Why a Backpacking Fishing Rod?
If your weekend plans consist of going into the woods, or finding a local trail, and you might stumble across a body of water, or you know you will be crossing by a lake, then why not pack a lightweight rod and reel combo so you have an opportunity to catch a few fish for dinner? These best backpacking fishing rod and reel combos offer a lot of bang for your buck, including the light weight easy to carry that is important to a backpacker. If you are new to fishing you can also check out our fishing guide here.
- Why a Backpacking Fishing Rod?
- How to Choose your Backpacking Fishing Rod
- Top Choice for Spinning Rod and Reel
- Best Telescopic Fishing Rods
- Best Tenkara Fishing Rods
- DRAGONtail Tenkara Komodo Zoom 10.5/9′
- Tenkara DRAGONtail Shadowfire 365 12′
- Wild Water Fly Fishing Tenkara Rod Combo 12’ Fly Rod Complete
- Best Collapsible Fishing Rods
When going for a hike, or a weekend trek, you don’t have the luxury of space and weight like you might if you were packing a kayak or car. You have to carry everything on your back, and make it balanced so as hiking is not tiring. Along with the rod and reel you’ll also be carrying your sleeping back, tent, and other hiking gear, so having a rod and reel take up valuable space makes little sense.
How to Choose your Backpacking Fishing Rod
Fishing Rod Power
Rod power refers to the rod’s resistance to bending. So imagine you are deep at sea, reeling in a monster that feels like it weighs more than your house. In this case, the rod is likely going to bend..a lot. If you want to bring in that fish in deep sea fishing, you’d look for ultra heavy. For backpacking, of which you will likely be fishing smaller fish, you’d prefer a light or medium light rod.
What is Rod Action?
The action of a rod is in reference to the part of the rod that bends under pressure. An extra fast action rod bends only at the tip, while a slow action rod bends all the way to the handle. The faster action means you can put more pressure on the fish and is much more sensitive compared to a slow action rod. With a fast action rod you can feel the vibration when the lure or bait hits the bottom. Softer action rods are more forgiving and are less likely to throw live bait off your hook.
Idea Rod Length
The length of the rod dictates how and where you might be fishing. The longer rods can help reach over obstacles like rock outcroppings and fallen logs, or even tall grass and small bushes that might be in front of you at a lakes edge. You also get faster casts and more leverage. The downside with a longer rod length is that it will be heavier and larger to carry.
A shorter rod has less reach, but is lighter and smaller to carry. In dense vegetation a shorter rod is easier to cast.
So before you head out on your trip, think about the environment you might find yourself in and choose the right rod for your trip. Below we’ve curated several recommendations that should meet your needs for the best backpacking fishing rod and reel. All of which would be a good choice for your next backpacking fishing trip
Top Choice for Spinning Rod and Reel
Eagle Claw Trailmaster
Another option that will satisfy the best backpacking fishing rod and reel category is the Eagle Claw Trailmaster’s TMM66S4C Trailmaster Spinning Combo. This is a 4 piece ultra light that comes together quickly, and usually these multi piece rods are constructed better than it’s telescoping cousins.
The Eagle Claw Trailmaster has been a fan favorite for years among backpackers and fisherman. This combo comes with a hardy travel case and easily packs the 4 pieces within. The reel is made of six ball bearings, has a really comfy and durable rubber/cork foregrip, and when fully assembled is 6′ 6″ long. The Trailmaster is lightweight yet strong, and designed for performance. When broken down and in the case it will measure 24.5 inches long and around 6 inches wide.
Best Telescopic Fishing Rods
Plusinno Telescopic Fishing Rod and Reel Combo
Let’s take a look at our first option, the Plusino Telescopic fishing rod and reel combo. When purchasing the Plusio fishin rod they also ship with a nice assortment of fishing lures and hooks, a carrier bag, and some other accessories. The tackle includes heavy duty worm hooks, bass jig heads, 2 nice lures, a good number of beads, and brass weights for making a Carlina rig. The rod is high density carbon fiber mixed with fiberglass which makes it quite rugged which is needed when backpacking.
What is nice about the Plusino is it’s telescopic ability that closes down to around 16 inches, so it will take up little room in your pack. The case is padded, which is an added bonus, the handle can go on either side for left or right handed persons, and the kit comes with a spool of .28mm fishing line, more than enough to get started with.
TROUTBOY Black Warrior Fishing Rod
Troutboy Black Warrior is another telescopic fishing rod that is also a composite and fiberglass combination. They offer many variations including several without a reel in case you want to add your own, or you have your eye set on something else. I picked up a 6′ 10″ medium heavy and it’s the perfect travel and backpack fishing rod. Once it’s put together you won’t have any worry that it will collapse on you, and it was easy to pull in a 24″ halibut while I was on the west coast last year.
The handle is changeable from right to left depending on your preference, the handle is a comfy rubber. Guide rings are made of ceramic, and the rod has a EVA handle that is a pleasure to fish with. Gear ratio of the reel is a 5.5:1 which is seen on many of these reels. Overall this is quite a value rod and reel combination that would be seen as a perfect option for your next backpacking trip.
Best Tenkara Fishing Rods
DRAGONtail Tenkara Komodo Zoom 10.5/9′
This Tenkara package contains everything you would need on your backpacking fishing trip. This rod is light weight, clocking in at only 2.8 ounces. Taken apart it collapses to just 22″ which can easily fit in your backpack. When fully assembled you can choose two lengths, 10’5 feet or 9 feet depending on fishing conditions. The shorter rod is best for small streams or tight spots. It’s also best for a beginner rod for kids.
This kit comes with a complete starter package that includes everything you need to start tenkara fly fishing. In addition to the rod it contains 3 flies, 11 feet of furled line, a foam line holder, and a 27 yard spool of 4x tippet. It will setup in under 3 minutes.
We think this is a perfect starter package for fly fishing. The cost is really reasonable for the quality gear you receive.
Tenkara DRAGONtail Shadowfire 365 12′
The Dragontail differs from the Komodo in that the Tenkara Dragontail is a 12′ IM 10 rod, which makes it quite strong AND lightweight. Clocking in at 2.9 oz it too can setup in under 3 minutes. It’s light enough to take along on any backpacking trip, and easy to setup when you find the perfect spot. The rod collapses down at 23.25 inches, so a full 1.25 inches more than the Komodo, but equally small. There are 8 segments in this rod that gives lots of play. This rod is quite a strong rod so an experienced angler would have a good chance against a larger trout.
The nice part about this rod is that everything packs INSIDE the rod handle. The tippet, line, foam spool, clippers and line winder all make it extremely easy to pack along for a trek. This is an amazing starter kit if you are new to Tenkara fishing. This is also a great kit as a stand alone backpacking fishing rod.
Wild Water Fly Fishing Tenkara Rod Combo 12’ Fly Rod Complete
This Tenkara rod, brought to you by a USA company out of Rochester NY, is a telescopic 12′ rod with 9 sections made from IM8 Graphite, and weighs in at 3.4 ounces. So like the two rods by Dragontail it’s quite light weight but strong, which makes it easy to bring along on a backpacking trip. This rod collapses down the smallest at 20.5″ in length, and comes with a nice hard storage case that is only 23″ in length.
This rod also comes with a small fly box with 12 Tenkara flies and has a waterproof seal that keeps the content dry. The Tenkara line that comes with is a 10.5′ Chartreuse furled level line and a EVA Foam spool. The package also includes a spool of 5X Tippet and line winders, a line nipper tool, a retractable zinger and a fly fishing starter package reference kit.