Rod quality

[Old Salt]

After being out of the rod market for a long time, it appears that most of even the cheap rods are superior to the high end rods of decades ago. Even the Pfluger rods seem real light and reasonably well made. Back in the day, Pfluger was very entry level stuff. Probably still is, but compared to 20 or 30 years ago, their graphite rods appear as good or better than high end stuff was. I've bought a few baitcasting rods recently. The cheaper ones like Berkley are pretty good and from my perspective, better than more expesnive rods I bought in the past. Seems like technology and offshore production is offering good perfromance for little money. That said, how do some of the high end current technology perform compared to the current cheap stuff. I know that fly fishing tends to be a bit snobish...been there, done that. But my older and wiser side is now questioning the added expense of say 6 times the cost for a name brand like Orvis, Loomis or others. I am no longer trying to impress anyone besides myself. Comments please!

[sothereiwas]

I own both high end (600+) rods and entry level (100-150) and i like them all. If you find a rod that casts nice, its hard to go wrong. Some of the obvious things I've noticed in the less expensive rods is the quality components. The cork, guides, reel seat, arent as nice. I'm sure the quality control on the graphite isn't as good, but under normal conditions i haven't broken either.

If every rod I owned was 600 dollars i would have bigger problems then gas prices

Brad

[LaterPeter]

a couple of points...
A. STIW, is correct, if the rod feels good to you & your casting stroke, your're good. price doesn't necessarily matter.
2. if you're looking at an inexpensive production rod (imports mostly), be aware quality control is a variable... cast one & like it but get a new one (same model) in a tube, it may not feel quite the same.
III. I have found that I can find, with a bit of searching, a very nice quality used rod for a fair price. If you spend much time fishing, it may make for a more enjoyable day.
later,
Peter

[rob allen]

I disagree

i think cheap rods are just that cheap and poor performing for the most part. Also they are very inconsistent because they are made in such quantity so quickly and with such unskilled labor that two rods that are supposed to be the same are radically different

as for cork quality.. unless you have a custom rod builder build you a rod from cork rings you are getting crappy cork no matter how much you pay.. if a manufacturer uses preformed grips you are gonna get crappy cork no if's ands or buts.

building a quality rod is a matter of design and craftsmanship you won't get that in a mass produced rod especially if the people doing the work don't care about the product because they are only making 5 dollars a day.

[Ryan Pultz]

I have to say I agree with rob on one point :passout:some of the cheap rods are just that cheap material.

But!! sorry Rob Some of the cheaper mass produced rods are very worth the price and will cast with the best of them I am sorry it is not the Cork that lands the fish. I have built two fly rods now one with a cork handle I made myself and another with a mass produced cheep cork handle and they both catch fish they both cast like a dream one is from a 150 dollar blank the other is from a 30 dollar blank. So cheep is not always bad. rp

[sothereiwas]

I think if you are looking for a rod that is inexpensive look at manufacturers that make high end rods. I mostly steelhead fish and my Sage 796 XP is in my hand 90% of the time I'm on the water so I can justifly the hefty price tag. But when trout fishing or chasing silver which I do rarely it is much harder to do. The inexpensive rods I have are a TFO Pro 7'6" 3wt $140, Sage 490LE $200, Echo Classic 10wt. They are great rods to cast, and they are from companies that know what they are doing and stand behind there product. I have a buddy that bought a Winston BIIx for trout fishing and broke the thing on his 3rd trip. The most important thing is buy from a company that stands behind what the produce, cause stuff happens.

Brad

[clarkman23]

I can't really talk for graphite since I really don't like any graphite rod (not even the one or two that I still own)...but, for glass of which most of my rods are made of, I could care less on how much it cost or what the supposed "quality" is...I have an old wonderod that I like just as much as my Steffen. They cast a bit different but I like them both...the difference? aside from how they cast (the Steffen is slightly faster--for glass-- and has a little more 'feel' to it), is price...$350 for the Steffen, and $30 for the Wonderod.

I even like those little Eagle Claw Superlights...and what are those, $15 or something like? sure they're kinda crappy but they sure fish well.

Of course, now I basically only fish my bamboo (better 'feel' than any glass rod I've ever owned!!!), which is a little faster than both of those (although pretty close to the Steffen)...

at any rate, the way I see it, if you like the 'feel' of a particular rod, fish it...

:twocents:

~Randy

[Nicechromer]

Here's my 2 cents... I am not a rich man, In fact, I'm a teacher, so I don't see spending $500 bucks on a rod. If I was, money wouldn't matter and I would have Sage's and Winston's all over the place. But, I have also held and casted the low priced rods as well.. I really have felt some heavy, wobbly rods out there. The dilemma I fall into is when I am buying a rod is this:
1. How much I can spend before my wife kicks me out of the house..
2. What brand am I buying from that has a warranty.
3. I don't want to say it but.... I enjoy fishing a rod I like to look at.. What it looks like, color, reel seats, etc
4. Feel. Light enough
5. Type of action. I prefer a med/fast - fast

My results are a Redington, low end Sage, TFO, lower priced Scott, St Croix
For under 225 bucks

[Seansquatch]

Being 16 i have limited access to money and only have 2 fly rods a Berkley Stream Specialist I got for free from a very nice fisherman. And a Berkley Bucanier i got for 5 bucks at good will. I have fun casting both and can make them both work for what i want them to it might make my arm hurt a bit more casting Reverse spiders long distances with my 6 foot stream specialist but its time spent on the water so its all good. I'm in the market for a low cost rod 200 or less if anyone has any suggestions.

[FinandFir]

I've also fished with both, and I'm somewhere in the middle. I think that the cheaper rods will work fine, but as you get more "in tune" with the rods your using... you will start to feel the difference. Another option... build your own. You can get great quality blanks from Sage and other quality companies for a fraction of the price. It'll take a little time, but you can build it to your specs, and if you tie your own flies... you'll know what I mean when I say that it is very rewarding catching fish on something you created! Good luck to you with whatever you pick up!!!

[clarkman23]

so I don't see spending $500 bucks on a rod.
try casting a well-made bamboo rod, that'll change your mind...of course it's not necessarily $500, more like incriments of $500...

there are reasons you shouldn't tell your wife how much your flyfishing stuff costs...

~Randy

[Old Salt]

[quote=there are reasons you shouldn't tell your wife how much your flyfishing stuff costs...

~Randy[/quote]

Roger that!

[LaterPeter]

When I taught fly fishing classes in the Portland area, I arranged with a well known fly rod manufacturer for a dozen of their low end rods for my class...
It was amazing how much differently these rods were from each other even though they arrived at the same time with the same name & line weight listed.
It's the inconsistancy that creates the dilemma. That said... the new low end rods will incorporate many of the materials & cosmetics of the higher end rods... the sum is not always greater than the parts.
IMHO!
later,
Peter

[Seansquatch]

I bought what i guess most will call a low end rod for my self earlier this week. I dropped 200 on a rod tube a rod sock a fancy fly box and a brand new 4wt 9, G Loomis Adventure.:dance: Boy do i love that rod most expensive piece of fishing gear i own and i got a good deal on it. But it casts so nicely i have casted high end stuff before including a 600 dollar sage 7wt that i had to stop casting because i liked it to much and was afraid i might want one.:passout:But i now realize the you get what you pay for part of fly fishing. Expensive rods cast like dreams even my new semi expensive rod casts amazingly compared to the low ends i have casted and i have casted quite a few my friend has 3 different cabela's fly rods only one worth using out of his bunch is the three forks which for the prise is a amazing rod.

[leadeyedbugger]

You really need to have a rod that you enjoy to enjoy fishing. But that does not mean that you need to have a $700 graphite or $3K boo rod to enjoy yourself. There is a quality difference, yes, however for most people quality difference between a $200 fly rod and a $600 fly rod is not very noticable when actually fishing the rod. I own 1 high end rod and i absolutely love it. However 2 of my rods are $40 blanks wrapped for me with average to below average hardware. And they perform just fine for me.
You hand somebody that is a competant caster say a $139.99 TFO PRO 5wt and a Winston b2x 5wt or sage z-axis 5wt and under normal fishing ranges and casts there is nothing that he Can't do with the TFO that he can with the others.......

[Old Salt]

I ended up getting a couple or rods of E-bay. I got a 8.5' five weight orvis Streamside series. Seems fine to me and casts a lot like my old Spring Creek. I also got a Grey Wolf 2 wt rod. I think they will get me by for now. Thanks for all the comments on rod quality!

[Wiggley1]

I bought what i guess most will call a low end rod for my self earlier this week. I dropped 200 on a rod tube a rod sock a fancy fly box and a brand new 4wt 9, G Loomis Adventure.:dance: Boy do i love that rod most expensive piece of fishing gear i own and i got a good deal on it. But it casts so nicely i have casted high end stuff before including a 600 dollar sage 7wt that i had to stop casting because i liked it to much and was afraid i might want one.:passout:But i now realize the you get what you pay for part of fly fishing. Expensive rods cast like dreams even my new semi expensive rod casts amazingly compared to the low ends i have casted and i have casted quite a few my friend has 3 different cabela's fly rods only one worth using out of his bunch is the three forks which for the prise is a amazing rod.

Like my rod? Cause I love that Three Forks 3# rod. Last time out on the Gails, I had a blast with it. The walk back was the only bummer of that trip... lol.

[Seansquatch]

Like my rod? Cause I love that Three Forks 3# rod. Last time out on the Gails, I had a blast with it. The walk back was the only bummer of that trip... lol.

Ya like yours just a 6wt i think. I actually sugested he get it after hearing how much you liked yours. That trip was fun except the walk we gota do that agien in the spring but go up stream this time and have alot more time.