Shimano Mainstream ZEThe Shimano Mainstream ZE is their top of the line rod. Shimano doesn't have many tenkara rod models but what they do they do well. An angler who is willing to pay a much higher price than the nearest Tenkara USA competitor might want to consider this rod, although for a couple reasons outlined below it will not be in my quiver. First off, it is a beautiful rod. It wasn't until after I had returned the one that Adam Trahan had generously lent me that I realized I hadn't taken any photos of the rod other than the bend comparison below, which does not even come close to showing how nice the rod looks.
The first thing you will notice with this rod (after getting over it's looks, that is) is that it is a relatively stiff rod. The upper photo (above) shows both the Shimano Mainstream ZE and the Tenkara USA Ito at their shorter 4m setting. The lower photo shows them at their extended 4.5m setting. While Shimano does not classify their rods according the the 5:5, 6:4, 7:3 Action Index that Tenkara USA and some other manufacturers do, one can clearly see that the bend really is concentrated in the upper sections. It is also surprisingly light for being so long - just 3.2 ounces! I took the photos above after I had fished with the rod, and I was surprised to see how stiff it is. The Shimano Mainstream ZE does not feel that stiff while fishing. It feels very crisp, and much more like a fly rod than what I have come to think of as how a tenkara rod feels. Part of that difference can be explained by the difference in the tip section. The Shimano Mainstream ZE, as with the Shimano LLS 36 NX, has a hollow tip section. Nearly all of the other tenkara rods I have fished with had solid tips, which are much more flexible. On the one hand, this allows you to make pinpoint, tight loop casts. On the other hand, you do sacrifice the deep bend that even a modest fish will put in a softer rod. The photos above show how much the rods bend under the weight of 10 pennies (25 grams). I would guess that is roughly the bend you'd see from a 7" trout. A fair amount of the commentary surrounding the Shimano Mainstream ZE on the various US tenkara forums centers around whether it would be a good choice as a "big fish" rod. I guess I should say first that I don't really see tenkara fishing as being a big fish pusuit. However, many of the streams that are very nice tenkara water have big fish in them, and if they're there, eventually you will catch one. Then again, what one angler calls a big fish another might just call average. I did catch my largest (at that time) tenkara-caught trout with this rod. It was shortly after there was a thread on the Tenkara USA forum about a guy who had just broken a tenkara rod when a large fish ran downstream. I later learned that the fish was estimated to be about 24" and that the angler was using 5x tippet. A tenkara rod should not break if you are using 5x tippet, but I do remember looking up at the bend in the Shimano when my fish headed downstream. (I long ago decided I would rather break a tippet than a leg, so I stand my ground and do not try to follow a fish down through the rapids.) I decided the bend in the rod was well within design specs so I went back to enjoying the tug o' war. (Of course, my fish was only 18 1/2".)
I will say that because of the length and stiffness of the rod, it does do well for big water. I don't particularly like fishing with a long line, but some do, and this rod will certainly handle it. In fact, I suspect it was even designed for it. Dr. Ishigaki demonstrated casting with a 7 meter line in the Catskills on the Willowemoc River and a 9 meter line in San Francisco on the pool at the Golden Gate Casting Club. And if you think you need to be a tenkara master to do that, think again. One of the members of the Golden Gate Casting Club, after taking a few modest practice casts to get the feel of the rod, started booming out 40' casts as if he'd been fishing the Shimano for years. (Rod + line + tippet. He was not stopping the cast with the rod still high, as you would when fishing - he was casting for distance.) It's mostly getting a feel for how (and when) to load the rod and then letting the rod propel the line. And while the rod will cast the size 3 Hi-Vis Fluorocarbon, it does seem more at home with the size 4. (I felt the same way about the Shimano LLS 36 NX, by the way.) It did not feel overburdoned by size 5 line but size 5 is heavy enough you can't really keep it off the water very well, so I would use it only if the wind required it. One other thing that surprised me abouot the Shimano Mainstream ZE, after previously having fished with the Tenkara USA Ito, is how the rod feels when fully extended. The Ito is a soft rod, and when fully extended feels even softer. The Mainstream, perhaps because it is so much stiffer, did not feel like it got softer at full extension. The Ito almost feels like two rods in one, the Mainstream feels like the same rod, only longer. I am not a rod designer, but I suspect that the goal of achieving that uniformity of feel is what led them to make a rod that only collapses to a very un-tenkara-like 35 1/4 inches. (I need to rephrase my earlier statement. The first thing you notice about the ZE is not it's stiffness. You'll notice its surprisingly long collapsed length before you even take it out of the package. Thirty five inches for a collapsed tenkara rod is LONG!). My three piece 8' fly rod takes down to a shorter length than that. And that is the primary reason this rod will not be in my quiver. I have written often of the simplicity and the effectiveness of tenkara. One thing that had not been so obvious to me until now was the convenience. Carrying a 35" rod around is not nearly as convenient as a 21" rod, that is for sure. For some it might not matter. For me it is a deal breaker. At the time I initially wrote this review, the availability of replacement parts appeared to be a major issue. I had earlier lost the wooden plug of the Shimano LLS36NX I borrowed, and it was neither easy nor inexpensive to replace. I have since found a source for replacement parts so that is no longer a concern - although they are considerably more expensive than replacing parts for Tenkara USA rods. I suppose if you can afford the price of the rod (33,800 yen at retail, which equates to roughly $430 - $440 at today's exchange rate - you could probably also afford the replacement parts). A third point, which admitedly is not based on much hard evidence, is a concern for how the zoom function "wears" over time. I must say I was a bit surprised at how much I liked Adam's ZE. I had cast Dr. Ishigaki's twice before - for just a few casts in the Catskills and a bit more in California, and I had already decided that I didn't particularly like it. To be fair, both times he had a line on the rod that is much longer than I ever fish with and much longer than I like. The rod, though, felt a little - I'm not sure what the right word is - loose, perhaps, as if the joints had worn. One of the participants in a discussion on a US forum, who has had a Shimano Mainstream ZE for a while mentioned something similar. Adam's rod in comparison is nearly new and felt quite snug. I would be very curious to hear how it feels after a few years of hard use. If you are looking for a big water rod that is capable of casting a long line and easily handling 18" fish (I can't vouch for 24 inchers, though), this is a rod that deserves serious consideration. It is truly unfortunate that so long a time passed between the time I fished the Shimano Mainstream ZE and the Daiwa LT44SF. My recollection was that the Daiwa felt a bit heavier and was a bit stiffer. I think the Daiwa might be a better big fish rod, but the Shimano can collapse to a 13' length for whan you are not on big water. Most people will compare the Shimano Mainstream ZE against the better known Tenkara USA Ito. The Ito is much less expensive, but it is also much softer. I guess it really comes down to whether you want a rod that is significantly stiffer than the Ito and don't mind a 35" collapsed length (or a $435 price tag). If so, this is your rod. I don't keep them in stock, but I could order one for you if you wanted one. (At this writing they are out of stock at Shimano.)
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