In 2010, I introduced an on-the-rod tenkara line management system using EZ Keepers. At the time, I was really only trying to come up with a line storage solution for myself. But three years later, I now see pictures of people using EZ Keepers on their tenkara rods all over the internet so it’s pretty apparent that I wasn’t the only one looking for a way to store my line on the rod. I’m still amazed at how popular the idea has become.
I recently stumbled on to an interesting find on eBay that I thought those who like EZ Keepers might find interesting. It’s a snap-on line holder that works essentially the same way but might have a few advantages.
This line holder essentially does the same thing EZ Keepers do but it’s one piece and much easier to install. Instead of wrangling O-rings around the blank, it simply snaps on and off the rod.
There are grooves at each end to wrap the line and a foam insert in the middle to secure the fly. They come in two different sizes and I got the one that is designated for “2.7 meter” rods which fits most of the tenkara rods I have but it is definitely more secure on thicker blanks. On thinner rods, it is loose and can swing around while you’re wrapping the line onto it.
Advantages
One thing that I think people would like about this line holder is that it is so easy to install and remove that you could use them almost like spools. Have a few of them rigged up and snap them onto the rods you want or switch them out with ease. They don’t really take up any more room than a spool and will stow vertically so they can easily be slipped into those unused spaces of a deep chest pack.
They’re also very light. At first, I was a little worried about attaching something that looks this big to the rod. Would it affect how the rod feels? Would it throw off the balance? But at just 0.03 oz., it doesn’t. Because it’s so light and any added weight is so close to the handle, I couldn’t notice any difference when casting with it on the rod.
Disadvantages
People who already use solutions similar to EZ Keepers know that they have the ability to space them out as far apart as the butt section of the rod will allow to get the maximum winding efficiency. These line holders are only 6″ long whereas you might be able to space out your EZ Keepers 8″-10″ (depending on the rod) to make winding faster. We’re probably only talking a couple of seconds of difference here but I thought I would point it out.
And, just like EZ Keepers, these will put kinks in fluorocarbon level lines. That’s just the nature of the beast. They are fine with the more supple UNI thread or Kevlar furled lines though.
So, while I still prefer spools because I mostly fish level lines and don’t want to deal with the kinks, I just wanted to share what I thought was an interesting design for on-board line storage. These holders aren’t marked with any logo and didn’t come with any packaging so I have no idea which company makes them. But if you’re interested, a quick eBay search on the right day just might help you land a new line management toy to experiment with.
Tom Davis also reviewed this line holder here, though he got the larger size.
I tried something similar to this last year using rig winders used in pole fishing http://thetroutfly.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/tenkara-line-storage.html, I found the solution pretty good but as you’ve pointed out it was a bit kinky, I liked being able to remove the winder from the rod while fishing and I still carry a spare line on one of these or a tronix rig winder when I’m fishing just in case. These look much better than what I was using but I guess these have been designed specifically for this.
Hope you don’t mind me popping a link in for anyone who likes DIY or is tight with money like I am Jason.
Hello Jason,
How you find us là.Moi fact that am a fan of EZ Keepers, and that very convenient to put away his line while fishing.
I’ll go for a ride on his way to Ebay
And thank you for sharing this find us
Eric
I looked at these and discounted them because they come with a warning that they might damage the finish on the rod clipping them on. I did not want to take the risk.
Daniel,
I can’t see it damaging the finish. It’s just plastic and flexes. If it did, then the bigger problem might be the quality of the rod.
I would worry too much about the wear and tear on the rod blanks with this, especially if they were the wrong size. At the point of using something this large, the spools are probably just as easy
In thinking this through to it’s logical conclusion, why go from line spool to rod line holder at all. There is no reason why this attachment clip idea could not be adapted to round plastic line spools and solve several issues in one leap. It just may take some Colorado blogger with some pull in the industry to exert a bit of influence in the right direction, if you get my drift;).
James, I kind of had a similar idea. But I don’t think you’d want to leave a spool attached while casting because it might throw off the balance or become detached (I suppose that would depend on how heavy it was). At least this line holder has a very low profile and grips the right diameter rods very securely.
the tenkara EZ keeper enhancement:
we’ve all seen and tried/use additional o rings on the rod between the keepers fly keeper;they roll up or down as needed.
here’s another fantastic enhancement that I’ve been using for the last 5 years: C&F make a tippet holding button designed to stick on your reel. Well, in tenkara, they stick just as well on the rod blank and even on the cork handle (had one on an iwana that is still going and had outlasted two o rings on the ez keepers). don’t worry that they aren’t curved, they stick just fine, and don’t come off when wet. you can snag the #3-4 level line in it and it will hold it tight. best applied just above where you hold the rod.
It allows one to hook the fly on an Ez keeper, wrap the line on the keepers, and then use the button to lock in any remaining the loop (unless you are very lucky, the combination fo line and tippet rarely works out precisely. much faster and more convenient than spooling on a winder, nearest thing I’ve ever found to the convenience of clipping yr fly to the guide and winding taught when moving upstream.
to release, pull the loop out of the button, snappy off the loops from the ez keeper (2 secs, and the fly is stil attached ready to pick off and cast.
tangle free solution, fast to wind up and unwind.
oh yeah, those kinks – yr gonna need to stretch the level line. But you also need to when wound on a spool, that gives it loops instead of kinks. no biggy.
C
I have used the EZ Keepers, but now simply use 3″ NiteIze Gear Ties (now available at any hardware store) coupled with one small O-ring (for each tie) to keep it in place on the rod. The NiteIze ties simply fold over the rod when not in use, then bend upward (vertical to the rod) to provide a “post” to wrap the line around. So, same function as EZ Keepers, but I can more quickly remove them from the rod, space them out very easily, and even add another tie to address the major flaw of EZ Keepers – the varying location of the fly. No worries with these ties, wherever the fly ends up after wrapping, just add a tie. The ties are about $2.50 for four, and can be repurposed for anything, unlike the EZ Keepers or this plastic holder proposed above. In addition, the 3″ ties are tiny and fit into any pocket if you want to remove them, also unlike this plastic device above. Even if this plastic device weighs next to noting, I’d rather not have to find a place to keep it when not in use.
Craig, I looked up the C & F tippet holding button that you mentioned, cool! But what is the diameter of the button? (their site does not say, just the distance for the line to rod.)
Mitch, good idea! Could you post a good pic of it off and on your rod? (see bottom of this site where it says, Select an image, choose file. Thanks! .
timmy, the C&F tippet holder buttons are 12mm outer diameter, with the diameter of the smaller top 9 mm.
picture below
Thanks for the info. and the pic Craig, looks cool!
Have you ever tried to locate or order the Owner BS 10 clip on long holder. I see it or slight variations of it made by other companies on many Japanese Tenkara websites.
オーナーラインホルダー、BS10
http://takamiya.jp/html/item/002/001/item128865.html
Hi David, no I have not seen those before. Good find and thanks for the link!
Timmy – sure thing…here are the images…the entire image and an image of the middle tie and one of the two end ties.
Here is a unique line holder from Japan I have not seen before. It’s really just a ladder type frame with holder and strap to connect it round the rod. I believe it does say it is a discontinued product. The blog post is dated June 10, 2013.
http://blogimg.goo.ne.jp/user_image/5b/75/ac9777b2e8b81cbb4e34f03c60823205.jpg
You may notice it is a line with a sinker. Indeed the blog title is Mountain Stream Fishing Equipment ( bait fishing) However, on the webpage the rod is identified as a 3.6m Tenkara rod. Maybe he has been burned at the stake. :-0
More pics of line holder and rod, bear bells, etc on the main blog.Plus a nifty rod quiver of a type I do see from time to time.
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/siden758/e/d4808e327835e96a5f59c13734b91265
But something different.
I just uploaded my first video on youtube under “Tenkara Line Keeper” in it I show the button keeper a hook keeper and home made zoom feature I came up with. I tried it on the water a few weeks ago and it all seems to work pretty good. I tried the friggin EZ keepers and after a few minutes of threading western Washington brush one was missing already, have since thrown those useless things away. I forgot to mention that the split ring used as the hook keeper is a size 1, the smallest I could find, and the rubber gaskets are available from NAPA and Ace Hardware.
Two bent paper clips attached with electrician’s tape. Too simple, no tape residue, solid and strong.
You can also just collapse the rod when moving through heavy brush or traveling in car and wrap line around the cork handle in a wide wrap. Stick hook in the cork.