Shakespeare Medium Action Travel Mate Spinning Rod (6-Feet 6-Inch)

Great medium action, Great price! Nice color charcoal black. They are durable(I have 3 of them) I take one with with me on road trips to work. Its awesome to always have a fishing pole with you when you need one. This fits in my backpack for a motorcycle or MTB adventure... It fits in my travel suitcase... The only bad thing is that sometimes the pole comes apart from casting a lot or casting hard. not a big deal, just remember to push the pieces together HARD when you put it together and check it once in a while. I recommend these to all of my friends! It is the ONLY travel fishing pole that FEELS like a real med. action pole. The telescoping rods(that I have seen) are toys and the other sectional poles are all noodle action rods. This is the one!

I bought this to bring on a month long trip to Mexico where I'd be fishing off a pier and from shore. It's light, good looking and packs amazingly well. It's too small to cast far but does cast well for its size. The action says medium however, it felt extremely light to me. I caught 4 fish on this rod. The last one was the largest and strongest (see photo). I didn't weigh it but I'd say it was around 5 lbs. The pole handled okay but definitely felt like it was near its limit. This last fish was what broke the rod. However, I think it was my fault. I pulled the fish up onto the pier and at some point grabbed the pole 3/4 of the way to the tip while the fish was still attached to the lure. The pole snapped in my hand at the point where I grabbed it towards the tip. I completely understand how/why it happened and I just smiled when it did knowing I only spend $15 on the pole. I would buy this rod again no questions. I would prefer a longer, heavier action version though.

I recently purchased this pole and I absolutely love it. I'm new to fishing and I feel that this rod is a great way to begin. Assembling the rod takes a few minutes to line up each part with the reel. (Make sure you tighten the whole pole every few casts just in case) I ordered this with a shimano 1000 reel and a 8lb line and so far have caught several fish. I have used in a saltwater pier with no problems.The rod feels and is fairly sturdy and it seems that in almost all cases if anything were to break it would be the line. The whole product is compact and easily to put away and store. Overall I am satisfied with this project and hope that future buyers will enjoy their time as much as I have and I will.

I ended up returning mine because of two problems. One, I wanted it for my trusty old Garcia Mitchell 300 reel, which I was going to carry with me when I travel. Unfortunately, times have changed and these old reels were made to fit on a rounded reel seat surface...the reel seats on many rods today are basically flat and there isn't enough clearance under the clamps to slide the "foot" of the reel underneath. I'm not sure how many others want to use a reel of this type, but there are plenty of the old Garcia Mitchells around and be aware that they won't work with this rod.After my initial disappointment I decided I still liked the look and feel of the rod and decided to purchase an inexpensive modern spinning reel to fit it. Unfortunately, that brings me to point two: the falling apart problem on casts that others have mentioned. Maybe this varies between individual rods since others have mentioned that they have no such problem. However, my experience was that the rod was good for about five casts with a fairly light lure before the tip flew off into the water, no matter how snug it seemed when putting it together. This wasn't a one time occurence but was fairly predictable as I spent an afternoon with the rod. On one cast, not only the rod tip but another section came loose. If you don't mind snugging it up periodically as you cast, it should be no problem, but I just knew I'd be forgetting to do that enough that much of my fishing activity would consist of fishing the rod tip out of the lake.To give the rod its due, it's inexpensive and feels fairly sensitive yet strong...you don't feel as if you're using something cheap and flimsy. It would be great for instances when you were not making many casts such as fishing with bait using a bobber. However, I don't think this is the right choice if you're looking for something that can be used to do a significant amount of casting without having to be very careful that it stays together.

I needed something that I could pack in my suitcase that would let me squeeze in a little fishing on a trip to attend a wedding. I packed a very small plastic box with a few lures and hooks, put my reel in a sock and dropped in this rod in its plastic tube into my bag. It went together well, felt good in my hand, never came apart (until I wanted it to) and caught a few fish. For $15 you can't ask for anything more. This is not the $300 rod you pack to take on your week long Alaska fishing trip. This is the rod your throw in your suitcase or car when you are going someplace that just might offer up a little fishing and allow you to take advantage of your location and wet a line. It's perfect for that. Every fisherman should have one.

I was so happy with my new rod. I grabbed a reel and tried to attach it to the rod. The reel holding device snapped like a peanut shell. The reel holder is 1/4" thick plastic. Not one to be so easily deterred I used a hose clamp to hold the reel and went fishing. After a few casts, the smallest rod section sailed into the lake along with my lure. OK. Reel in, grab pole, insert tip again, this time very firmly. While I was holding the pole to re-insert the tip a lower section of the pole separated. Teeth gently grinding I put everything together and kept on fishing. 15 minutes later there was a repeat of the above. This time I stuck everything together with some force. 15 minutes later it happened a third time, and then a fourth time. After an hour of fishing I quit, and I wondered how many pieces this rod might be reduced to. Two dozen? The only redeeming feature is that the rod didn't snap when I got stuck on a snag.

Packaging was excellent and so is the product

Great package. Nice feel to the rod. Well worth the price.

This is just a quick review I will update it later.Fast ship took about 3 days.Assembled fast very sturdy.I am using a smaller reel with 30lb braid. It is a very light weight rod and even with the braid I was casting 1/16oz spinners a good distance. Help up against snags very well.So far it gets 4/5. I will update when the seasons open back up

Awesome travel rod very compact