Best manufactured fly rod????

[MtnGiant]

What do you think is the best fly rod made (past or present)???
Ya it can come down to personal preference...but in actuality...it comes down to manufacturing.

So....who is top notch in your books and why???

I'll throw one out for starters.......Sage Z-Axis

[ALBTUFF]

I had the pleasure of using a Colton fly rod and reel when I was down in Floridia this past June and for the price they blow away any of my sage rods

[Taco]

L Kenney 835

[flyguyd]

Scott

[BBT]

Sage VPS Light 590-3

I've had this rod forever and it has never let me down. Even fished well with a busted tip on one trip.

[Lornce]

there are a number of manufacturers that put out great products. Sage, Meiser, Loop, Thomas and Thomas, Winston, Scott and others. A fly rod is a personal item, an extension of your hand. It really depends on your casting style and needs. These are some of the brands I have used. and enjoyed casting. You really do need to try different brands and see what suites you.

[fishpro]

Hard to beat the G&L Flycraft North Raven Series and the Loop Opti Power single hand rods, both rods that are no longer made.

[gilbertslake]

Originally Posted by flyguyd

Scott

x2

I have owned Sage, Loomis, RL Winston, Hardy, Bruce and Walker to mention a few and Scott's are till my favorites, especially my STS 904/4.



I also have a G2 906/4, an A3 908/4 and a SVS 908/3

[rycoma]

I'm am slowly converting all my rods to echo. really nice rods components are good best of all the price is right. They also have a great warranty

[Badflies]

I've fished (and owned) Superfly, St. Croix, Reddington and TFO. Of that list sage had the best looking rods (perfect wraps, perfect expoy etc). That being said, I have a TFO BVK that blows away everything I've tried for casting even though it lacks that certain charm.

[MK2750]

There is no best rod, just different.

There are so many factors involved this thread could out live the OP.

A different reel that balances the rod, different line taper/wt, size of fly, type of fly, length of leader, size of fish, type of water, size of water, weather conditions, casting style, component tastes, action preference, length of rod etc, etc, etc.

The new Scott Radian is getting rave reviews and from the pictures it looks like a beauty. Even die-hard Sage/Winston guys say it is something special.

I picked up a Hardy Zenith this summer and it is very nice all around rod. It has a lot of feel yet can still cast a long line if needed. I purchased it for medium sized rivers (Blackstone, Ram, Prairie Creek, Little Red Deer,etc) when throwing Caddis type dries and hoppers and when there may be some breeze involved. It is in 8'6" 5wt and I can not imagine it being more perfect for this application.

My small stream ZXL 8'6" 4wt is ideal for small creeks even with large fish. It casts tiny dries perfectly and protects 6x tippet which is as small as I can see. I know I hook and land more fish because of this rod where stealth and accuracy are important.

Z-Axis 9' 6wt for the Red Deer River and still water pontoon boat fishing again is perfect for me. Any fly in any conditions expected on bigger water. The rod has lots of backbone yet a soft tip to protect tippet. Dries, streamers, nymphs under an indicator; it does it all very well.

If I could only pick one, it would be a 9' 5wt Z-Axis.

[Jayhad]

Originally Posted by MK2750

There is no best rod, just different.

There are so many factors involved this thread could out live the OP.

A different reel that balances the rod, different line taper/wt, size of fly, type of fly, length of leader, size of fish, type of water, size of water, weather conditions, casting style, component tastes, action preference, length of rod etc, etc, etc.

The new Scott Radian is getting rave reviews and from the pictures it looks like a beauty. Even die-hard Sage/Winston guys say it is something special.

I picked up a Hardy Zenith this summer and it is very nice all around rod. It has a lot of feel yet can still cast a long line if needed. I purchased it for medium sized rivers (Blackstone, Ram, Prairie Creek, Little Red Deer,etc) when throwing Caddis type dries and hoppers and when there may be some breeze involved. It is in 8'6" 5wt and I can not imagine it being more perfect for this application.

My small stream ZXL 8'6" 4wt is ideal for small creeks even with large fish. It casts tiny dries perfectly and protects 6x tippet which is as small as I can see. I know I hook and land more fish because of this rod where stealth and accuracy are important.

Z-Axis 9' 6wt for the Red Deer River and still water pontoon boat fishing again is perfect for me. Any fly in any conditions expected on bigger water. The rod has lots of backbone yet a soft tip to protect tippet. Dries, streamers, nymphs under an indicator; it does it all very well.

If I could only pick one, it would be a 9' 5wt Z-Axis.

I'm a sage guy myself and have a 586 ZXL, if you ever want to sell that 486 ZXL let me know.

[MK2750]

Originally Posted by Jayhad

I'm a sage guy myself and have a 586 ZXL, if you ever want to sell that 486 ZXL let me know.

The Fishing Hole had a few at closeout pricing you might want to check out. They are still $500 or so but worth every penny IMO.

Hardy has changed the reel seat on the Zenith and there a few available with the original seat for under $400 at Flyshopcloseouts.com. The Zenith is a beautiful rod with a medium fast action very much like the ZXL with just a little more low end. The 5 wt won the infamous Yellowstone shootout for a couple or three years straight knocking out the Z-Axis and the 4 wt. is still tops in it's class IIRC.

[huntsfurfish]

Tfo

[Outbound]

TFO has simply been the best bang for my buck that I've ever come across. I used to work in a fly shop and as such got to handle and fish with most of the major brands.

Sage rods are amazing. The Sage XP that I used for a salmon season was phenomenal, but the price tag was up near $900. Of course it was nice.

My TFO Axiom 4pc 5wt is incredibly sweet to fish with and I'd rate it up there with the $500 - $700 Sage rods I've fished.

My top two brands would be Sage and TFO. After that, it's kind of a crapshoot and depends on the rod and fishing situation. G. Loomis makes nice rods. I never liked Reddington.

I own a St Croix Pro Graphite, which was my first fly rod, and it's a great rod, though not on par with my TFO rods. It's actually been retired as I slowly switch all my rods to TFO. Might still pick up a Sage if I can find one I fancy...

[lds]

I have been so impressed with tfo. Cheap rods that cast like the more expensive ones. I spend 300 on my tfo's and the next closest price for the way it cast is double or more $. Haven't tried piles of rods but I'm happy with tfo so ill stick with them

[Kingfisher]

I love my 10 foot 4 wt Zaxis. It is a great nymphing rod.

But for much less $ I also like my 5wt Reddington CPX. Great rod for a much lower price point.

[Flieguy]

Nobody likes loomis? I've never owned one personally but I like a lot of the work they put into rods. Nice wraps, top of the line guides, etc.

[Pudelpointer]

Originally Posted by Flieguy

Nobody likes loomis? I've never owned one personally but I like a lot of the work they put into rods. Nice wraps, top of the line guides, etc.

I had a 9'6" 7 wt GL2 that I really enjoyed. Haven't cast any of there rods in a decade though.

[Don Andersen]

Originally Posted by MtnGiant

What do you think is the best fly rod made (past or present)???
Ya it can come down to personal preference...but in actuality...it comes down to manufacturing.

So....who is top notch in your books and why???

I'll throw one out for starters.......Sage Z-Axis

If it only is about manufacturing, clearly the best fly rods are bamboo. The components used on rods built in Europe or N. America feature the very best quality cork, reel seats and guides.

Most of the other stuff, with few exceptions, use products that are of poorer quality. And to make my point, have a look @ the filler in your cork handle. Sages' handles look like they were covered with pancake make-up. Don't know about you, but I wouldn't drag home a lady with that much goo on 'er no matter what her swing weight.

Don

[Lornce]

Don does bring up a good point about Bamboo, I have several bamboo rods that I fish that are third generation and my sons are starting to fish them now so it's a fourth. Wonder how many of our new hit-tec fly rods will be able to brag about that.

[MK2750]

Originally Posted by Don Andersen

If it only is about manufacturing, clearly the best fly rods are bamboo. The components used on rods built in Europe or N. America feature the very best quality cork, reel seats and guides.

Most of the other stuff, with few exceptions, use products that are of poorer quality. And to make my point, have a look @ the filler in your cork handle. Sages' handles look like they were covered with pancake make-up. Don't know about you, but I wouldn't drag home a lady with that much goo on 'er no matter what her swing weight.

Don

Another interesting opinion. I think we could agree that a builder of bamboo rods might have a slight bias in their way of thinking.

People do not buy Sage rods for the cork. They buy them for the industry leading action and performance. Sage is and will continue to be the brand that all other rods are compared to and bamboo will have a small following much like the traditional long bow and arrow group. Comparing the two in any way is like comparing a long bow to a modern compound bow.


Manufacturing IMO is the design and construction of the blank not the assembly of components. Sage has no equal in this regard however there are some absolutely awesome rods being made by those following in Sage's foot steps. Some are equal to or even better rods than the original Sage version when things like component assembly is considered.

High end Winston, Scott, Hardy and others are stunning rods and would be a better comparison should you wish to talk about cork and guides rather than the rod itself. These of course are also brilliantly designed performance rods so the comparison would end at ascetics.

I do agree that Sage's cork is hit and miss and that some of the components are not what you should expect on a rod costing this much money. I also believe that a huge amount of time/money goes into research and design that has to be accounted for at some time when you are leading an industry.

As far as longevity goes, there are still plenty of the original plastic and fiberglass rods owned and loved by thousands and I can't see anyone tossing out a Z-Axis because it isn't the flavor of the month. With superior materials that are more durable than bamboo and the massive number of modern high performance rods in existence, I would venture a quess there will be the odd Z-Axis kicking around in a hundred years or so.

[fish gunner]

The rod that suits your needs style and price point. Fly rods are like rifles never met one I did not like, some I just like more . Imo price has very little to do with quality.warranty is the end all and be all of quality. Imo. if I had to chose tfo or dragon fly would be top of my list bang for buck.

[Flieguy]

Personal preference I guess.... without looking at technical specs it's whatever you cast best. If you want a general guide look at this:

http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/gea...os-2-greys-xf2

[Flieguy]

here's the straight facts from the test:

[MK2750]

Originally Posted by Flieguy

here's the straight facts from the test:

You are confusing opinion with fact.

3 or 4 of the rods that got bad reviews for slow action were tested with GPX 1/2 weight heavy line. Pretty tough to complain about a dead rod if you killed it.

The BVK on the other hand performs much better with a heavier line but was tested with a regular line.

They have a hate on for Winston because they did not think they were treated special enough when there was shortages. It shows in their reviews.

They also have a hate on for the Sage One and Redington Link. Both are very nice and fast rods that deserve much more respect.

There are some truly good reviews on many fly fishing forums if you want real feed back. People in the business of selling fly rods should not be taken too seriously when it comes to reviews.

This year's review was so contradicting of last years shootout that they removed the 2012 shootout results. How a rod can go from wonderful to a POS in one year was even too ridiculous for the experts to explain.

[Don Andersen]

MKa2750,

The question asked was about the best manufactured rod. Clearly, a lot of rods made today are not well built.
As fas as quality, over the years I've had to reglue a number of Sage rod reel seats that fell off. And the quality of the guides used on their rods is not as high as one should expect when paying that kind of price. The corks are full of pits and some of their rods I've worked on had voids that required a ring removal to repair.
And the Sage performance issue is very strange. You would have thought that after 25 years
of production they would have got real close to being "right on" with the tapers but year after year new models are produced suggesting that the performance just isn't there yet.
The examples above are from the premier graphite rod company. One has to wonder what the not so premiers offer up.

Don

[1move]

I enjoy my Orvis Helios! It is an awesome rod, and well built. The warranty is next to none, I dont need some chart to tell me what I need to like. All those charts are someone else's opinion, me, you or the next guy will all have different results at the end of the day.

With that said I love the rods that I have from Orvis, I have casted many others and I still think to me mine is the best build quality out there. Then again it is my opinion as everyone else has theirs. Bamboo rods are something else, and in a class of their own.

[jeprli]

Flieguy that chart is very biased, look at their prior charts it should give you a clear idea.

Anyone used David Norwich EV5 series rods? I'm very interested in this builder.

[Flieguy]

Good to know. Didn't realize it was so off kilter, just wanted to pass on some knowledge from some people with more experience than myself