Good enough....

[Buddy Sanders]

Was looking through the plethora of Catalogs that arived this time of year....

I'm beginning to wonder how good is good enough.

I've nothing against folks who make and sell expensive equipment, from rods to fly tying hooks. Nor do I have any problems with those who buy them.

But are we getting close to the point where good enough is good enough?

I was catching fish when the 'cutting dege' of rod technology was fiberglass.....I have a few friends who remember both cane AND steel rods....While I understand that todays modern graphite fly rods are wonders of engineering, is it worth it to pay the price for what has become, if we are honest with ourselves, a very small increment of 'improvement'. Just how good is 'good enough'?

Would it be possible for the rod manufacturers to stop trying to make 'new and improved' and maybe go to 'more efficient and thus less expensive'? Don't know, just wondering...seems if they made the exact same rod for longer than just a couple of years, they could make them less expensively (economy of scale applies here somewhat)...if they are as good as the advertising claims they are, why improve them anymore? I always wonder if the rod makers are spending more time reacting to the advertisements of their competition and not to their custstomers.

The thread on hooks was interesting. I applaud Mustad for 'updating' their product line, but I still wonder, how good is good enough? Are the new hooks really any 'better', or do they just have more modern features? I've never actually 'lost' a fish because of hook 'failure'. I understand the chemically sharpening thing, but I remember when every 'good' fisherman was a master of sharpening hooks. Used to be something you had to 'learn' before you were considered a competant angler. Another skill lost to technology...good or bad, I'm just not sure. I get 'why' microbarbs are supposedly 'better'....but it's just a fish hook. Does it need to be 'better' or was it already 'good enough'? If you miss a fish, or one gets away, what's the big deal. It's just a fish, and you are probably letting it go anyway. Will any of us go hungry if the fish gets away? (spare me the 'fish of a lifetime' stuff, I'm wearing boots, but they aren't hip boots..EVERY fish is the fish of a lifetime, or should be).

Tippet material has come almost as far, maybe farther, than rod technology. Todays tippet material is thinner, stronger, and comes in several levels of 'limpness' depending on what you want the stuff to do. The folks who fly fished a generation or two ago used the same 'X' system to define tippet diameter as we use today (something is wrong with that, I think), but 'their' 5X used to break at around 2 pounds....now it's 4 pounds or sometimes 5. That's a HUGE increase. Flourocarbon is touted as 'invisible' because it blends into the water due to having nearly the same refractive index. AND, some of it is stronger than monofilament tippet. Great, we can use heavier, stronger, tippet now....But wait, they sell 6X flourocarbon...if the fish can't even SEE it, why would you need something so fine? I know some folks will say that you will catch more fish with 6X flouro than 5X flouro in very clear waters with spooky, pressured fish. If they can't 'see' the line, you should be able to use 10 pound test...invisible is invisible....

Now they have also imporved monofilament and flourocarbon 'fishing lines' too. The stuff that conventional tackle anglers use. Some of us even use this stuff ,especially the flourocarbon 'line', as tippet when we are fly fishing. But, if you ask many fly fishermen, they will quickly point out that the 'real' tippet material is superior to the 'regular' line (it's probably true). More consistent, thinner for a given breaking strength, etc.. But, how good is good enough? 110 yards of plain vanilla Berkely 'Vanish' flourocarbon line runs around $5. 30 yards of a a good quality flourocarbon tippet material runs around $10-$15. Thinner, stronger, yes. But the fish can't see either one of them. Is the regular 'line' good enough to fish with? What's the 'down side'? How good is good enough?

I understand that some folks want to have and use the very best they can get. Quality in tools and gear is important. But expensive or new just for the sake of being expensive or new is something altogether different.

This is, after all, just fishing. How good is good enough?

Buddy

[bobbyg]

30 years ago!

bobbyg

[Lotech]

I think that if the manufacturers didn't come out with "New & Improved" products, they wouldn't be able to keep up the inflationary costs of doing business. Why, for crying out loud, did the Sage XP ever go away? Probably because all the XP's grandchildren are a bit better, but they are more expensive to produce and they garner just that much more profit. I loved it when I cast the Sage Z-Axis, but how much better was the Z-Axis than the XP? I don't think it was $275 better. But the cost of producing it may have been. I don't mean to beat on Sage. Good grief, they are really great fish sticks. But I think the problem is across the board for all the manufacturers.
BTW, my go to favorite rod is an old Fenwick, 7 1/2 foot, 5 weight fiberglass rod.
For What I'ts Worth,

[johnstoeckel]

Great questions / thoughts! I have had some of the same questions running through my mind. Perhaps there's a need for a "simplicity" movement in the fly fishing community.

[LadyFisher]

are in business to make money. A particular rod design is scheduled to be a viable product for about 4 - 5 years. At the end of the time sales drop off substantially...and gosh, the manufacturers already have a new rod line ready to go. Most of the folks out there designing and building rods as a business are still in business because they have figured out how to function in the market. Sometimes a rod company will bring back a popular rod model, such as St. Croix with the re-do of the Imperial. It is called business.

[mnklagoon]

i have that same rod lotech! it was my first fly rod. i do love the new rods though and i do buy another one every year. i guess its my vice!

[ducksterman]

I suspect... if corrected for inflation..that for the same dollars we paid for what was "good enough" years ago...we can at this time get a better product.

Did I say that correctly????

[rgregorchik]

Everyone is discussing the price and production of rods. The real discussion should be; when is enough, enough. The answer in NEVER! Americans are people of excesses. We take everything to the Nth degree. And then when we have sold it as much as feaseable we think we need a newer/better item ...whatever, rod, reel, skis, bikes, hiking shoes, poles, guns, bows, etc. Buddy has the question right. When is enough, enough? I think the answer lies in common sense and skills. And being disciplined enough to say "what I have now is enough". And just learn to enjoy the activity! Ron G.

[ducksterman]

I don't really feel I have a dog in this discussion...I'm willing to be a devil's advocate for all sides....so in that spirit I will say this...

You mentioned ski's....IMHO that's a perfect example when enough is not enough....the ski's/bindings in my skiing days don't compare to the stuff now.......maybe we should leave safety out of the discussion.

[rgregorchik]

Agreed! Ron G.