Rod Brands

[sjpresley]

Does anyone know of a web site that breaks down the qualities (or lack there of) of different brands of flyrods (and reels, I suppose). Or could anyone kind of list a few that are 1) high quality expensive, 2) decent quality and reasonably affordable, and 3) that should be avoided at all cost.

If it makes a difference, I am looking at getting a slightly lighter/smaller rod (7'6" to 8' and 3/4 wt).

Any recommendation are appreciated.

[lar42]

None come to mind at the moment but I'm sure you Google some up right quick. They shouldn't be too hard to find. As a side note, the President of Albright Tackle will be in CT for a couple of dates with the whole line of Albright Rods available to test out. Check these websites for dates and times. Might be worth checking out. I use an Albright Rod and I love it.

http://www.classicandcustomflyshop.com/

http://www.albrighttackle.com/2006site/page1.html

Good Luck!

[The Patriot]

What price range are you looking in?

I have an inexpensive Redington 7'6" 3/4 that I like very much. Redington has rods across a range of price points and a wide variety of configurations.

Some of the high end names that come to mind are Thomas and Thomas, G Loomis, Sage, Winston, Scott.....

Some mid price rods are available from Redington, St. Croix, and Temple Forks Outfitters, Albright.....

And in budget rods, St. Croix, Redington, Albright, Echo, and Temple Forks.

I have a St. Croix, two Redingtons, a Temple Forks, an Albright, a Cabela's Traditional. The only rod I'm not happy with is the Cabela's. Slow and sloppy....

Happy Shopping!

Jim

[sjpresley]

Well, you know how that goes, I might start with the idea of spending $100 or so, but soon that become $150, then increases slowly as I rationalize.

Right now I'm looking at a Redington setup, 8' 3wt, w/ reel, line, backing, tube, etc.

I'll check out some of the other brands you mentioned to see what I can find.

Thanks.

[gwad]

I just purchased a Winston Ascent 8ft. 3wt. and am very happy with it its light, casts well, and was not too expensive(179.00)

[Smoked Trout]

The best $100 rods available today are the Temple Fork Outfitters Series I IMO. They have a 7’6” 3 wt rod in this series that may meet your requirement. Redington makes a pretty good inexpensive rod as well. The bottom line here you should cast any rod before you buy it. No web site can tell you what rod will work in your hands. Good luck shopping.

Regards,

[George Adams]

I'll second the TFO as a good inexpensive rod. I have a 4 wt 8' that I like quite a lot. I have a number of rods ranging from a Cabela's 3 Forks 3wt, which actually is a decent little rod, up to an Orvis Battenkill Bamboo, and a bunch of stuff in between. You really should cast a rod before you make a purchase, but if you are really inexperienced, you'll develop a casting style to fit the rod, rather than accepting or rejecting a rod based on your casting style.

[sjpresley]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the opinions. I learned to fly fish pretty much on my own in 1993, then moved out of the country a year later and then to Texas a couple years after that (which is pretty much still out of the country) until this past January. So I dusted off my fly fishing stuff and got back on the water. The only rods I've ever owned were bought at a flee market for 15 bucks, at Wal-mart for $20, and from Cabella's (a stout rod for Pike fishing, which came to a sad end).

What do you suggest I do to be able to cast some rods before I buy them? I live in Ashford (about 10 miles east of Storrs), is there a good shop around here I should know about?

Thanks again.

By the way, I don't have much "casting style". I have mostly fished small streams (here I've been fishing the Fenton and Mt. Hope so far), so my style is usually find an opening were I have some room to cast and use whatever angle necessary to hit my spot......the problem is, if you give me a large open area, I just don't know what to do with it, it's like I loose my concentration since I don't have to worry about overhanging branches.

[The Patriot]

I have a TFO 9' 5wt, and a Redington 7'6" 3wt, both under $100, both fine rods for the money. Cast 'em and choose what feels best to you...

[Smoked Trout]

Up Country Sports carries both TFO and Redington fly rods and Classic and Custom Fly shop carries Albright rods. You can test cast rod there.

Try this:
1. pack your fishing gear up
2. drive to New Hartford
3. cast a few rods
4. buy the one you like best
5. take your new rod to the Farmington river
6. catch a bunch of fish
7. return home with a big smile, found memories and a new rod

Sounds like a perfect day to me, other than eating a slice of pizza at Portabellas and smoking a fat hand rolled cigar, did I miss anything guys?

[sjpresley]

8. Relaxing with a nice homebrew once you get home? I'd probably go with an APA.

[Hot Tuna]

I'll kick in and suggest you check out the Echo Classic and Echo 2 rod lines designed by Steve Rajeff formerly of the Sage rod company.
Dave at Classic and Custom carries these...the 9 foot 4 weight classic looked and felt very nice..reminiscent of the old Sage LL series of rods.
The Echo 2 apparently comes with 2 tips of differing action giving you more versatility with one rod.
Hope that helps,
Hot Tuna 8)

[girouxfish]

I have the same rod as 3 weight. Redington 7'6" 3/4 wt. I agree it is a great rod for the money. About $60.

Don

[Ray]

High Quality Expensive: Gatti, Sage, T&T, Winston
Decent quality and reasonably affordable: Albright
That should be avoided at all cost.: St Croix, TFO, Orvis

[The Patriot]

OH! FOUL!! :P :wink:

I very much like my TFO and my St. Croix! I'm very satisfied with both. And I know several other folks who are too! Monday I talked to several anglers, and at least 3 or 4 others were all fishing TFO rods. And I have spoken to many others with St. Croixs... all satisfied customers, no complaints.

Try the rods for yourself before you take anyone's word for anything....

(That's just not right..... :wink: )

The first rod I got was a St. Croix entry level 9' 5wt for $90. Wanna hear about a warranty? I broke SIX of them. SIX!! :oops: And got the rod replaced each time.... a few times by the store, and the rest from the manufacturer. I closed one tip in the car door, one in the door of my brother in law's van, one I smashed the reel seat in the car door, and I left one on the roof of my truck which was subsequently run over. (The rod, not the truck... :wink:)

The other two, I don't know what happened; I think I might have hit them with a split shot or beadhead and made a nick, which broke the next time I strung the rod up.

I have since learned to be much, much more careful, and have not broken a rod since. (Although I did leave my brother in laws 9' 5wt Pfleuger on the roof of my truck last June in Roscoe :? ... but it was recovered unharmed. :oops: )

BTW, regarding the Redington 7'6" 3/4 weight, there are three different budget models. The $60 rod is the entry level, the $95 rod is the step up, and the next one up is about $160. The one I have is the $95 rod. They came out with the $60 model the following year. I honestly don't know what the difference is (besides $30 :roll: ), maybe nothing.... not for nothing, just as a point of discussion..... :wink:

[Smoked Trout]

I have to respectfully disagree wish Ray on this one. I own rods from all the makers on your “avoid at all cost” list and I do not believe that there is any reason to avoid St. Croix, TFO and Orvis fly rods.

A quick rundown:

St Croix’s customer service was somewhat weak but not horrible. Their rods are priced fair for what you get.

TFO rods are very good if you can get past the fact they are made in Korea. Their customer service is quite good.

Orvis has some very good rods, particularly their Super Fine series (if you like slow rods). Their customer service is great. Yes they do sell sweaters to yuppies.

These rods may not be world class but, I fish them regularly and I own high end rods from Sage, Winston, T&T and Loomis. I can see any reason to shun these rod makers.

[pvansch1]

I haven't fished a plastic rod in years.
I have been up to LL Beans for their spring fling thing and really like their Stream Light series which they used for the casting clinics.

Pete

[Flyone73]

I disagree with Ray ,respectfully. TFO, St. Croix are great rods for the money. Sure you can go out and spend $500, but most of the people dont want to spend that kind of cash. If i were to buy an reasonably priced rod I would definetly stick with TFO, or St. Croix. They cast great. Albright on the other hand has had some quality problems in the past couple years. The big wigs in the industry (sage, winston.ect.) are seeing the hurt that these companies(TFO, Croix, Redington) are causing them. Great performing rods for a fraction of the price. So they(big wigs) are also producing inexpensive rods now. The difference in these rods is that they are now being built over seas. They are also good rods. They have come along way from just a couple of years ago. Bottom line, choose a price range and go and cast them. Pick the one that compliments your casting ability. Enjoy your new rod.

[Ray]

3wt, you break a rod 6 times and still consider it a good rod??? Your kidding right?? Twice you have no idea why it broke??

[Z Fisher]

Ray: I think 3wt would have broken the rode six times no matter which manufacturer made the rod. He seems to have a problem with where rods should be stored. :P

I only own two brands of rods. Not because I think they're great, but I've only been fly fishing for 3 years and haven't had time to acquire a great stable of rods. Give me time.

I started with Orvis rods and think they are very nice (6wt, 9' & 4 wt, 6'). They have a great variety of actions (mostly fast to med) and the customer service and warranty can't be beat, IMHO.

That being said, I bought a TFO rod last year (4 wt, 9') as a "visitor" rod so that I didn't have to give newbies my $400 Orvis' as they learned the ropes. It has become one of my favorite rods. It only cost $125 and casts very well.

I got one of the LL Bean starter rods for my boys to practice on and it's a dog. I would recommend staying aways from their bargain basement brand and going with something a little more upscale.

If you're fishing the Farmington, I would recommend starting with a 4 or 5 wt, 9' rod. The 4 or 5 wt gives you some backbone for playing the fish and the 9' will help you get some speed and distance on your casts.

As suggested above, you should also visit a store and try a few rods. I think Smoked Trout has the perfect plan for a new rod purchase.

[pvansch1]

Ray,
Looks like they need to fish 'boo - At least it can be fixed if it breaks!! :lol:
Pete

[Ray]

Pete, I agree!!

[The Patriot]

:lol:

Good debate!!

I'd love to try a bamboo rod.... maybe someday.... I've never cast one...

As for my St. Croix..... :oops: I abused the snot outta that rod! That was my own fault, not the manufacturers. The rod casts well and I caught my personal best inland stream trout, a 20 inch wild brown on the East Branch of the Delaware, on that rod and it performed well. Once I stopped slamming it in car doors and leaving it on top of the roof of my vehicles, and learned how to cast split shot and bead heads instead of smacking the tip on every other back cast, it was great, really.... :P :wink: :D

My point in mentioning the st. Croix story was that the dealer and manufacturer stood by the product and took care of me when there was a problem, even if it was my own fault. The only rod they didn't replace for me was the first one.... I didn't mention that one... that's the one I left on the roof of my old station wagon and lost....... :oops: :cry:

:lol:

[lar42]

I've been fishing an Albright Rod now for three years that cost under $100 and I love it. It seems to cast small flies and big streamers equally well. But I'm still novice so my opinion may not mean all that much! :) :wink:

[The Patriot]

My Albright 9' 3weight (an upper line model, $350) is may favorite rod. Hence my screen name.

And I don't leave it on the roof of my Suburban, or close it in the doors.... :oops:

:lol:

[pvansch1]

3 weight,
We will have to fish together sometime, I have a 7' 4wt bamboo that is a nice transition rod from graphite to bamboo. Also a 7.5' that I haven't determined what line it likes best, was shooting for a 5 wt, but so far it likes my 4wt silk. Although a WF5D peach works well.

Pete

[flygirl]

Smoked trout , I have to disagree with you about Orvis & their customer service ......what customer service ??? Their remedy for repairing the torn rubber bootfoot on a pair of 1yr old waders was "duct tape or use silcon adhesive""""" ...needless to say I told them where to put their duct tape. ! When the cork handle on my 3wt. silver label rod loosened up it was suggested I "apply epoxy under loose cork""" or " send us rod with $30 & we'll apply epoxy under cork "".....screw it !!!! I use it with a loose handle until I dropped my rocky mountain 3/4 reel....and the reel seat broke right off it. I'm told "thats not repairable BUT we have improved the rocky mountain reel with a large arbor should you consider purchasing a new orvis reel. I no longer consider purchasing ANYTHING ORVIS !!!!!
just my 2 cents........& I guess I needed to vent

Flygirl,

I’m sorry to hear things went so badly with Orvis for you. My experience with Orvis has been the diametric opposite. I have three specific instances in which I had what I would call very good service.

1) Broken rod sent out in early June during the height of fishing season, repaired and returned in 10 days.

2) Broken rod sent out, repaired and returned in roughly 18 days.

3) I dropped my Orvis reel and damaged the foot; the bent foot would not allow me to mount the reel on a rod. I went to the Orvis store in Avon to see if they would order me a new foot. The store manager immediately went to his reel case took out a brand new reel removed the foot and replace my damaged foot. I asked what the charge was and he said “don’t worry about it”.

Perhaps I’ve just lucky, but my experience with Orvis service has been good and I am inclined to believe my experience has not been atypical. A company can not stay in business for 150 years, regularly administering service as poorly as you have described above. Than again I could be wrong, just throwing 2 more cents into the kitty.

Note: I am not a hard core Orvis guy. I basically own one Orvis fly rod (1 out of 13 rods) and one pair of waders. I am in no way affiliated with the Orvis Company. I just like spouting off my opinions.


Regards,

[Smoked Trout]

The above post is from me, my apologies it's been a long day.

[Ray]

Pete, are you crazy?? Your going to let 3wt use a bamboo??? He should change his handle to "El Destructo"

[pvansch1]

Ray,
The pleasure of bamboo shall not be held back due to possible breakage, I build 'em to be fished, they ain't pretty, but they work!! LOL
Pete

[The Patriot]

Hey! I have 6 rods, and that St. Croix is the only one I have ever harmed!

OK, so I harmed it repeatedly.... but it's still the only one!

:P :wink: :D :lol:

[lar42]

Hey pvansch1,

I agree! You can't take 'em with you to that big honey hole in the sky! :wink: :D

[trouter203]

in regards to the comments about orvis, i only have experience with their waders. 3 pairs, 3 leaks, in 3 years. the bottom line is they only last a year. luckily for me, they gave me my money back and i bought a pair of simms. i don't think i would ever buy an orvis product again, although i do think they offer great customer service. they must have a huge margin on their products.
in regards to affordable rods, i just bought the winston vaper 9 weight for $289. i am not sure if it is made off shore or not, i did not see a sticker on it like the "made in china" one my ibis had on it. for $289, i am very happy with the rod. looks like it is built well and i think i can cast a bit farther with that than my sage rplx.

[steve B]

Flygirl,
was that the company customer service or the local shop. Because if they had said that to me I would have imediately asked to speak to the customer service manager. That is BS The one time I have used their customer service it was excellent got the waders back in 7 days and no charge. I have a pair of guide weights with 250 plus days of hard fishing without any problems& 4 year old silver lables ( one repaired ) as back up. Back to original question all of the suggestions for modest price rods are good ones. TFO, St.Croix , Albright, echo, redington , et al the mid priced rods out now are better than most high priced graphite rods 20 year ago . You really do need to test cast them , a rod Ray, 3 wieght , fly girl or I like may be totally wrong for you. By all means go to upcountry and CC both worth the ride ( I know I am just up the road from you) . The one bad thing about the northeast part of CT there are no fly shops around closest shop with a good amount of fly gear is in Enfield.

Steve

[flygirl]

cthighlands, that was customer service. Maybe it was the phase of the moon but they REALLY didn't care. 6yrs ago I stayed at an orvis lodge...Hubbards ...& had a bad experience. I won't go into detail because I don't like to write books on this web site but I will say that I complained to customer service & they responded right away because I took it all the way to the top management. It was Hubbards word against a group of 10 women flyfishers at the cost of $1600 each. Needless to say..since Hubbards pays them $10,000 a yr for an orvis endorsment...guess who's opinion didn't matter. They cordially apologized for our "bad time' & have a nice day.

[steve B]

Fly girl,
I totally understand were you are coming from. Even if they pay 20,000 a year the you were in the right and they should have done more then that. I had a bad experience with a guide out west in 87 and have not used a guide after that. Except for in New Brunswick were you have to when Salmon fishing ( he is a buddy so it is more like fishing with a friend). It is too bad they don't think a little more about what their customer service people do or say sounds like they have lost more than one customer that way. Tight lines

Steve

[Heckler]

High Quality Expensive: Gatti, Sage, T&T, Winston
Decent quality and reasonably affordable: Albright
That should be avoided at all cost.: St Croix, TFO, Orvis

Why avoid the TFO??? It's an awesome rod.

[Klinkhamer]

Built an 8'6" 5wt 5pc rod from a Forecast rod blank & kit for my Dad that I purchased on special from HookandHackle for $52. It was supposed to be a backup rod while we were in Yellowstone this August. He liked it so much he used it the whole trip and landed multiple large Cutthroats and Rainbows on this back-up. Casted and fished just as well as more expensive factory rods to him. We had some seriously windy days too in which it passed these tests with flying colors.
It would seem that todays $50-100 blanks are yesterday's $300 blanks I think.