DRAGONtail Tenkara - Shadowfire 365 Tenkara Rod

I picked this up after doing some research on a lightweight fishing setup for backpacking in the Uinta Mountain range. I wanted something simple, packable, and reliable for catching fish on the trail. This has exceeded my expectations, especially as a first tenkara rod. The setup is about as minimal as it gets, which is exactly what I was looking for. It’s quick to get ready and easy to use, even if you’re new to tenkara-style fishing. Performance has been great so far. I’ve caught several brook trout on it without any issues, and it handles them well while still keeping things fun with the lighter setup. One of the biggest advantages is how simple everything is. There’s no complicated gear to deal with, which makes it perfect for backpacking when you want to keep weight and setup time to a minimum. Overall, this is a solid choice if you’re looking to get into tenkara or want a lightweight fishing option for the backcountry. It’s been a great addition to my backpacking gear.

Took the rod out for the first time on a small river/freestone trout stream in Northern Oregon for a 2-day trip. For me, the Tenkara method keeps everything simpler overall, which I like. It took some getting used to, after 20+ years fly fishing with rods somewhere in the 7-9’ length, hence lots of unintentional whacking of overhead tree branches. 12’ seems to be plenty long: for my fishing purposes, I have difficulty thinking of a scenario where longer than 12’ would be beneficial. No lost flies, probably due to fishing higher in the water column. I found that adding split shot does not seem particularly effective, nor in the spirit of keeping things simple. This was my first time fishing furled leader. It lands softly, which is good, and floats about as well as most so-called “floating” fly lines, which was only mildly problematic when fishing dries. The furled leader is thinner and more supple than standard fly lines - took a little getting used to - seems a lighter touch and relatively slower line speed is the way to go? I found the 6:4 action perfect - I don’t need a faster rod for what I’m doing. Love how simple and light and compact it is — easy to bring along on day hikes and overnighters. The construction is solid and the graphite is plenty good quality. I was a unsure about the handle shape at first but it’s fine, granted it felt odd to hold it right in the middle, but this was hardly a problem. The three included flies are barbless, which I appreciate. Recommend wathching the informational videos on the company website. Overall, the setup worked effectively for nymphing and fishing dries.

This is my first Tenkara rod, but I've tried several other since and wow, did I ever make a good decision/choice to buy this one first. Such a great rod and overall fishing experience for a very reasonably priced rod. It's so light and so well balanced that I almost forget I'm holding/fishing it. I would literally get the same level of fatigue if I was simply holding my arm up the air with my hand empty. The rod is very strong and can handle landing a pretty big (not huge) fish. It's very flexible (every bit of a 6:4), but also very strong and doesn't feel wimpy. The cork handle is nice and high end with a great hourglass shape to it. It also has a longer lillian than most other rods I've tried. All the materials used (rod sections, cork, caps, lillian, storage tube, storage sock, etc.) all seem to be of really nice quality. I have since bought cheaper rods that I also like and are pretty close to this quality for the most part (but not everything), but I have zero regrets for buying this rod as it's still a much nicer rod at very good and reasonable price. I've also discovered that I like all DragonTail brand line, tippet, flies, etc. the best, so even on my non-DragonTail rods, I'm still using DragonTail brand accessories.

Great starter fly rod. But the limitations of its strength are very apparent. If I could go back, I'd just spend a few bucks more to get the Hellbender. Also note, the tips are very delicate and prone to snapping.

After fly-fishing for several years, this is my first tenkara rod. Being intimidated by the $$$ TenkaraUSA cost and leery of the <$ budget imports, the Shadowfire seemed to strike a good balance in price versus product. I bought the 12' rod & starter package, which included the rod, a rod sock, a hard case rod tube, a knit sock that goes over the rod tube, a 12.5' furled leader, a spool of 4x tippet, and 3 unique tenkara flies, each about size 14. In other words, everything that I needed to start tenkara fishing came with this one order. The seller shipped promptly and it arrived 1 day earlier than advertised by Amazon. The quality of the rod appears very good. Not being familiar with tenkara rods, I'm reluctant to say excellent, but haven't found anything to complain about. The cork handle, for example, seems as good or better as that on my other fishing rods. I don't know how the action is rated, but compared to my traditional 9' 6-wt carbon fiber fly rod, the action is v-e-r-y slow. Like make a backcast, look at my watch to see the time, then start thinking a forward cast. Maybe it's the furled leader, maybe it's the rod, but it's not entirely unpleasant. One thing I was worried about is maneuvering such a long rod on small streams, particularly when landing a fish with low branches overhead. The good news is that this rod requires such short casting strokes that a cast can almost always be made between branches. The bad news is that I don't know how to land a fish with low overhanging branches. On my first trip, I caught about 9 small sunfish on my lunch break, and found the rod tip caught in overhead branches several times. Once after landing a fish and getting tangled in overhead branches, I had to cut the fly off and pull the line through the branches, then tie the fly back on. This is the nature of a 12' rod though, and is no mark against the product.

My husband purchased this for me for me for Christmas. It was a huge improvement to the cane pole I had been using. The action was really nice with a medium size fish and the little ones. It stows perfectly under the back seat of my truck so I can stop anywhere to fish.

This is my 1st Tenkara rod and I'm loving it! I've been western style fly fishing for 30+ years but had never seen Tenkara until recently. This kit is everything needed to go fishing. EVERYTHING! You can buy this and when it arrives head for the pond or stream and start catching fish without having to stop at another store for more stuff! It comes with the rod, furled Tenkara line, spool of tippet material, 3 flies (Tenkara style), foam spool, rod case and sock for the case. A screaming steal at the Amazon price!!!! Since this is my 1st Tenkara rod I can't compare to any others but the quality seems to be top notch and the action has a good feel (quite different from a 9' 6wt western rod, but easy to get used to). I took this fishing 2 days ago on a small (5' wide) cutthroat stream and man was it a blast! The stream may have had a couple 12" fish but most were probably 6"-10" but it felt like they were twice the size. If you've never tried Tenkara but are looking for a 1st rod, I can definitely recommend this kit. Be sure to check out Y-tube for videos of knots that are needed for set up and casting techniques.

This is my second purchase. I bought this one for my wife. Unfortunately the second time she opened it the tip broke. I emailed the manufacturer and explained the issue and received an email within the hour asking for a shipping address so that they could send a new tip at no cost to me. Had a tracking number in less than 30 minutes.

Great tenkara rod. Had only tried fly fishing before. Only issue is I live in Australia so not a lot of trout as they aren't native. Not the rods issue, but wish I could use it more.

So far im really liking this rod! First time I have done any fly fishing and I found it very intuitive to use. I did have an issue with the tip breaking but it seemed like a manufacturing defect as after a homemade repair job it still worked and I was landing fish from our local pond. I contacted Dragontail and they were super responsive and helpful, and have sent out a replacement. I am very impressed with their customer service and with the rod overall and would definitely recommend.

didn't receive the starter pack, not even any line or tipet. Just the rod in a plastic buttoned bag. The rod looks fine but i can't use it without the line and everything included in the starter pack...

I bought this to catch small saltwater bait fish off a boat dock using a sabiki rig. It works well for this purpose. Also very compact when not using it.