Favorite fly rods???
 

What is or are your favorite fly rods and why?
Include favorite reels as well if you wish.

My favorite rod as of right now is my Sage One 590-4 with an Abel Super4N, Rio Grand 5wt. I got the One last year and am loving it.

Next is my Sage TCX 796-4, I just ordered a new reel, the Sage 4660, excited to get it, spooled with Rio indicator line.

For small stream cutts/bows my GL-NRX 9034LP is tonnes of fun! I have a Sage Click3 on it with SA Sharkskin line. Has not seen the sun in Months, can't wait for June.16th!!!

Sage z-axis 4-6wt. with sage 4500 series reel.
Sage txl 2 wt with sage click reel
Wayne

I build my own and right now my favorite is a 9' 6wt on a HMX blank, very nice casting rod. Finished another 9'6wt on a quickline blank, it's a tad slower but has a little more power, haven't had a chance to cast them side by side yet.

It would be interesting to compare them to a "good" rod, I suspect the difference would not be great. My only comparison is to an old Sage II rod I have, and the sage comes out a poor second, but it's 25 years old.

I have 2 Okuma SLV reels which I quit like, got them and three spools for cheap on Amazon.

Fenwick highlander 6-7 , covers so many species pike to pond trout. A little heavy for small stuff, prefect for every thing else. Good old phluger medalist fly reel. Good capacity good drag.

My faves are a 8' 3 wt 5 piece Custom DanCraft Five Rivers and a 9' 4 wt 6 piece Custom DanCraft Five Rivers. The 3 wt is my Oldman rod and the 4 wt is my backpacking rod.

winston 4wt 9' BIIMX with a hardy ultralite DD 4000 reel. Thing casts better then anything i've ever held before including my zaxis rods.

I've got a loop cross S1 9' 6wt on the way along with a loop runner... Test casting it at the expo was pretty impressive. Cant wait to see how it is when i put it to work.

Thats impressive cause my next rod was gonna be the sage z-axis w/ a Hardy reel. Now I gotta check out the Winston.
Thanks for the added confusion now (joke) :)

the IIMX in the 4wts arent made anymore.. But do shop around you may be able to find one!

If you do find one, buy it. I cant say enough how much its worth its full ticket price.

I'll be on it.....
thanks for the added tip

Thomas & Thomas, luv them...Sage One is a beauty too!

Is it called the Winston Boron IIMX???
Thats all I can find online.

I really like my CTS AffinityX 8'6" 3wt, that little rod is a blast to cast :) Built it on a blank using single foot guides, put an airflo tactical line on it and made it a great combo to fish the mountains. A fairly fast rod that fishes good in close quarters as well.

Just recently i got a hold of a pflueger purist fly rod 9' 5wt 2pc, late 90's i'd say but in rough shape. It has great action and accuracy for a dry fly rod, which is what i intend to use it for. After some test casting i fell in love with it, took it as a gift from an old friend. Now i'm in process of rewraping the bottom section and am looking forward to rising trout on the Bow. This one will get a royal wulff TT 5wt line or maybe rio gold 4wt.

Got a few more rods but none strike me like these two at the moment.

Yeup its the winston boron IIMX, on winstons website, they only have the III-SX now. I havnt casted that rod, but i've heard its not as nice as the IIMX.

Best Rod
 

Sage z axis 5110-4
hardy salmon 1
325 rio skagit short

I have so many favorites that it's hard to choose
Loop Opti Stream with a 4 wt Loop Classic Reel
Meiser Spey rods with Hardy St John reels
6 ft one piece Lee Wulff Bamboo Rod and Hardy Marquis reel
South Bend 8 ft Bamboo rod and Hardy Perfect reel (Was my first rod in 1960)
FE Thomas Bamboo Fly Rod with Hardy St George reel
Gosh I could go on and on.

I got a Sage Z Axis 6wt and matched it up with a Hardy Ultralite DD reel.

thank you kindly...
I'll call when open.
I dont understand why sporting shops are closed on Sunday's???
But wasn't it BowRiver that closed shop?????
Or was it another store down south????
I cant remember...

You better buy that rod. 440 for that rod is a steal.

The store in question about closing up was SouthBow which was in the south end of Calgary.

Troutfitters is downtown Calgary which is quite slow on the weekends unless there is a major event happening in the core (FYI, great place to get Xmas shopping done on the weekends to get away from the crowds)

I'll call tomorrow...or maybe its just an online deal?
I'd like to see it first and maybe test run it to see if it fits my swing.
But I have no reason to doubt your recommendation

phew...ok....thank you

Like your style Uber. Had the most fun last summer with a Dancraft Five Rivers 9'6", 6wt. I put it together for lakes but it throws a streamer from a drift boat absolutely beautifully. Slower than I am use to but powerful. I wore out my 3 wt H&H (male ferrule cracked) and I am in the market for another 3wt. I'll check Dancraft. My last 3wt was (still is I am going to make it a one piece) a 7'9" but I want to go longer. Longer because I want to carry one rod on small to medium rivers that will work for dryfly and nymphing.

Taking another man's recommendations on a fly rod is like having him pick out your wife.

The Winston is a fine rod and may be the rod for you.....or maybe not.

You were thinking Z-Axis before reading this thread. For every good review of a BII MX you find, you will find 100 rave reviews on the Z. I am in the market for another Z just as a backup for the one I have. I know Sage has a lifetime warranty, but if they sent me the new Sage One as a replacement I would be sick.

Get out and try some rods. If you are in the Red Deer area I have several you can try from Sage, TFO, Redington etc.

There are some Redington rods at discount prices that are awesome. The CTs and RS4s are some very nice rods. Not very long ago they would have been considered top of the line. For a couple of hundred bucks you can pick up a rod that would have been 6 or 7 hundred a few years back.

Technology in fly rods is very much like golf clubs. What was once the latest and greatest is now obsolete and cheap. That doesn't change the scores of the golfers of yesteryear nor ruin the casts old timers on the river.

Changes are made to catch more fishermen, not more fish. Find the right rod for you and you won't have to worry about opinion or price.

Very true....and I dont wish to have someone pick out my wife for me hahahaha. I'm in no hurry for another rod yet. But if I get up your way (from Calgary) I'll give you a jingle and maybe we can spend some time slinging sticks. Thanks

Favorite would probably be my cheapest one, a Kensington 6 1/2 ft 3 wt

Although ive got 3 Scotts; two 9 ft 5wt, one fast and one soft and a 9'6" 7 wt that hold a soft spot in my heart as well...lol

I haven't gone as high-end...but I LOVE my Temple Fork BVK (9' 6 wt)...have used it for Rainbows and Cutts in some of our larger rivers (Bow, Oldman, etc.); and for Smallmouth Bass (up to 3 lbs), last summer, out in ON. I have it paired with an Amundsen aluminum reel. I find it comfortable to use; and, while being sensitive, it is tough enough to muscle in even some of the larger fish I've landed on it.

7 1/2 3wt T&T with a Hardy Angel featherweight 2/3

T&T are very fine rods!
I have the exact same rod and it is one of my favorites.
Also have a T&T 8'2"#2 paradigm that is a beauty.
Beautiful casting tiny flies with lightweight rods.
Sage is the master of marketing though and I have wondered if some of the other manufacturers like T&T were as skillful how they would have done.