A while back, I wrote a review of Tenkara USA’s “new” yellow line. It was supposed to have less memory and be more visible than the company’s previous level fluorocarbon lines (and it was). But Tenkara USA recently came out with a new line of lines that is supposed to be even better (and it is). Here’s my quick review…
For about the last 3 years, I’ve been searching for a level line that I can see all the time. I’ve tried a lot of level lines for tenkara since then and most of them have had good visibility, but not in every lighting situation. About 99% of my fishing here in Colorado is done in bright sunshine on streams with a light substrate and lots of glare on the water. Many lines I tried were easily visible against a dark background (like streamside foliage or darker water in the shade) but basically became invisible on water with glare or against lighter colored rock.
As soon as I saw the new orange and pink lines from Tenkara USA, I thought they might be a candidate for my holy grail of tenkara lines. Unlike most tenkara-specific fluorocarbon lines, they are opaque rather than transparent. I thought this might make them easier to see in situations with a lot of glare, since the line wouldn’t be backlit or throw its own shine to blend in with the glare on the water. This was the concept behind the painted tenkara lines I experimented with. While those lines worked because they were completely opaque, the paint quickly flaked off after a few hours on the water making them too high maintenance for me. I needed a line that was inherently opaque, not just a surface coating that would require frequent reapplication.
While the line is available in both orange and pink, I bought a spool of the pink just because it looked brighter.
One very sunny day, I took the line out for the first time. Within minutes, I could tell it was more visible than the previous Tenkara USA level line. I was able to easily track it against a variety of backgrounds (even in glare). In fact, this is probably the easiest line to track I have used to date. I didn’t lose sight of it once!
The company claims that this new line is a slightly different formula from its predecessor and has even less memory. While I can vouch that the old yellow line definitely did have low memory, I can’t really say this new line has less. It does have low memory, but if it’s less than the old line, I don’t notice it. At the very least, it’s the same. I didn’t even stretch my line after taking it off the spool and there were no coils. I like that because stretching my line has always seemed an awkward ritual to me.
One thing I like about this line is that it’s very supple. Casts just feel smoother than other fluorocarbon lines I’ve tried. I don’t think it makes me cast any better, but it just feels nicer.
With this new line, Tenkara USA has also expanded its range of diameters. Previously, they only offered their level lines in 3.5 and 4.5. But now, they also offer a thinner 2.5 diameter for more delicate presentations. I chose the 3.5 because I feel that’s a good all-around size for the type of fishing I do.
Without a doubt, this is the best tenkara level line I have ever used. It has all the right qualities: good visibility, low memory, and it casts as smooth as silk. While I’m happy with the pink color, I’ll probably order a spool of the orange as well just to leave no stone unturned in my quest for the holy grail of tenkara lines.
Learn more about these lines on the Tenkara USA website.
I am learning that stretching the whole line at once is the method that I like best. If you don’t do it, please try it at least once…
Jason,
I have found that the pink lines are very easy for me to see in overcast conditions. Have you noticed the same thing?
The new opaque color is also easier to see in bright winter conditions against snow backgrounds.
John
John, I haven’t tried it on a cloudy day yet but that’s good to know. Almost every time I go fishing it’s super sunny so glare is my biggest challenge. Good to know about the snow too.
Hi Jason
Aren’t you on the TenkaraUSA payroll anymore? Is this a fair review or just a clever ad?
😉
Hi Stephan. I am not. Maybe you missed this post but I quit Tenkara USA almost a year ago: https://www.tenkaratalk.com/2012/08/why-i-left-tenkara-usa/
^^For a good reason too! Nothing should take away from you and your family
Switching back and forth between the T-Bum Orange HiVis #3 line and the TUSA #3.5 Orange and the #2.5 Pink lines while casting in my backyard under dappled sun and shade lighting conditions showed the opaque lines to have an added visual advantage in the shaded areas. However, again, the thicker the HiVis line the better the it shows up in almost any lighting condition except total darkness.
All of these lines (including the older Chartreuse TUSA #4.5 line) are fluorescent under my Black Light, but the Orange TUSA line turns a pale pink and the pink TUSA line turns a pale shade of lavender, while the Chartreuse TUSA and the Orange Sunline (T-bum’s Orange HiVis line) light up much closer to their natural lighting colors during normal daylight conditions.
During periods of high relative UV lighting like dawn, dusk, and cloudy, overcast lighting conditions (in which we can’t see the UV light in but the trout can), I do not know if the added line visibility these lines will show to the fish will have any effects on the fish. But the one thing you can count on for sure is that these lines will all be much more visible to the trout than they will be visible to us, since fluorescent colors and pigments have the ability to take in invisible UV light from the sun, moon and stars and reflect visible light back of a slightly longer wave length that we and the fish can both see.
The NoVis FC fishing lines and tippet materials that I have checked under Black Light do not light up at all, so you may want to use a transition section of a NoVis FC line and a longer tippet during periods of high UV light transmission to get more separation between your fly pattern and these highly visible to the fish HiVis T-lines.
As always, thanks for the wealth of information Karl! You always make me wonder if I’ve been ignoring the importance of UV in flies and lines.
Well I fished the new 3.5 TUSA Orange line yesterday, all 5 feet of it to which was added a 1 foot section of the Pink TUSA 2.5 line as a spotter/transition section – plus 6 inches of 6 Lb. FC line to finish out the transition section before 3 feet of tippet was added, and I have to say that the thicker orange line was a lot more visible to me than the thinner pink line was under the same exact lighting conditions. This was under bright sunny conditions with heavy shadows. I am not saying that under some conditions the Pink line may beat the Orange line in visibility, but so far that has not happened to me. If and when it does happen, I will be sure to let you all know.
Just bought the pink line based on your recommendation. Thanks again for the great info Jason!
Not sure if this will ever get seen because the thread is several years old, but I’m interested to hear if you ever did a direct comparison between the pink and orange for visibility.
Hi Dave. For me, they’re about the same. The bigger difference is that Tenkara USA switched to an opaque line whereas most others are transparent. That made a vid difference for me in terms of visibility. I can see the orange and the pink about the same now. Translucent yellow or chartreuse is the one I have the most trouble with.