Our elder statesman, Lefty Kreh, pointed out the flaw in our race to own the latest greatest rod with a comparison to 22 rifles. If you skill level is Remington, buying a fancy Italian pea shooter is not going to make you any better. Buying a $1500 rod instead of a $150 only gets you braggin' rights unless you are a world class professional. That said, it is probably some kind of flaw in our culture that makes us crave that $$$$ rod.

In my flyfishing career there is a 15 year period-1975-1990 when I slept like Rip Van Winkel. I was not sleeping really. Building a family and career kept me away from fly fishing. When I awoke I was delighted to find wonderful inexpensive graphite rods widely available. I still use my Wonder Rods once in a while, but I am honing my skills to match the performance of my new graphite rods. New = purchased after 1990.