Why are fly rods so expensive?

[Shankapotomus]

I'm thinking about getting a fly rod. I looked the other day at Professional and they had one for $50.00 and one for $500.00.

I dont want anything fancy, but then again i dont want to break it the first time i use it.

Anyone got any advice or suggestions?

Thanks!

[fishtaco]

What's expensive to you may not be expensive to others. Luckily you don't have to spend $500 to get a quality fly rod. You won't break a fly rod, no matter the cost, the first time you use it, unless you're an idiot. I would look to spend around $100-200 on one with a warranty. That way if you do break it you can send it in to get fixed or replaced. If you don't need the warranty there are several good rods under $100. What are you looking to fish for? That will determine what size to get.

[pedalmedic]

Bass Pro has a 5wt for 20.00. Its not the best action in the world, but works.

[snake doctor]

I would suggest you look at Cabelas or similar places and find the rod and reel that is in your price range. My whole fly outfit (8 wt./ 9 ft rod, reel, line and backing) ran about $120. Sure, you can spend much more if you wish, but it is not necessary to catch fish and have a good time. If I step on the tip of a $70 fly rod and break it that's not too bad. If it is a $700 rod --OUCH!

[pedalmedic]

Also, Academy has an Okuma 8wt that sells for 100. That included Reel, backing and flyline

[fishtaco]

I would suggest you look at Cabelas or similar places and find the rod and reel that is in your price range. My whole fly outfit (8 wt./ 9 ft rod, reel, line and backing) ran about $120. Sure, you can spend much more if you wish, but it is not necessary to catch fish and have a good time. If I step on the tip of a $70 fly rod and break it that's not too bad. If it is a $700 rod --OUCH!

I would actually hate to step on a $70 rod, because then I would have to buy a new rod. A $700 rod will no doubt be covered by a warranty and will be repaired or replaced by the manufacturer. I would never in my life buy a $700 rod, but several rods over $100 have warranties. Then you essentially never have to buy another rod again, even when it does break.

[yak-aholic]

I would look into some of the TFO rods at Bass Pro Shops. You can get a good set up for less than $200 there with a warranty.

[Shankapotomus]

What's expensive to you may not be expensive to others. Luckily you don't have to spend $500 to get a quality fly rod. You won't break a fly rod, no matter the cost, the first time you use it, unless you're an idiot. I would look to spend around $100-200 on one with a warranty. That way if you do break it you can send it in to get fixed or replaced. If you don't need the warranty there are several good rods under $100. What are you looking to fish for? That will determine what size to get.

I am going to use if for Redfish. My goal is to bring it along each time I hit the marsh. After I already have a couple in the fish bag, I want to try site casting with a fly.

I can spend $100 on the rod or $200 on the whole set up, but dont want to spend much more. I will shop around see what my options are. I'm in no hurry, I can imagine this will be one my birthday / Christmas list. :biggrin:

What "wt." should I look for? I assume that stands for "weight?"

[fishtaco]

You're going to want an 8wt for redfish, a 7wt would be fine as well. I'd recommend it be 9' long and come in 4 pieces (easier to travel with). A reel with a disc drag, preferably sealed, is nice for the salt as well, make sure it is the appropriate size. For instance an 8wt rod pairs best with a reel that holds line sizes 7-9, 7/8, 8/9 - you get the picture. The line weight you'll need to purchase is 8wt line, WF (Weight Forward) is the norm. If you don't want to fool with assembling a combo yourself, several companies offer kits fully assembled with everything you need, minus the leader and flies. Here are a few that have lifetime warranties:

- http://www.templeforkflyrods.com/products/combo.html - TFO
- http://www.rossreels.com/products/fly-fishing-outfits/fly-fishing-outfits.cfm - Ross
- http://www.redington.com/prod.php?k=50169&p=RDT5-2203K008&u=Red.X%20Outfit - Redington
- http://www.orvis.com/store/product_directory_showcase3.aspx?dir_id=758&group_id=759&cat_id=16950&subcat_id=9738 - Orvis
- http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/2136?nav=s1-ln - LL Bean

Bass Pro and Cabela's carry combos as well, most without lifetime warranties, but they are most likely cheaper if that's the route you want to go. Learning to cast is not that hard either, I'm self taught. Practicing (fishing) and youtube help. The local FF clubs usually have free days that are open to anyone where the veterans will help you out with your cast. Keep an eye out for those. It may seem overwhelming at first, but once you catch your first fish on the fly rod you will no doubt want to see what else you can catch with it.

[Shankapotomus]

FT,

Thanks for the help. You are a wealth of knowledge.

Next step is to forward your links to my wife and family so they know what to buy me!!

I cant wait to get one. I am not worried about learning to cast, I have some experience fly filshing for sun perch / bass when i was a kid. I'm sure it is like riding a bike.

When I get one I will have to check back with you and see what type of flys you are using.

Thanks!

[pedalmedic]

Think Orvis has a Fly Fishing 101 class every saturday in July.

[Shankapotomus]

I think I missed that last one. I may be wrong.

[yak-aholic]

Also tonight (Monday 7/26) is the fly tying class at Cabela's. I think they have it at 7:00 on the last Monday of every month except December. I haven't caught anything in the salt water on my own flies yet, but tying something yourself and catching a fish with it is very rewarding.

[fishtaco]

FT,

Thanks for the help. You are a wealth of knowledge.

Next step is to forward your links to my wife and family so they know what to buy me!!

I cant wait to get one. I am not worried about learning to cast, I have some experience fly filshing for sun perch / bass when i was a kid. I'm sure it is like riding a bike.

When I get one I will have to check back with you and see what type of flys you are using.

Thanks!

Invest in spoon flies, and clousers and you'll do just fine. Deceivers, crab flies, and crease flies if you want some variety.

[yak-aholic]

Invest in spoon flies, and clousers and you'll do just fine. Deceivers, crab flies, and crease flies if you want some variety.
That would probably complete my short list. All can be found at Orvis. I like their Kirk's Spoon fly

[noahvale]

Why? There is an old saying "the only thing that determines the cost of goods in a free market economy is what the market will bear."
Keep in mind that all retail non-essential goods have at least a 100% markup. They gotta keep the lights on and pay the employees. That's why they can have half price sales, they don't really lose any money to those.

Check out Cabela's Three Forks rods. $50 or so. I have three of them, a 3 wt, a 7 wt, and a 10 wt. The 3 wt is great , the other two not so much.

For salt water fishing I have two 8 wts. A TFO $100 rod that I thought was ok until I got a Sage Flight on closeout for half price, $179. There is a huge difference in those two rods. The Sage is easily 3 or 4 times as good.

[bigredbobber]

Start with a basic kit from Scientific Anglers. Nothing fancy but not pricy at all. I think rod, reel with line loaded on and a small selection of starter flies can be found for around $50. That's not bad. The rod is about a 7 weight and will handle bream, bass, trout and reds with that size.

Learn on a cheaper rod to see if you like it or borrow one. If you like fly fishing, then you can invest in a better set up. Of course the more expensive rods will cast better, but as a starting flycaster, you'd never know the difference. Focus on the loops not the rod. That's how I did it.

I learned a long time ago. The fish don't care how much the rod and reel cost. Me either.

[LuvDaTigers]

I am going to use if for Redfish. My goal is to bring it along each time I hit the marsh. After I already have a couple in the fish bag, I want to try site casting with a fly.



FishTaco gave you some valuable advice on purchasing your first setup. Nothing that I can add there.
As to bringing it along with the conventional tackle, I tried that too. Trouble is once I got on a good bite I wasn't motivated to pull the flyrod out. And when I did, casting became problematic with the conventional rods sticking up, and when I laid them down they were in the way of the fly line that i stripped. It got to where I stopped bringing the flyrod.
At some encouragement of another member, I went on a trip with only the fly tackle. On the drive down I had convinced myself that I made a mistake. 3 reds later I caught the fever, bad. Since that trip I've hardly picked up conventional tackle.

[CNSpots]

LDT, I think that is great advice..

I fished all day Friday with concentional tackle while ad 8wt and 6wt sat in a case in the back of the canoe..
I am going to have to do a trip like yours where I just bring the fly rods and force myself to use them..

[Fin-Addict]

Shankapotomus,

If you want some good info and to understand the difference in the different flyrods go by and see Larry Offner at the Green Trout Fly Shop. I am sure he can get you into a whole setup at an affordable price.

You can contact us at: greentroutflyshop@gmail.com
Green Trout Fly Shop or by phone at +1-225-978-1945.

He is located at:
219 Range Ave.
Denham Springs, LA 7072

Stephen M. Robert
Fin-Addict Fly Fishers
Houma, LA

[fishtaco]

Shankapotomus,

If you want some good info and to understand the difference in the different flyrods go by and see Larry Offner at the Green Trout Fly Shop. I am sure he can get you into a whole setup at an affordable price.

You can contact us at: greentroutflyshop@gmail.com
Green Trout Fly Shop or by phone at +1-225-978-1945.

He is located at:
219 Range Ave.
Denham Springs, LA 7072

Stephen M. Robert
Fin-Addict Fly Fishers
Houma, LA

One thing to add to that is that Larry is heavily biased toward TFO rods. In fact he only offers fly rods by TFO. If that's the route you wish to go, than by all means go see him.

[Shankapotomus]

Cool. I will go see him for sure. My parents live in Denham.

Thanks!

[yak-aholic]

Shankapotomus,

If you want some good info and to understand the difference in the different flyrods go by and see Larry Offner at the Green Trout Fly Shop. I am sure he can get you into a whole setup at an affordable price.

You can contact us at: greentroutflyshop@gmail.com
Green Trout Fly Shop or by phone at +1-225-978-1945.

He is located at:
219 Range Ave.
Denham Springs, LA 7072

Stephen M. Robert
Fin-Addict Fly Fishers
Houma, LA
Thanks for the reminder... I had heard about his shop just before he opened up and forgotten all about it. I need to get over there and check them out.

[Pontgros]

Think Orvis has a Fly Fishing 101 class every saturday in July.

I took this class last weekend. It was free and they supplied the fly rods, all I did was show up. I got some good casting lessons and learned some basics about rod selection and set up. I was able to make a better decision about a purchase after taking the class. Did I mention free? Check it out. I ended up buying a Bass Pro Shop combo (White River Dogwood 9 footer/6 weight) for 85$.

[Domo]

Hey Shank next time I see you at Mag. if ya want I will let you give my Albright 8wt a try

[Shankapotomus]

Hey Shank next time I see you at Mag. if ya want I will let you give my Albright 8wt a try

Thanks Domo. I'll take you up on that. I am going to Mag this Sunday and maybe Saturday as well.

[TidewateR]

Thanks for the reminder... I had heard about his shop just before he opened up and forgotten all about it. I need to get over there and check them out.

call ahead, he has random store hours

[yak-aholic]

thanks

[Catch]

Shank, most of the rod companies have restricted pricing, i.e., vendors cannot sell their rods for less than MSRP. For that reason, you pay no more at a fly shop than you would from Bass Pro or Cabelas, and you get support from folks who are very knowledgeable in the sport to help you out.

Back to the other part of this question... why do fly rods cost so much? Several reasons. First, due to the mechanics of fly casting, a fly rod has to be built to a higher standard than a casting rod. Second, volume of sales... there are 9 times more casting rods than fly rods sold, so cost of production per unit is lower. Third, most fly rods are still built in the USA, followed closely by Korea, and a small but growing number in China. Quite the opposite from casting rods. Most of the China rods are bad, but there are a few good exceptions, the Cabelas 3-Forks (one of my favorite bream rods) is one. Korean quality is almost on par with the American products, but it's not as cheap to make tackle there as it is in China.

There's another factor unique to fly rods as well. They are the cell phones, computers, of the tackle industry. All of the new technology developed for rods - all rods - is first developed by fly rod companies like St Croix, Orvis, Sage, Loomis, etc. then passed down, and costed down, as newer technology is developed. For example, my first Loomis fly rod cost $210 in 1992 - equivalent to about $340 today. It was IM6 which was the hot graphite at the time. Today the TFO Signature and Pro Series, also IM6, sell for $110 and $160, respectively. The technology behind the Orvis Helios, which sells for $770, was purchased from the Navy, and probably won't be a commodity for another 7-10 years. Already the price is dropping on that too, as their Hydros sells for $525.

[marshman985]

I cant justify spending 700 smackaroos on a sage when the TFO pro series feels the same for 240, they need to save the tecnology for the cell phones and drop the prices to keep the wifes quiet. I use the 110 dollor cabelas rig with 9wt saltwater taper, takin 20in reds all day long, drag still works, cought a 36in lady fish on it friday afternoon @ grand isle, still works

[Shankapotomus]

I cant justify spending 700 smackaroos on a sage when the TFO pro series feels the same for 240, they need to save the tecnology for the cell phones and drop the prices to keep the wifes quiet. I use the 110 dollor cabelas rig with 9wt saltwater taper, takin 20in reds all day long, drag still works, cought a 36in lady fish on it friday afternoon @ grand isle, still works

Coach me on the line. I bough some $18.00 7wt WF floating line, but I saw some line that cost $70 or $80 bucks. What is the differenced for a beginner like me?

[fishtaco]

Fly line is the one area where you probably should spend money in a fly setup. A good line will make a cheap rod cast much better than it should.
I used to fish an old Eagle Claw set up, the rod cost $30, but it was a cannon with decent line on it. $18 line will feel and act a heck of a lot different than line $50 and up.

[Shankapotomus]

Makes sense.

Thanks

[pedalmedic]

Makes sense.

Thanks

Ya it does. Never thought about that as well, but if I am correct, its the line you are throwing out there, not the fly. Better line would transfer the weight of the line to the rod to "feel" the back cast. No?

[fishtaco]

Ya it does. Never thought about that as well, but if I am correct, its the line you are throwing out there, not the fly. Better line would transfer the weight of the line to the rod to "feel" the back cast. No?

Yes, the line is what does the work, you cast the line and the fly follows it's path. Better lines feel better and will travel through the guides more smoothly and with less memory.

[ssn]

As the resident cheapskate (or wait is that my wife?) I have a Cabela's Cahill 6wt setup I got for like 30 or 40 bucks. I've caught numerous reds with it and have been satisfied with the overall quality of the setup. I'm looking into an 8-10 wt for casting into higher winds and I may go with a slightly higher quality setup.........Well maybe not:)

[valvguy1]

As the resident cheapskate (or wait is that my wife?) I have a Cabela's Cahill 6wt setup I got for like 30 or 40 bucks. I've caught numerous reds with it and have been satisfied with the overall quality of the setup. I'm looking into an 8-10 wt for casting into higher winds and I may go with a slightly higher quality setup.........Well maybe not:)

LOL.......... I have the same setup in 5 wt, 6 wt and 8 wt. After using it this weekend for the Fly Casting Class...... and at the suggestion of a couple guys including Catch and Kurt Loop........ I've gone to 6 weight line on the 5 weight rod....... 8 weight line on the 6 weight rod and I'm gong to get a 9 or 10 line for the 8 weight rod. Since I have a extra 5 weight reel/line now........ guess I'm going to have to get that 3 weight rod I've been looking at so it's not lonely.

I think Kurt brought up a real good point when he mentioned that with a yak....... the casts to tailing fish are often quite short. My 5 weight with Cahill Package Line..... wouldn't "load" properly until you got 40 or more feet of line out. Now...... It loads well at 30' and probably even a little less.

The guys over at Red Stick Fly Fish claim that Cabelas Prestige and Prestige Plus 30-40.00 are fine. Also recommended Cortland 333.

SSN - Do you find that line "gummy". I've treated and treated mine with Glide. It just seems gummy to me. Thought maybe it was a line designed for cold water or something.

[ssn]

valvguy1 - the Cahill is classic man! I haven't had any issues with gummy line and I've had the same cheap line on for a year and a half. One key may be that I'm pretty diligent about rinsing my reels off when I get back to the house.
I've been thinking about getting an 8wt rod but am I correct in understanding that you have been using 8wt line on the 6wt rod? If that's the case Ill skip the new rod and get a reel and spool it with 8wt line.

[Kurt_Loup]

SSN, before you spend money on a new line, try out someone's line on your rod. Fly line weights and tapers make a big difference how a rod feels and performs. Just because one fly line is X weight doesn't mean it is the equivalent to a line of the same weight by another manufacturer. A bass taper line will feel a lot different than one designed for cold water trout. You may not like how the rod cast with a heavier line. Best to try first. I cast valvguy's rod and thought the line felt a bit light for his rod. After he cast my 6 wt. with an 8 wt. line he could feel what I was talking about. Not on the rod he cast, but I have an 8wt. Prestige Redfish line on one of my rods. I don't have any complaints with it. I think I got it on sale for around $35 at Cabela's. I always see lines in the bargain cave upstairs for discounted prices.

[valvguy1]

I've been thinking about getting an 8wt rod but am I correct in understanding that you have been using 8wt line on the 6wt rod? If that's the case Ill skip the new rod and get a reel and spool it with 8wt line.

Yes. Well........... we just put it on the other night. I've always heard people say.... you can go up 1 weight with most any rod. The 8 line feels good on the 6 rod. The "problem" with them, to me, is that they are a moderate flex. Having cast both moderate and fast action rods...... I feel like I can "feel" the rod load better with a fast action.

Now I will say this SSN............ I have a 15' sinking tip that Jarid at Orvis fixed up for me. I've used that on the 8wt and you can really feel it load. Based on that......... I'm going to get a 9 or 10 weight line to try out.

[ssn]

Interesting. I'll have to look into some "bargain cave" deals in the not so distant future at least then if I find I don't like the line it won't be a huge loss.

[valvguy1]

Interesting. I'll have to look into some "bargain cave" deals in the not so distant future at least then if I find I don't like the line it won't be a huge loss.

Cabelas has a If you don't like it.......... bring it back policy. Which is good, because, I've bought some good stuff there and some absolute trash as well.

[swamppro]

My TFO Axiom was expensive but lifetime warranty. Last season it turned from a 4 piece to a 7 piece. They have a no fault warranty for 25 bucks. Sent it back with a check and got 3 days later a brand new rod with case. You get a top quality rod for life is what sold me.

[mgedge]

I am still a relative novice, but tried to do my homework before laying out the cash. What I found consistently on line, from guides and at knowledgable retailers was that TFO was the 1st brand mentioned when asked about value (quality and cost). The pro at Cabela's even pointed me AWAY from Cabela's due to frequent returns due to breakage and the lack of a warranty. My brother in law (once paid by Sage to cast their rods in competition) pointed me to TFO ... and he is now planning purchase some TFO blanks to make some new rods.

For the marshes (redfish, specs, flounder, etc.) you'll be casting large flies and almost always with wind being a factor. A faster action rod will help a lot. Give serious thought to the TFO TiCR in an 8 wt. Also, if you're not an experienced caster, consider "up-lining" ... putting a 9 wt line on the 8 wt rod so it will load more quickly for those shorter casts when sight fishing tailing reds. Scientific Anglers Redfish taper (WF) is also about 1/2 a wt heavier and is in the middle range ($69.00) for fly line.

[Mokenman]

Build your own. It's not that difficult and you can get a great rod for a lot less. Batson RX8 rod blanks are great and relatively cheap.


I'm thinking about getting a fly rod. I looked the other day at Professional and they had one for $50.00 and one for $500.00.

I dont want anything fancy, but then again i dont want to break it the first time i use it.

Anyone got any advice or suggestions?

Thanks!