The Best Fishing Rod for Backpacking?

 

A couple years back I came across a traditional Japanese form of fly fishing called “Tenkara”. I even got Jason Klass (then of www.geartalkwithjasonklass.com) to put together this article on Tenkara 101 for Backpackers. As a backpacker who loves fishing, but doesn’t like loading down his pack with tackle I knew that one day I would be investing in a Tenkara set up.

Fast forward to this winter when the Tenkara Iwana rod came on sale for $100. In it went to the shopping cart and out came my credit card. After adding a traditional style Tenkara line, line holder and tippet spool the total jumped to about $160 and I was set.

Why did I go Tenkara?

First I recommend you check out the article Jason Klass put together for me “Tenkara 101” to understand the concept better.

As a backpacker I’ve always been intrigued at what lies in small streams. I remember as a kid pulling out 6-8 inch trout out of streams with simple tackle.

When I moved to backpacking I struggled to find something simple and lightweight for mountain streams and lakes.

I tried fly fishing for a while, but found that it was a lot of gear whose weight added up. Also, in the high country I rarely of ever needed all that line to catch a fish. In the end, I settled on a telescopic spinning setup that I used with a float and fly, but that too was not particularly light weight. I like the telescopic setup, but I prefer the simplicity of fly fishing. Tenkara was just the perfect fit for me… or seems to be.

The Iwana is a collapsible fly rod that weighs only 2.5 ounces. Yes, it only weighs 2.5 ounces. There is no reel, just a line and tippet. It’s versatile enough for small to medium streams, as well as shore fishing on mountain lakes and packs down very small. I only need a dozen flies or so and a roll of tippet. That’s it. It’s the simplest and lightest setup that I have.

Take a look at the video below and let me know: Do you fish when you backpack? What do you bring? Have you tried Tenkara?