Tenkara Rod Co. is a newish manufacturer of tenkara rods based out of Idaho. I chose this rod because it is a soft action, full flex rod designed for small fish. When compared to other full flex, small fish rods, the thing that sold me on this was the length and the look of it.
Length: The length is 10.5 ft, making it a little shorter than a typical tenkara rod. this rod is long for a light action rod, but not quite goofy short (I fished for a long time with a 6 ft. long fly rod, I know how goofy it can get). There are plenty of 6 ft. to 8 ft. tenkara rods out there, which I’m sure are great for small streams with small fish. But these rods are a little too dialed in to small stream fishing for my liking. What if a longer cast is needed? What if there are spooky fish, and you need to crouch down behind a rock and make a 20 ft. cast? A short, rod can’t get the job done, but this one can. And one of my favorite things about tenkara rods is that you can make them shorter simply by collapsing the lower section or two of the rod (a short rod can’t get longer, but a long rod can get shorter). The 10.5 ft. length is versatile. It is a small fish rod, but I have no reservations about casting this rod into any stream. My biggest fish on this rod was a 19 inch rainbow. Landing that fish with this rod required some finesse, but this rod got the job done.
The Action: For a guy who loves fishing small flies, small streams, and small fish, I love the soft, flexible rods. You can feel everything. A 5 inch sunfish can put quite a bend in this rod and strike some fear in you. You can’t just overpower the fish with this rod. Even for a small fish, some finesse is required to get the fish in your hand.
The Look: This thing looks cool. The two tone turquoise rod, the light colored cork handle, and the orange metallic hardware give it just the right amount of color. Well designed, colorful but not obnoxious. When this rod gets passed on to my kids, it will look strange and endearingly outdated. Their future fishing buddies will make fun of them for it, and I will smile.
The Truth: While you can read rod lengths, weights, specs, and reviews (you can even watch videos of the rod in action), you never really know how much you will like a rod until you have a fish on the line. Understanding this, I will admit that, when compared to similar rods, I bought this rod based on looks. It looks amazing. When put to use, the rod feels pretty amazing too. I got lucky with that one. This rod is soft, flexible, and perfect for small streams.
small stream fly fishing 
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