Shimotsuke Oikawa III

[Danny]

Quick review: I acquired this rod from a friend in Japan a few weeks ago and finally had a chance to fish it today in a small stream. It is the 290CM length. Designed with a progressive almost parabolic taper, moderate soft yet not sloppy - so it is ideal for casting a #3 level line. Perfect for Small trout up to 10" and make sure you use a 6x or lighter tippet. My new favorite. It is in good company having a similar action to other quality models of this type I have tested - the scarce Daiwa Rinfu SR and my lovely Sagiri - Just lighter and shorter. Also compares well to the Nissin fine mode, moreover it has a reasonable .6mm tip rather than the skinny .5mm found on some ultralight "tenkara" choices - perhaps a small detail but important to me. You might be able get a Oikawa from Chris Stewart. Absolutely grab one if he has them in stock.

[CM_Stewart]

None in stock now. Buying Japanese rods is like making hay while the sun shines or striking when the iron is hot. You have to buy them when they are available because when they are out of stock they are out for months at a time. I have already asked when they will be available again and am waiting on an answer. This time, instead of buying one or two I'll get lots. The Oikawa III 290 truly is a wonderful little rod, and the next longer 340cm is a awfully nice as well. They are a little more mid flex than the Suntech Kurenai HM 30 but not nearly as full flex as the Nissin Fine Mode rods.

[Danny]

Hi Chris,
The Nissin Fine Mode I have and was comparing it to is model 3307 the "high contrast" 硬調 with .6mm tip section. A bit longer than the Shimotsuke with a similar taper. Hope you can get more of the Oikawa.

[CM_Stewart]

I have the Fine Mode 3307 in stock (http://www.tenkarabum.com/nissin-fine-mode-330.html) and "high contrast" is clearly a relative term . I definitely will be able to get more of the Oikawa (http://www.tenkarabum.com/oikawa-iii.html) it is just a question of when.

[Danny]

Yes, "High contrast" may be a relative term however it serves to distinguish between the 4 different actions offered in the Fine Mode 3307. That is why I used the term here. The others from softest/lightest action to more progressive are 中調 "in-tone" .5mm tip, 中硬 "medium hard" .55mm tip, 硬調 so called "high contrast .6mm (the one to which I was comparing the Oikawa) and 硬硬調 "hard-high contrast" .65mm tip (I have not tried this one). I don't know which options you sell, Chris. It may be helpful to clear that up if anyone is reading this review and my comparison remarks. I also fish a longer Fine Mode Keiryu rod in lakes that is much more powerful and has a .7mm tip - it is a completely different animal than the Fine Mode Seiryu. All the various actions do get confusing - nice thing about Nissin is they offer a lot of good choices so anglers can attempt to get close to what they want.

[CM_Stewart]

The Nissin Fine Mode 3307 I carry is only their 硬調 high contrast. By relative I meant that the same "high contrast" rating is also used on keiryu rods, which are considerably stiffer, so high contrast is relative to the type of rod. Also, a "medium hard" seiryu rod is still a very soft rod relative to tenkara rods or keiryu rods.