I just broke through the clouds in one of the prop planes that fly from Great Falls, Montana to Seattle.  I’ve only had 2 cups of coffee at this point, pre-8am, and thinking about fly rods keeps prop plane turbulence out of mind.  Picked up a couple of publications with the latest fly rod reviews, read ‘em, in my opinion they were terribly biased.  So here is mine, yes they are biased, but not because I got payed to say anything particular about any rod or company.  They are biased because of who I know is behind the rods, what I know about the companies, and because I have fished them all.  I’m not going to comment on a rod I haven’t fished against a comparable rod in this review, and I will say negative things about a rod that I don’t think is up to par, regardless of the company behind it or the marketing that has been spent to make it “cool.”

I am going to break the categories in to switch rods, saltwater rods, fast action trout rods, and general trout rods.  I feel pretty comfortable speaking educated on these categories of rods.  You are probably going to notice that almost all of the rods that we review here are in our fly shop… well that’s because we decide what rods we sell and we can sell which ever rods we want to.  So naturally we have the rods we think are the best to sell.

General Trout Sticks:  This is a difficult choice.  The first decision that cuts your choices in half is whether or not you are going to buy an American made rod, or if you are okay with an import.  At our shop we carry both.  I honestly feel that the American made rods have a much more hand crafted look and feel but they should, they are at least twice as much money.  Off shore rods have come a long way.  Echo, Temple Fork and others are making rods off shore that are very good fishing tools for the money.  From $99 and up.  Some rods, like the St. Croix Imperial have moved their production to Mexico, to at least have their lower price point rods made in North America. 

Skill levels make a difference in choosing a trout rod.  A beginning caster should not consider a really fast rod to learn on or it will be difficult for them to learn to properly cast because they will never understand how to load the rod.  I even have found myself going to more medium action rods for trout because I have very little need to cast long distance (past 50-60 feet), and I have more feel and mending capabilities.

One other little marketing gimic I’d like to clear the air with is about graphite or carbon fiber that is used in the rods.  Please don’t be fooled in thinking that one of these little tiny fly rod companies is getting any  type of space age carbon fiber from NASA to build their fly rods with.  They aren’t.   They are all buying from one or two places in the world and it is the same stuff.  There are some different formulas in the scrim but the carbon fiber is all the same in higher end fly rods.

Taking all of these variables in to perspective I have a favorite trout rod, a favorite value rod, and the “Trout Bum Award.”

My favorite trout rod is the Scott G2 9 foot 5 weight.  This rod has that artistic trout lover appeal, almost a boutique style hand crafted look, and cast like a dream.  I think the internal ferrule design is rad, with no bulkiness at the ferrule, which is different than a sleeve over ferrule that most rods use.  The rod feels light in the hand, and still has an incredibly amount of power and fish handling skill.  That is a major reason I like this rod over the Orvis Helios or other ultralights; yes some of those rods are light but when you cast out past 50 feet or in to the wind they are gutless.  You know that sweet Z-axis technology that Sage marketed so hard the last couple years; the one where the scrim is zig zagged, Scott came out with that in the 1980’s.  Yes, basic engineering has told us that triangles are stronger than lines, thanks for the update but I guess it is true “Z-axis” does sound cool.    Another thing I think is cool on the g2 is that you can actually see the rod wraps and the craft that went in to building each one, they are not high glossed, painted up rods, they are truly hand-made fly rods from Colorado.  One last thing I like about the g2; not everyone has one, it is an under the radar, cool rod to own, while you buddies are bragging up their sticks out on the water, I’d rather just out-fish them.

A runner up to my favorite trout fly rod and KK’s favorite rod is the Winston BIIX, KK likes it in a long 10’ 4 or 5 weight but that is extreme for some of us, and I think it is pretty gnarly in a simple 9 foot 5 weight.  For one, this rod is Made in Montana which is just cool, no way around it, that is cool.  KK is also Made in Montana, which makes me think is part of the reason for his attachment to the green rods.  Even Erik is throwing a green rod from time to time now.  This rod has a lot of feel and a dream to throw dry flies with.  I don’t personally feel it has the power/light crisp feel that the g2 has but that is not the feel everyone is looking for either.  This is my second choice in a higher end trout rod.

The G2 and the Winston BIIX are priced at $675-695, and come with a lifetime warranty.

Best Value: 

In my opinion, without a doubt and I casted them all and fished with most of them, the new St. Croix Imperial is the best value in value priced rod at $170.  Regardless of your opinion of St. Croix rods in the past, yes, they used to be heavy and clunky but not anymore.  Even if you have an old Imperial, don’t judge.  I wish so bad St. Croix wouldn’t have used the Imperial name for this rod because it doesn’t even compare to the old Imperial rods from St. Croix.  These rods are light, feel great, have a fairly quick action for this price point and I can’t hardly say anything bad about them.  I can say they trump what Echo and Temple Fork have to offer at this price point, or any other company I have fished.  The rods come in 4-piece with a rod tube.  If this is your price range, this is a no brainer decision if you ask us.

Trout Bum Award:

I have to go back to Scott, and I can reasonably justify this.  The Scott A3.  Here’s why:  If you are a trout bum you care about where the rod is made and who is behind the creation of your rod…probably.  Scott fly rods designers fish … a ton.  Secondly, the rod is made in the Colorado just like the other Scott’s.  thirdly, If you are seriously a trout bum you probably are a bit of cheap skate like me, and you probably don’t have a lot of money due to money spent on getting to where you want to fish, and getting the time to fish.  The Scott A3 is a great medium fast rod, that can cover almost all situations for trout in a 9 foot 5 weight or 6 weight, looks cool, has a lifetime warranty and is priced at half of the higher end Scotts at about $300.  The Scott A3 in an evolution of the A2, and this is not just lipstick on a pig.  The A3 generation was built on an entire new set of mandrels, the components are almost all upgraded, and they are pretty durable rods as well…I know how I treat my rods…not like should.

Just Getting Started:

I’m not going to choose a favorite here because it depends on what your budget is, and these rods are all capable of getting a beginner casting properly without too much frustration. 

Here’s what we recommend:

Redington Minnow package:  This rod combo package is tailored for the youth with a smaller grip.  It cast great, looks great, the reel isn’t garbage like a lot of starter packages and we have them starting in the $59 range this year in the shop. 

Scientific Angler Combo:  I can’t tell you the number of people who learned on this basic rod.  All I can say is that it is a great basic rod and reel package to decide if you are going to get in to it.  It is capable of handling anything for trout here in Montana.  It comes with rod, reel, and line for about $99.

Ross combo:  The Ross combo is your first combo that is for beginners that comes with a lifetime warranty.  Ross is known for their reels and gaining a lot of ground with their rods, wining a lot of value based awards in the last two years.  This combo come in at $149 and is an excellent first choice, it also comes with line.

Echo Solo:  This is the best deal in a $99 price point 5 or 6 weight. Lifetime warranty and fishes well.  They come in 3 piece only and come with a rod tube and sock.  Can’t beat this deal at $99 for what you are getting.  Just compare the competition’s 2 piece rod with no rod tube and you will see what we are getting at here.

St. Croix got a new one that we just got in the shop that retails at $119 and I haven’t fished yet… but will let you know.

More to come…