Right Rod for the Conditions.

I posted here a while back about my purchase of the Tenryu Rayz Spectra 6' 1" Lite Lite rod. While I gave it a good workout over at the Normandy tailrace I bought the rod to fish in trout rivers....places that hold big trout and have current. Yesterday I gave the rod a long workout...and man am I glad I bought this rod. I got into trophy size trout on the Caney Fork....in current. I had the rod rigged up with a Daiwa Ballistic FW 1000 reel spooled with 3# test Twitch Master. While I had the Slow Taper Special with me, the spot on the river I was fishing it was just not the tool for the job at hand......especially since it was spooled with 2.3# test ester line. This rod really shines...along with the line as well. To be totally honest with you I should not even take the Slow Taper Special on the Caney Fork.....and if I do it certainly needs to be spooled with some nylon line. But realistically it's just not the tool for the job on that river...too many big fish in there. My son was fishing with a Fine Tail Area Stage SUL rod and he got his trophy yesterday. But he will tell you that the SUL was not the right rod for that fish and current...now he is planning on getting a Fine Tail Stream rod....he is too cheap to spring for the TenRyu....LOL.* * * **


Regards

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What is the line rating for the Tenryu?

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

What is the line rating for the Tenryu?

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Five max…..my nephew uses 4# on his and I have that on a reel that I will take to fish the Little Red next week. Have a cabin right on the river with a fishing dock. I’m thinking since I’m on a dock will need the extra cushion of the 4# test. For 7 days will get to walk out the back door and walk maybe 100 feet and fish. Living the dream…..LOL.

Regards


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Randy, those are awesome fish, you da man!

You are going to the Little Red, I assume that is Arkansas? What town is nearby, do you know?

Will you have a boat or wade or just fish the dock or what's up with your trip? What fish are you targeting? Is it too hot for trout there this time of year? That sounds like an awesome trip.

Wow, those are really some fine trout, Randy. Congrats on a great trip out. That will sure make you come back for more! The rod sounded perfect for the day. Current really adds some “weight” to the fish!
Bob

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Originally Posted by livemusic

Randy, those are awesome fish, you da man!

You are going to the Little Red, I assume that is Arkansas? What town is nearby, do you know?

Will you have a boat or wade or just fish the dock or what's up with your trip? What fish are you targeting? Is it too hot for trout there this time of year? That sounds like an awesome trip.

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The Little Red is considered a world class trout stream by many. It held the world record for a brown trout for a number years....a 40 pound fish. Brown trout reproduce naturally in the Little Red and no stocking is needed. The cabin I have has a fishing dock at water level. I will be able to wade fish also...and in all likelihood will go out with a guide from the Sore Lip'Em All Guide Service. Will fish one day with Jeff Smith...owner of Trout Magnet......AKA Leland's Lures......if he is not too busy. The last time I fished the Little Red was with Jeff Smith and in 3.5 hours my nephew and I boated 175 trout between the 2 of us. I will also be checking out the area to see if the wife and I want to move out there. Just going to be a nice trip to Heber Springs, Arkansas.

Regards

Great looking fish.

Fun times for sure!
I really enjoy fishing Caney Fork their is some big trout in their for sure Also their is a lot of good gills that hang out up by the spill way and over in the corner by the rocks just before the corner of the concrete wall!

Randy, thanks for this post. I have the Tenryu Rayz Spectra 6' 1" Lite Lite as well, and I took it out on the Little Red when I was in Arkansas a couple of weeks ago. (I flew in to Little Rock and only took the one rod.) Unfortunately, my brief trip came after a big rain storm. The water was muddy, and the fish were not biting. I only managed a half dozen hatchery rainbows on trout magnets. Not a single brown trout.

As you say, the Rayz Spectra is an ideal rod for bigger fish in bigger rivers and is awesome for minnow baits or spoons. But it is not the best for throwing little trout magnets; I couldn't get much distance or accuracy and wore out my arm after a couple of hours. So what is the right rod for throwing tiny trout magnets on the river? Would you consider taking your Lunakia on the Little Red or White River in Arkansas? Or do you have other recommendations for easier casting with ultralight (1/32 oz or 1 gram) baits on the river?

John Scott

My favorite rod for tossing trout magnets in a river is the Olympic Corto 6.10. I can comfortably cast .5 and 1 gram heads and have enough beef in the rod to tame big fish. I have caught quite a few big trout on it and it is a great rod. That’s my two cents and I’m curious to see what Randy suggests.

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Originally Posted by John Scott

Randy, thanks for this post. I have the Tenryu Rayz Spectra 6' 1" Lite Lite as well, and I took it out on the Little Red when I was in Arkansas a couple of weeks ago. (I flew in to Little Rock and only took the one rod.) Unfortunately, my brief trip came after a big rain storm. The water was muddy, and the fish were not biting. I only managed a half dozen hatchery rainbows on trout magnets. Not a single brown trout.

As you say, the Rayz Spectra is an ideal rod for bigger fish in bigger rivers and is awesome for minnow baits or spoons. But it is not the best for throwing little trout magnets; I couldn't get much distance or accuracy and wore out my arm after a couple of hours. So what is the right rod for throwing tiny trout magnets on the river? Would you consider taking your Lunakia on the Little Red or White River in Arkansas? Or do you have other recommendations for easier casting with ultralight (1/32 oz or 1 gram) baits on the river?

John Scott

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The Corto or the Lunakia either one will work well for using a TM on those rivers. But if I am on a river like the Little Red or White using those rods I would have them strung up with the Twitch Master 3# test nylon line. You just don't know when a big fish will strike on those waters. The Twitch Master in 3# test allows one to cast the Trout Magnet a decent distance and has enough sensitivity to feel the bite. I am packing my rod case for the trip to the Little Red. It will have the TenRyu Rayz Spectra....the Eradicator 6' 7" Slow Taper.....and the 6' 10" Lunakia. I have landed a 20 inch Smallie in pretty good current using the Lunakia.....and had I had a nylon line on there it would have been less stressful and I could have landed it quicker. On either of those rivers I would rule out using area trout rods. While I love them they just don't really belong on trout rivers that hold big fish. My son got his 18.75 inch fish in on the Fine Tail SUL but he realizes now that it he shouldn't bring it back to the Caney Fork. While I love ester lines they just do not belong on those rivers either....in my opinion. I know if I take a reel with ester line on it I will wind up using it so the best thing for me is just not take any ester line with me.


Regards

Thanks to Alphahawk and VaCrappieMan. This is great advice. I will be better prepared when I make a longer trip to the Little Red this fall!

I still use 2lb sos when in big trout waters but should really settle on a good JDM line. My favorite nylon line by a mile is 3lb varivas twitch master but still not sure about tangling with 20” plus trout in the current. I believe the 2lb sos tests out at around 3.5lbs so I should likely be okay with the twitch master. I hope you have a better trip next time.

Randy I hope you catch some really nice fish while on your trip. I’d like to see one of those monster browns from there.