TackleTour

I own the following fly rods:

Sage ZXL 590-4
Scott G2 844-4
Orvis Hydros 865-4
Winston Passport 590-4
Redington Pursuit 690-4

Does cost and origin really matter to you? My ZXL is nice and cast great, but my Passport that I got on sale for $139 casts just as nice for me. Does anyone fall into the bias that more expensive equals better? Granted, I know this can be true sometimes, but there are a lot of budget priced rods out there that offer really good performance for the price. What are your thoughts or experiences?

Price to me is not the telling factor- getting the rod characteristics I want is much more important.

Big-Bass wrote:I own the following fly rods:

Sage ZXL 590-4
Scott G2 844-4
Orvis Hydros 865-4
Winston Passport 590-4
Redington Pursuit 690-4

Does cost and origin really matter to you? My ZXL is nice and cast great, but my Passport that I got on sale for $139 casts just as nice for me. Does anyone fall into the bias that more expensive equals better? Granted, I know this can be true sometimes, but there are a lot of budget priced rods out there that offer really good performance for the price. What are your thoughts or experiences?

I have yet to really find a tipping point with fly rods. They all do the same thing, throw a fly line to get a fly out there. It comes down to personal preference and how you want the rod to act, be it a fast or moderate tip. I think expensive carbon rods are less important with fly casting as you are usually watching for a dry fly to be sucked up, stripping a streamer and feeling the hit, or watching an indicator go down. That and the fly line is one large indicator, just like bright braid. No major need for ultra sensitivity. If the higher end blank casts nicer for you, then by all means that is the rod for you. To me it all comes down to what rod works with what line and what casting style I have.

Ive owned several brands of fly rods. Sage is my favorite, probaby because of the snooty "i own this you dont" aspect. I also own TFO, and for the money they are hard to beat.

I also have two eagle claw featherlights that run about $16 a peice. They are pretty dang fun

I would say costs matters because of the component & build quality that usually buys you.

The TFO BVK is a pretty darn nice casting rod. That said, the cork (handle) left a lot to be desired compared to the NRX & Xi3 rods that I owned at the same time. Did the GLoomis & Sage rods cast 3X better than the TFO? While they were able to handle the shooting head (sinking) & Rio Outbound Short lines better, no way were 3X better.

civicrr wrote:I would say costs matters because of the component & build quality that usually buys you.

The TFO BVK is a pretty darn nice casting rod. That said, the cork (handle) left a lot to be desired compared to the NRX & Xi3 rods that I owned at the same time. Did the GLoomis & Sage rods cast 3X better than the TFO? While they were able to handle the shooting head (sinking) & Rio Outbound Short lines better, no way were 3X better.

Just buy the cheaper blank and build your own with quality components. Most fly rod manufacturers offer their rods as blanks as well. I have a TFO TiCr 5wt I built. Supergrade cork, alconite stripping guide, fancy aluminum reel seat, etc.

Well.....one problem is that the BVK doesn't cast like a Method, Salt or NRX, at least not in 8wt. Perhaps I wasn't being completely honest with myself in my earlier post.

I think one thing that does intrigue me about flyrods is how the blanks cast when they are truly pushed. One of the original questions, that being of sensitivity, very rarely comes into play for how & what I fish for. How the rod handles a load when pushed, that does. I'd even venture to say that the characteristics of a flyrod blank are more important than those of conventional rods.
Could I be happy fishing a BVK or the (older) Redington CPX?

There was a time when I was trying to get myself to be satisfied with the 'mid-price' rods. Using them, I didn't catch any less fish. While they typically weren't as pretty, who really looks at a rod when casting or fishing. No seriously - a 'pretty' rod doesn't make you a better fisherman. Truly, one of the joys if not the joy, of fly fishing, even throwing shooting heads, is in the beauty of the cast. It goes way beyond the mechanics of casting. Having used a certain level of rod, having experienced the 'feel', I did not feel as fulfilled when using 'other' equipment.

That isn't to say that all 'high end' fly rods excite me. The Pro Axis & NRX 1-piece rods are certainly considered expensive and/or high end equipment. They were definitely powerful rods. Unfortunately, in my hands, I found that they seemed to be lacking 'soul'.

I got a Pro 4X 10' 7wt. a few years ago for Christmas from my boss and I loved it. I only had it for a few months and lent it to my buddy (which he later bought from me) when I picked up the Sage ONE 10' 8wt.

I could immediately tell the difference and even when we go out and I cast his I feel notice how much easier the ONE is to cast.

The lowest end rod I own is a Redington VAPEN 9' 6wt. and it feels great. Fast and stiff. Great for streamers and nymphs in rivers and ponds.

I can admit I've spent maybe a bit too much money on fly rods but I'm always buying stuff, trying it out, and then selling it if I don't like it.

I've owned Hardy Zenith's (9' 5wt. and 10' 5wt.) which were unbelievably light and sensitive, and so easy to cast; and even have a Hardy Pro-Axis 9' 9wt. (which is currently for sale) which I find to be too heavy for my preference (although I've only taken it out once and didn't have the proper line). These rods are considered high end and definitely perform at that level.

I find with fly rods especially, cost plays a bigger role... especially if you're not an expert caster. A high end rod makes casting so much easier.

My fly rods at the moment:

Sage Circa 8'9" 5wt.
Redington 9' 6wt.
Hardy Pro-Axis 9' 9wt.
Sage ONE 10' 8wt.
Sage Method 11'9" 8wt.
Sage Method 12'6" 7wt.
Sage ONE 13'6" 8wt.

... and I have a 13' 10wt. ONE being built

I think I have a problem

What sucks is that I can't answer these questions until I really use a broad range of rods.

I remember when I first started fishing with conventional stuff, I used to think there wasn't too much difference between higher end rods and lower end rods, except the most obvious (weight, design, etc). But as far as the actual fishing aspect of it, I didn't see a difference.

I just picked up a Hardy Zenith 864 which is definitely going to be a change from my current Sage Vantage. I think the more I start fishing it, I will be able to gauge better whether cost really does matter. It's hard to do so when your rods are low end, like mine.

Under 8' or 8'6, you can find very good "cheap" rod. As an exemple, I have a Winston Passport in 8'6 line 4 and it's a great smooth rod. Things become more complex with longer rods and powerful rods. I don't say that you need to spend 700 $ to have a good rod in these lenghts and powers but the best ones will cost high.

The best value for money, IMHO, is in the custom rods. You will find excellent rods, perfectly adapted to your needs, for 500-600 $, less if you build them yourself. That's the way I go today, after having own quite a few industrial high end rods and I'm very happy ! Rodbuilding is not so hard !

I loved my old Orvis "One Ounce" Superfine... it cost me dearly back in the day... I spent some "extra" student loan money on it.. back in 1994 it cost me $300.. at the time I was doing a project for my bachelor degree and picked Apple as company for the future and a great investment... My professor agreed and I got an A. I considered buying $500 of Apple stock...but I bought that Orvis Superfine with a Battenkill Reel and line for about $450.

If I had bought the Apple stock it would be worth $48,000 today...

I had a ton of fun with the rod but NOT $48,000 worth...

Bryin wrote:I loved my old Orvis "One Ounce" Superfine... it cost me dearly back in the day... I spent some "extra" student loan money on it.. back in 1994 it cost me $300.. at the time I was doing a project for my bachelor degree and picked Apple as company for the future and a great investment... My professor agreed and I got an A. I considered buying $500 of Apple stock...but I bought that Orvis Superfine with a Battenkill Reel and line for about $450.

If I had bought the Apple stock it would be worth $48,000 today...

I had a ton of fun with the rod but NOT $48,000 worth...

$48K will buy a lot of gear.

The larger the rod , the easier it is to appreciate quality parts and build.
You may be just fine ( possibly not notice a great difference) with your old IM6 'decent brand ' 3 weight. Try casting that baby in a 9 weight all week for muskie in 40 temps.
The free market seems to say that if people buy without twisted arms something purchased is worth at least exactly that amount.