Travel rod combo’s like the new Penn Battle IV package make it easy to take even big water tackle along with you on that vacation or business trip. (Penn Fishing)
I’m fortunate to be on the road a lot, headed to remote fishery locations where—usually—I “shoulda’ been yesterday” because that’s when the big bite was on.
Be that as it may, carrying tackle when you’re traveling is frequently a problem because a 7’ rod just doesn’t fit into a 21” carry-on bag. And a 10’ surf rod won’t fit into a lot of SUV’s unless the rod pokes all the way up to the windshield, which frequently leads to grumpy comments from the right seat. Even though the whole rest of the car happens to be filled with that person’s “beach clothes”. But I digress.
There are travel rods . . . and travel rods. Some designated travel rods are best suited to catching bluegills from a farm pond or pinfish off a dock—and more power to them. They do a basic job for a basic price. The little telescoping models available for under $15 fall into this category—convenient, easily packable and good enough for the casual or beginning angler.
But if you like to think you are a serious angler, you hate fishing with tackle that just feels wrong.
The Penn Battle IV 4000 Travel Combo has the quality you want, and in a combo that’s tough enough and smooth enough to take on anything from cobia to bull redfish, stripers, king mackerel, even tarpon up to around 100 pounds, as well as giant blue catfish in fresh water. It also has the backbone to act as a pier rod, for those who enjoy derricking pompano and sheepshead straight up.
The price reflects the quality, true--$200 is about 10 times what the telescoping TEMU specials cost, and the rig is worth the price difference judging our preliminary run-through at Pensacola Beach last week.
Penn products, of course, are known for being dependable and easily repairable when parts eventually wear out. The 4000 size has a three-piece medium action 7’ rod that comes in a hard fabric case that holds the reel, already mounted on the handle, just 32” long.
The Penn combo is tough enough for anything up to medium sized tarpon and bull reds, but can also handle throwing lures as light as ¼ ounce. (Penn Fishing)
The rig is rated for lures from ¼ to 1 ounce, and for braided line to 30-pound-test. It feels stiff if you’re used to inshore and freshwater spinning gear, but it’s flexible enough to heave a crankbait or a spoon a country mile. The reel is sealed against saltwater and has 6 bearings—it’s smooth and strong.
The package is also available with a medium-heavy action rod capable of chucking 2-ounce lures.
The price reflects the quality at around $200-$239, but it appears to be a good value at that; www.pennfishing.com.
At the top of the travel rod scale, the new Fenwick Elite spinning rod series brings high-end quality to inshore and fresh water travel tackle. The new 7’ model looks and feels almost identical to the $500 World Class series rods, but it’s a three-piece travel stick.
It has the same fine cork handle and foregrip and the unique Fenwick reel seat which has a smooth composite bridge over the seat to prevent the usual friction point here on conventional spinning gear.
The Fenwick Elite Travel Spinning Rod brings premium quality to the travel tackle genre, with the feel and features of the best tackle available in a rod that’s easy to pack and carry anywhere. (Fenwick Fishing)
With a flyweight Abu Garcia Revo 30 spinning reel this immediately became my favorite wadefishing stick for sea trout and reds on the flats, heaving lures that weigh ¼ to ½ ounce, anything from imitation shrimp to sardine jerkbaits to walk-the-dog topwaters. The action is, to me, indistinguishable from a one-piece rod and it thus far has shown no tendency to come apart on hard, all-day casting.
The guides are corrosion-proof titanium with zirconia inserts for exceptionally smooth line flow.
The Elite comes in a hard case that measures 33” long, again no problem carrying it on an airplane or throwing it into the trunk of even a compact car.
It’s not cheap, at a list price of $320, but shop around and you can find it for around $290. Still pricey—but hey, we deserve something for taking the family on the beach vacay, don’t we?
See details at www.fenwickfishing.com.
— Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com
