In reviewing PC websites and the many ads in magazines I am amazed at the number of variations, or brands, of rods available. Accepting that many are manufactured offshore and private branded with only minor cosmetic variation. How can you really tell the difference between fact and bull?
Here is the simple answer.
If you can’t tell the difference, there is no difference for you.
How do you know? Trial and Error.
I have tried many rods and some I know I like and others I know I don’t. The vast majority are somewhere in the middle which means I don’t know right off how I feel about them and often I adjust to them, liking them more as time goes on. Its some science and some hype and appeal. I think one can adjust to most any rod if you are convinced that it is a good rod for you.
jed
I would say, pick the Company that you have heard very good things on and stick with that (Sage, Orvis, Winston, Loomis, T & T, Scott, etc.) I think that you will always find quality there and at least if it isn’t they will fix it. Seems as though a lot are going overseas, but, that will be reflected in the price, tapper, and hardware. After all, that is why they are being made overseas, to save money.
she who dies with the most toy’s wins.
[This message has been edited by Fly Goddess (edited 22 February 2006).]
Well this and other fly fishing websites are a good place to start. Both Jed and FG offer good advice. Especially when it comes to sticking with the known brand manufacturers that FG mentions. I would also add St Croix to that list.
The other thing to keep in mind is that many comnpanies offer differnet rods to meet the demands and pocket books of the anglers that will fish with them.
I don’t own any rods that have been manufactured off shore. That is not to say that I wouldn’t buy one, if I liked the rod and thought it would meet my needs.
Every fly fisherman has an unreasonable view of fly rods, and I am no different. Thomas McGuane from The Longest Silence.
All good advice.
To get the “right” rod (for YOU), you really have to cast them.
When you “feel” the rod in your hand, … you’ll know if you like it or not.
Then again, … remember the pocket book. That nice sweet one might also be the most expensive. (can you say bamboo 
) … although it’s not always the MOST expensive ones that’ll suit your taste/style/application.
I had the luck to find a shop that would let you take outside literally DOZENS of rods, all strung up and a nice 40x150 ft grassy area to test 'em ALL.
I buy ALL my rods there now.
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/015738.html:2b8e6]2006 FishIn Ste-Marguerite River[/url:2b8e6]
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:2b8e6]Fishing the Ste-Marguerite[/url:2b8e6]
I have found my Fly Logic rods (I have and 8/9 and a 3/4) to feel just right in the hand and to be utterly dependable. THey are domestic products as well. They are not flashy, much like Scott rods, but they are good rods for the money, imho. Looking to buy a 5 wt. down the road.
“Give me ambiguity or give me something else”
I hear what you all are saying and agree but having been in the engineering and manufacturing business for half a century what I am really questioning is how many so called “manufacturers” should really be called “Rod finishers”. I’m certain that only a few of them actually make their own blanks and there is where the true quality lies. Anyone can overprice a product to finance a terrific warranty.
I am 99.9% sure that the companies I mention make the whooooole thing and with their trademark secrets.
Chris and Ray, your concerns are why I like Global doRbeR so much. They will send you outside with a handful of rods, reels, and lines to try out, and they wrap their own blanks. I’ve never dealt with a more helpful company.
I have found that if you can ignore manufacturer’s line designations you will find a rod that casts better than you ever dreamed at a very reasonable price. There are very affordable rods and blanks out there that merely need the proper line matched with them and they are superb. The development of the fly line has made such remarkable leaps that there are drastic differences in a rods performance with a different line taper and weight. Alec
flytackle,
I am finding out that this is so true. A seat for every butt so to speak.
she who dies with the most toy’s wins.
just because a rod dies not have a high profile nome on it does not make it a cheap or bad rod. every high profile company started as a no-name company.
rizeye, But don’t you think that the big companies set the standards for the, as you say no names? I will agree that there are some great lower end rods out there, but in the same breath I will say you cannot dispute the upper end. They have finer attention to detail such as taper, blanks, hardware. I am not saying that everyone should focus on the upper end, buy what you can, but, the name brands earned that name through excellense (misspelled that one- where is my spell check) Even in the blanks.
Fly Goddess
she who dies with the most toy’s wins.
i agree that some companies set standards, they also set high prices. can a $500 - $700 dollar rod really catch you more fish. it may cast differently but is it always better than a “no-name” rod? if you need a $700 dollar rod to make good casts then you need more practice, not a “better” rod.
Grandpa said, “Always deal with a reputable firm!”
That goes for manufacturer’s as well as retailers!
Grandpa said, “You get, what you pay for!” It is better to by fewer quality products, than more lesser quality products! Would you rather have 5 mediocre fly rods or 3 high quality fly rods?
“Needs, Wants, and what you end up getting; are three different things!” That is another one of his sayings.
Grandpa, had a 3rd grade education, and was one of the smartest people I ever knew. ~Parnelli
rizeye
i agree that some companies set standards, they also set high prices. can a $500 - $700 dollar rod really catch you more fish. it may cast differently but is it always better than a “no-name” rod? if you need a $700 dollar rod to make good casts then you need more practice, not a “better” rod.
Not really a question of need more expensive to cast better, but, rather what you can afford and feels better to you. I appreciate the upper end rods (don’t need them) I will go back to when I started playing guitar. I had an inexpensive one that sounded good, but the action was a little high. Bought a name brand (Fender Stratocaster) and progressed very quickly, and now I make my living at it.
she who dies with the most toy’s wins.
then, does the rod make the flyfisher or the flyfisher make the rod? i enjoy a nice feeling rod as much as anyone else but there is a point where i can’t tell the difference. that’s my limit, i do not overspend to look good or have bragging rights. others have there own limits and that’s fine with me, however it’s my concern that the high end will raise the price of the lower and mid range components. is this not happening with poperty values?
I think Flytackle has a good point about the lines. I was fishing a local stream a couple of years ago and noticed a fellow I had met before fly fishing with a big white Shakespear Wonder rods of rods and an old reel filled with what appeared to be level line. I found out he used the set-up for years and wasn’t all to bad with the rig. I convinced him to try my reel loaded with Cortland WF7F line and he oblighed. From then on it was grins from ear to ear and since then he purchsed new Cortland line and says he can’t thank me enough whenever I see him. I told him I’d let him use my rod someday, he thanked me and said “one thing at a time” I think he knows what would happen.