Time for a new fly rod. What’s everyone’s favorite

[Jigsalot]

My old Daiwa 2 piece is looking beat up. Wondering what is a good rod these day. Only fish trout with a 6 wt line. Keep hearing about TFO rods. Should I look into them or Sage Orvis etc.

[slough shark]

I like the tfo’s they are good rods for their price, if you want to spend more I like sage too.

[orvisman]

Orvis Recon is a great mid-priced rod.

[Mr Flyguy]

You didn't mention budget. Bought two Orvis Clearwater rods (10 ft in both the 4 and 5 wt) a few years ago and very happy with both. But, for a long day of casting and stripping I would use a 9 ft.

You might find a good price at the Fishin Hole when/if they have their August sale coming up soon!

I don't like TFO. Had a tip break at the Bow while just taking it out of the cloth bag!

[Jigsalot]

Some good info guys. Thanks. I don’t want to go more than 4 hundred or so. I’ll keep an eye on the fishing hole for a sale. Actually going Monday to get some leader.

[slingshotz]

Vote for TFO for me, the local service in Calgary is top notch if you have issues or breakage.

Sage is nice too if you want to spend the extra money but my TFO 4wt has easily been the most used and abused rod in my inventory. Use it for pretty much everything except the Bow and pike lakes.

[Pikeonafly]

TFO for sure. You cannot get replacement same day as any other companies.

[theduke]

Originally Posted by orvisman

Orvis Recon is a great mid-priced rod.

I second this. Picked one up a few weeks ago and like it better then my Helios H3

[huntsfurfish]

Another vote for TFO.

[Prairiewolf]

Get on ebay and find a Sage Z-Axis. Best they've ever made.

[Outbound]

Another vote for TFO. Sage is great too but you pay for it. The only downfall with Sage is their warranty is often a long turn around. TFO is here in Alberta and has a quick turn around. You're unlikely to need the warranty on either though.

[MrBaseball]

Originally Posted by Jigsalot

My old Daiwa 2 piece is looking beat up. Wondering what is a good rod these day. Only fish trout with a 6 wt line. Keep hearing about TFO rods. Should I look into them or Sage Orvis etc.

Whenever I see people promoting the virtues of TFO rods, I have noticed that almost all of them are from the Calgary area. This is undoubtedly due to TFO being based in Calgary.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't buy a rod based on how quickly you can get repair work done. Take your reel/line with you and test cast several types of rods in your price range. Who knows, you may find a rod you cast beautifully that is well within your budget.

You don't have to spend a fortune on a fly rod, but you also don' have to settle on one that fits your budget, but you end up feeling like you "settled".

[Outbound]

Originally Posted by MrBaseball

Whenever I see people promoting the virtues of TFO rods, I have noticed that almost all of them are from the Calgary area. This is undoubtedly due to TFO being based in Calgary.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't buy a rod based on how quickly you can get repair work done. Take your reel/line with you and test cast several types of rods in your price range. Who knows, you may find a rod you cast beautifully that is well within your budget.

You don't have to spend a fortune on a fly rod, but you also don' have to settle on one that fits your budget, but you end up feeling like you "settled".

For whatever it's worth, I'm in Grande Prairie and have been using TFO rods since before moving to AB from BC. I managed a fishing store in BC and dealt with hundreds of warranty claims, from most brands (Sage and TFO actually being the least common;y broken). Sage rods have to be sent to the US and their turnaround time after they received the rods was over double what TFO's was. Their website actually says 10 - 12 weeks right now...after they get the rod. Much easier, cheaper and faster ship to Calgary than Washington State.

Loomis and Loop would be 6 months turn around on average back then. I have no idea what they're like now. Reddington just never wanted to warranty anything and it was like pulling teeth having them honor their warranty. Orvis was hit and miss, also had to ship to the US. Same with St Croix. Amundsen was an over the counter exchange at the time but given how often we did those exchanges, I wouldn't recommend them. We didn't sell Daiwa or Shakespeare, we left those for Canadian Tire.

That said, I do very much agree with you that the OP should cast a variety of rods and find one that he likes. Doesn't matter what name is on the rod, as long as it feels right and casts well in his hand.

[morinj]

I’ve had experience with, G-Loomis, St. Croix, Sage, and Hardy. Caught lots of fish on all of them, but my sage TLX takes the cake, casts beautifully, any which way you go, be it TFO to Sage, pair it with a nice real and a good DT line, and you will have a great fishing experience, at the TFO price point tho, I would definitely look at the St. Croix’s!

[Mr Flyguy]

Originally Posted by morinj

I’ve had experience with, G-Loomis, St. Croix, Sage, and Hardy. Caught lots of fish on all of them, but my sage TLX takes the cake, casts beautifully, any which way you go, be it TFO to Sage, pair it with a nice real and a good DT line, and you will have a great fishing experience, at the TFO price point tho, I would definitely look at the St. Croix’s!

A DT line??? Nobody uses double taper any more, don't even know if they are made now.

[spurly]

For your price range I would go TFO, or another great rod for the money
Is Fenwick Aetos.

[Jigsalot]

Thanks everyone for all your good points. I will be taking my reel with me and trying a few rods when the sales show up. Looks like 3 brands to check out.

[morinj]

Rio trout LT DT excellent line still available along with several other DT lines, in event your fishing large water like the Bow, you would probably consider a WF, either way unless your fishing beyond 40-50 ft there isn’t a whole lot of difference, if you have experience!

[MrBaseball]

Originally Posted by Mr Flyguy

A DT line??? Nobody uses double taper any more, don't even know if they are made now.

I have a couple (Rio Trout LT) 3 wt. and 4 wt. DT lines that I use on my glass rods.
Still used by "skilled" fishermen.

[Tungsten,]

The line has to match the rod in order for it to cast properly.Take a $500 rod and it will cast like a wet noodle if the line isnt the right weight.

[MrBaseball]

Originally Posted by Tungsten,

The line has to match the rod in order for it to cast properly.Take a $500 rod and it will cast like a wet noodle if the line isnt the right weight.

I like to mess around with lines on my rods and have found that every rod I own (and I have quite a few) casts just fine up or down 1 line weight without any problems.

[pipco]

Caution ....take this advice with a grain of salt as I'm no expert just relating my experience.

After trying out a few different rods and brands in the economy range over the past 10-12 years it seems like you usually tend to get what you pay for with the exception of used deals.

Redington path broken on a fish (guides were wearing out) and two low end TFO's wore out the guides and broken. One from a stress fracture ( probably from smacking it with a heavy bead head fly) and one on a fish. The cheap cork and reel seat on the TFO's also wore out.

They performed well for the amount spent.

There was nothing "wrong" with these rods ( easy to cast and felt good) but the cheap guides and low cost materials along with the fragility makes me wonder if a little higher priced rod would be better to invest in.


Once you find out what rod/brand name feels best for you, I'd suggest to spend as much as you can justify.

I'm not convinced you need to go way over the top but would guess if you look at the mid range priced rods you'll get a bit better quality and longevity.

The rod will likely last longer and may be more enjoyable to fish.

[Outbound]

Originally Posted by MrBaseball

I like to mess around with lines on my rods and have found that every rod I own (and I have quite a few) casts just fine up or down 1 line weight without any problems.

Sometimes upweighting a rod works well. I use a 4wt line on my 3wt and it's a dream to cast.

[owlhoot]

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=381878

[Bigwoodsman]

Fenwick Aetos. Great value for the money!

BW

[morinj]

Originally Posted by Bigwoodsman

Fenwick Aetos. Great value for the money!

BW

I’ve heard at least a half dozen people praise this rod when I was on the streams this fishing season, a few of them even comparing them to their high end rods, probably worth checking out!

[Jigsalot]

Originally Posted by morinj

I’ve heard at least a half dozen people praise this rod when I was on the streams this fishing season, a few of them even comparing them to their high end rods, probably worth checking out!

Cool. I have another one on my list. Was at the fishin hole today. 26 th Aug for rod sale. I will be there. Thanks again everyone.

[Mr Flyguy]

Originally Posted by MrBaseball

I have a couple (Rio Trout LT) 3 wt. and 4 wt. DT lines that I use on my glass rods.
Still used by "skilled" fishermen.

Well maybe under some conditions. but on a windy lake containing 20 inch or larger trout, or on the Bow, I'll use my 5, 6 or 7 wts with weight forward lines.

[MrBaseball]

Originally Posted by Mr Flyguy

Well maybe under some conditions. but on a windy lake containing 20 inch or larger trout, or on the Bow, I'll use my 5, 6 or 7 wts with weight forward lines.

True enough, but that's why we have and use different rod sizes and line weights to match the conditions.

[morinj]

Originally Posted by Mr Flyguy

Well maybe under some conditions. but on a windy lake containing 20 inch or larger trout, or on the Bow, I'll use my 5, 6 or 7 wts with weight forward lines.

Size of the fish doesn’t matter, neither does wind conditions or line size, unless your fishing beyond 40-50 feet, and even then there isn’t a huge difference, some would say that DT line is better for roll casting, but even then there isn’t a big difference. I like to use my Rio trout LT DT, because it has a very delicate presentation with my rods, this doesn’t mean you won’t achieve that with a WF, it’s unfortunate they are so expensive, if they were more affordable a guy could try a few lines out to figure which one best suits his rods!