Waxing on with Tenkara

The story starts in about November 2017 when I saw a video of a Neon Wax being used as an indicator on the line. I had trouble trying to find somewhere to buy it and test it with fluorocarbon Tenkara lines. As luck would have it I met Mirko Skafar, the creator of Neon Wax, at the Hanak International Grayling Festival in Llangollen.

We chatted about his wax and he sold me some samples to play with. I tried. I liked. Mirko and I talked about the Tenkara world and he admitted he knew nothing about it. Esoteric Tackle was one of the early adopters of Tenkara and the first to manufacture and sell rods in the UK.

With some more chatting and negotiation we agreed that I would try and sell his wax into the Tenkara market. Re-branded and packaged to take advantage of Esoteric Tackles reputation for excellent Tenkara tackle, it is now for sale.

Two types are available, hard and soft. The UK is generally going to use the soft wax but in some countries where day times are over 30 Celsius, the hard wax is going to be easier to put on the line.

Why so excited?

I have to admit when I saw the wax I was really excited about the possibilities. Could this be the answer to the really expensive coloured fluorocarbon? Could this be the way to add contrast to the lines for better detection?

Spoiler alert! YES!

A full range of colours, including black and white, gives you every opportunity to be able to see your line. It's easy to put on, easy to take off and is environmentally friendly.

Which Fluorocarbon?

Of course there will be people who still prefer to use the coloured fluorocarbon lines. That does not mean the Tenkara ESO Wax is not useful to them. A couple of bars of a contrasting colour and the detection of bites on the line is vastly improved.

Some of the waters I fish can't be fished with brightly coloured lines. The fish see the coloured lines, over the water, and scatter. I've been fishing these difficult waters with the Sunline BMS Azayaka line. That particular line takes some setting up though. Making sure the end knot is in the black so the indicator section is where I need it. Putting the knot in the black prevents the transfer of light into the knot which shines like a beacon if you don't. Even then, it's not the most visible of indicator sections with certain light directions.

Now I have Yamatoyo clear fluorocarbon in suitable diameter. No worries about where the end needs to be.

Putting on the ESO wax was easy and I could use different colours for contrast. I could control how big I wanted the sections to be.

On spooky waters they only need to be small. You can space them quite far apart up the line if you like. So many different ways to put the wax on for the best detection.

The wax is really bright and stands out better than most lines.

What about casting clear fluorocarbon?

Not a problem. It behaves just the same as coloured fluorocarbon, surprisingly! If you have the casting muscle memory from your coloured lines it'll be no issue at all casting the clear line. In fact, most of the time you can still see the line while you are casting. The issue is a the end of the cast when you fly touches down.

If you're a proficient caster, you'll know where the end of the line is. If wind or other factors get involved then you'll know roughly where it is. Hence, a couple of small sections (1cm) of ESO wax up the line will help hugely, if you need it.

Let's be fair, you only really concentrate on the very end of the casting line. So that's the bit you need the colour on. Not the whole line.

On the River

Sounds great in theory doesn't it? What about on the river? If you are manipulating the fly using one of the many Tenkara techniques, then the indicator isn't that important as you'll feel the take more often than you see it.

It's the dead drifts that the indicator is most useful.

It would be useless if you had to keep re-applying the indicator ESO wax. The ESO wax will stay on the line unless you wipe it off, on purpose or accidentally (Shrubbery! I sometimes fish in trees). Being able to change colour or make the block of colour smaller is a great advantage. It doesn't wash off. When you do take it off it doesn't stain the line either. Fluorocarbon is notoriously difficult to colour, hence the high price, but it has been voiced as a concern.

Here's the video:

Conclusion

Esoteric Tackle don't brand, develop and sell products we don't believe in. It's taken nearly a full year to test, evaluate and decide that Tenkara ESO Wax is an important innovation that has a place in modern Tenkara.