Fly Fishing Rods

"Charles Turner" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys,

I go fly fishing here in the UK a few times a year, but I might now go a
bit more frequently, mainly reservoir / river. I'm thinking of getting
some new tackle and am just looking for a bit of advice.

I have a really old glass fibre rod (20 years??). It's a Shakespeare Sigma
Supra 1725 - 285. 9.5 ft AFTMA No. 8-9. I also have a multi turn fly reel.

Am I right in thinking that virtually no-one uses the drag on a reel to
play the fish? I've certainly never seen anyone doing it, so is there any
point in paying £200+ for a reel?

So I'm guessing that the real value lies in the rod / line combination.
Now from experience of other sports (tennis / squash etc) that use carbon
fibre equipment I've always found that there is quite a big difference
between the lowest price and around the 60% of top price, but very little
difference in the top 30-40% of the upper price range. Is this the case
for rods? I.e I can imagine a big difference between a £59 rod and a £250
rod, but what about between the £250 rod and a £500 rod?

Regards,


Charles


I'd go with Bill's suggestions habitually I use a Mitchell 710 automatic
for most river and still water fishing usually with 6 or 7 wf floater
(rarely sink tip) coupled with a Normark Carbon blank fibre 9ft 6in ( I
do have a lot of rods to suit odd conditions but that is the maid of all
work ) the auto reels are simply line storage tho' they do supply drag for
those rare fish that need to be in the next county. The only advantage
being if you are stalking fish the slack is back on the reel in a trice
.. If you boat fish a 10ft 6in 6/7 does afford that bit extra when lifting
to dabble the dropper or letting the belly in the line pull the trace round.
From the bank your 8/9 9ft6 is standard artillery -if you are a bigger
bloke and extra 6 inches won't kill you if you use weighted flys maybe up a
line size or two . Difference in cost? I'd reckon the finish on the rod
should be superior possibly hand done rather than machined you would expect
the fittings to be better too but that aint always so - whether that is
worth an extra £250 ?? not to me.
My favourite rod (for small rivers / streams) is a 7ft carbon fibre #4/5 I
built 25 years ago on a £20 blank if you allow for inflation the blank
would be rather more expensive but not into the hundreds and beyond and I
have yet to pick up a rod I feel is that much better ( I deliver to Orvis so
the dealer plays devils advocate to tease me ) I think with a gearfly
(small) and line it weighs in at about 6-7 ozs and its a joy to use- ah
nostalgia.
If you are in the area the Midland Gamefair is on 21/9 go down and see what
you fancy if previous years are anything to go by you should have an
opportunity to try a few rods on the water and maybe get a bargain you are
really happy with. Watch out for my gundogs on the back cast tho' :-)
always worth a look is an old mate Steve Partons website ( he probably
thinks I'm dead I do so little fishing these days ) he talks a lot of sense
about rods and his stillwater book is IMO necessary reading
http://www.spartonfly.co.uk/index.html
Derek