If you’ve watched any outdoor show on cable TV, chances are good you’ve seen the Ugly Stik commercial above. It’s a good commercial, but also one that should wake up fly fisherman everywhere. It should make them pound their fist on the table and ask, “Why isn’t there a fly rod out there that can take this kind of abuse?”
The fact is, in the world of fishing poles, fly rods are pussies.
[Insert picture of Ugly Stik making fly rod give up his lunch money here]
If fly rods were people, they’d be that prissy girl who spends every waking hour doing everything in her power not to break a nail. You’d think, with a piece of gear where the starting price is usually 5 times that of an Ugly Stik, you’d be able to find something that wasn’t afraid to get it’s hands dirty.
I don’t expect one of the major fly rod manufacturers to match the Ugly Stik’s durability. I just want a rod blank that can hold it’s own in a bar fight. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you?
So why aren’t you asking it?
Really, it isn’t that fly rod companies like Orvis, Winston, Sage, etc., aren’t capable of producing such a product. The problem is that we, the consumer, aren’t demanding it. Instead, fly fishermen want pretty rods they can show off to their buddies. They do stuff like make sure their reel matches their rod’s guides and reel seat hardware. I’ve even seen guys who clean their cork a few times each season- God forbid any fish slime get’s on there.
At the prices we’re paying for fly rods, we should be able to have that trophy wife who not only looks good, but can beat us at horseshoes . We should be getting a cross between Rosie the Riveter and Marilyn Monroe. Instead, we’re getting a cross between Kathy Lee and RuPaul…
10 Responses
Dood, they make Ugly Stik fly rods. Please go cast one and reconsider this post. Tough rods generally cast horribly. Fly anglers will pay big bucks for a ritzy branded rod that casts better than anything they’ve used before.
Simple as that.
Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 8:57 am
I know they do. The question is, why can’t they make a tough rod that casts well?
Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Physics?
Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I imagine that once somebody comes up with the materials, at a price that is worth marketing, they will. But, again, there is not the demand for it so it will wait.
maybe I’ll try casting a fly line on an Ugly Stik. Just to see how it works out.
Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Are we talking about casting or fishing? 40′ is an average fishing cast. Do you need a $700 flyrod to make that cast. No. Buy what you can and if you can’t buy a (insert over priced brand here) do not think you own junk, Just Go Fish!
Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
*tosses in 2 cents*
For the most part, fly rods like that exist today and have since the dawn of rods built from artificial materials. It’s called fiberglass and you can tie one of those old rods into a knot and still throw a pretty loop with it. Alex knows this and has almost finished the process of drinking the ‘glass koolaid. Most rods today are fast enough to throw a 12″ loop into a hula hoop from 60′ away. That makes them satisfactory for the tropics and big western rivers. Don’t know about you fellas but, outside of the coast, we don’t have a lot of water like that in the eastern end of the country. 30-40′ casts on small, tree covered streams, are generally the norm. You can turn over something the size of a small squirrel with most glass rods and not have to worry about it nicking the rod and exploding. I think that whole nostalgic attitude is why rods like Sage’s smallmouth, largemouth and bluegill rods are becoming popular. Matching a fast 6 or 7wt rod with a 230 grain line (plus or minus a 10 wt. on the smallmouth rod) basically accomplishes the same thing as vintage glass. That said, the rod seems fragile, even though it’s totally pimped out, 60’s style. At 400 bucks though, I’ll still rely on ebay to supply me with vintage rods and an experience you can only get from that kind of tackle.
That also brings up the topic of reels. Unless you’re fishing for salmon, carp or tuna, I think a disk drag is complete overkill. Feeling a click drag kick into action and slowing a fish down by palming an old Medalist or Martin, is for me, a much better connection to the sport than waiting on cork or rulon to slow a fish down. Hell, they used to catch tarpon doing that. You can get into a lot of old gear for the price of one Ross Evolution. The old reels tend to balance out the old rods much better too.
Regrettably, I’ve all but forsaken my newer tackle. I do have a nice Orvis Helios that will accomplish the aforementioned hula hoop skewering, but without the requisite big water to let it open up, it’s only a satisfactory nymphing rod. My current favorite graphite rod is the Redington redlfy 10′ 7wt I use on the Ohio. Great distance caster where the distance is needed. Cost all of 65 bucks brand new and it takes darn near a 5 lb wiper to even put a bend into it. Every other graphite stick I own suffers by comparison to my far less expensive, vintage gear. My old St. Croix’s and Fenwicks, from the 70’s, are translucent works of art compared to the newer black graphite blanks.
-J
Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 12:24 am
Jim, flynbird here. Amen Brother. Glass is Class!
Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Great point, Thom!
Jim,
I’ll second Thom’s amen, and also say it’s about time you chimed in on here.
Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Sorry,
Been a while and you were gettin’ lots of attention without me bein’ a pox on your blog. All glass aside, if you haven’t cast the Sage Bluegill rod, go do it now. That may be one rod worth the price of admission.
-J
Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Dude, seriously? My brother has one of the Ugly Stik Fly Rods – it is truly worthy of it’s name. Slow, heavy, and just not the best stick out there. Inexpensive (under 100-bucks) rods that actually cast worth a dam are out there, if you look around.
Posted on October 17th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
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