Excellent and very valid points..I will just put in 2c more. If I were replacing a fly rod or rods, with the way things are today, I expect to pay $ 250-300 for a rod. However we have rods now that go $ 750-800 each..And this is another story...But it is an individual, personal decision, and if you really like the rod and you can afford it, then.....
Ron Boutin ---- Tom Davenport <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, Chuck. I thought I would chime in on this one. In my years of fly > fishing and rod building, I have had three favorite rods: A Powell 6-7 > weight, A Sage XP and a Scott SAS (both 5 wt).The Powell was a factory rod, > used when fishing in lakes where an 18 inch fish is average, the five weights > I built myself, and used for everyday fishing. All three of them have been > lost. The Powell fell out of the back of my truck between a rest stop in > Pocatello Idaho, and Idaho falls, on the road to Yellowstone Lake. I had > opened the tailgate to get a drink out of the cooler, was distracted by a > question my wife asked me, and forgot to put the tailgate back up. The Scott > ended up in the bottom of Strawberry Reservoir, in Utah, after falling out of > a cheap rod holder attached to my kick boat. I lost the Sage last year after > fishing at a local community pond. I laid it across the bed of my truck, got > distracted (can't blame this one on my wife), and drove away. It rolled off, > I assume, and was picked up by the jerk behind me who decided "finders > keepers" . I realized my mistake and went back 10 minutes later and there was > no sign of the rod or any piece of it. I posted flyers around the pond, > notified the local police, put ads in newspaper, all to no avail. The rod > has my name on it, so it wouldn't be hard for an honest person to track me > down. Maybe someday I will come across somebody fishing with it! > > These were all expensive rods, costing over $300. And they were the ones I > fished with the most. > > Anyway, were they worth the cost? For me, yes, but I have to admit that a > large part of the "value" was pride of ownership, which is the intangible > that often drives people to purchase luxury items. Also a desire to have the > VERY best, even though the differences between it and something cheaper are > often negligible. > > But as far as performance goes, the Scott fit my casting style the best. I > tend to have a punchy cast, and need a rod with a good solid butt section > that doesn't collapse when I power the rod. Oh, I can slow down and cast > softer rods (like a bamboo rod, or a Winston) just fine, but I prefer a > punchy cast and faster rods. Also, I do a lot of high stick nymph fishing, > and a faster, stiffer rod seems to give me a better connection to what is > happening at the end of my line. > > I also own several rods I made from cheaper blanks, as well as a couple of > St. Croix Pro Graphites and a St. Croix Legend Ultra, which cast a lot like > the Sage XP. > > So what ended up happening? I replaced the Scott SAS with a factory Scott > rod, the successor to the SAS. Different name, but casts about the same. > (Scott has quit selling blanks, so that was my only option). A buddy of mine > found a factory Sage XP on ebay and bought it for me, but it is still sitting > in his garage waiting for me to drop by with the $280.00 he paid for it. He > is a young entrepreneur who is running a multi-million dollar computer > business he started, so to him it was pocket change. Not to me. But > eventuality I will pick it up, in the meantime he fishes with it himself > occasionally. I replaced the Powell with a 6 wt Cabella's rod that was on > sale for half price. It casts fine, and has the power to handle bigger fish, > but I can't say I love it like I did the Powell. (The Powell rod can't be > replaced, that company has been bought and sold twice and the new rods > aren't the same. Mine was built by the original owners, and was a sweet rod). > > So, "Were THEY REALLY THAT GOOD?" From a purely practicable point of view, > probably not. Your not going to catch six times as many fish because your > fishing with a rod six times more expensive than the guy next to you. But if > you love the rod, if it performs exactly like you want it too, and you love > the way it looks and feels in your hand, then its worth every penny. This is > a hobby, after all, and when did anyone worry about the cost of their hobby? > From a practical standpoint I would be WAY ahead if I had never started > building rods or tying flies. Much cheaper in the long run to just go it and > buy what you need, when you need it. No money wasted on flights to a fly > tying conclave. No rod blanks, or rods that you built but really didn't need > cluttering up your life. But it also wouldn't be as much fun! > > Tom Davenport > > > On Feb 9, 2013, at 2:28 PM, Chuck Alexander <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Folks: I just downloaded and started watching a video called “Sage Fly > > Rods: Made in America” and it takes you on a tour of their factory, which > > is on an Island just off Seattle Washington, and tells about how great the > > fly rods are etc. Are their flyrods REALLY “THAT GOOD”?? Are they REALLY > > worth the prices they charge?? I have never casted one, but I have always > > told ppl that I think I’d put my $100 St Croix “Premier” against any rod on > > the market. And the Bamboo rod Tony built for me puts that St. Croix to > > shame. But that is sorta comparing apples to oranges to me, the bamboo vs. > > the Graphite rod, cause they are just totally different in their action > > etc. But anyway, the cheapest Sage I have seen, I believe is about $300 > > And that is for their “entry level” rods. Are they REALLY worth the money > > or is it like a lot of things and you are paying for that “name brand”?? > > Thanks, Chuck > > > > > > -- > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" > > group. > > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected] > > For more options, visit this group at > > http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en > > > > VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com > > --- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "VFB Mail" group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > > email to [email protected]. > > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en > > VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VFB Mail" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VFB Mail" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
