Hi Byron

If you're making a comparison to a modern carbon fiber bicycle frame, then my response is the bike frame possesses greater technology. By a wide margin.

The requirements of a quality CF bicycle frame go way beyond "strong and light." It must get as much of the rider's power input at the cranks to transfer to the rear tire's contact with the road, but at the same time it must offer enough compliance (think suspension) to absorb road shock and not wear out the rider. That right there is a delicate balance. It will also have good aerodynamics, and it should offer optimal handling characteristics. And that's just the basics.

Construction methods of modern CF bike frames bear little resemblance to the tube and lug construction of the first CF frames. Today, hundreds of carbon fiber fabric cutouts of various types are overlapped and formed under high pressure to create lugless "monocoque" frames. By contrast, modern fly rods still use methods very much the same as those employed to construct the earliest graphite offerings from Orvis and Fenwick.

I don't think you'll find the amount of R&D at Sage or Hardy (or all the big makes combined) approaches anything near what you'll find in cycling.