Quote Originally Posted by dwalker View Post
These interesting comments were on the Oni blog about the Osaka Fishing Show posted Feb. 14th.


Gamakatsu release new rods only in fall..
Nissin made special Tenkara section with 30 different Tenkara rods.
It was only Nissin that could let you choose from many rods.
To me, our country seemed to be a bit behind in terms of Tenkara considering its popularity in other countries."
http://www.oni-tenkara.com/english/oni-blog/2373.html

Quote Originally Posted by dwalker View Post
Which indicates Gamakatsu may not be abandoning Tenkara after all if they are introducing new Tenkara rods later this year.
I think you are misinterpreting his comments. I am pretty sure he is saying that when Gamakatsu introduces new rods, they do it only in the fall. I do not believe he is saying they are planning to introduce new rods this coming fall.

Quote Originally Posted by dwalker View Post
And the last statement about the growing popularity of Tenkara outside Japan may hint at which market will drive future development.
I think you are correct about the popularity of tenkara outside Japan driving future development. You noted previously that Tenryu once had a 270 length tenkara rod but for several years there had been no Japanese tenkara rods of that length.

In early 2012 I started importing the 9' Daiwa Soyokaze rods. Although they were not used as tenkara rods in Japan they were very poplar for tenkara fishing here (and used ones, when you can find one, sell for more than they did new). Although initially there was quite vocal push back from the competition, eventually, TenkaraUSA and TFO followed suit with short rods. This year, Daiwa introduced their NEO RT, which has a 270 length model. Nissin has only just announced additions to their Pro Spec tenkara rods, with the new rods being 270-315 zoom rods. I don't think a reintroduction of 9' tenkara rods is the first instance of Japanese manufacturers picking up on developments in the US (I think the first was Sunline bringing back a discontinued orange saltwater fishing line as a tenkara line following a couple years of it's use for tenkara in the US). I also don't think it will be the last.