Kiyotaki for Trout

The past couple of days I've been fishing for stocker trout with the Kiyotaki 18 just to see how it performs with a little bigger fish and I have to report it works great. It handles casting a 1/80th oz. jig just fine by using the weight of the jig instead of the line and is great for detecting bites. I don't put as much pressure on the fish as I would with a heavier rod but this works to produce more landed fish. I'm looking forward to using this rod for bluegills, crappies and perch as well as smaller fare like emerald shiners and green sunfish.

The Kiyotaki rods are surprisingly capable for their size. The largest fish I've caught tenkara fishing was a 20" smallmouth on a Kiyotaki 24. I think you'll find that you can put just as much pressure on the fish with that rig as you can with a heavier rod, assuming you are using the same tippet strength with both rods. The tippet strength is the key, not the rod.

I'm using a 4 lb. test tippet. Can the Kiyotaki take the strain to break the tippet?

The only way to know is to test several of them until they break - at different rod angles. I don't sell enough of them to break a bunch of rods on purpose. A guy who reported catching 20" trout later had to buy a replacement part, so they are not bulletproof. Personally, I would feel comfortable fishing with 4 lb. test, but remember that the rod is not covered by any warranty.