Reviews

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• darbysrgrs says     5 out of 5 flies
• Great rod
• Location/type of places I fish: Alaska
• Great rod for small fish and streams. Bought this specifically for grayling fishing on the Chena and it has been wonderful. Great rod action, simplicity is amazing, and it brought the fun back to fishing. I used it to teach flycasting to a novice. Much easier than teaching with typical fly rod. Every angler I ran into on the river has not been able to resist giving it try, always with favorable comments. Great introductory rod or for smaller anglers.
• posted August 04, 2012

• mkrotine says     5 out of 5 flies
• Great rod for backpacking
• Location/type of places I fish: Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California
• I discovered Tenkara USA when I was searching the Internet for light-weight fly rod tubes to protect my 1 weight fly rod. I was amazed to find the 11 ft. Iwana Tenkara rod with a weight of only 2.5 oz. The simplicity of the Tenkara fishing system also greatly appealed to me. I have always enjoyed bringing a fly rod whenever I go backpacking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in CA, and the Tenkara Iwana was a perfect match for me because it is so light and simple.
  
  For the past few years I have embraced \"ultra-light\" backpacking - my total pack with water, food, bear canister, etc. weighs about 22 lbs and just 3.6 oz of this weight is my Tenkara fishing gear. I pack my Iwana rod in its rod sock, an old plastic 35mm film canister #to hold about 10 flies, nippers & some tissue which keeps the flys & nippers from bouncing around#, my spool of Tenkara fly line, 2 extra leaders, 6x tippet and my fishing license. All of this gear weighs only 3.6 oz on my electronic scale!
  
  The high country fishing action is amazing with the Iwana rod and I have used it to fish many lakes and streams. The rod easily handles 6\" to 8\" fish and also works great when landing an occasional 12\" or 14\" fish. I was initially worried about breaking the rod tip, but have come to realize this rod is very durable. I just make it a point to be careful with the tip when hiking around trees and rocks.
  
  The only tradeoff with this rod is that you can\'t fish out very far when fishing lakes - about 20\' +/-. However, long-distances fishing is not part of the Tenkara philosophy. This rod\'s weight and \"pack-ability\", make it ideal for backpacking. When it comes to backpacking in the high mountains, I am a Tenkara USA convert for life and I highly recommend these rods.
  
  Thank you Daniel and Tenkara USA for your wonderful rods and gear!
  Mark, Trabuco Canyon, CA
• posted December 12, 2012

• JDReed says     5 out of 5 flies
• It's like a magic wand, but for fishing
• Location/type of places I fish: Northern Utah, Southern Idaho small streams
• This rod is almost ridiculously fun to fish with. I tend to fish small streams and the 11ft Iwana is perfect. It actually handles fish in the 17 inch size class with remarkable ease. I just let my mom and her friend catch a couple of fish with it, and I'm pretty sure they're gonna get one too.
  
  Love this rod, love Tenkara.
• posted April 29, 2013

• albertyi says     5 out of 5 flies
• For when you want to be up close and personal
• Location/type of places I fish: San Francisco Bay Area / Anywhere cold and clear
• Do you like stalking trout close enough to where you can see the whites of their eyes before you float that fly into the lie you know they'll sip it from? Do you love fishing in creeks you can jump across? Do you want to feel like you're casting with thin air?
  
  This is the rod for you.
• posted April 26, 2012

• tnitz says     5 out of 5 flies
• Great western mountain rod
• Location/type of places I fish: Mountain meadow and tight riparian streams in NE Oregon
• With it's light weight, great action, and nicely shaped cork grip, the 11' Iwana is just about perfect for tighter Pac NW streams and smaller high altitude meadow streams. A 9' rod won't get you into many tighter places but the 11' rod will work well in places that are just too tight for a 13' rod. While I would want a longer rod for larger lake or river fishing, there really aren't many places I routinely fish where the 11' rod doesn't work wonderfully, bringing you in close, but still at a respectable distance.
  
  I like the action of the Iwana series, great sensitivity in the tip and the rod is just firm enough that line casting is accurate. I tend to favor furled lines with the Iwana, myself.
• posted April 27, 2012

• Thomis says     5 out of 5 flies
• Fun rod
• Location/type of places I fish: Wisconsin- rivers and streams for trout
• This was my first rod since I live near some really small streams. It is great with dry flies and easy to use, but still has enough strength to catch some biggerfish. I was able to land a 17" brown on it in a tiny creek, but it was a fight.
• posted May 02, 2012

• dfree98 says     5 out of 5 flies
• fly rod
• Location/type of places I fish: Vally creek, southeastern pa
• I have had this rod for a year now, it was given to me as a gift and I love it! I fish wild brown trout streams in my area and this gives me a huge advantige. It simplier and allows to get fishing quicker. It has never broken, which is rare these days. I think the thing I enjoy the most is the fact that it just works. It gives a subbtler pesentation that doesnt spook fish like my western gear does. I can go out and have a ten fish day witrh this rod, switch to a western one and catch none with the same flies! Overall I love this road and i would reomend it to anyone wanting to catch more fish!
• posted May 03, 2012

• flatlander says     5 out of 5 flies
• Fun and productive
• Location/type of places I fish: Small streams in New Mexico
• This rod is perfect for the small streams I fish in New Mexico. You won't believe how drag-free your drifts can be. I've tried furled and level-lines with it and prefer furled. Great way to get started in Tenkara.
• posted May 04, 2012

• jd_smith says     5 out of 5 flies
• The little, middle brother in the Iwana family
• Location/type of places I fish: Northern and Central California, Southern Oregon, Sierra Nevada, or where ever I end up next to water.
• This is the middle brother in the Iwana family of rods. At 11' it is about as short a tenkara rod that I will ever need in the Sierra Nevada. If you fish smaller creeks and streams where a shorter rod and stealthy stalking is required, the light weight and crisp action of the 11' Iwana will provide pinpoint casts into the smallest of pockets to the spookiest of fish. It's also a perfect choice to put in the hands of a youngster that's just getting started into fly-fishing and would be overwhelmed with a longer rod and line. Just a side note...don't let all of this talk about delicacy miss lead you into thinking that this rod won't handle a respectable trout. I've landed several trout up to 18" with this little brother and it handled them very gracefully. This is a beautiful rod that I originally gave only 4 flies because I prefer the 12'er. After writing this I realized that if your fishing the type of water above the 11'er is the best choice. It's the same rod as the 12'er just a shorter version, so I'm giving it 5 flies!
• posted May 06, 2012

• epboswell says     5 out of 5 flies
• 2 wt Alternative?
• Location/type of places I fish: South West Wisconsin
• I have been wanting a Superfine Trout Bum 2 wt rod for a couple years now after trying a friend's and loving the presentation. However, the cost + reel etc. has always been too steep. I ordered the Iwana 11' and traditional line and couldn't be happier. Just today I landed a 16" brown trout that took a size 18 parachute pattern. I was waiting for the 6X tippet to break, but the rod protected it. Not sure if I would have landed it with my stiffer 4 wt rod. I have had other great days with the rod. Love the rod for spring creeks. I have to admit, I think it will take a long time to break my habits of casting dries and switching to traditional wet fly Tenkara methods, with all line off the water, but I'm happy with my results so far! Now I can use the money saved towards that new Gibson ES 339 I've had my eye on!
• posted May 08, 2012

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