The laughable idea that only a $1400 fly rod built with lots of scientific sounding horseshit can make you a highly skilled fly fisherman is being pimped so hard by a bunch of blowhard industry clowns who feel their opinions matter because they guided once on the Bulkley and now they’re all worldly and shit. (Wow, really, you caught flossed fall steelhead on T-14, props to your mad skills, clap clap clap)
This marketing shite isn’t fly fishing, it’s pathetic.
Learning how to cast, practising lots and buying high quality lines that match your rod will make you a better caster, not buying a overhyped dick sceptre golf club that is 0.0000987 ounces lighter than the last rod you had. Marketing with moronic terms like “swing weight” is just an industry fallacy created to dupe newbies into chasing some latest greatest fetishized delusion of being cool.
Newsflash, flyfishers aren’t cool, and the latest greatest fly rod is just a golf club with chrome snake guides.
Truth is there are many many really good low to mid range rods available in today’s market and the average (real non poser) fishing cast is under 50 feet and rod manufacturers got that angle covered a long time ago, so what are you chasing?
Put your money into your resource and into learning and travelling. At the end of the day the fish you catch matters, not the rod you catch em with.
cutthroatsgalore 
Amen to that brother. Beginners somehow come to the conclusion (or come to believe the fantasy) that fly fishing is based on the best equipment, not on practice that (eventually) leads to skill; this has been a problem at least since the release of “A River Runs Through It”. And now, one of my pet peeves, one of the reason (the major reason?) these rods are so expensive is the insurance you are buying along with the rod; that is what free, or almost free, replacement is. I’m of the opinion that when you slam your rod in a car door, you should pay full price for replacement of the rod or section.
Hi,
Sure good to read what should of been said long ago.
Gaaaaags me all to hell…. the look down your nose, fashion show that has taken over.
Been fly fishing, off and on, for over 50 yrs now, Grandpa taught us how to cast. Rods were glass or bamboo from Army and Navey and waders were in the form of running shoes most of the time.
I am glad to see reasonable equipment available now at reasonable prices. It’s all about getting out there, enjoying the whole experience, teaching a new fly caster and taking care of our beautiful resource.
Thanks for the awsome web page.
Will.
Hi Will, entry level gear is pretty good these days I agree, the problem to me is that we are in an era where the gear means the least in part because the resource is dwindling in many places and in part because consumerism as a philosophy is taking away from what you mentioned we do which is explore, learn and teach about the natural world. I know I’m not alone in thinking that it’s hypocritical to love the gear over the fish.
This is why I refuse to go to the Fly fishing shows etc. All of my equipment is mid grade and I catch fish just fine. I don’t need a $1500 rod with a $800 reel to make me a better fisherman. My favorite rod is one my dad built from an Eddie Bauer kit 30 years ago. I cast it with laser like precision. It saddens me to see the big corps turning this into a fashion show on the rivers. I’m a minimalist when it comes to gear and what I actually carry on the river. I see people weighted down with 40lbs of shit hanging off their vest because someone told them they needed all of it to catch fish. If the slip they will sink like a stone. More river for me.
Just stumbled across your blog, read this and I’ll be stickin around to read more. Summed it up nicely.