Kiyose - Tanago or Hidden Gem?

by Craig
(Sydney, Australia)

Wet my Kiyose today in a favourite closed in overgrown mountain stream. I bought the 9' model (2.7m) precisely for this use, as the shorter Soyokaze were no longer available. As usual, I was fully prepared to test the rod to breaking and beyond.

After 5 hours of slog with no takes, suddenly three big browns in one pool, all landed in the net, 18 - 22 inch. I kid you not, all big bucks with big hooked jaws. Sorry, no photos, I dropped my camera in the excitement - these were the largest fish I have ever seen in this river that I have fished since the 70's. No fish were overly harmed in the amateurish attempt at taking pics (for the first time, I tried to photo my catch), and swam away fine. And so it was for the camera, it is still swimming somewhere in the bottom of the river. I would think that prices each fish at over $100 (Replacement cost of camera).

However, they were actually priceless. I am pretty sure that I will never catch a fish this size in this tiny stream again. At least I have a witness, who was as gob smacked as I was.

The fish were caught under rod tip on a very short line. I thought the Kiyose would be far too light to manage larger fish, and I couldn't lift the fish in the current for quite a while, but it is actually quite resilient given the way I tried to bend it.

I think the Soyokase would have been better, with its much stronger butt, but the Kiyose is not just for tanago either. The lighter butt and smaller diameter make a big fish fight hard work, but they do work, are a lot of fun to use in the heavily overgrown streams. It's a serious tool, disguised as a toy.

Thanks Chris.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.