Ebira Rod QuiverIf it won't fit in the Ebira rod quiver, you don't need it. One of the main attractions of tenkara is simplicity, and although simplicity and minimalism is not the same, tenkara fishing makes you realize how little you actually need to catch fish - a lot of fish. You know you have achieved the simplicity when everything you take fits in the quiver. The Ebira rod quiver, designed by TrailLite Designs and available exclusively at BackpackFlyfishing.com is a unique idea that is basically just what it says it is. Similar to an archer's quiver, it has an adjustable cord so that you wear it over your shoulder. It holds your tenkara rod, leaving your hands free for trekking poles or for climbing or photography - or just free. In addition to the sleeve that holds your rod, the Ebira (Japanese for "quiver") also has a small, detachable pouch that will hold flies, lines, tippet, nippers, forceps, etc. The pouch can be attached to either side of the sleeve, so no matter which shoulder you sling the Ebira over, the pouch is conveniantly at your hip. If you are backpacking, the detachable pouch has a strap that will fit around one of your shoulder straps, making it about the smallest, lightest "chest pack" there is. The Ebira comes in two sizes, a longer one that fits all the Tenkara USA rods and a shorter one that fits the Backpacking Light Hane.
Ebira Rod Quivers with Hane and Yamame
Although I don't use trekking poles to hike into the streams I fish, and I don't need both hands free for climbing, I think this is a slick design. I don't know anyone at TrailLite Designs, and I didn't speak to Jason Klass at BackpackFlyfishing until after the design was finalized and the Ebira was already in production, but they could have designed it with me in mind. I don't wear a fishing vest, and although my hippers give me free access to my trouser pockets, the pockets do get a little full with fly box, tippet, cell phone (for it's camera and for emergencies), lines, line holder, etc. Having all the fishing "stuff" in a convenient pouch, right at your hip, is a wonderful idea. Although I might be unusual in that I'm often comparing different tenkara rods and different lines, I can't be the only one that fishes a stream that is really tight in some spots and pretty open in others. A lot of headwaters streams are small enough that you really want your 11' Iwana for the stream, but they have beaver ponds or flow out of an alpine lake where you'd really rather have your 13' Ayu. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a convenient way to carry two rods? Well, I'm not sure even the designer knows this yet, but the Ebira will hold two tenkara rods, and it is just about the only convenient way to carry two rods short of a full backpack. Actually, carrying two tenkara rods isn't the real problem, the problem is what to do with one while you are fishing with the other. The Ebira rod quiver solves that problem handily. To carry two rods with the Ebira, you have to slide the first rod in grip first and the second rod in tip first, but it is easy to do and they fit fine. This gives you the option to fish a large stream and small tributary, or a lake and it's outlet stream, or the above mentioned brushy stream and beaver ponds, and have the right rod for both situations. Tenkara rods are light enough, inexpensive enough, and some of them are even specialized enough that it is not at all unreasonable to want to carry two rods. If you have two rods in the Ebira, getting one out isn't as easy as it is if you only have one, but that is a small price to pay for the convenience of being able to carry two rods. Of course, if you only fish with one rod this is still a very convenient way to carry it and all the gear you really need. For those of you who keep a rod in the car, the Ebira will also accomodate the Tenkara USA rod tube so your rod will be protected, and you'll always have your flies, line, tippet, etc with you. So when you stop and look both ways at all stream crossings, you'll be fully prepared for any emergers.
It will hold the 6-compartment fly box that TenkaraBum flies are mailed in, a tenkara line holder, both light and heavy Hi-Vis fluorocarbon lines for two different rods, a Tip Grip, forceps and nippers, and a couple spools of tippet. What else could you need? (The small Morell fly box fits, but it's just enough larger than the 6-compartment box that something else would have to get left out or carried in your trouser pockets.) If your wading staff doubles as a trekking pole, and you're wearing your hippers and boots, the only thing on my accessories list that would pose a problem is how to carry a net. My initial test was with a long bungee cord slung over my other shoulder (Ebira on the left shoulder, net on the right). I also had a lanyard that I keep my nippers and a whistle on. You really don't want to have three cords running over both shoulders and around your neck. Two is reasonable, three isn't. This may be a good reason to get a tamo (Japanese tenkara net) that you can just stick in your belt. My initial test was also with a backpack. If you are wearing your backpack, detach the pouch from the Ebira, fasten it to one of your shoulder straps, and carry the Ebira inside the backpack. The ergonomic design of the Ebira, which will pretty effectively keep it from sliding around and getting in your way when you bend over, can't perform that function when you are wearing a backpack. If you have a backpack, you have a place to carry your rods anyway. The beauty of the Ebira is that gives you a way to easily and conveniently carry a tenkara rod (or two) when you don't have or want your backpack. And seriously, if it doesn't fit in the Ebira rod quiver, you don't need it.
|
