My Favorite Fly Rods of 2024

2024 was a great year for new fly rod releases, and I was lucky enough to fish with a few great sticks. While I’d be hard-pressed to pick a true favorite from the bunch, I did whittle down the list to five. These aren’t in any specific order.

Douglas DXF Gen 2

The DXF Gen 2 picks up where the original DXF left off—a pleasant faster-action rod with the power to punch flies through wind, fight big fish, and handle big dry-dropper rigs. The rod retails for $499, making it a more affordable rod than higher-end models, but with similar performance. This was one of the toughest rods to return when I was done with my review.

Thomas & Thomas Avantt II

I’ve long held that Winston makes the prettiest production rods on the market, but the Avantt II is one of the most gorgeous rods on the market. It fishes as well as it looks, with a fantastic medium-fast action that has surprising power packed inside its blank. It’s hard to find fault with this rod, and I couldn’t point to a single thing that I’d change after spending a month fishing it. The Avantt II is an ideal rod for trout-focused anglers who want a stick that has the balance of finesse and power to handle dry-fly work, but can still throw a streamer or nymphs when the situation calls for it.

Scott Session

The Scott Session is the sleeper rod in this group, because I didn’t expect to fall in love with it as much as I did. The rod is perhaps the best all-around rod I’ve fished. It has the power to punch line, but a soft enough tip to handle dries. It’s a gorgeous stick, it’s made in America, and it only costs $675. I’d put its performance on par with any of the thousand-dollar rods on the market.

Winston Pure 2

Everyone who knows me knows I love Winstons. They’re the rods that best match my preferred style of fishing. The Pure 2 is a fantastic dry-fly stick, and should be considered by anyone who’s in the market for a rod dedicated to dries. It’s a soft, relaxed rod that’s up to any tough hatch, in any tough water. I can’t talk this rod up enough, and Winston made some major changes to the original Pure when building this latest offering.

Orvis Helios

The Helios is the long-awaited upgrade to the Helios 3, which was one of my favorite rods of all-time. The Helios is a refined, perhaps softer, version of the Helios 3. But the big selling point here is its accuracy, which Orvis says is four times more accurate than its predecessor. The company managed to prove that through some advanced testing, but the accuracy is borne out on the water, as well. The Helios is just an absolute pleasure to fish.