How to Purchase Fly Rods

The Basics

* Fly Rods are quite possibly the most important purchase when you start looking for your own fly fishing gear.  If you’ve been in a fly shop or browsed online for fly rods, you know the sheer number of options can be mind numbing.  You will have also noticed that the prices for these rods vary from around $50 to over $3,000 for some hand crafted bamboo fly rods.  

Once you understand the terminology, purchasing a rod is a much less daunting experience.  If you’re like me though, you’ll still end up spending a couple hours in the fly fishing section just because you can.

I promise you, finding the right rod for fly fishing is much less frustrating than you might think.  Most important is knowing what you are fishing for and where.  From there, with a little understanding of rod “tech” talk, you can narrow your options and purchase the right rod for your budget.

We strongly recommend you check out River Bum and Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters if you have an idea of what you are looking for. - They are two of the best online fly fishing retailers and we have made purchases from both. 

 

Let’s look at the basics.  In fly fishing, there are three basic purposes to fly rods:

 

• Casting - Fly rods allow for the fly line to be cast with power and/or accuracy. With practice, a good rod can accomplish both and put the fly and fly line to where the fish are without spooking them.
  
• Line Control – Casting is only half the game.  Once the fly is on the water, fly line control is key.  The proper rod helps to effectively control the line for proper presentation of the fly and setting of the hook. 
  
• Fighting - The fly rod is used to set the hook, fight and land the fish. As such, the fly rod needs to be flexible and strong enough to bend without breaking or snapping.

Now with the basics out of the way we can look at the different factors involved choosing the right rod.  We’ll start with rod action.
 

*Note on fly rods - Please never refer to your fly rod as a fishing pole - unless you're chucking bait, it's a rod!