DRAGONtail TenkaraHellbender Zoom 13' / 11.3' Tenkara Fly Fishing Rod

I will start off with Amazon decided to send me a returned rod that someone clearly abused. It looked like they flicked it open like a baton and then smashed it back together to return it. Please, when you open a Tenkara rod, pull it out carefully one section at a time starting with the tippet.I rang up Dragontail and they had it sorted within a few minutes, and I was fishing in two days. I waited a bit to write this to get a good feel for the rod, and it fits its role perfectly. It is a beefy rod, a bit heavier than a lightweight Tenkara rod, but not so heavy that it weights you down after a few hours of fishing. This thing is still sensitive enough to fish for sunnies with, albeit a good hook set will cause some of the smaller ones to go airborne. I threw some larger Muddler Minnows and Wooly Buggers on it and started dropping them into the holes of weeds and went for bigger bass, and the rod was perfect for it. You can feel a good thunk from the bass and it gives a good fight. The length and balance fits larger (12"+) fish battles, and the quality of the rod is great for the cost.The only downside, if you can call it that, is the extended length gets some getting used to. On that same note, the length also helped me in a few situations in deeper wading water, with the height of the rod tip on the backstroke, I wasn't snagging behind me on the taller grass, just in front of me with the trees. As a starter rod for those who are a bit more 'aggressive' with the rod, I would recommend this one. Even if the rod isn't the premium quality that some people look for, the customer service is.

Had a Rocky from Tenkara Rod Co. and lasted only 2 days before it broke. The Dragontail Hellbender is much better quality. Grips is more comfortable and the rod is much more sensitive.Using Tedachi furled line and 5x tippet. Cuts through the with with streamers very well.

This is my first, and currently, only tenkara rod. I feel that I chose wisely. There are a lot of good rods out there, but I want to catch small fish, good size trout, and salmon as well. I’ve caught tiny fish, medium trout, and am hoping to land some nice salmon this fall. It’s super fun to fish with, ridiculously light weight and small when folded down. The storage tube is great for traveling, the sock is good for most of the time. The line it came with casts very well. I’m very happy I went with this rod, and have been using it for a little while now with no issues. (And if you’re wondering if it’s too long, like I was, it’s not. Works great, and I’m glad I got this larger rod. Though I am mostly fishing on larger rivers)

Great rod for bigger fish, I use it for bass and sunfish, carp as well. Good casting rod, despite being a stiff, I just love it !!!

Great rod, I recently purchased this rod to try a simpler version of fly fishing went down to a local trout creek and God some nice sized one but here's the kicker I haven't fished at all for close to 10 years so this speaks to just how simple these thing are and work after a small amount of time figuring out how long the Tibet should be what fly might work best and some casting practice I found it to be very user friendly, the plug has extra Lillian which is awsome the sensitivity is good and the interchangeable lengths make this super easy to use the finish is super good looking it's light it is just amazingOnly con I have is the makers site shows this rod with a swivel tip and I wish I had gotten that but overall it's a great rod

The rod works fine. Its great to have when a body of water is around and you can get in a few minutes of fishing. The biggest downside is that I had to add bent paperclips towards the base to store the line when not in use. I am also not a fan of the line that you have to use, but overall its fun and readily accessible

I was hesitant to buy this product due to the lack of reviews, but I'm glad I made to order. I am a new Tenkara fishermen and am trying to build my fishing toolbox.The shipping on this rod was super fast. First impression, the quality of the rod is awesome. The color is beautiful and it comes with a nice protective tube and rod sock that are also of nice quality.For now, five stars, but I will update once I go fishing this weekend. I have a Tenkara USA Iwana rod (12ft) that is most impressive, so this rod has big shoes to fill.Update: I took the HELLbender out the weekend and it was definitely different than my Iwana rod. When I casted the rod, my line seemed to continually bunch up at the top of the rod. It totally could have been user error. I never did catch a trout on it as I swapped rods just prior to hitting a good fishing spot. All and all, I would reccomend this product to a friend and I would purchase from this company again...BUT...I will most likely use these rods as a backup to to my Tenkara USA rods.

Quality seems nice. Would have been good to receive all the pieces listed tho