Fenwick Eagle Travel Rod

[MuskieBait]

Just want to write a review of a rod I bought and tested in Hawaii.

Fenwick Eagle Travel Series

EA70ML-MFS-4 (7'0", ML action, 4-10lb line, 1/8-5/8oz, 4 piece)

I bought the rod for $69.99. I think the price has increased $79.99 since. When I bought the rod, I was told to do it soon since price was set to increase due to our plummeting dollar. Evidently, the price went up $10.

It was a great rod from the start. Light weight and could be well balanced if I hadn't put a 1000 size reel with the rod. But I want a small light reel so the little bit of tip heaviness I can live with.

The reel was spooled with 8lb Power Pro Ice (basically used my icefishing reel with the line already on it) and depending on the situation I used a range of leader from 2lb to 8lb fluorocarbon.

The tip is sensitive and quick, but the rod is not overly fast action. Once loaded up, it has a nice backbone for a ML rod. Triggerfish, surgeonfish and trevally are tough fighters, and none of them made me worry. Perhaps the greatest challenge on this rod was a 13" Palenose Parrotfish that was hooked on 2lb test. Parrotfish, if you had not catch one before, fights very hard for their size. But I can't put too much pressure due to the 2lb test. The rod cushioned the runs very well on a light drag, but can also pull steadily to gain line when needed.

As with all lighter action rod, I would not flip any fish over 1lb with that rod. You'll be asking for a broken rod.

I especially loved the stainless steel guide. I used to favour ceramic guides, but having a chipped ceramic guide on my other rod at the start of the trip (and thus one rod out of commission), I can understand the reliability and durability of stainless steel guides. It is yet too early to comment on corrosion resistance of the guides...but if they are made with even decent stainless steel, regular light rinsing with freshwater will keep them in top shape.

Around the middle of my trip, the rod tip snapped during transport. I'm not sure if it was due to an impact that I was not aware of, or if there was a material defect. The break was clean (immediate above the second guide). Since I had only two rods in the ML or M range for the trip, with the M rod already out of commission, I continued to fish the Fenwick without the tip.

The rod continued to fish well and the loss of the top 2.5" did not dampen the sensitivity too much. It instead made the rod a bit stronger. I caught most of my Hawaiian species with this rod. It was my work horse.

I'm now going to see what Fenwick warranty is like. The rod comes with 3-year limited warranty. I'll report on that later when I have dealt with Fenwick.

If you need a L or ML travel rod, consider the Fenwick Eagle Travel!