Tenkara USA Fly Fishing Rhodo™ Rod, for Small Streams - Carbon Fiber, Lightweight, Telescopic, Adjustable, 3 Multi-Lengths (8'10"/ 9'9"/ 10'6")

This rod is perfect for medium to small streams. Action is excellent. Ordered through Outland.com. Came well protected with no shipping issues.

I own over 20 Tenkara rods made and/or designed in Japan, none of which have the problems I found with this rod. A friend of mine ordered one of these and I found the same problems with his rod too. For rod sections 2 thru 5, the mating surfaces between these sections are so far inside the ends, that there is a noticeable gap around the entire circumference of the female portion when the rod is extended. The lillian material at the tip is a flimsy, flat braid, rather than the more rigid, round braid used for other rods (lack of rigidity makes it more difficult to feed the tip through the second section during rod re-assembly after cleaning). Friction rings for zoom sections are cheap carbon veneer with lots of excess glue that remains after manufacturing. Cork handle has lots of filler, more than usual. There is not a good mating of the end cap threads - the metal threads of the butt insert have many sharp burrs. The result is that it quickly wears down the fine plastic threads of the end cap after only a few cap removals - the worn threads will eventually make it difficult to screw on the end cap without being cross-threaded. For action, the rod does not have a progressive flex that is a gradual, clean transition between sections. There is more flex in sections 3 thru 5 than in the other sections - I think tenkara rods should have a curvature with a gradual transition across sections, so that strain from fighting fish is more equally spread out across the tip half of the rod length – this rod does not have that. Personally, I think a shorter zoom rod such as this does not need 3 positions to be effective – 2 positions across the range of 270 cm to 320 cm is enough (changing the length less than 12” between zooms like the Rhodo does, is not enough of a difference to justify having a middle position). Also, it would be easy to design a rod that would allow storage of the end plug inside the butt, instead of outside where it could snag onto brush during transport. I could get past these aspects and the amount of cork filler, if it weren’t for the other design and QC issues stated above. Also, the Japanese equivalent of this rod (which does not have any of the problems stated above) costs $50 less money. OK, maybe it would fish all right – if you are not picky about this stuff, then fine – but these items are annoying in comparison to my other rods. Because of all of this, I did not fish with the rod, and returned it unused, for a refund.

This rod casts well, is sensitive, and feels great in hand. It adapts to the widest range of situations you will come across when fishing small streams. It can get into tight pools with a bow and arrow cast at its shortest length, or it can be extended to its full length to cast further or keep line off of the waters surface when nymphing. I really enjoy this rod, and it has become my "go to" rod when fishing my local spots.

Love fishing with a Tenkara rod. Can't beat it for traveling with!

This isn't the cheapest rod out there, but it's so nice! Super lightweight, and when fishing small streams, the multiple length options are fantastic. The customer service from Tankara USA is amazing. Due to being stupid, I've broken my rod twice. Each time I was answered promptly by customer support, and for a small fee ($17) I was sent a brand new replacement part (multiple parts the second time) to make my rod like new again!