I am very guilty of following the latest 'fad' in the likes of fly rods, and have spent many hundreds of pounds in 'must have's'.......probably a fishing tackle advertising guy's dream. I own rods from Sage, Loomis, Hardy......and Shakespeare.....know something folks....my old Shakey Oracle 15ft 3 piece is pretty close to being as good as any of them. It is hard to openly admit this after all the money i have spent.

What is it with fishermen [or maybe just me, which i doubt]...do we sometimes equate the more expensive the better, which in turn means more fish, or is it possible we might even stroke our own ego's by being seen on the river with the latest kit, or think that owning this latest kit will make us better anglers?

Is there really so much difference between a good £50/60/70 rod and a good £700 rod.......i am going to stick my neck out and say no. Nicer finished [there is even some doubt about that....the cork on my Loomis Stinger is not one bit better than my 'Oracle'....and it is *****.

I honestly think we tend to be 'suckers' regarding the well oiled advertising machine.


tin hat and flack jacket at the ready...


Lochan

No flack jacket required. You just need to watch this, as many of us have done

A New Fly Rod

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cumbriafishingfestival.co.uk

I paid £28 in the Mullarkeys sale for a Shakespeare Odyssey rod. Caught seven cracking rainbows with it this week. Why spend hundreds on elite rods?
Steve

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There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

What would you spend most on rod,reel or line if on a buget, Thanks, Phil.

I recently bought a new Shakespeare Omini X 9' 6' 7wt rod in the sale at "Go Outdoors" for £15.00. The quality of fittings and finish is very good and I've tested it against my Greys 7wt rods and it performs well. It's a nice light rod, with a good action, and casts a long line comparable to the other rods.My Greys rods were £170 and £240. I'm amazed at the difference in cost with no appreciable loss of performance. There is no warranty with the Shakespeare rod but at £40 per replacement section with Greys I can well afford to buy a new Omni X at its RRP of £29.99 if its damaged.

Well i own rods by Hardy and Orvis which cost a small fortune and i have also bought cheap rods which were just that cheap. I too am a rod addict and I was looking for a rod with a through action and last year bought a a new Genwair Pawl a 4 pce 9ft 5/6wt for £95.00 and am really happy with it. It came with a spare tip section bag and tube, plus a transferable warranty so if I did ever want to sell it then the new owner takes over the warranty. Like some of the of the other makers thay do charge on the warranty but its just £20 even if I break 2 or more sections.
As for the cork handles the worst I had was a Flextec which was more filler than cork. The secret is to look for a rod with a AAA Portuguese cork handle. Top quality cork and Portuguese cork means filler so avoid those and I notice the Greys rods are now no longer AAA cork but "Multi-Composite Cork"
At the moment I am looking for a Legend 5 pce travel rod in a 7/8 wt. Used one in the US and should have bought it then . If you have one let me know.

I've just been on the Tackle Talk section and someone has posted a similar thread called Fancy Rods and Fancy Prices.There are some good posts about the difference between affordable and expensive rods.

I have all manner of rods from an oddysey to a GLX and TCR. I have to be honest and say that i'd always reach for my TCR and XL50 every time i go fishing. THe XL50 has the best 'feel' of any of my rods, and the TCR can punch a whole line out with 2 false casts!! In my opinion there is a BIG difference between a £50 rod and a top end one, (in the hands of a competant caster). Sure the cheaper rod will catch fish all day long, and my oddysey's had a lot of action, but the more expensive rods are better, and if you can afford one, you should try one at least before dismissing them as toys for fools.

My opinion only,.

Cheers
Alex

By the way, it's my birthday today, i'm 40, and it feels terrible so apologies for any rude posting!!!

the big 40 dont feel terrible just enjoy and lots more fishy years to come

Happy Birthday Alex

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