Don't need the latest...

[Guy M]

Was putting the rods away tonight with my youngest son, and the thought occurred to me that I haven't bought a fly rod in about seven or eight years... Maybe nine come to think of it... yet I'm still catching fish... Interesting.

A buddy of mine is a real gear-aholic - and more power to him. I think he's a key reason Sage is still in business. He buys a couple of rods every year, for 20 years now... Me? I'm still fishing my rods from 12+ years ago... Am sure the rod companies don't want to hear that!

Point is, you don't need the latest and greatest gear to have fun fishing. Get out there and enjoy!

Regards, Guy

[Rip Tide]

The three rods I use most often are a 50 year old fiberglass, a 40 year old fiberglass and a home rolled IM7
Grand total invested in those three..... $95
Sage ain't never made a nickle off of me..... and never will

[FrankB2]

I look at a new rod based on its merits, and ignore marketing as much as possible. I have bought a couple of the latest and greatest in the past
few years, but only because I found them to be better than what I had.
In fact, I took out my $400+ rods from 10 years ago, and didn't like the
way they cast at all compared to the new stuff. I don't read FF'ing magazines, so I haven't really seen too much marketing for any company.

It is nice that there are gear-holics out there. When my rods get lost, stolen,
or broken, I'll be able to buy a new one from one .

[BlueBird]

I have an old 6-year old no-name brand 9/10 wt fly rod (2-pcs) worth $40and still using it for my 10 wt line/reel. Its still surviving at this point which I thought it will never last for more than 1 year.. LOL

But I bought a couple of Sage rods over few years though...

[MoscaPescador]

I work in the business, and I tend to gravitate towards three major brands of rods. If a company has a rod available, I can get my hands on it. I have the latest and greatest. For my quicker stroke (med/fast to fast), the newer rods cast better with less effort. I enjoy quicker rods that offer better tippet protection than those from years past. If newer technology makes me enjoy fishing more, I'm all for it.

With that said, I still enjoy my 8'3" 3 weight rod that I got in 2004 and an 8'8" 10 weight from 2005. The current rods in those categories haven't showed significant improvement for me to justify new purchases (yet).

MP