What's the Best Fly Rod under $60 New? - your input wanted

[jaybug]

Mojo,
Great link. Now we can concentrate on those rods which are under $15. Pretty soon we'll be getting paid to buy fly rods. This is the way I picture a perfect world. That Scientific Angler is a 5/6. Wow, a great choice for trout. I used a 6 the last 8 days of steelhead fishing. A 6 seems to be mainstream with my Alaska buddies for steelhead nowadays. Sierra Outpost sometimes has a great price and then you discover that the selection isn't too popular like boot size 3 extra stout waders. I have a bunch of stuff from Sierra and people should check with them first when shopping.

[Rip Tide]

I should fess-up. I'm a real sucker for cheap rods. If I see one under $25 there's a real good chance it's coming home. I bought another one just last month, couldn't help myself, it's a sickness

Has anyone experienced a Pflueger Purist, Martin, Berkley, Ugly Stik, Okuma or Tica fly rods for under $60? They can't all be good.

I did report on page one that my son has the Pflueger and I have a Berkley IM6, I had a 12wt Ugly Stick at one time too
Truth is that the Berkley is the only cheap rod I've ever fished that was unusable, and there's a good chance that it was just a lemon
I think what's important for the beginner is that they just get themselves a rod, reel and line and go out and use it. Learn to cast.. catch a couple of fish... have some fun. It probably doesn't matter too much which set-up they choose as long as they get some enjoyment from using it
The time will come (or not) when they will want to trade up and there's a good chance that they'll have a better understanding of what they want.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by Rip Tide

I should fess-up. I'm a real sucker for cheap rods. If I see one under $25 there's a real good chance it's coming home. I bought another one just last month, couldn't help myself, it's a sickness

I did report on page one that my son has the Pflueger and I have a Berkley IM6, I had a 12wt Ugly Stick at one time too
Truth is that the Berkley is the only cheap rod I've ever fished that was unusable, and there's a good chance that it was just a lemon
I think what's important for the beginner is that they just get themselves a rod, reel and line and go out and use it. Learn to cast.. catch a couple of fish... have some fun. It probably doesn't matter too much which set-up they choose as long as they get some enjoyment from using it
The time will come (or not) when they will want to trade up and there's a good chance that they'll have a better understanding of what they want.

I think there are more dogs out there than good rods for under $100. It might take a while to find that one. But different strokes like different rods.

[arfishinbear]

Now that i think about it I had an ugly stick years ago( i go through fly rods like crazy) I hated the thing, it was an 8 wt for bass fishing, the damn thing was like casting a tree trunk and just as heavy. lol I think if my moemory is correct I used it for droping crawdads in log jams for river cats. You just couldnt break that rod.
Bear

[Rip Tide]

Originally Posted by arfishinbear

Now that i think about it I had an ugly stick years ago( i go through fly rods like crazy) I hated the thing, it was an 8 wt for bass fishing, the damn thing was like casting a tree trunk and just as heavy. .
Bear

Try a 12wt Ugly Stick with a Medalist 1498
Not something you'd want to drop on your toe

[FrankB2]

Look for bargains! I bought a brand new St. Croix Avid (IPC) 9' 5wt from an
outfitter on ebay. It was $100 SHIPPED!!!!

My wife and I were in a local (50 miles now that we've moved ), and ALL their fly rods were 30% off the lowest marked price. They had
already marked down all of the St. Croix Legend Ultra rods (IPC), and had
a great 8'6" 4wt that had been marked down to $189. Already a steal at that
price, it's now $133! They had a snazzy St. Croix Avid (IPC) 8' 3wt, but I've
never cast anything that wobbly before, so....

Look for the bargains!

[Pocono]

Joni recommended an Eagle Claw featherlight 7'6" 6 wt. glass rod to me last year when I was looking for a rod that would help my wife learn the feel of a rod loading on back cast / forward cast. It filled the bill very nicely and, since then, I have taken it fishing on several occasions.

It's definitely a slow action rod, but for beginners I actually think it's a great rod to start with, since you can easily develop a natural casting rythm with this rod. Another plus for this rod; it will not let you overpower on the cast; which in my experience is one of the things that almost all beginners need to get past. You have to let the rod do the work. Cast correctly, it will easily put line out there in the 60+ foot range; which should be all that most beginners need in order to experience the thrill of a good cast. And still another plus, when you get a fish on, the feel that's transmitted through this rod is really very good and it bends a lot, which will likely be a plus for a beginner, as it will be exciting and will feel like a large fish whether it is or not.

It sells for about $16.00; so you could get 4 of them for $60.00; if that would get more kids / beginners fly fishing.

BigCliff - I think you may like it!

[GeorgeMcFly]

I have a 99 dollar 8wt combo from cabelas. I got rod,reel,line,backing and a case and dvd with it. it casts great and I still use it even tho I upgraded to a custom rod that is 150 bux alone. I cast all my rods the same length easy. my river is not huge so I can cast acrossed it in most spots. maybe its 50 feet or so but I am not good at estimating. I never had to cast 90-100 feet. thats the whole fly line isn't it? crazy. never had a fish even take me to my backing. even huge 12 pound steelies! also have a 3wt ***** creek from the full creel shop and a 5wt tfo/orvis combo for $150 on flyshopcloseouts. cheapest rod I ever got was my beginners rod. it was a martin combo from troutlet for 20 bux. it is ok for bass and and panfish and gets the job done but I think its fiberglass cause its heavy and doesn't cast smooth like all my other rods and the reel sucks. no adjustable drag! just clicking and the line can get behind the reel. not good for the line! but decent to try out flyfishing for 20 bux

[Pocono]

Originally Posted by GeorgeMcFly

I have a 99 dollar 8wt combo from cabelas. I got rod,reel,line,backing and a case and dvd with it. it casts great and I still use it even tho I upgraded to a custom rod that is 150 bux alone. I cast all my rods the same length easy. my river is not huge so I can cast acrossed it in most spots. maybe its 50 feet or so but I am not good at estimating. I never had to cast 90-100 feet. thats the whole fly line isn't it? crazy. never had a fish even take me to my backing. even huge 12 pound steelies! also have a 3wt ***** creek from the full creel shop and a 5wt tfo/orvis combo for $150 on flyshopcloseouts. cheapest rod I ever got was my beginners rod. it was a martin combo from troutlet for 20 bux. it is ok for bass and and panfish and gets the job done but I think its fiberglass cause its heavy and doesn't cast smooth like all my other rods and the reel sucks. no adjustable drag! just clicking and the line can get behind the reel. not good for the line! but decent to try out flyfishing for 20 bux

In the combo arena, I can also recommend LL Bean's starter rod/reel/line/leader entry level package. It's a carbon fiber rod (graphite) with a composite reel which has a reasonable drag system for light loads. I have one in 8'6" and 7'0" lengths. They will both catch fish. I use them primarily for casting practice now, but would go back to fishing them without a second thought. The package goes for $75.00.

GeorgeMcFly, you've never had a fish take you into your backing? It's an interesting experience. If you'd like to find out how it feels, I suggest that you go saltwater fishing for bonefish/permit. The first bonefish I ever hooked took me about 50 ft. into the backing on the first run! This was with an 8 wt. rod and a Lamson Litespeed 3.5 reel dialed up to what I would call a pretty stiff setting. That was the first of 5 runs; each of which was into the backing to some level. When landed it was about a 27" fish. Not huge by any means. Permit will do the same thing; but, in general, they're much bigger fish. I have never had a trout species take me into the backing, but it's been close a couple of time with Rainbows in the 25-30" range.

[DaveP63]

Cabela's Three Forks (5 and 6 weights) are an OK rod, but I much prefer the Redington Crosswater. For about the same price, I think it blows the TFs out of the water.