Rod Buyers' Guide _ Article

[Guest flyfishBDS]

After contributing to another thread on buying rods, I thought it might be useful to post this article, reprinted from the Beaver Dam Store Report _ on how to select a rod.

CHOOSING A FLY ROD

WE ran this article by Steve last year, and with a bunch of water still running down the tailwater thought it would be worth running again. As you would expect we get lots of people coming in and asking advice on fly rod selection, and even more on the fly fishing forums we visit. Now you will often see Bryce and Steve out the front of the store swinging rods _ its not just fun and games _ both of them will pick apart new arrivals, at times refamiliarise themselves with the actions of older favorites and work on their skills, both casting and instructing, even in frosty weather. You won't find lunatics like ours, proudly showing callused hands from casting day in and out, at the big box stores. Steve, as a new gear columnist for Australia and New Zealand's premier fly fishing magazine Flylife, also brings a unique attitude, a bunch of experience, so here is his updated primer on fly rod selection.

"The first thing is deciding what sort of fishing you are going to be doing. Around here we mostly trout, smallmouth or largemouth bass so anything from a 00 weight to a 9 weight and from 6' to 14' long, so there are oodles of choices. On the other hand if its your first rod a 9' is hard to beat. Go for a 5-weight for trout, a 6 for smallies and an 8-weight for largemouth. After you have a basic rod in a class then you can look at more specific tools, or if you fish a particular style all the time. Generally shorter rods are fun for small streams, longer rods for bigger water. Look carefully at the sort of fishing you are going to be doing before selecting your tools.

For instance if you have a 9' 5wt and you want to chase largemouth go for an 8wt, rather than that sweet little 4wt you won't have much use for. The 8wt will also do the job for light salt and stripers. If white bass are your target then add a 6wt, you will also be able to use it for trout streamers. If you fish small streams a lot you might like a shorter fun rod in a 3-4 or 5wt.

"Then work out what do you want to spend. Budgets are important to all of us. Are you going to need a new reel and line as well. Buy the best line you can, save money if you need to on the reel (unless its for saltwater). Then comes the fun part, go find out what you like to cast. Never, Never, Never buy a rod without casting it.

"When you go looking ignore brands and to a certain extent price tags, or reputation. I cast a lot of rods from a lot of manufacturers and I say it over and over _ spend around $130 and better from any of the major fly rod manufacturers and you will get a quality product. Some brands like TFO have some rods under $100 which are worth buying but they are the exceptions to the rule. If you go cheaper or try the big box brands your probably going to outgrow the rod in a few months _ its what happened to me on my first outfit, I spent what was for me, a good chunk of change and three months later I basically threw it away and bought my first Sage and 11 years later I'm still using it. That is why you go to a real flyrod company!

Choosing a rod is really about what feels good in your hand not reputation or brand marketing. Now I love our Sages and TFOs and in fish with them all the time, but there are other great manufacturers out there too. In a way its like choosing a life partner, what is right for me isn't always right for you, but the search is easier and won't require therapy or legal advice.

We are more than happy to have you come in and cast our selection.

"Often the rod you really like might be not the one you dreamt about or saw in a magazine ad, it might even be a cheaper model. Keep and open mind and try as many as you can in the category you are looking for. And remember even within a rod series there are some variations. For instance generally I preferred SAGE XPs over SLTs, even though they are both great rods, its a personal thing. But I have just ordered my own 8'9" SLT 3wt which I have fallen in love with and fits me to a t and blew away my misconceptions about all SLTs.

"Don't be hesitant about casting in front of the fly shop "expert" we all get that performance pressure. It took me 18 months here in the store before I got comfortable with casting for people. We can all gain from casting advice, and if your "expert" is any good he will be able to offer some tips as well along the way _ everyone likes a freebie.

"When your casting the rod, try a few standard casts to get the feel. Then when your nerves are good, try some short accurate stuff, go back to some smooth midrange casts, and only then try some longer stuff. There is only a few situation which require truly long accurate casting to catch fish _ and most of them aren't around here. More often than not the porful rods are most useful for throwing heavy flies mid-distances

"Finally you might have the choice down to 3-4 rods. Look for the one which is a "no-think" rod. By that I mean the one you can cast without having to concentrate on your casting technique, instead you can think about your fishing. You will fish better and enjoy it more on the water.

"And fly fishing is supposed to be fun, right? _ Steve

[buffaloman]

Gentelman I have a problem in that I am a new-b, the rod that I own is a Garcia conolon # 2536 dry fly. The line sugestion is B-GBG-GBF-7F & 85, what would this relate to in the new lines, and I thought pro bass fly line

for now. Thanks Frank aka buffaloman

[Crippled Caddis]

< Choosing a rod is really about what feels good in your hand not reputation or brand marketing.------Look for the one which is a "no-think" rod. By that I mean the one you can cast without having to concentrate on your casting technique, instead you can think about your fishing.>

Bottom line!

Good article Steve. CC