Ray -

I am a few years younger than you, but not by much, and have fished with bamboo, fiberglass and graphite fly rods. I remember when rod makers claimed that their new fiberglass rods were better than the older bamboo rods, and later remember when the same thing was claimed about graphite being better than fiberglass. More recently, the pendulum seems to be swinging back, and claims are made that bamboo and fiberglass rods, if not better, are certainly more fun to fish. And now, people claim that you can even throw away your reel and fish with the rod alone, and do even better!

For the past 30 years or so I've purchased and fished with each successive "generation" of graphite rod, sticking pretty much to the more expensive brands. Today, it is claimed that these high end graphite rods are the:

"LIGHTEST. SLIMMEST. STRONGEST, and THE WORLD’S MOST ACCURATE RODS.
Improved accuracy is a result of smoother tracking and increased line speed and line control... Creating an impossibly light blank with enhanced hand-to-fly sensitivity...utilizes advanced modulus positioning that places carbon fibers to exacting tolerances. This creates slimmer blank profiles with unparalleled strength and efficient energy transfer throughout the shaft... blanks feel connected, offering significantly enhanced torsional stability and minimal vibration for casts that track effortlessly and accurately...Advanced modulus positioning creates slimmer profiles, greater strength, and more efficient energy transfer along the length of the shaft...Optimized hoop to axial fiber positioning reduces blank weight and enhances cross-sectional strength
and performance...High compression molding for increased fiber density, reducing weight with uncompromised durability...Superior tracking through minimized lateral and torsional movement...Focused energy transfer creates greater connectivity with less effort."

I have no idea what much of that jibberish means, but I can assure you that included in the $800 price tag I paid for some marketing guy to dream all of that up, and to convince us fly fishers that it is the gospel truth.

About the only thing I know for sure is that today's higher cost rods are lighter and have thinner blanks than their older and/or cheaper counterparts, and at least for this old timer, that makes them easier to fish.

However, many of these same high end rods today are being sold in the god-awfullest colors, and it's becoming harder and harder to find rods in forest green or earthtone brown, which to my eyes makes them the best, regardless of cost, and all that marketing hype.