new rod

[Colin Brett]

idahosofthackle:

 Also when buying a rod you get what you pay for.  If it is on sale great, other wise you are just buying a cheap(er) fly rod.

While agreeing with your statement in principle, it isn't always the case.

You can say "you get what you pay for", but in my opinion, you can also very easily pay for more than than you are getting. One thing I don't wish to buy is a rod that is expensive because of the snob value and the replacement guarantee. The guarantee is fine if you break lots of rods and need to replace often, but if like me, you only rarely have a breakage problem, it just ain't worth it.

I have used loads of different rods and can adjust to using any of them, hence my £55 20year old Fibatubes still work for me but are getting a little bit shorter as the spigots/joints wear.

So I will be buying some new rods soon, but they won't be S, L, O, or the like.

Anyone know of rods that DON'T have snake rings fitted?

 

My humble 2 pence worth.

 

Colin

[argyll]

idahosofthackle, perhaps it would help to understand our differing philosophies on rod buying if you knew that in the UK the average price of a top of the range Sage, Loomis, Redington Thomas and Thomas is the dollar equivalent of $1100-1350. It does make you more conscious of value for money when you are faced with that kind of price. I'm in no doubt at all that the best fly rods generally come from the USA, but not everyone can afford them. My Redingtons and Loomis came 'used' from Ebay.com. They are fine rods and I still have the lifetime guarantee even as a second owner and at half the price or less. I wouldnt even dream of walking into a UK fishing store and shelling out £500-700 for just one new rod.

[jim doyle]

re fly rods

for the occasional fisherman the greys grx series is brilliant ,it comes with a life time warrenty.

[jim doyle]

re fly rods again ,

I spend quite a bit of time fly fishing. As I said before greys produce a good reliable range of rods, Ive a couple of their products. In the main I use a loomis glx or a sage rpl both 10ft, the 2 rods are as different as chalk and cheese. The loomis is a tighter less forgiving rod, which can batter a line out in most conditions, the sage is a lot slower but still throws a fair line. I teach the odd beginer and without doubt the sage is the easiest rod to learn with, as for price, Ive never had to pay the full cost price for any tackle,use the internet and its surprising what you can find, theres at least one british sight selling new loomis rods (new) with 200pounds off.I managed to buy the sage and the loomis for less than the price of the loomis!both have their guarantees.

[Big Troot]

Okay dokay

[idahosofthackle]

Sorry about the money issue. I hit a touchy subject. Because of my love for fly fishing I do not think twice if I want something. This is not always practical for everyone but it works for me. I however ALWAYS test everything on the water before I buy it. That way I know if it works the way I want it to. Too many people purchase with no knowledge of what they are buying. This makes for some unhappy people and some great sell prices for the rest of us. I did not know Sage and Loomis cost you so much when you buy them through a local fly shop. I do believe you could find one online for a lot less. Or you could plan a fishing trip in the USA, and bring one home. I do not know what the vat would cost but why not have one shipped from the USA. If you go to the site below you can buy a Sage XP for between $515.00 & $615.00.

 

http://www.cabelas.com

 

Some people buy rods because they are a status symbol. Others buy the high end rods because they can use the rod for a purpose. I personally like Loomis GL3 which you can buy for between $265.00 & 420.00. This rod can also be bought at http://www.cabelas.com I personally do think you get what you pay for. That is why steak tastes better than ground beef. Same cow just better taste. However if you look hard enough you can find some might good ground beef. It just takes a lot of looking. Personally my favorite rod is one I build. It cost me $65.00. My second favorite is a Winston. It cost much more.

[phil dean]

Hi Idaho, for me the issue is that my first love is not fly fishing. fly fishing is a branch of the sport I enjoy, but I would rather be out trotting a stick float with a centrepin reel catching chub and barbel.

 

to do that I would have to travel 40 -50 miles to fish. Alternatively I have some of the best salmon and sea trout fishing England has to offer, 150 yards from my house.

 

I will pay alot for the right centrepin and rod combination. For the fly, I am still trying to find a style as gives me anywhere near the same pleasure as the chub or barbel fishing.

 

Added to that, I also carp fish, pole fish (long poles of carbon (mine is 12 metres in length, made of ultra light carbon) which is also expensive, and sea fish (which is what I'm leaving to do now)

 

before I commit to big money, I must know that this is something worth doing.

[argyll]

Hi idahosofthackle. buying from the US has become second nature to some of us. I almost built a boat from cabelas parts. The biggest restriction on rod buying from the US has been rod length. Anything that packs above 42 inches long has been impossible or ridiculously expensive to ship. Multi piece rods are obviously easier. VAT and Duty adds another 25%, post and pack adds usually another $30-40. still a good deal. The best bargains are to be had from US ebay tho' Its not hard to get a barely used quality rod for a third of the UK price.

[jim doyle]

loomis blanks are availble to buy in britain, imx and gl3 . I go to france now and again and have bought 2 loomis rods for less than a hundred pounds! I too dont tend to justify what I spend on fishing although I do like a bargain. I fly fish at three times a week during the summer, the rest of the time I carp fish(just joking I go to work for one day) I can cast the same distance with most rods its just I like good gear!