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Is Rod Manufacturers Only Trying to Make Fly Fishing a Rich Man’s Sport?
I just got in the mail today a fly-fishing catalog. I was shocked at the prices of fly gear.
I owned the Fisherman’s Edge Fly Shop in Catonsville, MD for fifteen years before I decided to close and fish more. I can’t believe where the industry has gone.
Can the average fisherman afford $1200 fly rods, $600 reels, and $100 to $130 fly lines, and $7 or more for a leader? Have the fish change that much to need these expensive items? NO! Not even a little bit.
I had many customers come into my shop looking to get into fly fishing and their starting statement was I can’t afford the best equipment. My comment was always the same, “The fish don’t care what kind of fly rod you are throwing at them.”
I would work around their budget and spend time out back helping them learn to cast.
On other occasions I had folks come into my shop and ask. “What is your most expensive outfit. This was such a turn-off to me I had to hold my tongue to explain that good casting techniques outweigh the cost of the most expensive gear. A $100 fly rod today will cast better than rods twenty to thirty years ago with the right casting techniques.
I came from a humble beginning. My first fly outfit was from Western Auto. Leaders were a straight piece of mono and flies I bought at a department store were twelve flies for a dollar, you can imagine the quality. But with this tackle, I learned to be a fly fisherman.
Better equipment can make a difference, the more expensive rods are lighter and after an entire day is less fatiguing. But not $1000 less. I upgraded to a Shakespeare Wonder Rod after my auto-store rod bit the dust. I know why they called it a wonder rod; it was a wonder I could cast that heavy thing all day.
Where a newcomer should invest in a better product is the fly line. Better line cast better and will hold up longer.
Unless the fisherman is planning to bonefish or go after bigger fish, he doesn’t need to invest in a reel with a big drag system. The reel in most cases just holds the line. I read an advertisement for a drag system that has a twenty-five-pound pull. If the drag was turned all the way down, you couldn’t hold the rod with one hand or even think about turning the handle!
Fly-fishing is a great sport and most fisherman progress to it from spin and bait casting. It is an intimate sport where the fishermen’s hands control the action. There is no mechanic advantage to the gear. I have fly fished for six decades and love it as much today as I did when I started. And my hands still fit a spin rod when necessary.
So, if you are thinking about giving it a try, there still is many rods and reels out there that you won’t need to second mortgage the house to get into the sport. It doesn’t ever need to be a rich man’s sport.
For those folks that can afford the high-end product, more power to you, but there is room for the budget-minded fisherman too. Do a little research and ask some questions from fishermen that fly fish on the best-started gear.
The fish don’t care what you are throwing at them! As a former fly shop owner, this is my rant for today.
- Joe Bruce
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I had the same rant 20 years ago when I walked into an Orvis and noticed I could build the same rod for a fraction of the price with upgraded components.
Guess if the market demand is such that people will open their wallets, then why not?
Certainly not me
Last edited by hookup (Feb-23-23 6:34AM)
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I have some nice gear but most of it was bought on sale or used.
Certainly, the reels I use for 3-4-5wt rods are NOT expensive as I've yet put a fish on the reel while fishing those. It's a different story (as Joe indicates) when you are fishing for bigger fish, especially in the salt.
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hookup wrote:
Guess if the market demand is such that people will open their wallets, then why not?
Certainly not me
Had to qualify
For a fly reel/rod, this is correct
For a spinning rod/reel, guilty
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hookup wrote:
For a spinning rod/reel, guilty
Hmmmm...not sure you have any rod or reel that cost more than $500. Maybe you do. Some fly guys spend $1k+ on rods and $500+ on reels. Not sure any of us do that for the conventional stuff. That demand is having the best equipment possible...regardless. Period.
My reference was for smaller fly stuff when you rarely, if ever, put a fish on a reel. So that $300-500 reel is simply a line holder. In spinning or baitcasting, at least you use your reel to get your fish. In fly, you just strip it in.
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If Orvis made rocks for throwing at fish they would be 40 bucks each.
Capt Mike guilty of many Orvis rods.
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Ernie wrote:
hookup wrote:
For a spinning rod/reel, guilty
Hmmmm...not sure you have any rod or reel that cost more than $500. Maybe you do..
Retail for an Avid is $300 now. $360 for a Legend Tournament. $470 for a Legend X. Over $500 for an Elite
With that said, I would never pay retail for a rod.
But as a builder, I can get last years model blanks for a fraction of retail. Then upgrade stock off-the-shelf guides and handles for more sensitivity.
Yes. You got that Avid for a steal
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hookup wrote:
Yes. You got that Avid for a steal
And YES I did! I love that rod!
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This is actually the biggest reason I did not get into fly fishing. The costs were so ridiculous for me to even attempt that I decided not to go there. Always wanted to learn and try (I did finally at a Wounded Warrior event with Ernie) and enjoyed it. But, the costs prevented me from ever even considering that direction.
I did however invest in a nice spin rod and reel for the first time in my life, but it still didn't cost a crazy amount. And yes...for me....the st croix and shimano stradic 5000 is awesome compared to any of my previous setups!
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If you don't fall into the hype, you can get fly stuff at a reasonable price. But ya have to find it. Remember, rods that are 10 years old now were the best back then. Some people trade them in like some people trade in cars,. they want the latest and greatest.
A couple of the guys here know Bob Abrams. He lives in NoVA and is one of the best fly casters that I have ever seen! He gets all of his stuff at estate sales and such. I have seen him cast like a pro using a POS fly rod or an old and heavy fiberglass rod. It ain't all about the equipment!
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I've seen allot of fly casters - Bob and Ewan were two of the best I've ever seen
Ewan liked his toys and fished with only the best. I've repaired allot of Bob's fly rods that he got for pennies on the dollar and seen his pictures. Guy is a fly fishing machine
If you want to build, fly rods can be budget. I built a light weight fly rod from a kit for $35. Not sure what that kit would cost today? Guy uses it for panfish, crappie and trout. I've seen used reels at shows for $20 and under. Not sure what line costs?
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Line is usually $60-90 but there are many options to get used or budget deals. Line is really important when chasing bigger fish especially the salty ones.
The lines I use for panfish are older and they work just fine…if you’re not a purist.
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