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#21
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Rod to buy
Bill,
Where exactly is your shop? I do some work in the Reno, Chico, Sacramento areas in the summer and would like to come in and see what you have got. Is that possible? Skeeter "Bill Kiene" wrote in message .com... Hi Skeeter, There are way to many choices today. Thirty years ago most would have just bought a fiberglass Fenwick fly rod which was the most popular fly rod in the US at that time. They producing close to 500,000 fishing rods just before the original owner, Don Green, sold to Berkeley Company. Don Green then started Sage Rod Company so he could get out of those old discount stores and produce a very high quality fly rod and sell it in fly shops. Today Sage Rod Company sells more premium fly rods than anyone else. Other premium brands are Scott, Winston, T&T, Orvis and G.Loomis. Most of their fly rods are still made in the US. Orvis does now have some of their very low end rods made overseas. They have a very nice entry level rod this year that is 9' #5, 4pc for $98US. The latest changes in fly rods in the US are the imported rods like Temple Fork Outfitters and Redington. These are great values in the $300US and under range. Today in the US we actually have imported fly rods that are under $100 that "smoke" anything that was available 20 years ago. The net effect for my fly shop is that we are now selling fly rods and rod, reel, line combinations to customers that would have normally mail ordered them from Cabelas. After someone has fly cast/fly fished for a while, they will gravitate to a type of action that fits their casting style. Some like rods that are ultra fast/ultra stiff. Some enjoy the very soft/very slow action rods that feel more like the old split cane or fiberglass rods. Most are happy to have a medium action rod which is in between and will fit most situations. Unless a person knows your casting style/rod action preference well, they can't just tell you that a particular brand and model will be right for you. We carry more (300-400) fly rods than 90% of the fly shops you go into mostly because we are in a very large city that can support this inventory. Unless a customer has never cast a fly rod, we try to get them to pick 2 or 3 rods out in the size, action and price point that he or she is interested in and cast them outside in our parking lot. The only thing better than that is to somehow be able to take some fly rods out to the fisheries you will fishing and try them right on the stream/lake with the exact lines, leaders and flies. This is pretty impossible except for lottery winners. The most popular length rod sold in the US today is 9' long. The most popular line size is #5. The most popular number of pieces is 4. I am not telling you that you should buy a 9' #5, 4 piece rod. I am just telling you that it is probably 50% of the market in most fly shops in the US. Today you can get a very nice fly rod to get started for $100 or less but why would you want to do that if you could afford a quality fly rod for $500 or more? Did I say that? When customers come in the shop, we try to explain the differences in fly rods from length (5' to 16'), line size (#0 to #16), number of piece (1 to 7), action, material (generations of graphite and fiberglass) and construction. Roughly there is the low end (~$100) that is OK if you need to be there. The mid-range ($200-400) which is the best dollar value. And then the high end ($500-$700) which are the best you can buy and if you can afford them, you should buy them unless you don't think you are deserving enough? Actually, the customers that buy the high end usually tell us that is where they want to be shopping. You don't sell customers $700 fly rods that are just starting out unless they decide that is what they want. My first car was an old 1956 Dodge that my grandmother gave me when I was 18 years old. My good friend who's dad was a judge got a new 427 Corvette for his 16th birthday. It's not fair. - Bill Kiene Kiene's Fly Shop Sacramento, CA www.kiene.com "Skeeter" wrote in message om... I am just starting out with the flyfishing bit and I am trying to get a feel for the best rod, for me, to buy. My brother guides quite a bit and he swears up and down by the Scott rod. What is everyone elses take. Skeeter |
#22
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Rod to buy
Hello Skeeter:
Bill has a website, but I don't remember the address, his shops Phone # is 800 4000 FLY. They have been good people to deal with. Richard "Skeeter" wrote in message om... Bill, Where exactly is your shop? I do some work in the Reno, Chico, Sacramento areas in the summer and would like to come in and see what you have got. Is that possible? Skeeter "Bill Kiene" wrote in message .com... Hi Skeeter, There are way to many choices today. Thirty years ago most would have just bought a fiberglass Fenwick fly rod which was the most popular fly rod in the US at that time. They producing close to 500,000 fishing rods just before the original owner, Don Green, sold to Berkeley Company. Don Green then started Sage Rod Company so he could get out of those old discount stores and produce a very high quality fly rod and sell it in fly shops. Today Sage Rod Company sells more premium fly rods than anyone else. Other premium brands are Scott, Winston, T&T, Orvis and G.Loomis. Most of their fly rods are still made in the US. Orvis does now have some of their very low end rods made overseas. They have a very nice entry level rod this year that is 9' #5, 4pc for $98US. The latest changes in fly rods in the US are the imported rods like Temple Fork Outfitters and Redington. These are great values in the $300US and under range. Today in the US we actually have imported fly rods that are under $100 that "smoke" anything that was available 20 years ago. The net effect for my fly shop is that we are now selling fly rods and rod, reel, line combinations to customers that would have normally mail ordered them from Cabelas. After someone has fly cast/fly fished for a while, they will gravitate to a type of action that fits their casting style. Some like rods that are ultra fast/ultra stiff. Some enjoy the very soft/very slow action rods that feel more like the old split cane or fiberglass rods. Most are happy to have a medium action rod which is in between and will fit most situations. Unless a person knows your casting style/rod action preference well, they can't just tell you that a particular brand and model will be right for you. We carry more (300-400) fly rods than 90% of the fly shops you go into mostly because we are in a very large city that can support this inventory. Unless a customer has never cast a fly rod, we try to get them to pick 2 or 3 rods out in the size, action and price point that he or she is interested in and cast them outside in our parking lot. The only thing better than that is to somehow be able to take some fly rods out to the fisheries you will fishing and try them right on the stream/lake with the exact lines, leaders and flies. This is pretty impossible except for lottery winners. The most popular length rod sold in the US today is 9' long. The most popular line size is #5. The most popular number of pieces is 4. I am not telling you that you should buy a 9' #5, 4 piece rod. I am just telling you that it is probably 50% of the market in most fly shops in the US. Today you can get a very nice fly rod to get started for $100 or less but why would you want to do that if you could afford a quality fly rod for $500 or more? Did I say that? When customers come in the shop, we try to explain the differences in fly rods from length (5' to 16'), line size (#0 to #16), number of piece (1 to 7), action, material (generations of graphite and fiberglass) and construction. Roughly there is the low end (~$100) that is OK if you need to be there. The mid-range ($200-400) which is the best dollar value. And then the high end ($500-$700) which are the best you can buy and if you can afford them, you should buy them unless you don't think you are deserving enough? Actually, the customers that buy the high end usually tell us that is where they want to be shopping. You don't sell customers $700 fly rods that are just starting out unless they decide that is what they want. My first car was an old 1956 Dodge that my grandmother gave me when I was 18 years old. My good friend who's dad was a judge got a new 427 Corvette for his 16th birthday. It's not fair. - Bill Kiene Kiene's Fly Shop Sacramento, CA www.kiene.com "Skeeter" wrote in message om... I am just starting out with the flyfishing bit and I am trying to get a feel for the best rod, for me, to buy. My brother guides quite a bit and he swears up and down by the Scott rod. What is everyone elses take. Skeeter |
#23
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Rod to buy
RDL wrote:
Hello Skeeter: Bill has a website, but I don't remember the address, his shops Phone # is 800 4000 FLY. They have been good people to deal with. Don't expect Bill to be in the shop until about noon. :-) -- Cut "to the chase" for my email address. |
#24
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Rod to buy
Bill Kiene wrote:
snip nice advice to novice Bill, Great advice for a fly shop owner. I'm impressed that you didn't try to sell him the high end stuff right off the bat. Maybe he'll come back later to get a $700 rod (my wife would croak, but maybe I will, too), but for now he needs a quality, affordable outfit until he is completely, irrevocably, (understandably) hooked on fly fishing in all it's nuance. And to think some many people said such nasty things about you ; I hope to meet you some day, when I next pass through Sacremento. Tim H maybe it's the vino tell me more about 2 buck chuck??? |
#25
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Rod to buy
"rw" wrote in message ink.net... RDL wrote: Hello Skeeter: Bill has a website, but I don't remember the address, his shops Phone # is 800 4000 FLY. They have been good people to deal with. Don't expect Bill to be in the shop until about noon. :-) Thats right. He only works half-days. Noon till midnight. --riverman |
#26
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Rod to buy
Skeeter, welcome to fly fishing. But be carefull, it's addictive.
Have a serious look at the Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO)new Lefty series of rods. they're excellent quality and very reasonably priced with exceptional warranty. Cheers, ABF aka "Harry" http://groups.msn.com/FlyFishingDownUnder Hooroo "Skeeter" wrote in message om... I am just starting out with the flyfishing bit and I am trying to get a feel for the best rod, for me, to buy. My brother guides quite a bit and he swears up and down by the Scott rod. What is everyone elses take. Skeeter |
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