expensive fly rods

[rockthief]

when I first embraced this fine sport I was fishing the river in town with my only rod and reel, a cheap line and a fly I had tied myself. Dressed in blue jeans, a t-shirt and a $15.00 vest I caught five nice cutthroat trout and was filled with awe and wonder. Just after I had pulled a 13" fish from the water two fellows pulled up and began to froth the water upstream from me. They were dressed in every fine thing I had ever seen in a fishing catalog and their equipment was high end. After about twenty minutes of no fish one of the fellows shouted to me did I catch anything and I allowed that I had caught five. I showed him my fly and he frowned in what seemed a disdainful way to me, got his buddy and off they drove. No, the clothing and equipment do not make the sport, attitude and stewardship do. But, I have to tell you that I felt a bit envious about those fellows clothing and gear.
Life is good.

Paul



"aka gardenfish"

[ducksterman]

I found this rod comparison article interesting....and it may contribute to this discussion.....

http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/Fly...rodtesting.asp

[dudley]

I found this rod comarison article interesting....and it may contribute to this discussion.....

http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/Fly...rodtesting.asp

That's pretty interesting
The Albright A-5 ($139 on their website) at #6... way in front of the Zero-G or the TiCr-X

[Fly Goddess]

Mato Kuwapi, you are right that have said the same thing as so many others. About that SAGE. You do realize there are different action/flex. Maybe he pick a FAST action and it was hard for him, but there are fast action in cheap rods. IT IS NOT THE ROD, IT IS THE ACTION.
I have a Sage SLT, and an LL both are medium, I have a JWF, BIIx, LT and the JWF and the LT are medium and the BIIx med/fast.
I also have a TFO Professional. I bout it over the Sage and the St. Croix 10' 5wt because I like the action. I DO know how to cast in fact I teach.
Out of all my rods, and many years of FF, I have broke two, and they were both the same TFO. About 5" up from the last ferrule. I have had to wrap Rattan around the cork, as it is falling apart bad. Granted that rod was cheap, but this $25. plus shipping is changing that.
TFO does make NICE rods however.

Now Ducksterman, you brought up the show down:

(QUOTE)

Lighter is better
In this day of extremely high modulus graphite, boron and other new rod building materials, new and stronger resin systems, new graphite scrim and innovative manufacturing techniques, the key to success is building lighter weight rods that have the same amount of power. Lighter is better, all else being equal. We?ve seen some amazing advances in all phases of rod building and just when you think that the current crop of high performance rods has hit perfection, another new material, resin system or unseen innovation allows for more improvement. Of course, anglers are the beneficiary of all this costly R & D so don?t get too upset with the fact that the price of premium rods, made in the USA, is heading north of $600.00

Great rods are not always expensive
As you?ll read here, you don?t have to spend upwards of $600 to get a great fly rod. Yes, the best are going to set you back that much, but there are some surprisingly good rods out there that sell for one-third to one-half as much! You might have to lower your expectations about the quality of the cork grip or the overall finish, guides and reel seat, or possibly accept the fact that you?ll have to buy a rod case if you want one, (TFO rods).



Got to read both sides. Last year they hated the Zero, but this year it made in the top 10?


I play guitar. To tell ME that there isn't a difference in price I will be amuzed. FLY RODS are no different. I learned to play guitar MUCH faster with a quality Strat, and the same is true with my quality rods. They have open the door to things I never thought I could do, and YES it was the rod. True, I was behind it, but the rod still made the difference.


Now cloths, I don't even want to go there. The fact that someone wants an expensive pair of waders and shoes just tells me they fish allot and are not afraid to wade deep if need be. ALSO, maybe the fact it is something they plan o doing for YEARS.

Who is the snob, the one supporting their interest, or the one judging them?

[TyroneFly]

Have you ever seen Steve Rajeff cast with an economical rod in competition?

[Kerry Stratton]

I actually can make that comparison except the Hyundai is an Elantra and Mercedes is a SLK55 AMG.

Thats too funny. I picked those two vehicles at random with the only criteria being inexpensive and expensive. Also, I think I'm a bit jealous now.

[jeffnles1]

I have expensive rods (Scott, Sage, Winston) and more moderately priced rods (St. Croix, Cabelas). I do like the way the more expensive rods feel, look, and cast.

I also have very nice guitars (2 Martins) and inexpensive guitars (Ovation, Seagull). The price of even an moderately priced guitar is about what a higher end rod costs and a "very nice" guitar is somewhere north of a bamboo rod.

The point I"m trying to make is there is a difference. I think there is more of a difference in the guitars than there is with the rods (or perhaps I'm just a better picker than caster and can tell the difference more). I think the difference in the rods is noticable but not necessarily night and day. Fit and finish is better and something in pride of ownership is higher.

I think if a person is happy with their equipment and it's working for them, who am I to criticise or comment one way or the other?

I'd rather fish with a person, or sit down and try to keep up with them jamming on guitars than oogle over their equipment anyway.

Jeff

[cj4750]

More important than the cost of the rod is the speed of it.
When it comes to manufacturing any rod in mass production I can't see them matching the splines 100 % or tweaking the guide spacing. If I were to spend a lot of money I'd go with a custom build. However, on my budget both are out of the question so I use an "inexpensive" not cheap rod.

[Jackster]

I found this rod comparison article interesting....and it may contribute to this discussion.....

http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/Fly...rodtesting.asp

On oh! NOT another test by George!
He differed just a tad this time by letting a rod he didn't brag about helping design into the top list. Could it be he might think Tom Morgan knows a wee bit about fly rods?
Wait... this just in.... George had a hand at designing the Morgan rods too! Go figure!

He and his staff might like rods that need a 1/2 line weight crutch to work, I prefer rods that work best with a true-weight line and feel "soft in the tip" when overlined.
Many take his reviews as an opportunity for self-promoting, chest-thumping. I agree.

[harleybob87]

Ok I will throw my 2 cents in here. Most of the things I read here are talking money. That being said I think everyone has made some very good points for their choses. I am not your run of the meal fly fisherman so my opinion probably don't matter but a long time ago (for me anyway) a nice gentleman taught me a little about fly fishing. One of the things he stated was if it ain't broke don't fix it. I was feeling intimitatded because I had a wally world special and he had a sage. He laid all the line out on my rod like it ws nothing. I was impressed. The next thing he said stayed with me. Practice pratice pratice and have confidense it what you use. Money does not make you a good fisherman. I kept those thoughts. fast forward to present day. I have bought some mid range rods and have built a lot of rods. My personnal favorites are my TFO and my Boo. When I build a rod I use the best components my customer can buy. That being said when a customer asks for recommendations I base them on taper, weight, and action. A lighter weight well balanced rod is nicer to fish all day long then a heavier rod. I tell my customers the cork you will cover with slime from the fish, Just about any reel seat will hold a reel (notice I said just about). If you can't afford top of the line don't worry about it. Guides I almost always recomment H&H. top of the line guides.

I guess what I am trying to say in a round about way is If you are happy with your setup and have confidense in yourself and equipment, and you are enjoying the sport that is all that matters. If you are happy with your equipment who am I to say anything. Instead join me and share this spot it seems to be preaty good.

As far as why people ride harleys most of those people ride today because it is cool and they may get lucky tonight cause they ride. My favorite harley was $3000 total price. Put 35000 miles a year on it. Didn't worry if I was cool or if I was going to get lucky. Did it cause I loved the wind in my face, the music comming off the pipes and the raw power between my legs.