AllFishingBuy Unagi 4505The AllFishingBuy Unagi 4505 is a rod for people who want a "big fish" rod. I'm sure it will handle fish larger than I've ever caught and probably larger than I ever will catch. It's not just a big fish rod, though, it's just a big rod, period. At 4.5 meters, it's as long as the fully extended Tenkara USA Ito or the Shimano Mainstream ZE. It doesn't zoom, though, it's 4.5 meters long all the time. Well, that's not quite true. When collapsed, it only seems like it's 4.5 meters. It's actually only a modest 43 inches. For someone used to a collapsed length for a tenkara rod of around 21 or 22 inches, a collapsed length exactly twice that is seriously long. My wading staff is only 2" longer than the collapsed Unagi. The AllFishingBuy Unagi is also a seriously stiff rod. My last rod review started with the comment that I am not a fan of short, stiff rods. It turns out I am not a fan or long stiff rods, either.
Being a stiff rod, the AllFishingBuy Unagi needs a heavy line. I actually only tried a few lines with the rod (my arm got too tired - more on that later). My favorite line with the rod was a pesca alla Valsesiana horsehair line, which is a very heavy line - not quite too heavy for the Amago to handle, but certainly much heavier than necessary on the ligher rod). It cast beautifully with the Unagi, though - nice tight loops, perfect turnover, great accuracy. The only problem is that it's a heavy enough line that it wants to fall straight down from the rod tip, so it is hard to keep it off the surface and the sagging line does cause the fly to drag. This is a rod for manipulating the flies, because getting a drag-free dead drift is difficult. The rod also worked pretty well with the size 5 level Hi - Vis fluorocarbon line - which didn't cast quite as well but did produce better drifts. I was very interested in trying this rod, not for its ability to fight larger fish (I don't catch larger fish), but because of my interest in pesca alla Valsesiana. Andrea Scalvini, who wrote one of my pages on pesca alla Valsesiana, and who now has a great site on the technique, called Mosca Valsesiana, has told me that they use a rod that is stiffer than a tenkara rod. The rod must be stiffer to cast the line they use, and they use the line they do to get good turnover of four reverse hackled flies and also to be able to make accurate casts in a breeze. Plus, they prefer a stiffer rod to more quickly land a larger fish. The AllFishingBuy Unagi 4505 is certainly stiff enough to perform well with the heavy horsehair line they use, and probably stiff enough to quickly land a large fish, although I wasn't able to test that feature. I will have to ask Andrea how heavy their rods are, though, because the this is a heavy rod - heavy enough that I think you would have to have Popeye's forearms (or want them) to be able to fish with it all day long. Randy Knapp has written a review of the AllFishingBuy Unagi 4205 in which he tells of catching large carp with the rod, but I believe he was fishing in lakes or ponds. When fishing in a stream, you cast, have a short drift and cast again, and again, and again. After a while, you will definitely notice the weight of the rod. The problem with the AllFishingBuy Unagi is not really the weight, though, it is overcoming the inertia of the long rod. My bamboo fly rod weighs more than the Unagi 4505, but I used to cast it all day long without a problem. Of course, it's only 8' long and has a reel to bring the center of gravity very close to the grip. The Unagi 4505's center of gravity is 42" up from the butt. That, together with the 4.1 ounce weight is enough to seriously tire your arm. By way of comparison, the Tenkara USA Ito, which fully extended is just one inch shorter than the Unagi 4505, and to be honest, isn't that much lighter at 3.8 ounces, has a center of gravity 34" from the butt. It may not sound like that much, but after a few hours the difference is huge. I've only fished with my Ito for a few days now, but each time I fished it all day without a problem. I couldn't get through the day fishing the Unagi. By lunchtime my arm was shot and I had to switch to a shorter, lighter rod. That may not be a problem for you. I've been "over the hill" for quite a few years now. In his reviews of this rod
(here
and
here),
Tim Nitz first mentions being able to switch to his other arm when his casting arm got tired, and finally wonders if this is really a tenkara rod at all. First, I would like to thank Tim for letting me borrow his rod to review, and second, I would have to say that I've come to agree with him on his views of the rod. In my opinion, this rod is just too cumbersome to fish with on a stream where you will be making frequent casts all day long. It might be a great rod for still water, or for slower rivers in which you will be making many fewer casts and fishing much longer drifts. It might be just the thing for people seeking a "big fish" rod. By making the rod beefy enough to handle big fish, though, AllFishingBuy has made it much too much rod for the little fish that for hundreds of years have been the heart and soul of tenkara.
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