Why is Sage still the number one rod maker?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

There are several other good fly rod makers but there is only one Sage Rod Company!


The Sage 'ONE' is the rod that has the best casting performance for all situations:

http://vimeo.com/26791493


The Sage 'Circa' fly rod answers the need for a delecate casting series:

http://vimeo.com/44832752



PS: If you did not know the basis of the Sage rod company it started over 50 years ago (1963) with the Fenwick Rod Company, which was also the number one rod maker of it's time. I sold and fished Fenwick rods and now Sage rods since 1965.

http://fiberglass-fly-rods.pbworks.com/w/page/5182977/Fenwick

http://www.sageflyfish.com/about/our-story/



.

[Jed Peters]

Big sage fan here as well.

I can honestly say though, I think I have a certain secret "lust" for winstons?

Is that healthy? Probably not.

Although you guys carry the line, I just don't ever see too many winnies in stock there at the shop. I just fished a B3X a couple months ago in 9' 5wt and 8'6" 4wt and they were mighty fine sticks....

[luckydude]

I've got 4 sage rds, 2 that I like, 2 that are so-so.

3wt vantage in 7 foot - sweet!
Same thing in 8.5 foot - not so sweet, too long, not enough backbone.
5wt Z-axis - awful if you line it 5wt, nice lined in 6wt though it just doesnt feel right until you have at least 25 feet out. Really nice tight loops once you have enough line out to load up the rod but it is a slapper, hard to do a delicate presentation.
5wt RPL - oldy but still a pretty nice rod.

I've also got the Hardy Zenith in 9' 5wt. That's an amazing rod, plenty of power but they put a soft tip on it - you can feel in your hand when the rod is loaded, I never have to look back with that rod.

People who have fished the ONE and the Hardy seem to lean towards the Hardy. Nothing wrong with the Sage, it just seems like the Hardy is a little nicer. Might be a style thing, anyone fished them both?

[Ben Kobrin]

I can honestly say though, I think I have a certain secret "lust" for winstons?


My lust is a little less secret. Just got back from a week in Montana and here was my quiver...

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j35/lazychuck1/Misc%20Fishing/IMG_9889.jpg

For some reason the Winston's don't get much love here on the west coast.

-Ben

[Hibbygibi]

I just got a as new 6wt 9ft IM6. I have been looking for this rod for a long time.. I love Winston's action on this rd. Nice and slow which suits my casting style.
I spoke with Winston about this particular blank and was told that it was rolled off of Loomis's mandrel, I guess they did not have the characteristic's they were looking for during R&D.. later number run's were rolled off of their design's
Looking forward to fishing the Fall with this in two weeks. Will be interesting since a 6 wt is usually too heavy for this water.

[Kyo]

All I can say is Sage makes me look good.
Very smooth products. I'd own more if they
didn't cost as much.

Have to admit I still like my mid flex Orvis 4Wt
for small waters and have since purchased a
economy line rod to pound streamers against
the bank thus protecting the Sage from 100%
abuse. Okay, I'm a work in progress.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Winston is the other good brand......

[El Rey]

Nobody has mentioned the Scott G.

[590Mike]

Bill great point about Sage and Fenwick I forgot about that. I bought my first 590-2 Light Line from you (Alan) in 89 after fishing a 15 y/o old Eagle claw 7 1/2 6/7 wt fiberglass, yep the yellow one. Then a 379-4 and a 379-3 LL's then some Winston's Several Scotts and a T&T (Thanks for showing me graphite ?)
I still have the 3 wt LL's and I keep going back to Sage rods. Keith Kaneko made comment about the Sage LL that has stuck with me, especially when comparing other rods, Sage or other brand. Sage somehow gave the Light Line the "soul of a flyfisherman."
I am going to the shop in the next few days to cast the Circa (and to pester Andy) and I hope Sage was able hit another home run. I know I've missed some other great rods that should be mentioned but were on the Sage band wagon.
I either have poison oak or, I need a new rod. And as I explain and repeat to friends, I am not addicted to buying fly rods, I can quit anytime..... I don't want to!

[DAVID95670]

Sage is number one because the make the best fly rods ....everyone compares them selves to sage. Sage is the best ... I tried others I am back to sage why bother with competitors ?

[LNelson]

Nobody has mentioned the Scott G.

Did you say Scott G*G*
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/steckdoesfish/IMG_0674.jpg

And how about a few Thomas and Thomas rods*G*

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/steckdoesfish/IMG_0360.jpg

The two SAGE models that made the greatest impression on me were the old SP 5 piece 8'9"s and the 8'6" RPLXi 8wt.

[Bryan Morgan]

Traded in a Sage for a B3X. Just spent a week and a half in Montana, and I have to say it is the most responsive and forgiving 6 wt. I have ever thrown. Just my 2 cents.

[Dan LeCount]

I wouldnt say anyone is "number one"

Its like saying someone makes "the best" food. Purely a matter of taste. Is McDonalds the best since they sell the most? Probably not. (btw Sage is above and beyond Mickie Dees for quality, just making a comparison of quality vs quantity)

Most of these big brands made their names when they were wrapped by Fisher. A golden era for graphite, much like the san fran era of fiberglass, and the payne/leonard/etc era in bamboo, a while after the turn of the last century. I dont think Ive cast many "bad" fly rods, well, not in a good long while at least. Most of the times, you just had to figure out what it was made for, throw a different line on it, etc. Sage was/is definitely one of the best at one time or another, although I dont like their new rods as much as their old ones, but theyre not bad. Im worried about their obsession with lightness (much like Orvis with their Helios/Zero Gravity and other high end rods). Less fiberglass makes them lighter, but often times in real life applications they become more brittle/prone to breakage. Well see.

Some good rods Ive thrown/owned in the past;

8' 4wt Lamiglass and Scott fiberglass, the old Scott G series and Winstons IM6 for dry fly work. I have a 489 Sage SPL center axis that is also killer for the aforementioned activities. I had a 5 weight Fisher I snagged off the bottom of Martis Lake long ago that was a great big dry/hopper/misc trout rod. I also have some 7wt Sages (RP and RPLxi) for chuckin streamers/bass/carp fishing, etc that I like a lot. I have a 7 and a half foot 4 weight Leonard that is a pretty sweet piece of bamboo. Ive been playing with the Hardy/Greys 10 and 11 footers in 3 and 4 weight for high sticking, and theyre pretty much the perfect tool for the job. (I even like them better then the ESNs, especially for half the price) Burkheimer makes some killer spey rods. Buelahs platinum switch is pretty sweet.

Basically, theres lots of rods out there with lots of uses. A few dogs, some are classics that will always be good for their role and most are plenty good enough to fish with. Were spoiled with what is available in rods these days.

[aaron]

Were spoiled with what is available in rods these days.
Quoted for truth. Although Sage does sell more Rods than all other manu's combined. I think they're the most consistent, cool to see what everyone prefers and why though.

[Adam Grace]

There are many great fly rod manufactures out there. Depending on personal preferences and casting styles some brands resonate more with certain people. For a while I have not liked some of the Sage rods over from the past few years, most have felt too fast/stiff for me, but I have to say that the Sage ONE is one of the most responsive an easily controlled fly rods that I have ever had the pleasure to cast.

My own two favorite rods that I own are both Scotts: 884-3 G Series, 1287-3 ARC

Generally I prefer soft-medium action rods for their "feel" but the Sage ONE has a faster action but they transfer a great "feel" when the rod loads, the line speed is very easy to generate and accuracy is very easy to achieve.

If you haven't tried a Sage ONE you should come by the shop and experience the Sage ONE for yourself, no joke they have impressed me that much!

[Hatch]

For throwing heavy lines and big fly's for Striped bass in the Delta or on our many NorCal rivers there is only one choice for me.
SAGE
HATCH:evil:

[jcgrey87]

I feel like the way they do those rods is fantastic. The quality is amazing the price might be higher then most but still the fact that they can withstand practically anything is amazing. I am actually really impressed with the quality of these things. I have a large collection of them 9I think around a dozen). I actually noticed that there are a lot of things that repeat in my life that are connected with the number 12. I decided to find out more about that number and I googled it. I came across this cool article: https://www.sunsigns.org/angel-number-1212-meaning/ I found a lot of useful info there. I hope you guys will like it too.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Sage, Scott, Winston, GLoomis, T&T, Orvis all make high end fly rods that are amazing and light.

Most all the big companies have their affordable lower end imported rod series as well.

TFO and Echo have some great low priced rod.

I think that it is hard to buy a "bad" fly rod today, if you cast them first.

These imported fly rods allow people to get into the sport without having to mortgage their home.

___________________________________

For around $150 you can buy a brand name rod, reel, backing and fly line in a rod & reel case.

These actually cast better and are lighter than the high end rods we had 30 years ago.

This is what I get for most all my grand kids.

[PV_Premier]

Swift/Epic fly rods are quite amazing...

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Yes, today there are many fly rod brands out there.

If you have the money, anyone can get rods made overseas with their name/logo on them.

You go to one of these companies who made fly rods for the big boys and cast some rods.

You pick the ones you like and then pick all the cosmetics and then they build them for you.


Only a handful of companies (~12?) actually roll their own blanks and build their own fly rods.


Same thing goes for fly reels.....it just takes money to prepay these large orders.

[McFish]

Now I'm curious. Are you at liberty to tell us who makes either rods or reels? Based on prices I've seen, I would bet Piscafun is one of the reel makers. Not that I need any more rods/reels; well maybe just 1 or 2.

[Carl Blackledge]

Sage rods also have a much higher resale value.

I am also a big lover of the NRX by Loomis, however it seems the resale isn't quite as good, however the NRX is an awesome rod also.

I just received two Sage salt HD in 12 wt, and I also got a new 9 wt for the roosters down in Mexico I will be enjoying for at least a month in Mexico. Yeap I 'll be sending reports on the rods and the fishing.

Carl

[DLJeff]

This is always an interesting topic. I totally agree with the posters who said there are a lot of great rods out there, you just need to find the one that works best for your casting stroke. I admit to preferring Sage rods but that's because they fit my casting style (or maybe my casting style adapted to fit Sage rods). I also accumulated Sage rods starting when I couldn't afford a manufactured rod so I built my own. Patrick's Fly Shop had the exclusive deal to sell Sage second blanks. They were "seconds" because of aesthetic blemishes, etc. nothing dimensionally or physically wrong with the rods. I got them for $60 back when a new Sage was selling for around $300. They have no logo or line weight designation printed on them.

I have to say though that recently I built a couple 5 wt blanks from a little shop in Florida called Ye Olde English Flye Shoppe. They specialize in bamboo but carry some graphite blanks as well. Brian, really nice guy runs it. The blanks I bought cost $49. Brian also sells the right components to match the rod. I turn my own reel seat inserts. I never added it up but I'm pretty sure the finished rod cost me right around $100. This little 5 wt casts as sweet as a $600 Sage for me. I don't know who makes these blanks.

15792

15793

[boomer4]

I would have to agree with Cap'n Hatch. I've been on his boat and he has an impressive, well-balanced quiver of fantastic rods- all of which are SAGE. I'd have to admit that upon casting his set-ups, I've gone out and supported our local fly stores with new rods, reels and lines myself.

[OceanSunfish]

This is always an interesting topic. I totally agree with the posters who said there are a lot of great rods out there, you just need to find the one that works best for your casting stroke. I admit to preferring Sage rods but that's because they fit my casting style (or maybe my casting style adapted to fit Sage rods). I also accumulated Sage rods starting when I couldn't afford a manufactured rod so I built my own. Patrick's Fly Shop had the exclusive deal to sell Sage second blanks. They were "seconds" because of aesthetic blemishes, etc. nothing dimensionally or physically wrong with the rods. I got them for $60 back when a new Sage was selling for around $300. They have no logo or line weight designation printed on them.

I have to say though that recently I built a couple 5 wt blanks from a little shop in Florida called Ye Olde English Flye Shoppe. They specialize in bamboo but carry some graphite blanks as well. Brian, really nice guy runs it. The blanks I bought cost $49. Brian also sells the right components to match the rod. I turn my own reel seat inserts. I never added it up but I'm pretty sure the finished rod cost me right around $100. This little 5 wt casts as sweet as a $600 Sage for me. I don't know who makes these blanks.

15792

15793

Whoa! Rod blanks from Patrick's goes way way back in time. That was a nice opportunity as I built quite a few fly rods using the LL blem blanks...... 389, 490, 486 and the 586. I found that the 86s were best in the blems for some reason. Maybe just what was sent to me as I never was able to visit the store personally and select the blanks.

[DLJeff]

Whoa! Rod blanks from Patrick's goes way way back in time.

Yeah, the Pony Express riders only brought it to the main mail stations and we had to make a 2 day trip in the buckboard wagon to pick it up. Seriously though, I certainly appreciated that program and was sad to see it discontinued. Not a lot of people outside of the local area knew about it so it was kind of cool to be one of the "insiders". I think I still have an old Patrick's catalog somewhere.

[mar]

15804

15805

15806

Interesting topic.

My comment applies to heavy sinking lines and weighted flies for striper fishing.

I'll probably catch some flak for this but....

Awhile back I was walking around the local Walmart and noticed a $30 8' 8/9wt fly rod on the shelf. I bought it on impulse because what the heck. So I did some casting at the park. Brought a 9' 8wt Sage One, 9' 8wt Sage Xi2 (yes, I'm a Sage junkie) and the $30 Walmart rod. Casted all three rods with the same reel loaded with 30-ft of T11 and .030" running line with a heavily dressed rattle clouser on the end.

The sage rods casted nice as expected. And to my surprise, the $30 Walmart rod chucked the same line and fly the same distance. The feel was a bit different because of the shorter length and softer action but a minor adjustment to the stroke and double-haul, it was golden. Talk about an eye opener. So I took the $30 rod to the delta and it cast fine, even caught some fish. And this rod costs less than half the price to send a Sage rod for repair. lol

I now have a few sub-$100 rods that earn a spot on the boat. Lots of casting practice and the double-haul are great equalizers.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I am right with you here Mar.....

I sold fly rods for over 50 years and today it is hard to find a really bad rod.

I have bought/found $100 fly rods that cast really well.

There are hundreds of good rods now under $300 today.



The exciting thing for me is that we can get people started without having them spend $500 to a $1,000 for an outfit.

Even today I get people started where ever I am....Davis, Florida, or even South Dakota.

Sometimes I take them to a Walmart and get them connected with a 3M/Scientific Angler kit for $100?


But if you can afford it, buy a top of the line rod, reel and line to go to Montana or Christmas Island next year?

Buy an imported rod for a back up for a big trip?

__________________________________________

Go to Kiene's and meet up with Andy if you want really professional help picking a balanced outfit.

Andy has fished all over the world for most everything that swims.

Christmas Island, the Amazon, Alaska, Belize, Baja, BC, Labrador.......

He is an expert with Stripers, Top water large mouth black bass, two handed/Spey for Steelhead.

He spent many year on the Lower Yuba river and know all the hatches/flies.

He is also a raft of knowledge about boats and helps many pick the right one.

[Jeff F]

Good topic. Yes, i wish i had a quiver of high end rods. Ive casted a few and did notice the performance. But all my rods are in the $250-350 range (Echo and Reddington) and i have zero complaints. They get the job done and I never really think about the performance of my rod while fishing. I definitely notice a big difference in cheaper rods. The first Echo Carbon's were definitely not fun to cast. But you pay a little more for an Echo3 and there's a huge difference. I love those rods. But in conclusion, using a musical metaphor, if you're a good guitar player, you can sound good on a Mickey Mouse guitar👍

[Jeff F]

I think having reliable reels is more important. Im a Galvan guy forever.

[dynaflow]

With respect,I really tire of comments like "my $50 rod does the same job" etc.etc.
The epiphany happens when you cast the high end rod all day for a considerable time,as this sorts the dross from the gold, so to speak.
Enough said ...

[DLJeff]

But in conclusion, using a musical metaphor, if you're a good guitar player, you can sound good on a Mickey Mouse guitar

Whoa, let's not go overboard here. Knopfler could play Sultans of Swing on a Mickey Mouse guitar but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't sound the same as his Fender strat.

But let's go back and read Bill's initial question: why is Sage still the number one maker of fly rods? If I can summarize and paraphrase all at the same time, most of the posts conclude there are plenty of good, functional fly rods out there. Ergo, Sage doesn't have a monopoly on the physics, technical design, and manufacture of fly rods. Using my own experience, I think Sage did make a superior fly rod years ago. The old fiberglass rods sold at Dave Cook's Sporting Goods were heavy, slow and couldn't cast nearly as well as a Fenwick / Sage. Similarly, there were quality bamboo rods that cost a lot and there were cheap, mass produced knock-offs. But they fell apart the first time they got wet. I think it was Fenwick that came out with the first graphite rods - the old HMG's. That was a quantum leap advancement in fly rod design and function. Since then, it's pretty much been tinkering with aesthetics and savvy marketing. No one has come up with a true design change to knock them off the pedestal. They grabbed the title of "best fly rod", many of us lined up and drank the punch and have been believers ever since.

[hwchubb]

I think, for us old guys (or at least the ones who have been fly fishing since the 70’s or ‘80’s), the “best” rod definition might be a little different. I’ve only built a couple of single hand rods over the last 20 years with newer blanks, and almost universally found them wayyyy too fast / stiff. I still scrounge around for older HMG / Loomis IM6 blanks to build on if I can.

I think Sage’ biggest strength is marketing, not rod quality (not to say that the rods are bad quality, just that they aren’t that much better than many rods that cost half as much). Retailers have to push Sage, because they are required to stock a big inventory of them by Sage, so they have them, so they push them, so...

Overall, the quality of the rods on the market is as good as it’s ever been, although there are still some lousy $50 blanks out there. I proved that to myself. Also, no matter the rod price, EVERYBODY skimps on guide and finish quality compared to what you get if you build it yourself (Or buy from a custom builder like Bob Meiser, Gary Andersen, et al).

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

If you have a fly shop in California and want to survive you need to first have Sage, Simms and Rio (if you can get them).

The next two high end rods I would carry would be Orvis and/or Winston (in limited/popular sizes).

Then you need some imported recognizable fly rod lines like TFO and/or Echo.

Scott sells in the Rockies, T&T sells back East and GLoomis sells in Cabelas & Bass Pro Shop.



The 9' #5 line in 4 piece is probably half the sales of fly rods.

[DLJeff]

Hey Bill,
If I'm not digging into sensitive areas, could you ball park the inventory value of a fly shop the size of Kiene's? And the second question, are fly shops taxed on the value of that inventory, or only on the actual sales value? My local shop here has a rack of fly rods totaling something like 30 - 40 rods, maybe more. At say an average price of $600 the rods alone have a value of $18 - $24,000. I bet the fly line rack has at least 100 lines so there's another $8 - $10,000.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

At cost it could be around $500,000?

I don't think you pay inventory tax anymore in CA?



There are to kinds of shops, city shops and destination shops.

City shops make all the big sales of rods/reels, wader/boots, etc.

Destination shops sell more flies and guiding, on average.


Of all the folks with fly shops only a few made any money.

Most of us just had a job that we loved and we traveled a lot with our customers.


You have to enjoy helping and listening to the customers to survive in a fly shop.


Online has really hurt all the sops in California.

20 years ago there were about 60 fly shops in CA, now maybe 12?


Too survive today in a retail fly shop you need to have most of your money tied up in inventory that is all the items under $100.

"We" survived for 30 years, which is pretty amazing.


Most guides or shop owners need to be married to an RN (registered nurse = $100,000 yr plus benefits.)


Or have a lot of money......

[Jay Murakoshi]

Hey DL.. The inventory in my shop (closet) is around $30,000 +. With all my reels, rods, lines, leaders, etc...
My favorite rod is not a sage, Loomis, Orvis but it's a Fenwick Feralite fiberglass rods. Most of the time when I go fishing it's with a Fenwick glass rod, the 60's and 70's era. My favorite one right now is the FF605. I have a big collection dating back to the early 60's that I have picked up in garage sales, estate sales. When I first started fly fishing in 1971 I was introduced to the smith river in northern cal and the chetco in OR. My first salmon rod was a fiber glass Fenwick, then I bought a Fenwick HMG 9010... You old guys should remember that rod, stiff as a broom stick. I would love to fish one of my Fenwick fiberglass rods in Baja and test it out on a dorado, rooster or yellow fin. Except the air lines won't let me carry on a 2 piece rod.

[hwchubb]

Jay, I picked up an FF909 blank from Russ Chatham’s estate that I’m getting ready to build out into a 9 1/2 foot two hand overhead rod. It’s not like it’s autographed or has any certificate of authenticity, but I know it’s history, and I’m looking forward to fishing a rod that once belonged to him. Plus, it’s another Classic Fenwick to add to my small collection.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Very cool Wayne.....



At Kiene's we have a Lamiglass one piece fiberglass fly rod build from an Art Dedini "second" $10.00 blank by the late George Martin.

Many old timers bought blanks and the hardware from Dedini up on the Eel river after World War II.

[McFish]

It's interesting to read and summarize this entire topic. 1) Lot's of people say most rods today are really good. Few are saying a $200 rod is better than a $900 rod, but the Value ($/performance) is high with the cheaper rod. 2) Some people are saying you will really appreciate the expensive rod after a long day. I assume they mean because of the weight? If you are fishing 8's and above, maybe. 3) We get into marketing and buying habits. I feel this is addressing the why's and wherefores of items 1 and 2. If you have been persuaded by the marketing efforts and buy from the local shops (and I try to support local shops) you probably have never cast a Redington, Echo, or TFO, or any of the other rods under $200. Local shops can't afford the inventory of both high end and mid range rods. But after reading the thread, I would guess that these highly experienced fishers are happy with mid-priced rods; certainly most have one at least as a back up. My first back up rod was mid-priced Redington; it was cheaper than a blank and kit and I'm not an artisan when wrapping a rod. For weighted lines and big flies, it is my go to now.

[Bob Loblaw]

I'm kinda cheap and never pay full freight for anything, particularly "brand" items. They are usually steeply discounted once the brand comes out with something better. I picked up a Sage One five weight a couple or three years ago for a little over half retail what it had been a few months before sage launched their new X series, I think I paid $450 or thereabouts new. Its a great rod and my go to stick when I'm trout fishing in CA which is 99% of my fishing. I've been fishing a lot with my daughter lately, shes really starting to enjoy it and she is using the first graphite rod I ever bought, a TFO NXT Lefty Kreh rod and reel combo for $125. When she gets tangled up I give her my rod and go to work, but I always fish the old rod for a bit, and to be honest I cant tell much of a difference. It casts great....certainly well enough that a hack like me cant tell much of a difference.

The one rod I love the most is my Winston GVX 3 wt that I got for free on Ebay! (long story) but that thing just feels like an extension of my arm and when I'm fishing small creeks it just puts the fly where I want it to go every single time.

I bought my daughter an Echo Glass 4wt a couple of years ago and she hates it, but I pull it out sometimes because its so much fun and I think fishing glass helps your timing. You need to focus more.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

That is some good advice......

When they change models the discontinued series are on the internet at great price.

This is how you can buy a new high end rod at 50% off.

[Rossflyguy]

Sage rods on eBay can go for even less than half if you know what your looking for but ever since eBay is taxing purchases the deals aren’t as good as before.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

When the Sage discontinued rods go on sale the popular models go fast.

This is the time to buy anything from an 11 weight up at a great price too.

[JAWallace]

Several years ago I discovered old glass and modern glass, and while like Tony B I love my Fenwick FF807, my modern Epic glass rods are by far my all time favorite, especially up to 6 wt. Above that, they can get a little heavy and on the Delta and windy lakes it's nice to have a little more backbone at times. Still, I've sold most of my graphite just because they weren't fun. Only kept the medium and medium fast action rods.

Not long ago I cast a Sage X, and if there's a perfect rod, that may be it. Backbone, reserve power, light, accurate and flexes much deeper than a One or most of the others super fast rods. It's maybe even nicer than my beloved Z-Axis, and a VERY similar feel. Haven't fished one, but it's just as fun to cast as any of my fast glass, plus I get 15-20' more range on the larger sizes.

As an aside, in 1996 I bought my one of my first "good" reels from Bill, a Ross-Gunnison G-2. I rarely use it, and the drag wasn't quite right, so I sent it to Ross with $30 and it's going to be back in my hands tomorrow. That was my only reel besides the lighter English reels for several years. Just sold the spare spools and will probably sell the reel too as I prefer large arbors now, but it served me well over the past 24 years.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I have an FF805 which is an 8' #5 line and was pretty popular in it's day.

I also have an old FF85 which is a 8'6" #7 weight.

Both in 2 piece and I have old Pflueger Medalists on them.

1494 on the 5 and a 1495 on the 7.

[Jay Murakoshi]

I have the FF605 which is my favorite glass rod. I have a Pfluegger Medalists 1492 loaded with a RIO Gold 5wt. I also have a Hardy Featherweight that I sometimes use on the rod. My next favorite rod is the FF805 also with a Plfuegger 1495.
My favorite graphite rod is the new TFO Axiom II X 9' 8wt for bone fishing. I have the 5 and 6 wt for bass and carp fishing.
So many good rods on the marker both graphite and fiberglass. But I think in todays fiberglass rods they can't compare the new rods with the on Fenwick Feralite glass rods, just my opinion.

[highflyer]

I feel like the way they do those rods is fantastic. The quality is amazing the price might be higher then most but still the fact that they can withstand practically anything is amazing. I am actually really impressed with the quality of these things. I have a large collection of them 9I think around a dozen). I actually noticed that there are a lot of things that repeat in my life that are connected with the number 12. I decided to find out more about that number and I googled it. I came across this cool article: angel number 1212 (https://chi-nese.com/angel-number-1212-and-its-spiritual-meaning/) I found a lot of useful info there. I hope you guys will like it too.

Well, this is a fishing and not numerology forum :rolleyes: