Today we’re going to do a rod report and review of the Tenkara USA Amago tenkara rod. Why the Amago you might ask? That’s certainly not a new rod… Well, therein lies one of the two reasons.
The Amago is a rod that’s been around for a long time. First released over a decade ago, it was one of the first “big fish” tenkara rods readily available in the United States. As such, most of the content found online about this rod is dated, and it’s changed quite a bit in appearance over the years. This is an ideal opportunity to see if any of the specifications changed over time as well.
Additionally, Tenkara USA generously provided us the opportunity to “gift” three Amago tenkara rods to our Japanese angler friends upon their visit to the United States last October. This created a unique window to capture footage of multiple anglers in action with these tenkara rods in a big water, honryu environment.
YouTube Rod Report
Before we continue with this article, we also created a YouTube Rod Report on the Amago. It not only covers all of the information in this post, but also includes additional on-stream footage of Akihiro, Hiroyuki, and Takashi fishing their rods in Colorado.
Now back to the article…
First Impressions
Like all other Tenkara USA rods, the Amago‘s cosmetics and appearance are flawless. A glossy black paint job with white logos and length notations really give this rod a classic, yet modern look and feel. Colorful stripes accent the top of each section as the rod is extended. It’s a wonderful improvement over the rod’s original matte black and gold appearance when it was first released.
I’m not going to dive too deeply into the rod’s overall construction. Since the 13.5 foot long Amago has its roots with the first generation of Tenkara USA rods, the “bells and whistles” on this single-length rod are minimal. The rod features an 11-inch long cork handle with humps toward the top and bottom to allow for anglers to place their hands in multiple positions. The tip cap is standard wood with rubberized plug, while the end cap is metal with knurled edges for easy removal. The lillian is of ample length and comes pre-knotted by the factory.
Note: The Amago does not feature the Tenkara USA Keep your Plug™ system, so there is no spare tip cap, extra length of lillian, or the ability to stow the tip cap in the end cap while fishing.
Measurables
Tenkara USA provides some measurables on the Amago, however I prefer to take my own when I do a review, simply to see how accurate they are in comparison. Since the Amago is a model that has been around for some time, I suspected some of the measurables may have changed slightly over the years.
In addition to all of the static measurements such as length and weight, I also took measurements such as Common Cents, Rod Flex Index, and Rotational Moment in order to give you an idea of how the rod might feel, or compare to others. This rod scores a 28 penny rating – a bit softer than the 31 found by Tom Davis in 2012. However, the modern Amago’s RFI of 6.8 would still classify as a fast, tip flex rod (7:3).
The center of gravity of the Amago is 93 cm, making the rotational moment 9.6, (an indication of tip-heaviness). By rating alone, the Amago would be more tip heavy than several other rods over 400cm. However, the 9.6 is a slight improvement over the original version’s 10.0 and very similar to the current model TAO Wisco 2 (9.8) and Wasatch T-Hunter (9.6).
| Characteristic | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Sections | 10 |
| Fully Extended Length | 411 cm / 13.5 feet |
| Nested Length (with cap) | 55 cm / 21.6 inches |
| Cork Grip Length | 28 cm / 11.0 inches |
| Cork Grip Circumference | 8.4 cm / 3.3 inches |
| Weight (without cap) | 104 g / 3.7 ounces |
| CCS | 28 pennies |
| RFI | 6.8 / 7:3 Fast Tip Flex |
| Center of Gravity | 92.7 cm / 36.5 inches |
| Rotational Moment | 9.6 |
Performance
As previously mentioned, Tenkara USA generously provided us the opportunity to “gift” three Amago tenkara rods to our visiting Japanese angler friends that we met and fished with in Colorado last October. The group was concerned they did not have proper rods to handle mainstream (honryu) tenkara fishing for the day we fished the South Platte River. The three anglers each put their new rods to work, with many of them using them on multiple days of the gathering. Here are some photos of our friends with the Amago.
If you’d like to see the rod in action, definitely watch the last four or five minutes of our video rod report. It shows the Amago flexing under pressure as our friends steered their fish to net.
How Do I Get One?
The Tenkara USA Amago rod featured in this review is currently available on the Tenkara USA website with an MSRP of $180.
Tenkara Angler also lists the Amago in our curated Gear Shop alongside other “big trout” rods should you want to get a broader view of what is currently available.
Conclusion
If you are a fan of Tenkara USA rods, you’ll find the fit, finish, and fishability of the Tenkara USA Amago to be familiar to many of their non-zoom rods.
While it seems like new “big fish” tenkara rods come out every few months, it was nice to take a step back and take a deeper look at a workhorse of a rod that has surely caught thousands of fish for tenkara anglers since its first release. I do think the rod feels a little heavy in hand while casting, but it’s not too overwhelming to become distracting or cause excessive fatigue.
If you’re fond of single length rods and already own an Iwana or Hane for smaller to average sized fish, the Amago may be the natural addition for larger fish, rounding out your Tenkara USA rod quiver.
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I am not sure how many years ago I purchased my Amago, maybe seven or eight years. It is not my go to rod, but I do use it in specific waters. Personally, I like a fixed length rod rather than a zoom. The 13.5′ Amago is great for longer lines and hence a longer reach. I have taken it on several of my motorcycle camping trips, along with one or two of my other Tenkara rods.
Ah, yes, my singing Tenkara rod. The 13’6″ Amago was my first commercially manufactured Tenkara fly rod, and still remains my go-to rod. It sported a fine matte black finish which was a selling point to me; not because I though any flash might spook the fish, but the flash may give away my presence to other fishers. A zoom capable (to 14’7″) Ito model is my backup rod.
Cheers!