I got my rod wet yesterday, and thought if i just left my rod collapsed, and removed the endscrew, it would dry out. However, some sections are still damp. What's the best way to dry a Tenkara rod out?

I unscrew the end cap and pull the section back through the handle but I don't fully disassemble the rod then just let it dry. I also wipe it down if it is with a fiber cloth if it is very wet.

Wiping each segment with a cloth is the least you should do.
The best you can do is wipe them with a cloth, disassemble all segments, and lay them somewhere to dry, especially if you won't use it for a while. This will greatly lengthen the durability of the finish.

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alright, guess i'll disassemble it as I Won't be using it for a couple months. Im assuming you just pull out the smallest segment first and work your way back?

Unscrew the butt cap, tip the rod and slide out all the sections together into your waiting hand. Repeat, pulling off the largest remaining section each time. The smallest section is the last, and may not slide out of the second section because of the stopper knot in the lillian. I leave those two together rather than try to untie the knot.

I never disassemble the entire rod after fishing (even when wet)--I just leave the rod collapsed with the end cap open and let it dry overnight. It works for me but then again I'm in Colorado where it's very arid so it might not work in other places that have higher humidity. Sometimes I forget that things dry out here in CO a lot faster than in the rest of the country, LOL.

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I just open both ends of the rod and let it rest a few hours in a safe place for the air natural flow to dry the inside.

It is probably enough except if you are leaving in a very wet climate

Every time my rod get wet, I disassemble all the section except the rod tip .

Plus, I sometimes (once or twice in a year or when the rod got muddy) wipe the inside of the rod with a piece of tissue paper. 　Make a small tissue paper ball, put the ball into the end of one section, and push with a thinner section the ball deep into the inside of the section so that the ball is pushed out from the other end. The ball gathers of course the water, in addition, the ball gathers mud and sand inside the section. You can see that the inside of the rod is more dirty than you imagine.

i either do what Jason does, ie nothing (90% of the time)
or
I do what eddie does; use each smaller section as a pushrod to push a small patch of paper towel through the section as well as dry the exteriors. Generally speaking, I just put a single rectangle layer over the end of the section thats one size smaller than the one I want to clean.
That way it just very lightly touches the insides of the surface.

I also do one other thing that I've been doing for years on my western rods.
Get some lemon pledge, or any waxy furniture polish. I prefer lemon just cause i like the smell, though Ive become partial to the rosemary mint my wife has recently switched to

Spray some on a cloth, and "polish" each section of rod. Gets them really nice and clean and smooth feeling. Buff it out so you have a minimum amount of residue on the rod. If you do it right, the light waxy coating will actually help keep the rod clean rather than attract grit.
(if anyone is into cycling, it just like those wax chain lubes that keep the chain cleaner by shedding dirt\grit\etc)

Water however is the least of my concerns....its the GRIT I'm worried about.
Once i didnt check my rod after getting it wet and the next time I pulled the rod out, I couldnt extend the rod because of some grit that was in there.

Whatever you do, DONT EVEN TRY to extend a rod with grit in it if it doesnt want to freely extend. You WILL score sections of your rod.

pechelman, I do the same thing with pledge.
Eddie, I also do tissue paper ball.
Good info here for cleaning.
If kayaking with moving water and a snag occurs I'll throw the rod into the water. Swing back around and unsnag. Then pull in the line back up till I can reach the rod. After a few snags cleaning is usually needed.

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