Nisai Harvest in Fresno: Part I

[Richard Rombold]

While we have the pictures up, and I may not get another chance to compare, look at #5 and #15. You may have read in other posts I've made how I have retired some bloodlines and found some to be dead ends. Well #5 represents a failed direction that I am no longer pursuing and #15 is the emergence of my new Sanke. All of my pairings are still very fluid and the Sanke are several generations from stabilizing, but the elements are coming together.

[koiczar]

Richard

You're making this VERY DIFFICULT!!!!!You're creating a canundrum(sp)!?

I still like #1 very much. Now, I'm looking at #8. Larry, I can't put my finger on the specific reason either (other than it seems to "have it all"). Now, don't laugh at this next pic too loudly. If I'm looking at a specimen to grow out and take a chance on, I'd be looking at #13. If you look closely at the beni, beginning at the head you almost see a snapshot of evolution. As hi usually develops from the head to the tail, the normal weak spot on a nisai would be near the tail joint. The beni on the head is very thick and clean. It has a razor edge line entirely around the pattern. the shoulder pattern is very nice as well, just not as thick yet. The third step is a little weak at this time, but looking at the development of this fish, that will change in a year or two (if it doesn't grow too fast and blow it out). The shiroji is excellent and the sumi is some of the best of all the sanke so far. Very bright and shiny. It also appears to have one of the best ozutsu of the bunch!!

The GinRin on the kohaku appears to either be pearl or what is referred to as Niigata GinRin. That is where the back edge of the scale is reflective rather than Hiroshima GinRin where the scale has one of three types of GinRin running through the entire scale. Saw a couple of examples this year in Niigata. Really is beautiful on the right fish. This fish is certainly greatly enhanced by the appearance of the GinRin. Now, Marie, if you're looking solely to show a fish in competition, you could consider this one. But, if you're looking to also breed one of these that you would select, I would not invest the time in the GinRin Kohaku. As JR has stated on another post, it appears to be a "one-off" and nothing more. Now Richard, if you keep this and put it in your private collection to be "watched" and you can breed this fish to another and develop some stability, people will be knocking down your door to get the offspring.

[carolyn swanson]

the pearl ginrin doesn't last far into adulthood and it doesn't do well at the shows because it isn't flashy. What a shame. I think that it is the most beautiful and can you imagine a 30 inch fish with it???

[PapaBear]

I'm looking for a nit to pick..................... hard to find any.
#11 Big head, Big Body, Big Pattern, SMOOOOOOOOTH lines from head to tail, more of that wonderful shiroji you've been striving for (I think you got it down bro' ), Beni thats going nowhere but up. This looks to me like the kind of Kohak that will become the graceful, elegant lady in some lucky dawg's pond at 30"+ easily. Is that a pencil thin Kuchibeni I see on her lips?
#12 Another good looking Tancho... Not quite as perfectly formed as the first, but very nice. The tail tube is not as good as it could be, but a little time should take care of that. The only real question mark is will the sumi continue to fill in the gaps? Looks like it could.
#13 This is going to be a very attractive fish. Clean torpedo form, nice white ground, beni developing/refining from the head back, sumi developing/refining from the tail forward, and the pattern has a nicely balanced offsetting placement. Very nice, but probably not a show stopper due to the slender body form.
#14 Another eye catcher. The pattern is very well balanced, hi plates cleanly broken but close enough together to maintain symmetry as the fish grows. They wrap down the sides well which will maintain a strong look as she puts on girth. Like the #13 fish, her beni is deepening from the head back, and this one needs several years to really finish well. She also looks to have a hint of kuchibeni.
#15 The Oyagoi switch from the #5 fish to this one is plain to see. Both had the sumi package, but the difference in beni quality is night and day. In some ways having male and female siblings in this photo array gives us an idea of how the girls will finish if kept well. (The beni on the sanke babes has great things ahead if this boy is any indication ) The beni on this one looks strong enough to hold while the sumi continues to laquer up. He may never be the biggest fish in the pond, but he has several good years ahead of him for some happy ponder.

[mitten]

So, if number five is from the retired direction, I'd still like to see a pic after two weeks in a tank. If the hi tatters in these fish, as seen on the unnamed site, then oh well. Two weeks should still make a lot of difference in the red scales and I'd be interested to see it. Is that a tell tale sign on the pec, that part of it is growing longer?

And if number 15 is your newer developement, I'd say that this looks like a very fast fish, finishing soon. A female to show us?

I like #14 better than the popular #1, but the bandit look is something I enjoy. I like #11 more than either of the four steps. Still picking number 8 though through this third group.

Mickey the windowman

[PapaBear]

We have the misfortune of having some of our well informed posters being tied up this weekend as there are two Florida shows going on. Hopefully they will chime in and play catch up on some of these when they get back home and rest up a bit.

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcny oooh, some more nice selections. the thing that jumps out at me in all these koi is the shiroji. they all look very, very good. bravo richard! marie, what are you looking to do with the fish? nice fish to compete right away (#9) or something to grow out(#11). i think #9 is the most interesting fish and would probably be my choice but if i wanted to see how i could do at raising a large koi, i'd go for #11. i think it has a nice frame and good potential for size. i even like the kuchibeni. i only wish the tail tube was stronger. it may be fine and it's just the bend of the tail that make it look a little thin.. -dan

Hi Dan,

I won't be considering showing until next year, probably at the Camellia koi club's Sacramento show if I am ready by then. Mud ponds are in my future and on the immediate agenda, so between now and then I'm going to be one busy person. So I guess growing out is the answer to your question. In part.

I want a multi-purpose fish. Something that is prepotent enough to stamp its type on an outcross or has a certain feature I want to try to pull the genetics from in order to incorporate that feature into the next generation. Something that has promise to compete in shows at the higher levels as it matures. And lastly, something that has what the entertainment industry coined as the "IT" factor.

Remember Clara Bow, the first "It" girl? Though she was just an ordinary gal, she had a charisma that was bigger than life--someone your eyes couldn't help but be drawn to and held by...

# 11 is a real treat, just like you said. Even the kuchibeni is tasteful and not garish like some I've seen. I'm not worried about the tail tube on her or any of the kohaks. If they don't look buff in one picture they will in another, because they all tend to be very strong and powerfully balanced in person.

#9 would be interesting as possible inclusion in my "ginrin patterning" breeding lab of the future; probably won't win JR's dollar.

...but #1 is still firmly implanted in my forebrain. She's got It in spades, and though I have to go back again and again to remember the ones I've been impressed with so far, it is her image that I just can't get out of my mind.

Marie

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Rombold While we have the pictures up, and I may not get another chance to compare, look at #5 and #15. You may have read in other posts I've made how I have retired some bloodlines and found some to be dead ends. Well #5 represents a failed direction that I am no longer pursuing and #15 is the emergence of my new Sanke. All of my pairings are still very fluid and the Sanke are several generations from stabilizing, but the elements are coming together.

Easier to compare...night and day, huh.

Marie

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by koiczar Richard You're making this VERY DIFFICULT!!!!!You're creating a canundrum(sp)!? (That would be conundrum, Mike *S*) I still like #1 very much. Now, I'm looking at #8. Larry, I can't put my finger on the specific reason either (other than it seems to "have it all"). Now, don't laugh at this next pic too loudly. If I'm looking at a specimen to grow out and take a chance on, I'd be looking at #13. If you look closely at the beni, beginning at the head you almost see a snapshot of evolution. As hi usually develops from the head to the tail, the normal weak spot on a nisai would be near the tail joint. The beni on the head is very thick and clean. It has a razor edge line entirely around the pattern. the shoulder pattern is very nice as well, just not as thick yet. The third step is a little weak at this time, but looking at the development of this fish, that will change in a year or two (if it doesn't grow too fast and blow it out). The shiroji is excellent and the sumi is some of the best of all the sanke so far. Very bright and shiny. It also appears to have one of the best ozutsu of the bunch!! The GinRin on the kohaku appears to either be pearl or what is referred to as Niigata GinRin. That is where the back edge of the scale is reflective rather than Hiroshima GinRin where the scale has one of three types of GinRin running through the entire scale. Saw a couple of examples this year in Niigata. Really is beautiful on the right fish. This fish is certainly greatly enhanced by the appearance of the GinRin. Now, Marie, if you're looking solely to show a fish in competition, you could consider this one. But, if you're looking to also breed one of these that you would select, I would not invest the time in the GinRin Kohaku. As JR has stated on another post, it appears to be a "one-off" and nothing more. Now Richard, if you keep this and put it in your private collection to be "watched" and you can breed this fish to another and develop some stability, people will be knocking down your door to get the offspring.

Just a nice little pod of pics of the koi in question (plus the new representative of Richard's new sanke line).

We seem to have similar tastes, Mike. From this view, how would you rank them now?

Marie

[Sangreaal]

Need a microscope and tweezers to pick those nits, Larry. But you did a really great job of it!

Quote: Originally Posted by PapaBear I'm looking for a nit to pick..................... hard to find any. #11 Big head, Big Body, Big Pattern, SMOOOOOOOOTH lines from head to tail, more of that wonderful shiroji you've been striving for (I think you got it down bro' ), Beni thats going nowhere but up. This looks to me like the kind of Kohak that will become the graceful, elegant lady in some lucky dawg's pond at 30"+ easily. Is that a pencil thin Kuchibeni I see on her lips? #12 Another good looking Tancho... Not quite as perfectly formed as the first, but very nice. The tail tube is not as good as it could be, but a little time should take care of that. The only real question mark is will the sumi continue to fill in the gaps? Looks like it could. #13 This is going to be a very attractive fish. Clean torpedo form, nice white ground, beni developing/refining from the head back, sumi developing/refining from the tail forward, and the pattern has a nicely balanced offsetting placement. Very nice, but probably not a show stopper due to the slender body form. #14 Another eye catcher. The pattern is very well balanced, hi plates cleanly broken but close enough together to maintain symmetry as the fish grows. They wrap down the sides well which will maintain a strong look as she puts on girth. Like the #13 fish, her beni is deepening from the head back, and this one needs several years to really finish well. She also looks to have a hint of kuchibeni. #15 The Oyagoi switch from the #5 fish to this one is plain to see. Both had the sumi package, but the difference in beni quality is night and day. In some ways having male and female siblings in this photo array gives us an idea of how the girls will finish if kept well. (The beni on the sanke babes has great things ahead if this boy is any indication ) The beni on this one looks strong enough to hold while the sumi continues to laquer up. He may never be the biggest fish in the pond, but he has several good years ahead of him for some happy ponder.