When I first heard about the new Suzume tenkara rod from Zen Fly Fishing, my first thought was, “arrgh, here comes another ‘me too’ rod”. I really had no interest in trying another one but I got the opportunity to test one out with the company’s owner Karin Miller on a recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. She let me play around with one and I was thoroughly impressed. I went from “arrgh, to ah-ha!”
First, a little about the rod’s technicalities. It’s a triple-zoom rod that is relatively “short” compared to the tenkara rods I’m used to fishing. Here are some basic specs to give you a primer before I go into more detail …
Closed length: 19″
Open Lengths: 7 ft. 7″, 9′ ft. 3″ and 10′ ft. 8″
Weight: 3.3 oz.
Handle Length: 11″
Flex: 6:4
I’m used to fishing a 13′ rod so it took a little adjustment for me to get used to the shorter lengths. But once I speed dated with the 3 different zoom lengths, I fell in love with all of them. Rod-length polygamy is legal in tenkara, right?
Many triple-zoom rods I’ve tried have great action in one or two positions, but become tip heavy or downright clumsy in at least one position. Not so with the Suzume. All three positions feel different, but great. You just have to adjust your casting stroke a little. But once you get it, you “get it”.
Turnover is superb, smooth, accurate, and pretty intuitive no matter which length you’re dialed into. Even at the max length of 10′ 8″, I consider this a “short” tenkara rod, but I can see anglers in the East or anywhere else where you face menacing overhead riparian vegetation on small streams loving this rod. Just push it down to the 7′ 7″ position and you can present your fly beneath those annoying Rhododendrons.
As far as components, the quality is top notch. The finish is a beautiful, durable gloss, and the quality of the cork is excellent. The grip is about 11″, allowing you to hold it with your preferred grip–whether you like to hold it in the middle, at the bottom, or at the top with your index finger touching the blank. It’s contoured to accommodate different grips styles …
The rod cap is a classy scalloped metal …
While the butt cap is a knurled metal with a coin slot in case it ever gets over tightened. Here you can see the O-rings that keep the three segments locked when closed…
To ensure a good lock when selecting different positions, there are bulges in the sections to create friction which ensures they won’t come undone while casting …
A little background … “Suzume” means “sparrow” in Japanese. The sparrow is considered a highly adaptable bird–capable of adjusting to almost any situation and I suppose the name here is meant to imply this. As I said previously, I can get away with a 13′ rod most of the time in the places where I fish, but I definitely see a niche for this rod. As a matter of fact, while fishing yesterday, I needed to get my fly right up inside an undercut bank. Normally, I would just take a step or two back, but sometimes, the terrain wouldn’t allow it. It would have been nice to quickly zoom the rod down to adjust for the distance without having to cut line and re-rig. This rod gives you that instant convenience.
In my opinion, the Suzume is not an “all-around rod”. But it’s a great one for small streams and tight places. If you fish thin blue lines with lots of green overhead, you will love this rod and it’s a nice one to have in your arsenal if you fish a diversity of waters. You won’t be disappointed. Get more information here.
Great blog…I may have to try one.
Does indeed sound like a nice Shenandoah rod. I personally prefer rods that length to have a bare cork free handle. Would be interesting to use such a short length rod with a full traditional cork handle. Overkill?
Martin, not sure what you mean by “full traditional handle”.
Jason, I am looking for a triple threat rod at the moment. I fish with an Amago right now. In your opinion, how does this compare to the Sato, especially for trout in the 14-18 inch bracket? Thanks for your time and consideration. Gene.
Hi Gene, they’re totally different animals. First off, they’re different lengths. And the action of the Sato is more robust. While you could probably handle up to an 18″ fish with the Suzume, it’s really a small stream rod. If i were you, I’d use the Amago for those bigger fish and get the Suzume for smaller fish and streams.
I certainly don’t want to restart any previous debate. Probably should of put “traditional” in quotes: A larger diameter cork or foam handle.
My short rods Kiyotaki 24, Soyokaze 24, 27 and Suntech Kurenai rods, though not technically Tenkara rods do not have cork or foam. I’m used to rods this length without it. Will be interesting to fish such a short rod with a cork handle. In fact this is probably one of the shortest cork handle rods. Wondering if any European or American companies will ever produce a Seiryu or Keiryu rod?
Any chatter/clicking of sections of this rod in the shorter positions? Just curious if its one of those zoom rods that has a little play, or if the sections really stay put and the rod feels smooth and flawless ?
Nope. None at all. There are “bulges” between the sections that create friction to prevent that from happening. All you have to do is cinch it down and give it a (very) slight twist and they’re locked firmly into place–yet still easy to unzoom.
Jason, thanks for the info about the rods. It’s very difficult, and kind of a crap shoot to buy a rod before you can either see, it or fish it. We need more stores in my area (Imperial, MO) to handle Tenkara equipment. Again, thanks for the info.
I’ve been saying we need tenkara rods in brick & mortar stores for years. Many people will absolutely not buy a rod if they can’t test cast it first and I think that’s been a big obstacle for tenkara.
There is one store that I know of in the St. Lours area that does carry only 2 or 3 of the TFO rods, buts that’s just about all in this area. Most return policies are only good for manufacturer’s defects.
I know some people think it is unethical, but some companies are OK with you buying a rod and returning it if you don’t like it, knowing it is sometimes impossible to try before you buy. I was not able to find any return policy on the Zen website, but TUSA for example offers 60 days. Maybe Karin or Jason can clarify if Zen offers a similar option?
Hi Jason! I never saw something about Suzume is the recommendation tippet diameter.
Hi Erixs,
You could contact Zen Tenkara directly about what they recommend but I usually recommend a 5x or 4x max. In fact, for trout, I pretty much only fish 5x or 6x.