I’m a total fly fishing newbie and about to purchase my first rod. I’ve narrowed it down to a Sage Launch or TFO Pro series. I’ll be fishing in N. GA and N.C for trout and am looking at something something along the lines of a 9’ 5wt with probably a Orvis BBS reel. Price wise the sage is only going to be about $25 more as I will have to buy a case for the TFO. Both of these rods feel good and I’m guessing it is a toss up with probably little real difference between the two but I thought some veterans here might be able to give me some advice. I’m really looking forward to getting into fly fishing as I am coming from the world of serious…real serious bass fishing. Its going to be nice to be able to go fishing and not put $60 worth of petrol in the Truck and another $50 or so to fill up the 200 ETEC hanging off the back of the boat. This hobby looks cheap in comparison. And what really scares me is that I think I am even more interested in learning to tie flies than I am the actual fishing. I hope to pick up a Peak rotary vise this weekend at the fly fishing show in addition to which ever rod you guys/gals steer me towards. Lots to learn but looking forward to it.
The Sage is made in the USA. That alone would “seal the deal” for me.
However, I own 1 Launch rod and it is a fantastic rod for the money spent. It doesnt have the high-end conponents that many other Sage rods have but is still a good rod.
I dont have any experience with the TFO rod, sorry.
Actually you can make ff as inexpensive or as expensive as you like. A word of caution, fly tying is a terrible addiction that will suck your childrens college funds dry. :lol:
Back to your question. I don’t think you can go wrong with either rod. At this point in the game you need to just get out and practice. There is plenty of great info on the main board to help you on your way and the bb is full of good folks ready to help. Hopefully you have a buddy or club you can get live help from as well.
Both the Sage Launch rod and the TFO Pro are good rods. DarrinG is right, the Sage rod is made in the USA, sort of right up the road from me so to speak, and it has a lifetime warranty. But then the TFO also has a lifetime warranty and while it is made from an imported blank, those blanks are made to the exact specifications requested by TFO.
So, guess I am saying you can?t go wrong with either one.
That being said, my nickname is —sagefisher—because I only fish with Sage rods. I do own some TFO?s but have not used them.
I hate tournament fishing but have a bassboat and chase fish fairly hard, primarily on the Alabama lakes, to a lesser extent Sinclair, Seminole, and Eufala. Gas has gotten expensive, and so has the tackle. There are baitcaster prices on par with fly reels. There are swimbaits that cost $70.
But don’t think flyfishing will necessarily be cheaper. You’ll venture beyond fishing in GA and NC once you see what there is in the western US and Alaska, because the south is far from the pinnacle of flyfishing. Then you’ll want to go to Argentina, Chile, Kamchatka Russia, Canada, or New Zealand.
Catching warm water speices on a flyrod is a lot of fun. I take a bass rig with me fairly regularly, and use a lighter rig for bream on the bed. Catching bass out of hydrilla on a flyrod is a lot of fun, 4 pound fish feel like 8 pounders.
Finally, how do you like that ETEC? It has a lot of promise, if OMC can back up the hype.
First…A big welcome to FAOL. You have come to the right place, so, pull up a chair and stay awhile. I know where you are coming from…I was a tournament bass fisherman for 30 years before I just got tired of fighting jet skis, skiers, houseboats, drunks, etc. All of a sudden fishing was not fun anymore. Sold the bass boat and let someone talk me into getting a fly rod and going to the rivers. Boy, have I been missing a lot of fun!! You are going to love fly fishing! Oh, by the way, I have been teaching a Beginner’s Fly Tying class now for about 9 years and love it too! Make sure to bring your “line watching” skills and “sensitivity feel” that you used for your bass fishing with you in fly fishing. Those 2 skills will really help you with fly fishing. I only wish I had started fly fishing 30 years ago instead of 14 years ago. You are going to love fly tying too. Either rod you have chosen will be good. I do need to warn you, since you are just starting fly fishing, this will not be the last rod you purchase!! There will be more as your skills grow.
Welcome to the best fly fishing site on the web. Ask any questions that come up.
Welcome to the bulletin board. You’ll get all the answers and suggestions you want / need here from a bunch of experienced and thoughtful and helpful people.
Can’t speak to the rods you are interested in, except to say that I did fish a 5 wt Sage Launch for a few minutes one day while its owner was using my rig, and I really liked it.
This fly fishing thing can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want to make it. But nothing can be much more fun !!!
Enjoy - and when you have questions, don’t be bashful.
One more thing that may help you a lot is to fill out your Profile with at least where you live. One of us may be close to where you live and can “hook up” and go fishing with you.
Welcome to FAOL. I am known as Castwell around here and am supposed to know everything of any importance whatever. Both the companies you list are sponsors on here, so good luck getting my opinion. (ha ha) But, just between you and me, pick whichever one YOU LIKE BEST! (It will make you the happiest)
The rods have a distinctly different feel to them, but as you are new to fly fishing I don’t think this is really and issue here since you have no previous experience that would help you choose one over the other from a performance perspective.
The Sage is finished better in my opinion. It may be the least expensive (not cheap) rod built in the USA.
I am partial to the Sage, but that is only my personal preference. I know people that have the TFO, and people that have the Sage, and both groups are happy.
The Launch is very good starter rod in trout weight sizes. For that kind of use I woud have to give the nod to the Launch over the PRO. However you may also want to consider the 5 wt TFO TFO Lefty Kreh Signature Series rod as a starter rod for under $100.
Rod ratings are fairly subjective, and I will probably be crucified by the All American Sage fans, but IMHO the Launch while definately being a very good starter trout rod, it is not as good a rod in the bigger “streamer rod” sizes as the “Pro”. If you ever think of stepping up into the 8-9 wt range for bass, pike and saltwater, I would strongly recommend the TFO Pro over the Launch.
On the other hand I know people that prefer the 8 and 9 wt Sage Launch for casting big flies and heavy shooting heads, and bass and pike fishing. So much is personal preference which takes experience to develop.
Another vote for the Launch here. I haven’t fished the Pro, but I bought my daughter a Launch in the 9’ 5 wt., and have been thoroughly impressed, so much so that I’ve started grabbing it over my more expensive rods for quick trips around here. I think it’s wrong to hang a “beginner” label on this one just because of its price - it’s a rod that’ll work well for people regardless of their experience level. Components and finish are better than you’ll get on most others in this price range, and the Made in US is a plus as well.
Thanks ya’ll for the input. I am a gear junkie whether we are talking hunting, fishing or whatever and have a genetic deficiency of sorts that causes me to always buy nicer and more expensive gear than I really need. No curing this disease as its in my DNA. A few weeks ago I had about decided to go with a Ross EVO and much higher priced Sage but have decided that a good high quality starter setup such as this will be a good “get me going” setup. I am going to do my best to buy one of these two rods and the Orvis BBS but I might fall prey to my old bad habits if get my hands on some even nicer equipment. I remember years ago the hours spent in the driveway learning to master a baitcaster and the hours of picking out birdnests while learning the art of skipping a big jig delicately no less to a specific dock post way back under a dock from the deck of a boat. Many look at bass fishing as a pure Redneck adventure but there is quite a bit of skill involved on the equipment / technique side of things. So as I undertake this new hobby I am prepared for the same time spent in the yard and I’m sure I’ll donate more than my fair share of flies to the squirrels over the next few years but it looks like a lot of fun. And as I mentioned I am really excited about getting a vise and learning to tie. I know this is not the right forum but I’m also torn between getting a Peak Rotary or a Renzetti Traveler? But that is a discussion for another day or better yet the “search function”!
Tom,
For what it’s worth, I’ve test cast both rods myself. I was looking for a 9’ 4 piece, 4 weight. I liked the Sage Launch very much. I also like the TFO Pro. My biggest concern was cost compared against performance. I fish primarily for westslope cutthroat trout in the streams and rivers of North Idaho. For my casting stroke* (see footnote) the TFO out performed the Launch. That’s just me. So, I opted for the TFO and found my choice to be the best one for me. When I first took it fishing, I was in a secluded place with a beautiful pool to fish. The biggest problem was that there were no fish in the pool. I didn’t care very much because I was enchanted by the loops I was throwing and the way I could lay the line down just where I wanted it without any splash or disturbance to the water. I stayed there for longer than I should have, just to watch the way the line played out and the way the fly landed softly on the water. The final choice is your’s of course. So, my advice is to test them both for yourself. Pick whichever you like the best and enjoy the experience forever. Cost for cost versus performance for performance, I chose the TFO Pro.
My stroke may be different than yours, so you may need to test cast both rods to find which one you like the best.
Tom Welcome to the board.
What Castwell said. Pick the one you like best. It is a bit of a coin toss. You might try that, heads for Sage, tails for TFO. I have the sage launch 5wt. and love it. I also have a dragonfly 5wt that I started with and hate to cast. But some of my friends love the thing over the sage. Go figure. I picked up the launch and fell in love with it at once. Never used the dragonfly again.
I also have a renzetti traveler vice that I really like a lot.
Fly tying can be as much fun as fishing just in a different way. I love to tie so much that I give 90% of my flies away just for an excuse to tie more. It can be as expensive or as cheap as you make it. I can tie a 100 flies for little more than the cost of hooks using road kill feathers or I can really harm the pocket book by using Jungle cock and the like to make fancy flies that I can’t even bring myself to fling into the water. Depends on the mood. It is a facinating hobby well worth exploring. Wait till you catch a fish on your first home grown fly its a rush. Remember to retire that fly to a place of honor. The main thing is to enjoy it all.
The best advice here was given several times - pick the one that feels best. It’s really a coin toss where you’ll eventually end up in your preference for an action. I’ve helped several friends getting into the sport and most ended up on a different action than they preferred when they started. Most seemed to prefer a softer rod at first and then quickly want a little quicker rod. The Launch seems softer to me than the Pro. So if you change action preferences like my friends, you’ll end up liking the Pro better in the long run - but like I said, it’s hard to say. Personally, I went from a soft action rod, to very stiff, and now seem to have settled into med-fast, med-stiff for a preference.
I hope some of that is helpful and not just more confusing.
Tom,
Signing up for Fly Tying lessons would be a good idea. Hiring Teaching FF Guides as many times as you can afford over the years ahead, would help you also. If you can’t access any Fly Tying lessons, then you could try my method and that is to buy Flies and try to copy them. I kept tying and tying until I was happy with the result, then I lost them in the tree!
You mentioned that fishing for Bass had many different skills? Fly Fishing has many different methods also and you will become as good as you want to be. Also, Tying your own flies will give you a lot of satisfaction.
Doug
I’m also new to fly fishing. I have a TFO Pro 8’6’ 5wt 4pc. I bought the 4 pc for traveling. I really like this rod and my buddy who has 50+ years fly fishing was impressed on it’s casting especially being a 4 pc. This is a very friendly site with a lot of good info coming from people who love to fish and willing to give you good advise. I asked for info on fishing in Ky in April and a member of this site has offered to pick me up and take me to one of his favorite places to fish. Dont get any better than that. Good luck in picking a rod and in your new sport.
Oh yeah, tying. Good advice from everyone on that, too. One addition is that after I took my classes at the local shop it was invaluable to have a beginners book around for things I was confused about again later. I got ‘Basic Fly Tying, All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started’ by Jon Rounds and from stackpole books. It has a good general methods section in the front and then detailed instructions with lots of pictures for each of the main categories of trout flies. I’ve also found this site to be very helpful with illustrated instructions: http://www.troutflies.com/tutorials/
—sagefisher—
There will be more as your skills grow.