Help W/ Fly Rods

[Clay Goforth]

The situation: My business is looking into expanding into the building of fly rods

The background: I know fly fishing basics as far as casting, stripping line, etc.

The problem: I don't know the first thing about fly rod weights, preferred lengths, preferred actions, and so on...

I need to have some pretty in depth discussions with as many people as I can who are fly fishermen about their preferences in fly rods. They don't have to be lengthy, just somewhat detailed about what you like.

If you are interested in helping a fellow fisherman learn more about an area in which I am not well versed, please reply to the thread or send me a PM. I really appreciate any help that can be offered and I look forward to learning from the people on this forum who seem to have so much knowledge on this particular subject.

[wgm]

The situation: My business is looking into expanding into the building of fly rods

The background: I know fly fishing basics as far as casting, stripping line, etc.

The problem: I don't know the first thing about fly rod weights, preferred lengths, preferred actions, and so on...

I need to have some pretty in depth discussions with as many people as I can who are fly fishermen about their preferences in fly rods. They don't have to be lengthy, just somewhat detailed about what you like.

If you are interested in helping a fellow fisherman learn more about an area in which I am not well versed, please reply to the thread or send me a PM. I really appreciate any help that can be offered and I look forward to learning from the people on this forum who seem to have so much knowledge on this particular subject.

Clay - as a consumer... I will reply with one thought that is very appealing to me in a fly rod manufactuer...

That is a 100% No Fault Warrantee with a Lifetime Guarantee - No questions asked, with maybe one stipulation, that being the buyers agrees to pay to send the rod back with maybe something like a $20.00 to $25.00 fee for processing/handling & return shipping cost.

[vanven]

Zack Matthews has a great site with some of his published articles available under the Articles section here:

http://www.itinerantangler.com/podcasts/articles/

They also have a great forum with a lot of good information.

A few of the articles discuss the creative and testing processes for new rods as well as the new hybrid spey rods. The new hybrid rods may be one of the next leaps in technology and one of the fastest growing sections of the fly fishing industry. That is IF it really takes off.

I think the general consensus is that the fly fishing market is a tough place to make a buck. There is a lot of competition for a limited market. Quality products do tend to rise to the top quickly though.

-Jerod