TFO

Traveler Spinning Rod + Case + Sock - 3 Piece

Expensive lightweight rod

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought:

[702-3] 4.5oz,

Weight:

200

I like this rod, I don't love it. It is too lightweight and far too specialized for a travel rod, and it isn't quite as nice as my other TFO rods. Part of this is due to mislabeling - I thought this was the TRV S 703-3 model, but it turns out this is the Lightweight version of TFO's travel series (the 702-3). This particular rod would be a good (albeit expensive) lightweight trout or panfish rod. It is fairly long for a trout rod at 7' long though - I could see this being a strong candidate for canoe fishing in trout-heavy waters. I used this rod for two weeks of smallmouth fishing off of a boat and in a canoe on the Georgian Bay in Canada, mostly tossing Ned rigs and Texas-rigged crawfish. It lacked the backbone to do topwater lures. The rod casts well and the extra length let me get some good distance with 1/10 oz jigheads. The tip is sensitive, and I had no issues feeling when a fish was hitting. I landed a little over 60 fish with this rod, so it's been through the ringer. I had it paired with an expensive 2500-sized reel, which was well balanced. The rod struggled mightily against 3 lb smallmouth, so if you're planning to use this for larger fish (or as a saltwater rod), I would look elsewhere. I would advise Backcountry.com to sell the heavier model of this rod (the Medium TRV S 705-3) as it'll be a lot more versatile than this particular one. One minor gripe: the dots meant to line up each section of the rod - they didn't line up. All in all, this is a good rod (especially for a 3-piece), but of the five travel rods I own, this won't be the one I point all of my friends toward purchasing.