SeaQuest Tenkara Rod kit 1

Just...WOW. What an excellent, well featured Tenkara rod at a ridiculously great value. I cannot believe all that is included, the craftsmanship/build quality, flex, casting, balance, and especially the included accessories (line, tippet, spare tip plug, spare grip cap, two spare rod tip sections, even three flies). Definitely the best deal going in Tenkara.For reference/perspective, I've owned a total of six Tenkara rods (counting this one):DragonTail ShadowFire 365 (excellent 12'/6:4 rod $100)MaxCatch 3x Zoom 33573 (excellent 10'8''/11'10''/12'9''/7:3 rod $55)MaxCatch 3x Zoom 29773 (excellent 8'10''/9'9''/10'6''/something between 6:4-7:3 rod $54)Angler Dream Tenkara (unimpressive, heavy, and stiff but inexpensive 13'/7:3 $44)DragonTail Hellbender 2x Zoom (unimpressive, mediocre build, and expensive 11'4"/13' $150)The two DragonTail rods are definitely higher end (or at much more expensive) rods. I really like (love) the DragonTail ShadowFire 365 rod, but honestly did not care for the DragonTail HellBender rod at all (substandard build quality -- especially for the price -- and just really poor fishability). The only rod I didn't like even more than the HellBender was the Angler Dream rod (just overall unimpressive, heavy, and poor flex). I also really like the MaxCatch zoom rods and consider them to also be an excellent "sleeper" deal on 3x zoom Tenkara rods. I have held (but not actually fished) much more expensive and higher end brands of Tenkara rods ($300-400), but in comparing them to to the $100 DragonTail ShadowFire 365 rod, in my opinion, there just simply isn't a reason for a Tenkara rod to be 3x the price of the ShadowFire 365, when it just can't offer any more than that rod does. Simply put, I would never actually buy one of those overpriced brands, because there's just no reason to when I can get the same features, feel, and quality out of a $100 rod.All that being said, this SeaQuest rod is probably the best out of all them, including the two DragonTail rods (and again, I really do love the DragonTail ShadowFire 365), and it's $40 cheaper than the DragonTail ShadowFire 365. I just really couldn't believe the build quality of this rod -- it really is on par with rods that are not considered "discount" Tenkara rods. One of the main things I didn't care for about the DragonTail HellBender rod was the build quality, including the printing, paint, etc. The SeaQuest rod actually has excellent build quality, printing, paint, cork, etc. The color of the rod (and storage tube) is really beautiful. Even the grip cap is metal rather than plastic. The kit includes an extra grip cap as well as an extra tip plug. More importantly, they also include two extra tip sections (one shorter, one longer). These are normally purchased at extra cost, and that's only if they're available (most "discount" manufacturers don't even offer replacement tips). The kit also includes decent (not great) furled Tenkara line, as well as two 9' lengths of 5x tippet, and three Tenkara flies. The kit comes completely ready to fish. You could literally do an unboxing at waterside and start fishing.The rod fishes/casts really nice. At 3.7 oz it's a little on the heavier side when compared to higher end, expensive rods, but we're talking a fraction of an ounce. It has a 19% (29") balance point over the total 13' of the rod, which more than makes up for the 0.7-0.9 oz of weight over the much more expensive rods. I highly suspect that the three shorter versions of the rod have an even better (shorter) balance point, but this is very good for such a long rod. The cork is above average quality, and the handle is a very comfortable gourd shape. Fishing the rod results in minimal fatigue. I really like the 13'5" reach of the rod and the 6:4 action. I don't live in trout/stream/creek country. I use it to fish local ponds and lakes for panfish, small bass, etc. I use DragonTail Oudachi 14' furled line (I sometimes use level line, typically the same length as the rod) with a ~3' 4x tippet. With the the 13'5" rod, 17' of line/tippet, and a nice #12 beadhead nymph, I get great reach from the shore out to where the larger panfish are hugging the bottom during the moderate Florida Winter temperatures. Just an overall pleasure of a rod -- definitely captures the simplicity, art, and finesse of Tenkara fishing. The relatively low price is just a welcome bonus -- SeaQuest could definitely charge more for this rod and it would be worth it.I've posted pics with captions, specs, included accessories, etc. on the rod.Edit: Added more pics of caught fish, including small bass, huge bluegill, etc. The rod is still doing great!

I've used this rod to go micro fishing twice now and I'm not disappointed. It is a little unbalanced but I've caught 25 blue gills and a mosquito fish in 2 trips that where 45 minutes a piece. When you caught something the size of your hand it really feels like a big fish. So much fun.

OK, this is not a finesse rod. If you ever fish a Japanese rod or a higher end tenkara rod, you will definitely notice a difference. But this rod is still great. It's fun to fish. Casts well. Seems very durable. For several years this rod was my "smallmouth bass stream rod" until a beginner I loaned it to broke it on a snag. So I ordered another one. You can definitely use this rod as a trout rod, but I think it shines as an all purpose bass/panfish/trout/whatever tenkara rod.

Decided to give Tenkara fishing a try and didn't want to spend a lot on specialized equipment. So I thought I'd give this a shot but it didn't turn out well. My suspicion was correct on durability.After training on some small games i went for big games and it snapped and splinter on the 3rd bass while hauling it in. The bass wasn't even a huge one. Only around 8". If i can only catch small games with this, there's no point in wasting money. Tenkara rods can fish big games. There are videos showcasing it and trouts/salmon can get quit huge too.I'd assume they know it happens; They do sell replacement parts, but if I buy that, total cost will jump to as much as an expensive one and there's no telling it won't happen again.

Bought it to do some river fishing. It was simple to set up and easy to use. I caught a fairly large smallmouth with the rod and the flex held up just fine. So then I bought a lighter version for my 7 year old son to try out and he caught some baby small mouths with it. The braided line it comes with is easily tangled for a child though -- but that might just be a child thing rather than the line cause I had very little problems with it. The 4 small flies that come with it are not suitable for bass fishing so I can't say much about that.

Waste of money. Opened the tube and multiple pieces of rod in there loose. Not an extendable or even functional fishing pole. Was in a sealed plastic sleeve, did not look like a return. Rather it looks like someone shoved a bunch of random section in the tube just to get rid of them.Unfortunately did not open until after return window had passed.

I have used this rod on just a couple of occasions. I was interested in the Tenkara style of fishing primarily because I wanted to have a rod that I can pack easily, carry on my motorcycle or just to toss in the car to have whenever I needed it. I have 3 western style fly-fishing rigs ranging from 7 1/2 foot to 9 foot and consider myself to be a decent fisherman. I like the idea of having just a rod/line/leader/fly...you know keep it simple and have something for when you see the fish rising!I will say that it does take getting used to the tenkara style and I've already snagged up a few times but the rod itself it a very nice rod and at the price I paid I have absolutely no complaints. A very nice bonus was having the line holder included with the rod. It's the type that clips on the shaft of the rod and then you wind your line around it when you move on or pack it up. It appears to be well constructed and has a very nice action. If you're used to western style fishing it will probably take you about an hour to get good at casting this rod.Like I said I've only gone out in warm winter conditions to get a feel for the rod...haven't gotten into any fish yet but hopefully this rod will be a blast to play them with. Definitely worth it if you want to try Tenkara and don't want to spend 100-200 for a setup!