While I’ve been fishing for decades and have progressed from bamboo to glass and now to graphite the main thing I notice is the increase in stiffness (modulus) that allow me to put more power into a cast.
Being a cheapskate and minimalist my graphite rods are the lower cost varieties. I have never used a “premium brand name” rod. Regardless, I frequently read comments in the forums that you haven’t really lived until you buy one of these so-called “good” rods. Can someone explain to me what benefit I would get from a $400 rod versus the $100-$150 brands (Cabela’s, Scientific Anglers, Pfleuger) thatI have?
The same sort of question also applies to reels. To me they merely store line. I can’t recall any situation where I ever had to play a fish “on-the-reel”. So what’s with the emphasis on drag systems?
Maybe I just don’t fish where the big fish live. Thanks for enlightening me.
I’m with you Ray. I’m a budget kind of guy, and the only rods I have that are pricey were gifts. I find myself migrating back to fiberglass. But even that has become too expensive. My 3 favorite reels are 2 Orvis Battenkill Disc reels that each cost less than $100. I don’t use the drag system at all anymore, but I do have it set just in case. My other favorite reel is a Pflueger Medalist 1494. I traded some flies and a fly box for it. It works great and I don’t mind the click at all. I have to admit that I do sometimes drool when I see a McFarland or Steffen Brothers glass rod.
$400 will buy you a middle-of-the-pack rod these days; think $800 for the “good stuff”. The great thing about being a mediocre caster is I don’t notice the difference between high-end and what I have (older Sages and inexpensive blanks I’ve built). As far as reels go, if you’re not fishing for saltwater burners (like false albacore) or tailwater pigs, you probably don’t need to invest much, although if you do hook a nice one and your drag hitches you’ll beat yourself senseless.
Regards,
Scott
Al Campbell wrote a column that somewhat addresses this issue. The article is written from the prospective of why he, as a fly shop employee, might steer someone AWAY from a “higher end” rod. The article does give some good insight into the differences between high end and more moderately priced rods.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/alcampbell/ac011402.php
That all being said, I, personally, am firmly in the “moderately” priced camp. I simply don’t spend enough days on the water to justify high end prices.
progressed from bamboo to glass and now to graphite
This puzzles me somewhat as I seem to have regressed…and ended up with cane. 
Ray,
Let’s assume that GM makes some really good cars. Call one a Chev, another a Buick and another a Cadillac. You can drive all three, so why would a person buy a Caddy if a Chev our Buick would do the same thing? Because we are human and because we live in a free enterprise system. There are differences between those three cars or otherwise there would only be one car. So, it is a matter of personal choice and what you can afford or are willing to spend.
For me, I will take the Caddy or in this case, I fly fish with Sage rods. Because I like them and I can buy them. So, why not?
Larry —sagefisher—
I have to agree with Lotech, but maybe I’m uninformed, having never cast a $700 dollar plus rod. Every year rod makers bombard us with lighter, faster, more snsitive, etc. How much of this is hype? Has anyone done a blind test with any of these rods? How much farther can an average caster reach with with one of these wonder rods and how much will it improve his enjoyment of fishing.
I would like some opinions. Mine is “not much” Spend that extra money on learning to cast and learnng to get a drag free drift will, in my humble opinion, give you a much better return on your money.
I meant to add some of what Sagefisher said to my previous response.
Even though I use less than high end equipment myself, I agree with sagefisher completely. I have a fishing partner who fishes nothing but Sage. He likes them, can afford them and he thinks they are worth the price and for that matter HE is worth it. I flail around on the same water with my modest equipment and we both have a blast. I will say that he is a much better caster than I am. In this case, I don’t think he is a better caster than I because he has an $800 rod and I have a $150 rod. I think he is better because he spends 5X as many days on the water than I do.
Buy what you like, what you can afford and what brings you pleasure. Life’s too short to worry about it.
I’m a budget kind of guy and a pretty average caster. A year of so ago I was lucky enough to win a Helios 2 rod. From the first cast that rod absolutely makes me look a lot better than I am. It doesn’t really make me a better fly fisherman, and it doesn’t mean I can’t have just as much fun with any of my “cheap” rods, but it is a spectacular tool.
Spend what you’re comfortable with and enjoy the fishing!
Cliff
I am not a great fly caster and have fished with the bottom end of the rack for most of my life. A couple of years ago when I lost the two rods I used the most, one was a TFO 3 wt., the other a BPS Dogwood Canyon rod, Kevin Proctor gave me a rod he had and customized it for me. It is one of my most treasured possessions first because of Kevin’s generosity and second because it is the best casting rod I have ever held. I can cast further, easier than any rod I had ever picked previous to it. As for drag on reels, I have caught some 5.5 - 8 lb. LMB, grass carps & catfish on fly rods, a decent drag has made the difference in landing or breaking off fish that size frequently. The reels doesn’t have to cost a fortune to have a decent drag for most of us.
Oldster, the idea of me casting with my eyes closed to do a “blind test” is too horrible o contemplate. I’m quite bad enough casting with both eyes open. But I understand what you mean. I attended the second MIFI and Castwell let me cast several high-end rods. The Gatti was the best of the batch and the “rightness” of the feel was unlike anything I have ever cast, before or since, with one exception. The Gatti felt more like an extension of me than I had ever experienced. It was better than the (cheap) cane rods I had tried. It was extremely pleasant. I still use cheap rods. I am not God’s most gifted and coordinated creature. If I broke a Gatti, and I almost certainly would, I would strongly inclined to cry shamelessly. Ergo, I buy cheap rods which only require a bit of whimpering if broken.
But even as the Gatti was had and shoulders above all other rods, at a subsequent MIFI I cast the ultimate rod. Castwell let me cast a Kusse Quad. It was alive. It was as far above the Gatti and the Gatti was above the pack. It was the most marvelous feeling I have ever experienced casting a fly rod. At the prices they ran, it ought to. It cost a great deal. If I was made of money and coordinated enough that I wouldn’t live on fear of damaging such a treasure, it is what I would want. It was astounding. I really cannot adequately describe that rod.
Still, I am quite contented with my modest rods. They in no way mute the siren song of the streams calling out to me for my time and attention. And I expect that, even with a magical Kusse Quad, I would still festoon the trees with my flies. 
Regards,
Ed
How many low end rods have a lifetime warranty?
At one time I had cheap waders that leaked, what can you do with them?
I bought Simms and when gravel got into my boot and put holes in them, I brought them to Simms, They put new booties on and sent them back free of charge, not even shipping charge. That makes the difference to me.
This is certainly a consideration. On he other hand, I figure I can replace my $150 rod 5 times out of my own pocket for the same price as an $800 rod with a lifetime warranty. And, if I break the same rod 5 times in my lifetime I need to get help! (Also, lifetime warranties are not free. The cost of replacement is built into the initial cost of the rod.)
Not picking fight here. To each his own. If warranty is a selling point for you, great. Just not much of a selling point for me.
My opinion is that there is a difference between a high end rod and a mid-priced rod. I think the most I have spent on a fly rod was $300 and that was for a used 3wt Sage XP and I enjoy using it. I also have a custom built Sage XP in 4wt and it was around $300. When I go fishing, I would say that I use these 2 rods the least unless I go to the Smokey Mountains to fish. I think the reason I do not use these two rods more here on my local rivers is that the 3wt is 8’ long and the 4wt is 8’ 6" and a 9’ rod is easier to use on my home waters which are much larger than the mountain streams. For my local fishing, I am using a TFO Mangrove rod in a 5wt or a Cortland Big Sky 5wt or another 5wt rod with no brand name on it and all 3 in 9’. None of these rods cost anyway near the Sage rods and all three have warranties. So, with this experience, I feel the top end rods allow you to feel the rod load better which will improve you casting and that is due to better materials used and higher end quality control. It would be the same comparison between a high end skeet shotgun and your old squirrel shotgun you purchased from your local pawn shop. You could use either shotgun for skeet shooting but one would be easier to use and would outlast the other due to better quality.
I feel the high end rod would be lighter in the hand due to better quality material and stiffer which would provide better feel for casting. High end rods and mid-range rods will both catch fish and, in a good fly fisher’s hand, I do not feel one would catch more than the other. Now if you are comparing which would be the best in a casting contest between pro casters, the high end rod may be your best choice.
So, if you want to know if a high end rod will out catch a mid-end rod, the answer, in my opinion, is no you will not see much difference. A person who is very good at presenting a fly and “fishing” a fly, can catch fish using any price rod including a broom stick handle. When it comes to a casting contest, in my opinion, it is a whole different story…
Warren’s post about high end rods out fishing mid-priced rods reminded me of a story…
Last summer I was fishing with the guy I mentioned above, Stan, who only fishes Sage (and is a very good caster, by the way). I forget all the details but we were throwing double nymph rigs which were quite heavily weighted. I was having a devil of a time making acceptable casts with my low-end rod and commented that I just wasn’t able to cast this rig very well.
Stan asked to try my rod. After about 2 false casts, Stan lets go with a cast (with a rod he had never touched before) that was better than any cast I had made all day. He turned to me and said, “This rod will cast that rig just fine. You just need to put a little power to it.” My reply to him was, “I never said the ROD couldn’t cast it. I said I couldn’t cast it.”
My point being I think it has as much, if not more to do with the person holding the rod as the rod itself.
OK Joe … glass huh? I have a few blanks (depending what size/wt you want) here we can wrap you one
My favorite (at the moment) is the clone of the Sage 3200 type of reels. I have a few of these and gave my son one for a 3wt I’m working on
I have a few top of the line Sages. I like them. I have a few middle of the road rods also. I like them. I like my Sages better and tend to fish them more often. Can I cast better with the Sages? Yeah, but the reason for that is I tend to fish them more and I am used to them. I fish them more because they are nicer rods.
From another point of view. I have a fishing partner that just purchased a bamboo two handed fly rod. It cost twice as much as my most expensive Sage. I jumped at the chance to cast it. Does it cast better than my Sage rods? I don’t think I cast any better with it than I did with the Sages but I sure did like casting that bamboo two hander. That thing was cool.
Will a high end rod catch more fish than a mid priced rod?
Not for most of us.
Is there a “pride of ownership” difference?
Absolutely!
If I did more saltwater flyfishing, where distance often does matter (as well as being able to deal with wind from every direction), I’d take half the money a good rod cost and get some casting lessons.
Regards,
Scott
One of the reasons I enjoy threads like this is that there is no one universal right answer. The posts show that all responders have considered the issue and made the decision that was right for them.
I would strongly discourage a total newbie from starting out with a high end rod, even if they can easily afford one. They’ll enjoy things just as much with many of the low to medium priced rods that are out there and catch just as many fish. Experience will then show them if they want to stay with the sport and advance to a higher end rod.