed how many different types of hammers hang on the wall? There are plenty to choose from. Most of us, when we hear the word hammer visualize the claw hammer. It's the typical home repair hammer most folks use to hang pictures on the wall and remove those incorrectly positioned nails (where the claw use comes in). For most, the claw hammer gets 90% of projects done. That should make your decision as to which hammer to buy easy. The purpose is to hammer nails into materials, how hard can choosing a hammer be? Right?
My rehtorical question is a set up. There are reasons mutliple types of hammers are designed and created. There are reasons retailers carry all of those hammers and allow them to take up space on the shelves! Each hammer has it's designed use, the sledge hammer being my favorite. It should come as no surprise that Tenkara rods are the same.
Zen Fly Fishing has introduced it's newest rod, the Baichi, with a purposeful design.
Recently I was able to get a hold the Baichi. For over 2 weeks, I've been able to test drive it and get a feel for their first zoom rod. Much like Zen's other rods, there is a purpose behind the design.
It zooms from 9ft to 11ft, making it Zen's shortest rod option.
 |
| The zoom segments of the Baichi with the Zen standard, green bands. |
Zen chose not to color in the lines with this rod- not meaning it's a sloppy effort or rod, but much like Kyojin rod they produce, the Baichi pushes boundaries. I personally love that about Zen! They're one of the leading definers of what American Tenkara is all about.
For a short rod it's not the lightest in its length class, weighing in at 3.6 oz. That’s still pretty dang light! Keep in mind, zoom rods tend to weigh more by default given the fact more literally goes into it. With the Baichi, I do not believe their goal was to give you the lightest weight zoom rod on the market. No, their purpose is more diabolical!
On Zen's website, the Baichi is described as the perfect transition rod for those coming from a western fly fishing background. As most of us know, the casting stroke for Tenkara is different enough from a western rod to cause frustration for a new angler; Zen wanted to narrow that gap with this rod. You should know, the way the Baichi casts isn't so different that an experienced Tenkara angler would have trouble casting it.
Probably the biggest feature of this rod is it's ability to effectly cast and fish nymphs, weighted and unweighted. The majority of Tenkara rods marketed here in the US aren't really designed with that in mind, which makes the Baichi a very special rod. There are some streams that almost require nymphs at certain times, streams that yield very large fish. This rod is able to handle that problem.
Baichi, meaning medium, is appropriately named as it is designed to handle fish in the 14' to 20' range. Obviously it can handle smaller fish. I have caught an 18" Rainbow trout on the Baichi and was able to turn his head and direct the fish where I wanted it to go. Impressive rod! So as it is designed to be a great rod for a beginner to transition into, a great rod for fishing nymphs, and handling larger fish, the Baichi is a must have in your arsenal. Oh, and more thing, the action of the Baichi is rated as a 7:3 flex, resulting in it being a fast rod, which is what most western anglers are use to. This rod could be your go to nymph rod, even for Czech nymphing! It could be the rod you let your western angler friends cast to get them into Tenkara more easily!
Zen's newest rod makes a great addition to your line up. It's no 2nd fiddle or backseat driver- this rod is all about catching larger fish and allowing the experienced angler to throw nymphing rigs. Can you tell I don't color inside the lines with the Ten Colors of Tenkara either? And yes, if you're thinking about throwing a sakasa kebari as an attractor fly 10 inches above a weighted nymph......it's effective.
 |
| Baichi Cork Porn |
 |
| Winding Check |
 |
| Butt Cap |
Check out Zen at their website here to view their complete line up!
I'm a little confused by something here... you say:
ReplyDelete"Probably the biggest feature of this rod is it's ability to effectly cast and fish nymphs, weighted and unweighted. The majority of Tenkara rods marketed here in the US aren't really designed with that in mind..."
So are you suggesting that most tenkara rods are not designed to fish nymphs that are unweighted either? Because I'm not sure what, other than a nymph or emerger hybrid, a kebari fly would be... certainly we don't use weighted nymphs in tenkara because its not necessary, but nymphs are pretty much the only thing most tenkara anglers fish, no?
Other thing is, I'm not sure why anyone who fished tenkara would want to use a weighted nymph. In Japan I saw none in use at all for Tenkara fishing. The idea was to use the natural water features to sink the fly to where nature would put it... if you're fishing SO deep that you need weighted nymphs, you probably aren't really fishing traditional tenkara, right?
Klags, you're right! If using a weighted nymph or a nymphing rig, it's not "traditional" tenkara. Zen, the company who developed this rod, doesn't stick to a traditional approach with tenkara. Their aim is to make it more for North American waters and techniques. I applaud them for doing such because it further develops tenkara in America for those who won't stick to a traditional tenkara approach.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about this rod is that it can cast a multiple nymph rig, such as 2 or 3 nymphs because of its stiffness and short length. You wont find another tenkara rod like it.