Voyager Spinning Freshwater Travel Kit, VS-605-20, Blue

I wanted a breakdown rod that was light or ultralight for trout up to 20", and this more than fit the bill. The carrying case, reel, and lure box are essentially freebies -- but I don't use them. The real value here is the rod. Break it down, put a lightweight reel on it, and use rubber bands to bundle it together -- you've got yourself a killer backpacking rig. I've used it for anything from 5" goldens to 22" cutthroat with no issues. It was my only rod on a 130 mile section of the PCT and it was great for every situation. The action is a little light for bass though. I still caught fish with it, but I was lagging my buddy in the count and was wishing for something a little stiffer to set hooks reliably. I managed to snag a tree and somehow fling the tip section into a lake. I kept catching fish without the tip, but the feel was gone. I called up Okuma and they sent me a replacement, so I can vouch for customer service. For the price, you can't beat it. There are other rods with similar features, but I couldn't find anything that was: cheap, light or ultralight action, under 7' long, and not telescopic. Plus you get a free backup reel! 2020 update: Still using this rod all the time, still blown away with the value. Hundreds of fish so far. I finally put the reel to use last weekend. It's functional, but not great. I had to re-tighten the nut on the main shaft to keep the bail from wobbling. The line seems to bunch up on the spool as well, but this could be from the wobbly bail. The tackle box hasn't left my fishing bin yet. It's too small for any use case I can think of.

I was looking for a practical camping/packing fishing rod and had tried the pocket fisherman (a decent little product that would get you by in a pinch) but wanted something that allowed me to actually fish. I took it to a nearby pond and strung it with some 6# line and put a 1/16th crappie jig on it and worked the brush piles along the shore. Caught 3 decent little crappie and a handful of bluegills. The light pole did really well with fish around 12-16oz and the reel handled pulling them in with ease. Excellent for the little stuff! I switched over to a 1/4oz Mepp's Black Fury spinner bait and had no issues casting 30-40yds off bank and the retrieve was nice and smooth while the rod was sensitive enough to transmit bites to my hands. In 30 minutes I had landed 4 large mouths between 3/4# to 1 1/2# with a bit of work, but the rod and reel held up with no issues. I switched to a 1/4oz popper and started working the moss beds.... this is where I got the workout at. Even with the forgiving rod and a wicked blood knot strong enough to hold under the toughest conditions, I fought a bass in the 4-5# range for a solid 2 minutes before he took my bait (the only one I had with me). I haven't tried any of the hybrid lines on this yet, but have a feeling that if employed it would yield better results than monos did and most likely would have landed the lil lunker. Pros: Compact, very light weight with plenty of power to bring in small to medium fish. The ease of casting is very good to excellent. The rod's sensitivity is very good to excellent. The retrieve is very good. Cons: Small spool equals short heavy line or long light line. I may try some 8# next time and see if it yields better results on the larger fish (provided I can keep them from running too far) Overall: Outstanding combo that breaks down into a case the size of a backgammon board and easily stows in a framed backpack with all the power you would need to land fish 3#'s and smaller all day. Very highly recommend this to anyone looking for a rugged fishing rig that you can count on in the woods for extended periods of time (we usually do 10 day hikes covering 90-120 miles)

If portability is important to you, then this is one of the best rods to get. The Okuma is, instead of telescoping, a series of pieces that are fitted together tightly through pressure. This system works great and I already caught some fish with a friend's VS-605-20 recently. I liked it so much I just ordered my own. First off, there are several portable options out there with varying degrees of portability and usability and flexbility. For the hardcore emergency bug-out bag fishing tool packer, a fishing line on a plastic frame works just fine. For the traveler who wants a little more, the Ronco portable is great (I plan to get one). But for a little fun with your fishing, these may leave a little something to be desired. The Ronco in particular has the line built in, so you can't play with different test lines. On the higher quality line, there are two piece rods that break down nice and easy, telescoping rods which are great because you don't lose pieces easily when casting, and three models of these break-apart rods. The Daiwa version seemed pretty good and is price competitive with this rod, and there is one more that is slightly higher priced. As portable as this fishing rod is, it is certainly not designed for a bug-out bag and is of a pretty decent size. Having said that, it is a full sized rod that breaks down small enough to fit in the nylon (cheapish nylon, but still good) case and that means pretty easy packing into luggage or a backpack if it's not fully loaded. Speaking of the cheapish nylon case, I would certainly be happier if the case was made of better material, but frankly, they did a good job in features to price, so can't complain. And the 137 piece tackle box fits in there as is since the bag is loose around the foam inserts. The friend's unit that I borrowed worked pretty well, and I found none of the issues that were mentioned in other reviews. I caught a few fish that day, and didn't have to tighten the rods at all, despite several casts over a two hour period. Now that I received my own, I test cast a few times in my yard and found no slippage either, so it doesn't really come apart the way some folks have said. All in all, I'm really happy with this purchase. I may get a Ronco to keep in my bugout bag but for car camping trips with lakes and hiking nearby, this is a great piece to have along. Compact, decent tackle box, and full rod casting fun off a row boat on a lake. Can't ask for more than that.

Compré este equipo en noviembre de 2024 y me ha parecido muy completo. La caña es ligera, fácil de armar y transportar gracias a su estuche compacto. El carrete funciona muy bien, con un arrastre suave y preciso, ideal para pesca recreativa en ríos y lagos. Lo mejor es lo portátil que resulta: cabe perfectamente en la mochila o en el auto, lo que lo hace muy conveniente para viajes. En relación calidad-precio es una gran opción, especialmente para quienes buscan un equipo confiable sin cargar demasiado. Muy recomendable como kit de pesca de viaje.

Excellent product

مازالت الاولى موجودة جودة ممتازة ورائعة جدا انصح بها بقوة اقتنيت الثانية وانا سعيد بذلك

I had been shopping for a travel rod for quite sometime, i have not been disapointed by this combo. I did replace the reel with a higher end lightweight i already owned, not because the one that came with the rod was bad, but mainly because i wanted to use it right away. The action on the rod is good, and the set-up fairly straight forward. The initial fit is extremely tight, suggest you put a bit of beeswax to ease the fit ... i was tempted to sandpaper it a bit, but the wax did the trick. Great buy for the price, offsets the procurement of a more expensive 4 piece i was looking at. Oh one issue de casing had inverted handles (lol) which is probably a manufacturing defect... but was not important as i use a round carrying case anyways...

Great wee rod