Tenkara Rhodo Fishing Rod

An ultralight tenkara rod with a very high level of finesse

The Tenkara Rhodo may be my favorite rod for tiny/minimalist flies, thin tippet, and delicate presentations to wary trout. It’s 2.1 oz, and can telescope among three different lengths from shorter than 9′ to longer than 10′. I use the long length on lakes, the short length on brushy streams, and seldom use the middle length. This is a very delicate rod – much more so than the Tenkara Hane, and requires a different level of force and timing to engineer a cast. Because of this, it’s not a great option for heavy flies, but this is Backpacking Light, so … you shouldn’t be using heavy flies anyways ;) Here’s a pretty rainbow I caught on Memorial Day 2021 as the ice starts to leave the lakes above 10k in Wyoming’s Snowy Range. They were tough customers, and very spooky. The Rhodo came through.