IceWING zx390 Zoom Tenkara Rod (PRE-ORDER)
Pre-ORDER, Should ship out the 1st week of May
The Ultimate 3-Length Full-Flex Slow Action ZOOM Tenkara Rod
390cm (12.8ft), 340cm (11.2ft), and 285cm (9.4ft)
Large zoom range covering 3 popular lengths in one Tenkara Rod
Features/Performance Overview:
3 LONG Zoom Lengths
Zoom sections lock to give you 3 adjustable lengths in one rod (sometimes called a triple zoom rod) so you can use the same rod for all the different conditions you run into on the water. Whether you want long reach, a medium casting length, or need to shorten things up around over hanging trees this IceWING zx390 Tenkara Rod has you covered with just the zoom of a rod section (or two) to make it the rod length needed.
Full-Flex Soft Action Similar to the Feel of Fiberglass
Excellent soft 5:5 Full-Flex casting action in every length, perfect for Light Level Lines to light weight furled and tapered lines. Fun action at all 3 rod lengths.
I really think a lot of tenkara anglers that prefer light level lines are going to love how this rod casts them with ease, although the rest of you are still going to like how smooth it casts most tapered lines as well. If you love the soft action of the FoxFIRE rod and wish it was longer, then this rod is the rod for you, it feels like a glass rod in a lot of ways.
Deep rod flex action allows the rod to distribute pressure evenly throughout the entire rod when fighting fish. This deep rod flex also makes for a smooth casting action with little effort to cast light level lines.
Light in Hand (casting weight)
Excellently balanced tip-weight in every length, feels very light in hand when casting and fishing.
Excellent Tip Recovery
Excellent tip dampening so you have very little (IF ANY) oscillation while casting giving you very precise accurate casts with great presentation, even with very light level lines.
Durability
This rod is designed for targeting small to medium sized trout on light lines in creeks, streams, or small rivers. That does not mean you can’t use outside of those parameters if you so desire, have fun doing what you like. Although if you want to target big fish then this is probably not the tenkara rod that will give you much control over them but it is strong enough for a bigger fish if you find one.
Review From Tom Davis
We let Tom Davis take the prototype for a test drive, check out his review here >
Tom’s Spec Measurements of the IceWING Rod
Fully collapsed (with tip plug): 70 cm (27.6 inches)
Extended: 285, 340, 390 cm (10.4, 11.2, 12.8 feet)
Weight (without tip cap or plug): 90.3 g (3.2 oz)
# of Sections: 7 piece rod
CCS: 10.5 pennies (390cm), 10.5 pennies (340cm), 10 pennies (285cm)
RFI: 2.7 (390cm), 3 (340cm), 3.5 (285cm).
Rotational Moment: 6.5 (in the 390cm length)
How to Use a 3-Length Zoom Tenkara Rod
Videos Featuring the IceWING:
Tenkara On The Trail fishing & review 2 videos:
Brent (DRAGONtail Tenkara co-owner) fishing the IceWING:
I haven’t used the Mutant and the next softest rod I can compare this to is the Ito.
I fish in Texas, and fell in love with using this as a potential panfish/guadalupe bass rod. My concerns with the softness were that it wouldn't handle the weight of a tungsten 12 fly. It can—not nearly as well as the Mizuchi, but it can.
What impressed me is how easy it is to handle and cast. I can extend this to max to utilize in rivers or keep it super short for creeks to make panfish fight harder. It’s much more comfortable for all day fishing than the Ito at half the price.
There are some oddities, however. I find sections 3 and 4 can get stuck and difficult to collapse. This is when fishing in the rain, mind you. But I haven't experienced this with other rods. Plus, reviews of the sock length are accurate. It’s just a tad too short. Final, the lilian is on a swivel—thats a bit different from my other rods, too.
Is it my favorite rod? Time will tell. However, I was able to land an 17” largemouth on this rod and the fight was a blast. Unfortunately, on a subsequent fight with his mate (20”) I broke section 2 and 3 of the rod. My line didn't break first, so it’s safe to assume user error and this isn’t marketed as a bigger fish rod. But on the fifth fishing trip she called it quits!
I can respect this as my soft and playful rod, and the value is fantastic for the money. It fishes dries and traditional kebari perfectly. And if you're wise enough to not toss wooly buggers in front of big bass. I think you'll love this rod.
I have purchased every dragon tail rod, except for the Kokoro. The ice wing is absolutely amazing in how it casts, how recovers, and how it handles fish. Even though the description says bigger fish or harder to handle, I’ve actually find it quite easy. This rod is absolutely phenomenal, and I would recommend it to anybody. I only use the longest length because I fish the Provo river. Even though it’s big water, this rod is more than capable of handling it.
I got the IceWing for Christmas and have taken it out a few times. I love it. It has great feel and fishes well at all 3 lengths. I just wish they made the rod tube 3/4” longer to accommodate the tip plug.
I do kayak fishing. I got into Tenkara because it allows me to have a free hand to maneuver the kayak. I bought the Talon mini on a presale last year. It arrived in time for some fall fishing. The tip section cracked the third time out. Brent was great to work with providing a free replacement piece. Last summer I was catching up to a hundred panfish per outing. The Talon mini has over a thousand fish landed. The first week of November a community pond was stocked with ten inch rainbows. I had a blast with the Talon mini using a self tied Griffith’s nat, releasing over thirty back to the pond. I preordered the Icewing because I wanted a rod to reach a little farther out from the kayak. The Icewing gave me three great lengths. It arrived in December. I was able to take it out to see how it cast. It is great!!! I was impressed how much it feels like the Talon mini. I did manage to catch a dead channel catfish floating under the surface. The Icewing is sensitive. I felt the bump, set the hook. I was talking to another fisherman about Tenkara fishing . We had a good laugh. Hope it’s not a bad omen. Can’t wait for spring to come.
The only complaint I have about this new rod is with the hard tube, as it was made too short. I haven't had a chance to actually use the rod with all the streams frozen over, but I was shocked when it arrived and I found that you could not use both the rod plug and tip cap to protect the rod, because the hard tube was too short and wouldn't allow you to use both. This is my fourth Dragontail rod, and the other three all arrived with both caps in use, protected by the sock, and secured in the hard tube. When asked about this, Dragontail claims you're not supposed to use both caps, yet they have always sent their rods with both caps in place. I'm guessing someone screwed up and didn't measure twice before cutting the tubes, and now they're about 1/2" too short. The more you protect the rod, the better off you are.