Kelly Galloup's Take on $1000 Fly Rods (are they BS?)

Hey Folks,
Today Kelly delivers his personal take on the modern costs of fly rods. Why do rods costs so much? Are they worth it?

[wingman]

I am a one of those thousands of us out there. I’m a trout bum. I tie my own flies, maybe a dozen patterns that I fish regularly and am very successful with. I buy equipment on sale. It’s hard to justify a $600 pair of waders when I can get two for that and have a spare. My Old LLBean rod fishes as well as my Sage VXP(that I bought at close out) I’d rather spend my money on gas and multi state licenses. I fish 50-70 times a year. Been fly fishing for over 50 years. It’s never crossed my mind to say “boy if I could only have one of those $1000 rods, I’d do so much better”. Great video. Thank you

[bobholland]

I love Kelly’s matter of fact delivery and candor. He always keeps it real.

[martinallison]

Stayed at the Slide Inn for a few days back in July 2017 and had a chance to talk with Kelly. I found him to be a very honest and upfront guy with a solid inside knowledge of the industry. Kelly, I am a disabled vet on a very small pension, and your thoughts and opinions on gear, fly tying, etc, are invaluable in helping me stay in the game. Thank you. Can't wait to come back to the Slide Inn someday!

[pjsmith]

Thanks for being brave enough to make this video. You reinforced what I suspected all along.

[IrishRebel]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Sometimes it feels like I'm all alone out here with the common sense and logic - but you and the other people commenting here prove that there are still a few people out there who understand how things actually work in the real world.

[williamparadis]

For a very long time, fly fishing was an elite sport, available primarily to people within a certain level of disposable income - that's still true, in many cases, but it's no longer exclusive. My first fly rod was a Fenwick paired with a Medalist reel back in the late '60s, when I was in my early teens (and even that was a stretch for my lawn-mowing revenue) and that rig caught me an enormous number of fish. More importantly, it made it necessary for me to concentrate on my skills, rather than depend on the quality of my equipment to compensate for any lack. In the subsequent years, I've been able to upgrade significantly, and have even been able to take Orvis up on their warranty when I broke the tip of my three-weight fighting an unexpectedly robust largemouth bass. Nobody needs a thousand-dollar rod, just as no one needs to be able to make a 100-foot presentation - but it's nice if you can. I think, usually, the same holds true for reels - the vast majority of fishermen will be satisfied with the performance of a well-built mid-priced reel and never feel the need for anything more - until you're getting into really big fish in salt water, a lot of the features of a high-end reel are superfluous to your average week-end warrior fisherman. What made companies like Orvis and Abercrombie & Fitch and the like so successful was not necessarily the quality of the equipment or the backing of the company with their warranties, but the implied status that owning one of their rods could convey - and that's still true today. Very often, those high-priced rods and reels are sold not because of what they can do, but because of the message they convey to other fishermen. I doubt that many of us could make a cogent argument regarding the specific formula that goes into determining the taper from butt to tip of one brand vs another, or even that it's especially meaningful - if you cast with a rod for a sufficient amount of time, eventually you will teach yourself how to get the most out of any brand. Arguably, there may be some actual value in having an onyx stripping guide and a reel seat made of walnut burl or tiger maple, but I think for most people the value is more often based on ego, rather than performance. Thanks for an honest opinion from someone who actually has the credibility of experience.

[TedP]

I like what you said in this talk. I was a guide in an Orvis shop and all my rods were Orvis. Make no mistake, they are great rods but, my favorites are the ones I built myself. It can be very expensive in components but the joy of fishing a rod you built is immeasurable.

[AdventureTimeOutfitters]

My 3rd rod I ever bought was an echo, and I fell in love with them. I have done guided trips and used their expensive orvis rods and sage. But honestly, i love the value and how Echo rods cast. I mean, you know darn well, there is a insane markup value on all these other rods. Thanks for talking about this.

[John]

I really like this perspective. Working in a fly shop I frequently see people coming in looking at the $200 - $400 rods and questioning their quality compared to the $800 and above rods we carry. I have many conversations with customers along these lines. I've sold many Redingtons and Echos (both of which I own and fish) and they come back and say how much they like them. I personally own a couple of Sages and St. Croix and really like them as well. Like Wingman describes, below, they then have left over money to invest in other items. Good review, Kelly!

[bruceallen]

Thank you for being so honest about this, there’s not that many people in the flyfishing world willing to tell the truth about this!Besides, it makes poor folk like me feel better about my extremely awesome $200 rod! Thanks for your channel Kelly and gang!

[ianatkins]

Good video. I agree. Technology has improved the quality of mid priced rods (from those in the past). Careful selection will give you years of good service. Past two seasons, I’ve been using an Australian $500 rod and I can’t see much difference from premium rods I have.

[wanagiandme]

Great Video and I completely agree. I began my guiding experience back in the early 90s and had all Loomis Rods back than a 600 dollar to 800 dollar rod was high end Graphite and Loomis was what I guided with and what I fished with myself. I was even taught how to Double haul at a clinic by Steve Rajeff who was repping Loomis at a Fly Shop I worked out of In Twin Falls Idaho. I swore by Loomis rods my favorite was a 4WT GLX Loomis 8 foot 6 Inch which I literally slayed any fish I saw in Silver Creek without even trying. This was do partially because I was getting pro deals on rods through Loomis but also because they were exceptional rods. Inevitably all good things come to an end just like trout season in the PNW. I switched to Silver Creek Outfitters by the late 90s and so did my flyrod pro deals. I fished Sage for years as part of my pro deals and quickly left my loomis devotion for a quiver of Sage Rods for trout and Steelhead. I quickly changed my loyalty and, started fishing the Sage XP's fast action guns for Silver Creek Browns and Rainbows. Again swearing by these new rods to be the bees knees for all your flyfishing needs. Today I continue as a Flyfishing guide but see the reality of the industry for what it is an over priced exercise of hype and commercialization. I have seen some beautiful handmade cane rods in my career that justify their cost based on craftsmanship and their uniqueness. I fished with Jack Hemingway before his passing and have guided and fished with numerous other legends over the years some of which carried and fished with rods worth as much as the truck I drove. I currently am sponsored by #TFO #TempleForksOutfitters rods and frankly find a complete and utter satisfaction in their quality and cast ability. Not to mention that the price tag is more like 1990s Fly rods thus a reasonable option for a guy living on a guides salary. I am actually smitten, did I really use smitten to describe my Flyrod haha. #TFO's quality and castability in their high speed rods gives me no regrets for the moderate investment. I spend my summers up north chasing trout steelhead and salmon guiding with #TFO rods and my winters in Baja Mexico Chasing toothy monsters with #TFO. All my years of experience have taught me alot one of the truths is "There are a 1000 paths to get there you just need to pick the one that works for you " this includes FlyFishing Gear.

[kylevigil]

I used a Tfo 5 weight for ten years loved it caught lots of fish . Gave it to my son now he's on his journey fishing loving the rod I use a scott flex now . Thanks for the videos enjoy watching them!!

[keith]

The $1000 rods w lifetime warranties are really $400 rods with a $600 insurance policy. I’ve built a few rods and beat the hell out of the 6wt and it’s still going strong. Also, the real expensive rods tout being super fast (most of them), and I prefer a med fast. They’re easier to cast, more versatile, and I don’t need to cast 70’.

[davidpolk]

One thing about Kelly it is a no BS explanation. God love him!!! I live in Cleveland and buy everything from him because he is just a normal guy. The guy is a legend and you would never know it talking to him. One great guy

[surrebua]

You are spot on and got a new suscriber 😀 Greetings from a Norwegian flyfisher! 👍😃

[kevinsublett]

Thanks for being so straightforward and honest about the industry. I agree 100% if I like a rod I like a rod and it doesn't matter what the price tag is.

[daveslaughter]

A few years ago I decided that I would invest in a planing form, some Stanley 9 1/2 planes, some bamboo culms, and the duct pipes and heat gun to build a heat treating oven, and I’ve since made about 30 bamboo rods. Total cost of the tools and form was about that of one high end graphite rod. Some of my rods may show a few glue lines or may be a few thousandths of an inch off some taper dimensions but they all have been good fishing tools and it’s been a ton of fun. Trust me, it’s not brain surgery and you can do almost all the work without a bunch of fancy tools like mechanical planers, binders, rod wrappers etc. Lots of folks make their own graphite rods from blanks and components. Just a thought.

[ianwhitehead]

My best rod is a 5 weight build kit from Cablas. I put it all together 20 years ago. I use a cheap reel.
Thousands of trout later, I still love it.
My favourite rod now though is a starter rod :a 12’ tenkara rod.
Give me a small river with pockets and it rules. Even better with an upstream breeze.
Nails it.

[chrism]

In the past 5 years or so I've switched over to all USA made rods and reels. Not because they're better, but because I want to support US manufacturing and US workers. The last generation of Orvis Recon was $429, which i thought was totally reasonable for a US made rod. It's getting a little bit out of control now though. $1200 for a new Winston is crazy.