Come on guys...trying before you buy?

[namekagon]

I guess I just don't understand this frequent advice. Trying out rods before you buy I suppose makes sense unless the closest fly shop is 300 miles away.
All the rods I have were ordered or purchased on E-Bay. The only one I dislike is a 7 wt Redding...no doubt not the rod's fault...any one want to buy?
My favorite?...a Scott 5 wt of course.
Trying before you buy? Unless it's a custom job that you can't readily return...I'm a tad confused.
Maybe it's a question of clicking and guess I do click with the Scott...nothing I've been able to duplicate though.

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Well we lost our local fly shop, but before we did Chris the owner would take 5 or 6 rods in the weight class that you were interested in and in the evening when the shop closed he would take you the 3 blocks to a school yard and let you try them all. If you just wanted to give one or two a try He would let you take them yourself putting you on your honor. He even did this with people he didn't know . He never lost a rod.

I now have to travel an hour to get to the nearest flyshop, the guy there will let you go out on the front lawn and cast any one of his rod selection to your hearts content. He said that he has had more than one person try out his rods then buy them elsewhere cheaper coming in later to brag that they got it cheaper from the catalogue or the internet. Sad someone would use his service knowing full well that they weren't going to buy from him. We all know that the local guy can't compete pricewise with the catalogue people. I think that the big cabelas stores even have a casting range in their stores.

So cast before you buy is a reality, however not always close by.

[namekagon]

Friendship, trust, respect, loyalty, etc...all reasons maybe to pay a premium price.
No fly shop here or even fly tackle ever...but we had a sporting goods store in town about 10 yrs ago and when it closed and the manager moved to Montana I felt a loss.
My last conversation with Chris was about his former wife that he so desperately wanted to reconnect with.
I told him "you can't make someone love you."

[Waders]

Try one of your friends rods when out on the water. Just switch up for a little while. So many guys buy the high dollar rods because it is the best thing they think is out there. I can't count the number of guys with Winstons, Loomis, Orvis T3's, Scotts, and Sages that THINK they can cast just becasue they have a high dollar rod. Now don't get me wrong I love the rods too and am a proud owner of several Sage, St. Croix and Orvis rods. My point is until you find the perfect fit for your casting style you don't know what you are missing. Everything comes together when you find the correct flex or speed for your style. Not too mention tighter loops, better control, ease of mending, longer casts. or for that matter more precise short casts. Can you hit a dixie cup from 25 feet with your fly?

Another thing...I don't use the same rod for every fishing situation. Don't take a knife to a gun fight unless you are the worlds greatest knife fighter. Why do you think there are so many rods out there? Some rods are just more specialized than others for specific areas/elements/styles of fishing. I highly recommend taking advantage of the rod casting demos at the TU meetings, FFF conclaves, Sow BUg Conventions, shows etc... Some of the best ways to find out what you really enjoy are picking up a different rod to cast. Otherwise how will you ever know?

Just food for thought.
Waders

[J Castwell]

good advice,,, the number one activity at our 'Fish-In's' playing 'show-and-tell.' Lawn casting everyone's rods. Better than at a flyshop even.

[Avalon]

Dear namekagon,

I guess I can see this both ways. When I purchase a brand new rod I always test cast it at a fly shop before I buy it. Most of the fly shops I deal with carry several brands of rods and I always cast a couple of comparable rods side by side before I decided which one I was going to purchase.

But I haven't bought a brand new fly rod in several years, and lately I have been buying used rods from e-bay or private individuals who are selling them on line. In all honesty I have yet to receive a "dog" of a rod via this method. Somehow I have managed to find rods made of bamboo, graphite, and fiberglass that are pleasant enough to cast and to fish with just by looking at pictures.

It doesn't seem to make much sense does it?

Best Wishes,
Avalon

[Jerry]

good advice,,, the number one activity at our 'Fish-In's' playing 'show-and-tell.' Lawn casting everyone's rods. Better than at a flyshop even.

I really enjoy the lawn casting "show and tell" at fish ins. Thats one of the main reasons I go. Its fun to find an inexpencive rod that casts way over its class and we found a $600 rod last year that nobody liked....

[Bamboozle]

Out of the gazillion fly rods and regular fishing rods I own, I have probably test cast less than 10% of them before I bought them.

I base my pre-purchase decision on descriptions given by the manufacturer, reviews from other fisherman and just plain dumb luck. But as long as the rod isn't described as fast, or super fast; I know I will like it.

I have rod actions from slow to fast in bamboo, glass & graphite with a marked preference for slower to medium action rods. Maybe I'm crazy but one of the things I love the most about fly fishing is adapting to various rod lengths and actions; sometimes in the same day.

It's fun to have a choice!

[Joe Valencic]

But as long as the rod isn't described as fast, or super fast; I know I will like it.
It's fun to have a choice!

To prove the point about choice, if it says FAST or SUPER FAST, I know I'LL like it! If we all liked the same thing, that would be pretty boring. It's good to have choices.

Joe

[Waders]

Hey Joe?...Ever cast an Apogee'? Built back in the late 80's. Can't even find the blanks anymore. The first 12" of the rod was solid boron. You could literally bend the blank tip into an S pattern. One of the fastest rods I have ever cast in my life! And deadly accurate. Had a funny twisted area where the boron was put into the graphite blank. On a down side it was a brittle blank similar to the old IM 6 loomis rods and would crack pretty easy without proper care. But talk about fast! Man it would load line like you wouldn't believe.