It’s kind of interesting to see the evolution of very familiar products over time. Even small refinements can lead to large improvements in performance that most users might not have even recognized were needed or simply tolerated. One such product evolution I’m excited to see recently announced was the release of the Ultimate Tenkara Line Keepers from DRAGONtail Tenkara.
DRAGONtail’s Brent Auger sent in the following overview to Tenkara Angler that describes why this new product is prime for consideration. Particularly if you’ve used the Fuji (or similar) EZ keeper solution of on-rod line management in the past, but found it a bit quirky.
Product overview by Brent Auger
One thing that we feel that really sets DRAGONtail Tenkara apart from other tenkara companies is that we have a big focus on the tenkara accessories and lines. Not only do we bring in many accessories in from other brands from around the world, but we also develop many tenkara accessories ourselves from feedback from customers and tenkara groups.Â
Tenkara EZ hook keepers have always been popular among tenkara anglers for line management use (started by a Jason Klass video). I also have used them in the past but there is a lot of things I hate about using the EZ keeper system such as them popping off, sliding around, flipping over, line falling off, and the fact that it kinks up level line quite badly when stored for longer periods of time.Â
We decided to create a line keeper system that fixes these finicky issues and created the DRAGONtail Ultimate Tenkara Line Keepers. They are still light weight and very low profile like the EZ keepers have so many more great features.Â
With a rubber pad on the bottom and a wider O ring mount these link keepers don’t twist around, slide, or pop off when bumped. The rubber pad on the bottom also doubles as a place to lock in the end of your line to keep it from unwinding.Â
When you wrap your line around the ends you will find that it is much wider, and rounder, wrap so your line does not get kinked up from longer storage. You can even wind your line up on them a bit loose and it won’t fall off these line keepers, which eliminates all line memory from using this line keeper system.Â
We hope you love these Ultimate Tenkara Line Keepers as much as we do, and we hope to work on some new tenkara accessories soon to make your tenkara experience more convenient and more enjoyable. In fact, we have a few in the works already for 2022. Thank you to all of you that support us and allow us to do the things we do and for the feedback that helps us know what to create next or make better.Â
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Nice idea, but still puts too many bends in the line. I moved to using bent paperclips at the bottom of the grip and the top of the fixed rod section — held on with black electrical tape. As seen on Yvon Chouinard’s setup… Super light, lets me wind over the length of the rod. I use a rubber oring that slides up and down to hook the fly on.
I ordered some. They look foolproof which is a requirement with me. I will only use them when I have to break down to get through brush. At the end of the day I always put my lines on a spool.