Gear » Fly Rods

Scott Fly Rods have a cult following in the Rockies, and for good reason. They make great sticks (I'm in love with their recent Session lineup), and they're honoring their 50th anniversary by releasing new builds of five classic rods from each decade the company has been around. "Rather than replicating the originals, we decided to build the blanks to spec...

The folks over at G. Loomis, who make some of fly fishing's most beloved rods, have recently launched a new video series titled "Feel Connected." The series takes an in-depth look at how the rods are crafted in their Woodland, WA facility. "This series is a tribute to the artisans and engineers who pour their heart and soul into every rod we produce," said...

I've long been a fan of Winston rods. My first top-of-the-line rod was a 9' 5-weight BIIIx, and I've since grown my collection to over a dozen green sticks, both vintage and modern. The Air 2 series is, objectively, the company's most versatile. An old 8'6" 6-weight pre-IM6 Fisher-rolled Winston might be a bit sweeter to cast, but it doesn't stand up to the...

The R.L. Winston Rod Co has launched their brand-new Pure 2 rod series. As the name suggests, these rods are the next evolution of the company's much-loved Pures. "The Pure is an all-time rod, no doubt," said Adam Hutchison, National Marketing Manager for Winston. "The Pure is an iconic rod." So, why move on from such a beloved, well-received rod? The...

In this recent post over at Troubitten, Domenick Swentosky dives into the never-ending debate about whether an expensive fly rod will catch you more trout. As with most everything Dom writes, I appreciate the way he looks at this question, and he does a wonderful job explaining his position. I particularly like that he spends time talking about the period...

My local small streams finally opened up the past week or so, calming down from the runoff we had this year. They're still high, and a bit tricky to wade, but it's not impossible. And just as these small streams came into shape, I got a nice surprise in the mail. I'd sent in a BIIIx 9' 5-weight to Winston for repair in March, and it turned up just in time...

On the heels of releasing their new Evos rods, St. Croix has debuted another new fly rod family, dubbed the Technica. Available in weights 3-5, and lengths from 7'9" to 9', these rods are primarily dry-fly focused, though from a first glance through their marketing materials, I bet they'll handle dry-dropper rigs, as well. St. Croix says the Technica is...

Last week, I shared some of my honest thoughts on fly rods. Namely, that a great fly rod doesn't do you much good if you're not an adequate caster. I stand by that, but one of our readers made a comment along the lines of "it's hard to focus on learning to cast if you're fighting your gear all day." His argument is that you should buy a decent rod when...

In my almost-decade of fly fishing writing, I've had the opportunity to review a few fly rods. Without fail, the question most folks ask me is "are the expensive rods really worth it?" I've addressed this before in some gear reviews, but I wanted to give the topic some space here as well, because it's been on my mind a lot lately. The shortest answer to...

The folks over at Field & Stream had the chance to take the new Hardy Marksman Z saltwater rod out for a spin in Florida. The Marksman Z is Hardy's premier saltwater rod, so expectations for its performance were high. You can read about how the rod performed here.