Fly Fishing Rods

azmark · Nov 6, 2009

Recently I snapped one of my rods in CA's eastern sierras :a36:

and have had a miserable time trying to get it fixed. G. Loomis GL3 9' 5wt. It wasn't my "Aristocrat" of fly rods but it was one of my first rods. I plan on replacing it but I want to look into an ultra light rod, 1-3wt. I have Dan Craft custom wrapped rods but they don't have much of an option in lengths or weights.

Anyone have any recommendations or experience on Sage, Winston?

mmack66 · Nov 6, 2009

Who is Rod?

azmark · Nov 6, 2009

Fly fishing rod. Like a fishing rod/pole

danek · Nov 6, 2009

I don't think you could ever go wrong with a Sage, but they are awful proud of 'em. What is your definition of "ultra light"? 3wt? Sage makes some fantastic rods, but they make lots of speeds, so I would suggest that you find a local shop that will allow you to cast many different models and sizes. You may find that you really don't like the slowness of any ultralight, but a medium-fast 4wt fits the bill perfectly.

azmark · Nov 6, 2009

danek said:
I don't think you could ever go wrong with a Sage, but they are awful proud of 'em. What is your definition of "ultra light"? 3wt? Sage makes some fantastic rods, but they make lots of speeds, so I would suggest that you find a local shop that will allow you to cast many different models and sizes. You may find that you really don't like the slowness of any ultralight, but a medium-fast 4wt fits the bill perfectly.

I see they make at 00 wt but man they are very proud of their rods. I was thinking more in the line of a 1wt 8'-ish but it seems more and more makers are getting into this range bump it up to a heftier price. Odd since it's using less boron, graphite or whatever the rod is made of. I have 4 rods in 4wt vary in length. But a nice little rod for creeks and brooks would be a nice addition.

I went to Cabela's but they don't have that much of a selection.

danek · Nov 6, 2009

00wt? Ya, that's ultralight alright. My personal take is that any under 4 is so light that it doesn't make a huge difference because your casts are so incredible short and soft. Personally, I've never fished with anything less than a 3wt, so I can't really offer any opinions into the realm that you're questionning.

Suffice to say, I DO love fishing small streams, however. I've had competitions with buddies as to who can catch the smallest fish, and that's some of the best fishing experiences I've had.

Rudy Vey · Nov 7, 2009

Well, in the last years the prices for fly rods seem to have gone up quite good. My last acquisition was a Beulah rod and I love it. Other good rods are the Echo and Echo2 from Tim Rajeff. The Beulah rod and the Echo 2 come with two tips.

Icemanxxxv · Nov 7, 2009

Can you say TFO Also known as Temple Forks Outfitters. My Bro is a huge Fly fisherman. He Has the Gambit of Sage, Scott, Winston, and other esoteric. Swears he wish he had known about TFO long ago. Cause For the buck it'a a whole lot of BANG!

Tricky · Nov 8, 2009

Finally somewhere on this board where I feel like I can put forth some good info. If you are thinking to go ultra light, then by all means pass up every and all graphite (except the earliest ones). I find that the ultra light rods that are best are made of fiberglass. Particularly because you really can feel the rods totally load, even with the shortest casts. Also, roll casting is a dream with glass. Depending on how much you want to spend, you can have a spectacular rod fairly cheaply as fly rods go. Winston use to make some sweet, sweet glass rods, but I guess there wasn't enough of a following. Now, they are uber expensive. T&T is in the same boat, but not quite as nice casting.

Some builders I would HIGHLY suggest would be Steffen brothers and Mike McFarland. If you want one now... do yourself a favor and test cast the Hardy glass rods. For the price, I think they are silly awesome and a real treasure. There is also a world of vintage fiberglass rods to look at, but it is harder (meaning more expensive) to find lighter weight lines as they weren't the norm. For vintage rods, Phillipsons and Some of the smaller Fenwicks are really wonderful.

By all means, if you have any interest and I can help you in the right direction.

_JP_ · Nov 8, 2009

azmark said:
Recently I snapped one of my rods in CA's eastern sierras and have had a miserable time trying to get it fixed. G. Loomis GL3 9' 5wt.

Contact Loomis, they stand behind their products. The repair would probably consist of replacing the broken section. I broke a GLX 3wt once and shipped it back to them for repair, with a note that I needed it for a fishing trip in a couple of weeks. I got it back in time for the trip.

I do remember really liking Sage rods, and I think that I also liked casting the Winstons but I never handled those much.

jadam318 · Nov 8, 2009

This thread reminds me that I've been living in Montana since January and have yet to cast a fly line out here...(sigh)...

I don't really have any advice for you, though. I just don't have the experience, especially with rods as light as you're looking for. Let us know what you go with, though.

jadam318 · Nov 8, 2009

Tricky said:
Finally somewhere on this board where I feel like I can put forth some good info. If you are thinking to go ultra light, then by all means pass up every and all graphite (except the earliest ones). I find that the ultra light rods that are best are made of fiberglass. Particularly because you really can feel the rods totally load, even with the shortest casts. Also, roll casting is a dream with glass. Depending on how much you want to spend, you can have a spectacular rod fairly cheaply as fly rods go. Winston use to make some sweet, sweet glass rods, but I guess there wasn't enough of a following. Now, they are uber expensive. T&T is in the same boat, but not quite as nice casting.

Some builders I would HIGHLY suggest would be Steffen brothers and Mike McFarland. If you want one now... do yourself a favor and test cast the Hardy glass rods. For the price, I think they are silly awesome and a real treasure. There is also a world of vintage fiberglass rods to look at, but it is harder (meaning more expensive) to find lighter weight lines as they weren't the norm. For vintage rods, Phillipsons and Some of the smaller Fenwicks are really wonderful.

By all means, if you have any interest and I can help you in the right direction.

Do you fish Georgia's coast? Most fly fishermen down there are after Tarpon. I worked at Custom Marine in Statesboro (don't take your boat there, by the way) while I was at GSU and ran into a handful of Tarpon fishermen. I'm just curious.

BobS · Nov 9, 2009

I have a Winston, 3 wt, the 5 piece model, that I bought 8 years ago. It is a wonderful little rod!

I am not sure if they have changed the graphite since I bought this rod, but it has great action and is easy to feel load when casting.

Tricky · Nov 9, 2009

I fish it less than I should, and when I do I am looking for redfish, trout, and flounder. I much, MUCH prefer to fish warmwater rivers for bass and redbreasts. Best target on the fly has to be the shoal bass! And yes, I fish fiberglass for all the above listed fish.

WGPower · Nov 9, 2009

As much as I have deep seated problems with my step dad, his company

http://www.derekmckenzie.com.au/

should be able to sort you out. He is American, so he wouldn't mind shipping one home.

syzygy · Nov 9, 2009

I have quite a quiver of very nice rods but for back country small streams I really don't see why anyone needs a $500 rod. Often you are flipping 10 feet of line or dabbing flies from around a boulder or tree rather than actually casting long distances so the faster action rods feel like a club. One of the nicest small rods I have tried lately is the Temple Fork Outfitters Finesse series 7'3" 2wt 4pc. It is lovely and light and the medium action is incredible at this price range - it dampens very well. I tried my DT 3 line on it and it was superb.

J.B. Books · Nov 10, 2009

You can't go wrong with any of the Sage or Winston rods. I have several of each, in different weights and they all perform well.

_JP_ · Nov 10, 2009

syzygy said:
I have quite a quiver of very nice rods but for back country small streams I really don't see why anyone needs a $500 rod. Often you are flipping 10 feet of line or dabbing flies from around a boulder or tree rather than actually casting long distances so the faster action rods feel like a club.

I'm a fan of small stream pocket fishing. The nice thing about my GLX 3wt is that it has the backbone to stand up to a really large fish. It is also capable of casting small poppers and larger flies that other 3wt rods can't possibly handle.

goby · Nov 10, 2009

azmark said:
Recently I snapped one of my rods in CA's eastern sierras and have had a miserable time trying to get it fixed. G. Loomis GL3 9' 5wt. It wasn't my "Aristocrat" of fly rods but it was one of my first rods. I plan on replacing it but I want to look into an ultra light rod, 1-3wt. I have Dan Craft custom wrapped rods but they don't have much of an option in lengths or weights.

Anyone have any recommendations or experience on Sage, Winston?

I LOVE my Orvis 2 weight Superfine. I also a little CFO reel on it, and it is a blast.

BTW, why isn't Loomis replacing your rod? Don't they come with a warranty?

Orvis has replaced my 4 weight and waders without any problems. I really love Orvis's customer service. If they sold DE Razors, I'd buy one of those too.

VonMises1881 · Nov 10, 2009

Any thoughts on St. Croix? For the price I've always had good luck with their products and they've always stood behind them.

On a side note, this thread got my mouth watering to drift a few nymphs down Spruce Creek or the Little Juniata. I need to get out there.

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