I wasn't expecting controversy over this. I think a lot of potential beginners forget about fly fishing when they hear that they need to spend a lot. I don't think it has to be a rich person's sport, especially if some of us help out with some free advice on how to save money. If you have a particular cheap rod you hate, it would be helpful to mention the rod model and the problem you had.
A used rod can be cheaper, but would a newbie notice if it had a small crack in a ferrule or on the blank where a fly or split shot hit it while casting, especially in an EBay photo. The rod may be ready to break apart and a newbie would be out some money. I have some used ones that I like, but I needed to mention the possible pitfalls of getting a used one.
Getting new ones on sale or closeouts is a great way to go. If Three Forks go on sale, that would be even better for instance.
Making a rod is one more huge step for a newbie in addition to learning all the other skills required. To follow that logic, the beginner should save some money by tying flies too. Why make it so hard when a Cabela Three Forks can be bought for $50 and so many folks are happy with it. Happy is what we are all after.
I have a Cabela Traditional and they are $60 and I own 19 other rods up to a $400 Sage. I haven't measured it, but let's say my Sage can cast 10% farther and is 20% lighter. I don't think that makes it even twice as good, but that is a hard number to come up with. Maybe it is 10 times as good, whatever that means, but the Tradition is good enough that I use it more often than my Sage and don't even think twice about it. If my Tradition gets stolen or lost. I'm only out $60. That's a real plus.
I made this thread, because there are a lot of cheap rods out there and I want everyone to know if these are bargains or bad rods. The money isn't lost on a cheap, nice rod since it can be used as a backup or lent to a friend later in someone's fishing career. All we need to find the bargains is for some brave people to come forward and say they used a nice, cheap rod and now we know. Cheap, crumby rods can also be weeded out with this thread.
If you look back to the early greats like Joe Brooks, I'm sure that the best rods of their era were real pieces of crap compared to a Three Forks graphite rod and they seemed to learn easily enough on fiberglass or bamboo and have a good time. I don't think people would learn to drive more easily with a Ferrari than with a Chevy. Only a Ferrari salesman would suggest that. Later, a driver might want to get one when the driver gets some knowledge of what it feels like to drive, but it's not a practical suggestion for a beginner and I don't think it's practical for a budget minded person to start off fly fishing with a Z-Axis. It happens to be my choice for best feel at the fly shows. Once a newbie gets some skill they are likely going to purchase some other favorite rod that they like the feel of for their individual needs. That's why there are so many models of rods for sale.
