New Affordable Rods From Loomis

[Brian Wise]

I'd be hard pressed to come up with $2.85 right now

I know too well what you are talking about Terry! At least we could buy a gallon of gas with less than $2.85 now.....and I do believe that would be enough gas to get me to the river!

Brian

[Greg]

Just like so many things "affordable" is very subjective and depends on the individual person's perceptions, income, lifestyle, etc, etc.

For years I thought all top of the line fly rods were bogus. Just not worth the price at all. Then I made the mistake of casting a Sage SLT and had to have one.....

Thanks for the info Brian,

Greg

[Crippled Caddis]

Greg wrote:

<Just like so many things "affordable" is very subjective and depends on the individual person's perceptions, income, lifestyle, etc, etc.>

Absolutely true-----and in spades! Since I now fit the 'Fixed Income' appellation I tend to examine with experiencially jaundiced eye the claims of unheralded excellence from gear manufacturers that are meant to lead the great unwashed to believe that all that has passed before is now passe', surpassed by incalculable margins by the latest breakthroughs in materials, design, technology and manufacturing advancements. Such claims tend to send my BS detector into critical overload. The last quantum step was the advent of graphite and everything subsequent is merely incremental in nature when the BS is boiled away. Some of the Luddites among us, myself included, haven't yet succumbed to the idea that the advent of graphite was an unqualified success. A very good case can be made that fiberglass was supplanted long before the limits of the material itself had been reached. I own (and fish!) bamboo, fiberglass and graphite. I enjoy certain aspects of all three materials. But the 'fishability' of a rod lies more in the execution of the design, no matter the material, than in any inherent superiority of the material used. Great rods can be made from all three basic materials. The difference is in execution.

<For years I thought all top of the line fly rods were bogus. Just not worth the price at all. Then I made the mistake of casting a Sage SLT and had to have one.....>

Predicating everything on the presumption (Yes---I DO understand the acronym---ASSUME) that the Sage is in the $600 bracket, is it truly worth $580 MORE than a $20 W-M Shakespeare? Can you catch 30 times more fish with the Sage? Or fish that weigh 30 times as much? Or enjoy it 30 times as much as a fisherman of equal ability fishing the $20 Shakespeare? Or is it worth 30 times as much to your ego? Indelicately phrased questions I realize, but very much to the point. Whatever your answers may be mine are a solid "No!" in each instance.

Today was 'bamboo day' and I fished a rod worth close to my monthly income. I caught some nice fish and enjoyed the day very much indeed. But in truth I would have enjoyed it fully as much had I fished a little rod I built in 2002 from an old fiberglass ultralight spinning blank. Or an early graphite 8', 6 wt. built on a blank made by EXXON! that is so sweet that I bought it back a year or two after I sold it in a weak moment.

The whole and entire object of this diatribe is to point out that not material, price nor brand name can supplant good design and execution in rods or any other of the gear we use in pursuit of our finny fantasies. And that we should never read the claims propounded by manufacturers or advertising flacks with other than great incredulity. Only our own preferences and experience can provide guidance in the selection of the gear we use. All else is hype and will-o-the-wisp in choosing the weapons of our choice. Ultimately, if it suits us the fish will be equally pleased. CC

[Greg]

CC you are absolutely right. A top of the line rod won't catch any more fish than a rod costing a tenth as much. Even my beloved Sage. Is it truly worth the $$ in any practical sense? Probably not.

I have several much less expensive rods that perform equally well in most ways. But I just get a lot of enjoyment out of it (the slt). I've yet to cast a smoother more versatile rod (IMHO). So by that measure it justifies the price to me. And sometimes a certain fly rod will just fit you like a glove. Can you really put a price on that?

Greg

[Brian Wise]

What was that $75.00 rod in 1952 compared to a $280 rod now?

I have had some nice debates with people over the last couple of years about this. It's the same with distance casting a lot of people just don't see a point in it but there are undeniable points for both distance casting and a "quality" fly rod. "To each his own" is thrown around a lot. I personally have an OLD bamboo rod that is pretty rough but I don't want to fix becuase of the history of that rod, a '70's model Fenwick 7 1/2' glass 6wt FF756 along with a couple graphite rods....I love them all. For most people I really do have to say it isn't an ego thing, you really don't hear that many people boasting about the $600 rods they fish.....shoot I have known Greg for a few years now and had no idea he had a nice Sage

I just really like to fly fish.

Brian

[Crippled Caddis]

Brian wrote:

<What was that $75.00 rod in 1952 compared to a $280 rod now?>

Factoring inflation into the mix the Phillipson was a considerably more expensive rod. Consider too that in that time frame you could walk into almost any sporting goods store or hardware store in the country and buy a serviceable bamboo rod by the likes of Montague or H-I for well under $10. Phillipson was a premium brand and it's reflected by their current value on the collector market.

[Danoinark]

From Singlebarbs Blog:

What color wraps do you want on your transparent rod

By KBarton10 on Oct 12, 2007 in current events

They’d better be really bright or that new rod is going to be sundered cleanly in your car door.

Singlebarbed is used to nano-technology, most of our fish defy measurement in integer numbers, so we’ve used nano-terminology to make them sound really big.

The rest of you had better crack the science books, as the next big material in rod construction may have its roots in nano-science.

This effect, coupled with the arrangement of the nanosheets in a brick-and-mortar structure, make the final product (as thick as a piece of plastic wrap) very strong. The developers say that the product could be widely available in a relatively short period of time.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a plastic stronger than steel using nano-building blocks. It may even be strong enough to resist them big feet of your partially inebriated fishing buddy, details are still sketchy.

Only two certainties we can count on; your spouse will balk when you insist you need one, and somewhere in the process the “nano” will be replaced by “mortgage busting credit killer” on the price tag.

[drew03cmc]

I just feel that anything over $150 is a waste of money. I have caught more fish on my $55 St. Croix Premier 4wt than a lot of people have on their $500 rods just because I fish them. I fish them like most people would not fish their more expensive rods for fear of breaking them. I do not have that fear. It is a cheap rod, it will break, I will replace it. I would have to make payments on my rod for over a year to get a $500 rod.

[Crippled Caddis]

Greg wrote:

< sometimes a certain fly rod will just fit you like a glove. Can you really put a price on that? >

Nope----that is priceless!

[Brian Wise]

I fish them like most people would not fish their more expensive rods for fear of breaking them.

I do have to say that if people have expensive rods (besides some insanely old antique rod) that they won't fish because they are scared that they will break them....THAT is horrible and is where ego probably comes in to play.

I am not trying to say that everyone should own a $500 rod, or even a $280 rod. I am just saying that everyone should own a fly rod so they will know what we love so much.

Brian