Threadlining

Erne St Claire, Joe Robinson and Japanese "Areas"

Threadlining, a term coined in Britian in the 1920s, initially meant bait fishing with a light line. What we now think of as ultralight spin fishing was developed in France in the 1930's. In the 50's and 60's spin fishing became popular in the US.

What I find interesting is that back then, there was no such thing as "ultralight" spin fishing. Spin fishing, just regular old spin fishing, was fishing with lines of 3 lb breaking strength or less. Somehow, the definition has changed in the last 50 years. Many people today consider 6 lb line to be "ultralight." You would be hard pressed to find an ultralight rod designed for the US market that is not rated for 6 lb test line.

When you consider that virtually all lines made for the US market break well above their stated strength, it turns out that "ultralight" in the US ends up being rods designed for lines that in reality are 8 lb test or even stronger. What the heck happened? What happened was people wanting stronger lines and stiffer rods. Line companies started advertising the strength of their 6 lb line. No wonder it was strong, it was actually 8 lb test

I recently saw a line review on a BFS site that gave 4 lb Varivas Sight Edition line just one star, complaining that it was the weakest  4 lb line he had ever fished. Well guess what, it was actually INTENDED to break at 4 lb. He'd just never fished an honest line before. I have fished a lot with Varivas Sight Edition line and in my view it is a five-star line. I usually use 3 lb line, though, the 4 lb is much stronger than I need.

I've seen more than a few comments in internet forums and Facebook groups complaining that US ultralight rods are too whippy. That is a far cry from what Erne St. Claire wrote in his 1961 book The Modern Science of Spin Fishing. He lamented that all commercial spinning rods were way too stiff. He believed that to get a good spinning rod, actually one even suitable for spin fishing, you had to get a custom rod that was made from a fly rod blank. And by the way, in 1961, that would have been a glass fly rod blank.

In 2009, Joe Robinson tried to resurrect threadlining, publishing his book Piscatorial Absurdities. He was introduced to threadlining by no less a figure than Dave Whitlock in 1988. With a small, light, custom made rod, a 3 lb test line and a 1/16 oz jig, Dave lured Joe to the dark side. Over the next twenty years, Joe took up Erne St. Claire's mantle and almost single-handedly promoted spin fishing the way it had been done - with soft rods made from fly rod blanks and lines of 3 lb test or less.

He also introduced Erne St. Clair's snap casts to anglers who had not seen the 1961 book.

By the time he wrote his book, Joe had read everything he could find about spin fishing in the early years. He made a persuasive case for fishing with light, flexible rods and light lines. His book, and his followers, caught the eye of Temple Fork Outfitters. To provide new Threadliners with an appropriate rod so they didn't have to build one themselves or hire a custom builder to make one for them, TFO introduced a Gary Loomis Signature Fly/Spin rod. I have no idea how many of the rods TFO sold, but now, over ten years later, the rod is no longer offered.

What I found a little surprising is that the TFO Fly/Spin rod, developed for Joe Robinson's approach to spin fishing, didn't closely adhere to the way Joe Robinson actually fished. In his book, Joe Robinson recommended fishing with 6X, 7X or even 8X tippet material (which pretty much ranges from 3.5 lb down to 1.8 lb test). The TFO rod, though, was rated for line up to 6 lb test (which for virtually all spinning line available in the US really means at least 8 lb breaking strength).

I think what probably happened is that TFO knew the market and knew that the American spin fishing community was not going to buy a rod rated for line no stronger than an honest 3 lb test (by which I mean a line that actually breaks at 3 lb).

JDM Area Rods

I guess I should have written that TFO knew the US market. There are Japanese rods rated for line no stronger than 3 lb (and Japanese 3 lb line breaks at 3 lb). Most (if not all) are designed for fishing in areas. "Areas" are private, pay-to-fish lakes that are heavily stocked and heavily pressured. Small lures and extremely thin lines work better for heavily pressured fish. To protect thin lines, the rods have to be soft. Because there is no current to fight and there are no snags to keep the fish away from, there is no need for heavy lines or stiff rods. When fishing micro spoons, the preferred lure in the Areas, or small spinners, both of which are fished with a slow, steady retrieve, especially ones fitted with single, needle sharp hooks, there is no advantage to a stiff rod.

For anglers who are interested in following Joe Robinson's approach to spin fishing and learning Erne St. Clair's "snap casts," and who want to fish with a rod actually designed for the 3 lb line that St. Clair and Robinson both recommended, JDM Area spinning rods are the way to go. Perhaps the only way to go if you don't want to make your own from a fly rod blank or try to find a custom rod builder to make one for you. If you want an off-the-shelf rod, I think a JDM Area trout rod is only way to get a rod specifically designed for fishing 3 lb line and 1/16 oz lures.

Areas are quite popular in Japan. Area rods are quite popular, too, and some are highly specialized. You could spend up to $800 for an Area spinning rod.

Daiwa Iprimi 60XUL and 60XUL-4

For anglers who want a soft whippy rod, a rod as described by Erne St. Clair or Joe Robinson, the Daiwa Iprimi 60XUL and 60XUL-4 are worth a look. And sure enough, both are rated for a maximum of 3 lb line.

The Daiwa Iprimi 60XUL and 60XUL-4 are soft and full flex - exactly the action that Erne St. Clair had maintained was critical for executing the snap, wave, and Fer de Lance casts that he developed. According to St. Clair, the casts are more accurate and quicker to execute, and because of the reduced rod motion, are much less likely to scare the fish you are trying to catch.

Because the Daiwa Iprimi 60XUL and 60XUL-4 rods are very soft, they are better suited to fishing micro spoons or small spinners than jigs or small jerk baits. You'll detect strikes better with a steady retrieve than with a jigging or twitching retrieve. With micro spoons or small spinners, you can also fish streams (Trip Report 9-2-19) as long as the current isn't too strong and the fish aren't too large.

Finesse Spin Fishing

I'm going to take a step back if I may, and disagree with both Erne St. Clair and Joe Robinson. Rod materials and rod design have come a long way since Joe published Piscatorial Absurdities in 2009 and especially since Erne published The Modern Science of Spin Fishing in 1961.

Most of the spinning rods I have covered on these pages and carried in the Finesse-Fishing shop, whether designed for Areas or mountain streams, are capable of protecting 3 lb test line quite easily and casting 1/16 oz lures quite effectively. The Tenryu Rayz and Rayz Integral rods are rated for line no stronger than 4 lb test. The Tenryu Rayz Spectra rods are rated for line no stronger than 5 lb test. They are the overly stiff spinning rods that Erne St. Clair and Joe Robinson railed against in their books.

They are not soft, whippy rods, though. You can cast with precision, work a sinking minnow lure in the current of a mountain stream and set the hook with authority. Make no mistake. I do like the Iprimi rods, but the one time I fished a Daiwa Iprimi 60XUL back to back with the Tenryu Alter RZA612S-LT (Area rod) I felt that the Alter just blew it away. Plus, for fishing small Western mountain streams or overgrown Eastern brookie streams, the shorter Rayz, Rayz Integral or Rayz Spectra are just so much more convenient. I am sure that for most anglers, they are also more accurate.

I wholeheartedly agree with Erne St. Clair and Joe Robinson to the extent they promoted light lines, small lures and responsive rods. I just think you can achieve finesse with a rod that isn't so flexible you can actually create a wave form in the blank itself when making a cast.

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Header photo: Tenryu Rayz RZ4102B-UL, Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFSHG ('17)

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Japanese "Areas"

Areas are private, pay-to-fish locations. Most are ponds but some also have streams. Fishing the Areas is quite popular in Japan. Because of the intense fishing pressure, anglers use small lures and very light lines (as light as 1.2 pound test). To handle such light line, there are rods designed specifically for Areas. Most are softer rods, 6 or 6.5 feet long,  and rated for line no heavier than 3 or 4 pound test.