Is there any 'cleaning' or maintenance my Yamame rod needs? Grit from streams and dirt from every place else could cause some problems, I'd think.

Should the rod be completely dry before storing in its tube? My only concern would be the material that is on the end of the rod that I tie the braided green line to.

From what I have read, you should always let the rod dry before storing it. Using a soft cloth to dry it is useful and I think I read somewhere that removing the cap at the end of the rod can be done to further dry it. Water can pool inside the rod from collapsing it on the stream moving from spot to spot, so check and make sure there's no water inside before storing. I would think you could remove each section from the other and dry them if you're careful and put them back together in the same order. My wife collapsed her rod the first time from the tip down and got one of tip pieces stuck between two others. Removing the pieces was the only way to get them unstuck and doing so after fishing would help in drying the rod.

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Rick

テンカラ。小さなストリームのシンプルさ。
My Tenkara Rods:
13' Ayu, 12' Yamame, 11' with a conversion handle, and an Ito.

My Wife's Tenkara Rods:
12' Ebisu and 13.5' Amago, 12' Iwana with a conversion handle, and an Ito.

I do recommend periodic cleaning of the rod. At the end of every fishing trip I close down the pieces with a dry cloth (usually just my shirt), so as I slide each piece in, I pass it through my shirt.
Every other trip or so, or before I put it away with no expectation of use for a few weeks, I will take each piece out from the bottom and clean each segment with a dry cloth, this keeps the rod from getting scratched by sand, etc and also makes sure all is dry before storing for long periods of time.
Then, every couple of months I may rinse each piece and let them air dry completely. Of course, this is just me and I enjoy doing that sometimes.

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

Thanks for the info Daniel. You would know better than anyone the best way to take care of the rod.

_________________
Rick

テンカラ。小さなストリームのシンプルさ。
My Tenkara Rods:
13' Ayu, 12' Yamame, 11' with a conversion handle, and an Ito.

My Wife's Tenkara Rods:
12' Ebisu and 13.5' Amago, 12' Iwana with a conversion handle, and an Ito.

Daniel's knowledge is legendary, that is true, but at the "Good Ol' Boy Tenkara Fishing Assembly" held on the spacious east bank of the famous Lake Geezer, Alan Ayu, Erin Ebisu, Irene Iwana, Yanni Yamame (who also shared his music with us), and of course Tommy Tenkara all offered their useful experiences, too.

For what it's worh, at the end of each trip I put the tip plug back on, remove the butt cap and place the rod, tip end down, in my gear bag. If any water was in the butt, it came out when I removed the butt plug and the rest airs out on the drive home. If I notice a lot of water, I'll wipe each section with a cloth.

The rod is so small that I mostly keep it sticking out of my gear bag with the butt cap off until I use it again. That gives it plenty of time to dry.