What is the best rod you've ever cast?

I recently was at my favorite fly shop, River City Fly Shop in Beaverton and had the opportunity to cast a bamboo rod made by Stephen Kiley of West Linn, Oregon.
What a wonderful fly rod this was. Smooth, responsive and just a pleasure to cast.
This rod retails for.....$1200 :shocked: This is a rod that I'll probably never own but at least I got to try it out once.
How about the rest of you guys? What is the best fly rod that you've ever cast?

[ 10-23-2003, 02:25 AM: Message edited by: Stew ]

No opinions on this huh?

[Steelheader69]

Well, I'm up REALLY late. Must've missed this post.

My 2 favorites are, well. You have it (or did). Sage 9140-3 spey. Loved that rod. My other, is an RPL 7100 Sage.

[gimmeumpqua]

Tough question...
I've owned various Winston, Powell, Sage,Orvis, T&T,GLomis and Scott fly rods over the years. I think my consistent favorite brand is Scott.

Never was much of a Sage fan.

I think my favorite Scott rod is a 3wt. Fibertouch. Casts like nothing else I've ever handled. I like slow actions.


Kurt

[wade]

In my effort to be happy with what I have I've passed up many opportunities to cast fine rods. That's all I need, a reason to go spend more money on this obssession. So what it comes down to is, the best rod I've ever enjoyed casting is my Glenn Wicks 4 pc 4 Wt.

Kevin

[DT]

I own a few fly rods and cast many others. I had the opportunity to cast a 7 foot, 4 weight Orvis bamboo rod a few years back. Big mistake. If I remember, it was near $2000. Fortunately, I know myself well enough to know I'd trip over a branch and snap it in two, so I stopped wishing.

My favorite 5wt is my T & T rod that I actually won in a contest at at flyshop. I also really love my Scott 9.5 foot 8wt. The extra length helps to mend line without tiring me out. Plus it has enough backbone to manage chums (at least the average sized ones). Plus...it comes with a lifetime warranty. Very important to the coordination challenged.

[reeldick]

While fishing in the Yellowstone area years ago I had the chance to use a friends Orvis Manchester, split bamboo rod. It was by far the smoothest I have ever thrown a cast with. It was an old rod, early sixties manufacture date.

[Old Coot]

The rod that has been my favorite to cast is, I'm almost ashamed to say it after those high-dollar posts, a Sage Discovery 10 weight. It is an automatic casting machine, smooth and efforthless. With a little muscle added, it becomes a cannon, booming out long casts when needed. Unfortunately, it's a little heavy for mountain trout.

I have an older Gloomis 9 foot 4 weight, maybe a GL2? that works wonders for me, too.

[Steelie28]

Sage 389LL. Finest 3wt. made in my opinion. I've also cast the Fibertouch and found very nice, but the 389 is my fav. Hey, I'm a steelhead now!

Steelie28

[garyk]

Hard to have a favorite.... some are powerful, and just bang out the cast, which is really helpful with shooting heads, heavy lines, heavey flies and such. While others allow finesse, like throwing precision slackline casts.

In general, I prefer more moderate, slower action rods especially for trout fishing.

My favored rod here is one a friend gave me over 20 years ago. It's like 8'4" for a 4/5. An un-sanded blank, it may be an Orvis or an old Kennedy-Fisher - I don't know. With it I can fish the upper Metolius, Silver Creek or bang out long casts on the upper section of the Rogue's 'Holy Water'.

[troybuz]

Getting back to Steve Kiley Rods!!!!!!!!!!!! :tongue:
Steve is my neighbor so I can honestly say I have been to his shop. He builds a beautiful rod (small shop, great rod).
On another note, I was talking to AJ Thramer the other day (Thramer Rods, Eugene Oregon). AJ (an old friend of mine from 20 years ago) has a world reputation for his tapers. Bottom line, AJ told me that he would buy a Kiley Rod...no question about it. He really likes what Steve is building; and said Steve is one of the true honest businessmen.
Happy Fishing,
Troy

[ 11-04-2003, 04:41 PM: Message edited by: BuzzerBabysBigBrother-BBBB ]

[straightweave]

My fav is a 7 1/2ft 5 wt custom Fennewick fiberglass rod that I bought when I was in college. Just great for small streams and those little clackamas tribs. Made the mistake of taking it to the deschuttes for the Salmon Fly hatch several Memorial days ago. Lost every fish that took the fly. But it sure was fun getting that close to big fish rippin bugs off the bushes. Something I had never experienced before.

[troybuz]

With a Kiley Rod there is only one "Perfect" choice.
Hardy....I mean, hardly a choice :tongue:
Troy

[Bubzilla]

I'm with Steelheader69 regarding the Sage RPLs. My favorite was the 8100 two piece, though. Truly awesome steelheading rod. Had a few banner days on the North Umpqua with that rod. Honestly, I think it was the last rod I ever fished with and said "wow" to myself. Shouldn't have let her get away from me.

Fished with a 590-3 SP+ for a few years. That was a cannon. Pretty stiff tip was my only complaint--had a tendency to seperate me from large trout when using small tippet. Surely I had no role in that equation!?

You know, fly rods are a lot like women. Each is beautiful in their own way, but some are just better company than others. And there are only a few that you'd want to spend your whole life with.

[lilnorthfork]

only a few that you'd want to spend your whole life with.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Bubzilla, do you live in Oregon or Utah? :grin: I'm just glad you didn't say fly rods are like women, a guy is lucky to own one (If my wife is lurking, it's just a joke, really). [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

[Bubzilla]

I didn't mean a few at one time. [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] I meant you only encounter a few that would make the cut--then settle on one, or two, or...ahh...ummm.... I better quit while I'm ahead. :blush:

[HappyFishers]

Hand built St. Croix 6wt. by Drifter24. Hands down...(truth be told I haven't tried that many-or a spey rod yet).

Of course with that Kiley rod you would have to put a reel of comparable quality on it.

[o-mykiss]

Sage (can't remember the model) is the best rod I've ever cast. My reddington wayfarer 5 wt casts pretty well also, but is not as responsive as the Sage.

[Slow and Low]

My favorite rod is a 690 ds I bought used at cadis fly way back. Made the mistake of selling it to a friend and upgrading??? I also enjoy a 389 ll which is a joy to cast not to land. I have a trusty Scott SAS 9'6" that's been in business for a long time. A friend spent all the $$ on a RPL 8wt, I cast it and prefer the Scott.

[Steelheader69]

Slow and low, that's where personal preferences come into play. Like I've told people, in long run, test the rod out. I tried the Scott series, and wasn't impressed, and bought my original RPL rod.

[draggin bottom]

Don at RC lent me a Winston BL5 once upon a time. I really enjoyed that rod. It really suited my casting style. Which is "can't cast but to dense to know it"
DB

[Tanner]

The rod I preffer to cast with is my 7.5 ft Loomis IMX 3 weight.

The rod I have had the most fun casting is a Lamiglas IM7 (I think) 12 weight that I bought for a trip to Mexico. The power of that rod to shoot a heavy grained shooting head was incredible. 100' casts were nothing. Of course I have not used the rod since and that was like 7 years ago that I went down there.

[Pete]

Tough question ... so often the best rod depends on the situation!

For long casts, and windy places like the Deschutes love the fast action of Scott rods.

For the Yellowstone / No. Idaho streams where light tippets and subtle presentation matters, I like the Orvis 5 weight Spring Creek or Henry's Fork rods (did I remember the names right?).

But for absolute feel, the slow, deliberate action of a nice cane ... the feel that doesn't go faster than my feeble mind can comprehend ... is blissful to cast. I don't know the names of many of the canes I've cast. Each spring, the Angler's club of Portland has a casting picnic where one member used to bring a bunch of fantastic canes. Perhaps the one I remember best is a Hartzel, so I'll give my nod to that one.

[lost_sailor]

I got to make a few casts with a handmade split-bamboo 3 wt. - it was awesome, like it wasn't even there. Would have been fun to catch a fish on ... but this was the Metolius, where I've hooked a total of 4 fish in the last 30 years

It would have been useless in any kind of wind.

[blacktail]

It really depends on what you're using it for.

Though I don't presently own one, the Sage LL series feel great for me for light to medium action trout.

For something a little heavier, my Sage 590 SP does well.

Mike

[yooper]

I only fish with sticks I can afford. Just like buying cheap sun glasses, I'll lose them or break them every few years... :-)

I started out with St. Croix Rods, but now I'm using Diamondback. Best thing I ever did was lose my St. Croix 5 weight and force myself to buy the 5 weight Diamondback VSR series fast action. :-)

I used an 8 weight VSR moderate Diamondback this weekend on 3 Chums ( 15 pounds + ) and was impressed by the way it held up....

[TillamookChinook]

My first fly rod was a heavy fiberglass rod purchased from Gunson's Appliance store in Junction City in about 1960. They had a back corner in the store with fishing tackle, which was the only fishing tackle available in town. I bought a windup automatic reel to go with it. I think the fly line was double taper appeared to have a woven coated surface. I didn't know what a good rod felt like until my wife sent me to Kaufmann's for my birthday to buy all the components to make a rod about 15 years ago. That 6 wt. Sage rod casts like a dream. So that's what I had been missing!!

Then we went to Alaska about five years ago and I took the old heavy fiberglass rod along, with a fighting butt extension I had screwed into the bottom of the handle and my single action Cortland Crown reels with 8 wt. lines. I didn't want to risk breaking the Sage rod on salmon. I had a blast catching strong chums and active humpies on the old fiberglass and I didn't have to cast very far. It didn't seem like work casting when there were so many willing fish.

On our last day there we hired a floatplane for a half-day flyout and the guide had me try a demo 8 wt. Sage rod. What a difference!

So I got the Christmas present about three years ago to return to Kaufmann's and get the components for a Sage 8 wt. I found a nice Okuma reel with a dependable drag at Ollie Damon's across the street from my office.

I have always understood that a "balanced outfit" means the reel costs as much as the rod. So, I guess my outfits are not balanced. But I made the rods and I love casting them.

TC

[The Bad Fish]

Sage 690 RPL, built it when i lived in spokane. caught tons of trout with it, even landed a chum or two..

[Whiskey Dick]

I like a fast action rod, my favorite for summer run steelhead is the Loomis GLX 13' 8/9 two hander,For winter steelhead or throwing heavy sink tips the GLX 14' 9/10, in single handed rods 10'2piece 8wt GLX. For trout the 10' 2piece 5wt for nymphing and the 9' 4wt for dry fly work. I do like a long rod as i feel it helps me cover the waters i fish better. Yes i know i sound like a Loomis salesperson but i do have(or had) Sage, Scott, Winston and Thomas & Thomas rods but the Loomis rods are the ones i have found myself useing more and more over the past years. I did try a Scott 12'8" 7wt 2 hander this past summer at a show and think it would be a great summer steelhead rod for the Deschutes so i am probably going to get it next year and give it go next year so things could change(LOL),tight lines,brian

[MarlinMark]

My Winston 5 piece LT Trout rod in 3wt. 8'9" is the biggest dream to cast. I can't believe it's a 3 wt.

Mark

I thought it would be fun to update this.
I now own the best rod I've ever cast
I did some wheeling and dealing and got a Winston Boron II 9'6" for an 8 weight and it is a pleasure to cast.

[Riverkeeper]

I'm no glutton for expensive rods.

But, last December I cast Lilnorthfork's 3wt Sage VPS and wow that was kind of like getting a back rub.

[lilnorthfork]

Emphasis on 'kind of like'. I was downstream... way downstream.
Picked up a Powell Advantage 8wt and took it out to the Wilson yesterday for a test run. No problem roll-casting 30-40 feet of line (sure, BlueTipSpinner was roll casting into his backing on the D, but that dude ain't normal). Sweet rod... especially for $79.95 including shipping and a tube.

[wade]

I also own the best rod I've ever casted. I haven't casted very many but I've never touched anything that even comes close to it. Its a Burkheimer 10' 567 wt that I built.

Kevin

I know what you mean Wade I like my Winston so much I won't even let lilnorthfork touch it or even look at it

[Two Fister]

I'm glad that this got updated. Makes me stop to think about all of those rods I've been ignoring. I can't pick just one!
For trout, it's my 3 piece Winston WT 4 weight. Super smooth dry fly rod for Deschutes back eddie Caddis and PMDs.
For single handed steelhead, it's my Winston BL5 8 weight. Feels smooth and casts effortlessly, while being capable of blasting line out into the wind.
For double handed steelhead, it's my Sage 7136, which is a 13'6" 7 weight traditional spey. As long as your casting a dry spey line there's nothing that I've cast that compares.

[Slow and Low]

Two Fister,

I bought a 7136 last winter and struggled with sink tips. I later met a couple of pretty famous spey guys in the issaquah and Carnation area. If you choose try the rio windcutter 9-10-11 with the belly removed. Everything is looped. The weight is perfect, albeit their is no belly. I have found this set-up to be extremely fishable. I have another spool for my dry line. [image]c:\Documents and Settings\ssickle1\My Documents\My Pictures\xcowbeach.bmp[/image]

I agree this is an awesome rod.

[Slow and Low]

Sorry, the versa tip not the windcutter. The 7-8-9 wincutter works for a dry line.

[Mark Vickers]

Interesting thread, especially the fact that a majority of the responses have been bamboo with their slow supple feel.

That smacks right in the face of all the rod marketing that is going on right now as the rods are getting higher modulus graphites and faster and faster actions. Seems to me that eventually with that paradym, we'd eventually all go to ultra fast rods that are essentially just broomsticks with no flex at all.

[Two Fister]

Slow and Low,
I know what you mean about the sink tip on the 7136 Sage. I have the 7/8 Rio Windcutter for that rod. I can handle the intermediate clear tip with the belly attached, but anything heavier just isn't happening. I decided to just use that rod for the dry line and bought a 9140 for using with tips. I bought the 9/10 Midspey for the big stick and it can really belt the line out. It was a real toss up between those two speys as I like them both an awful lot. I think I like the 7136 better simply because I like to fish with a dry line whenever I can.
TF

I guess fiberglass is making a comeback. Hardy sells one

[mandinga]

If I had to pick one I would say that the Scott S3's are the best "casting" rod I have ever owned. One problem, I have broken 4 Scott S3's(their service dept. is awesome!)

If I had to pick my favorite all around rod I would say that my Winston LT-5 PIECE 5 weight is my favorite rod because it casts so nice, weighs almost nothing and I can store it in my shoe!


The sage rplxi's come in a close second in the casting category. They are the best saltwater rod out there IMO. Too bad they don't make them anymore

[mandinga]

Interesting thread, especially the fact that a majority of the responses have been bamboo with their slow supple feel.

That smacks right in the face of all the rod marketing that is going on right now as the rods are getting higher modulus graphites and faster and faster actions. Seems to me that eventually with that paradym, we'd eventually all go to ultra fast rods that are essentially just broomsticks with no flex at all.

Only if the thread was titled "best rods to hang on your wall, or put in your safe!"

Years ago before the graphite explosion I had a couple of cane rods An Orvis and an HL Leonard :depressed: alas those are just memories now because back in those days bamboo was still within reason cost wise. Today? forget it

[rob allen]

I have to agree with Wade the 10' 567 Burkheimer is an awsome rod but then so is the 9'4" 7-8-9 it's sooo hard to decide

[MarlinMark]

For pure casting enjoyment I have to pick my Winston LT 5 in 3wght. For longer casts or wind I love my Scott S3 4 piece is an "elegant" cannon (as I refer to it.) I've never casted a "boo" rod and plan on refraining forever. :smile: I met a gentleman at Hosmer one time that offered his "boo" rod for me to cast. I politely declined stating that I don't need to expose my self to something that I will undoubtedly love but shouldn't get hooked on. That's how I got into the Winston. My buddy had one and said "here, fish this, you'll love it....maybe you shouldn't. Because, after you cast it-Bam there goes Nick's college fund." :smile: He was right. Only my lovely wife and my boys gave me one for Father's Day that summer. They truly love me and care for my mental health.

Mark

Mark

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

SAGE SPLCA 4 Weight, with the reel built in, this rod fish's like a dream.!!