I am a fan of Sage (I wont fish anything else) but thats just me. I like the faster action of sage. I have cast Winston as well, I just traded my 9ft 5wt Winston for my RPLxi 9ft 8wt. Winston is a very fine stick, has a softer, more delicate action. I am kind of a fast caster and Sage fits me really well. St. Croix has some good sticks as well. I have only cast a loomis once, and that was brief, so I cant say much for them. I will go to my grave holding a Sage.

Mine trout rod is an SP 3pc, 9ft, 5wt - I dont know if that particular model is in that price range, as I found it after a long day (my honeymoon) on the Henry's fork. Thats when the Wife got her Winston. It was a unique day on that piece of home water.

If you have the means to have a rod a built, or build one yourself - you can upgrade quite a bit and save a TON of money.


:beer2 J

 

GL3 5wt

I've got the four piece, G Loomis, travel rod and its my favorite. $165 on E-bay. This is a fast action rod and excels on lakes and big water. It's a little too fast for small rivers and I have broken 7x a couple times on bigger browns. Try one out because the handle isn't for averyone. I would also recommend the St. Croix Avid for the $200 range. If you can find one for a decent price, get the GL3. $310 is way too much, E-bay can save you a bundle. I've got an Orvis 3/4 Rocky Mt. with two spools and the GL3 covers everything from panfish to trout, to small mouth bass. Excellent nymphing rod with 5X. Stays in the pickup and I love it. If money isn't a concern, Sage's VPS 5WT is what I would buy, its a little softer than the GL and I seem to cast it more accurately. Don't know about Thomas.:thumb

 

"If you have the means to have a rod a built, or build one yourself - you can upgrade quite a bit and save a TON of money."

There's no doubt about it, I can spend $200 on parts, and belive me, I'll put up a rod that will out cast any rod at 2x it's price (and it will look a hell of alot nicer too!)and even some at the 3x mark. I've been building for a while now, and given the individuals wants, likes, and needs, I can put a rod in their hand that they will not want to put down. I got into building by necessity, I'm extremely picky when it comes to my gear, and if I cant find EXACTLY what I want in a factory rod, I can build it. I'm like alot of others in my gear collecting,I fish Sage, Loomis Winston, and T&T (my hands down favorite), but I also have special intrest rods that I had to build becuase not one Mfg. makes a rod to fit the requirements of my specific application.


Now to answer the question related to the original post, don't choose a rod on other peoples recomendations alone. First you need to sit down and decide what, exactly, you want the rod to do. You already have part of it figured out, but the conditions you will see most have the largest affect on the rod that will be the best tool for you. Go to a few flyshops and throw a line on all the rods that have the characteristics you're looking for, you will be able to choose with out a doubt, the rod that you like most very easy afterwards.

 

I gotta agree with the MetalHead, as building your own rod will make you a better rod for far less money. And for $200 you aren't going to buy a rod from those manufacturers all that easily.

One big reason is this silly unlimited warantee. If I was a company manager implimenting an unlimited warantee, I would want to see the price double or triple. I can't imagine that warantee doesn't cost much when added to these rods.

I still belive that the best warantee on a rod, is taking care of it, and I refuse to pander to such sillyness.

And for the quality of the rods, a handbuilt one far exceeds anything on the market, even from blanks costing far less.

Rob

 

Scott SAS/Alpha, Loomis GL3, Lamiglass, St Croix. Beware of the "Berkely with a fancy paint job" low end offerings by certain name brands, those offerings are for the brand conscious, not the performance conscious. WA "trout"? Eastside rivers I presume?

 

Hey thanks for the info thus far guys. hey mtlhead, i love all you guys, but my purchase will definitely not be based solely on ya'all;-) just wanna make sure i utilize all my resources, this being a very good one.
OK, so the building thing sounds fun and would save me some bucks, but i have no experience in building them, any ideas where i could pick up some instructional videos or books on this art???:dunno Furthermore, i don't know if i would be able to pinpoint likes and dislikes in existing rods on the market that i would look to tweek in a rod i were to build myself or have someone else build. Maybe in a few years.
As for the conditions, what exactly do you mean, water or weather? I am a local western washington lake and river angler with the monthly trips to the eastside of the state, whether it be the Ford, Lenice, Dry Falls, etc. When on the lakes i'll be in a tube and won't spend too long out in real windy conditions:hmmm
Already felt a few out at a couple fly shops and look forward to spending a weeknd in one of them later on this month.
Having tossed a fly around for 3 years now with a mdiocre rod i am really looking forward to a new setup for this spring. I say 200$, but when it comes down to it and if i decide on something like a sage then i would drop more for the desired model plus the extra 50 for a 4 pc. :smokin

 

Even though they're discontinued, try and find a Scott STS 9' 5wt (tactical series -- now they only make 6wt+). Best rod I've ever used. They make a 2pc and a 4pc. If you find a 4 piece but don't want it, let me know. I'll take it.

 

In the $200 range, I have the Sage DS2 and the Loomis GL2 in 9' 5 weights. The DS2 is a faster rod and is a four piece so I use it more. The Loomis is a very nice rod with a beautiful finish.

I've found the GL2 is more forgiving of open loops. I bought the Sage for my kids but the Loomis is easier for them to cast so I switched to the Sage so they could use the Loomis.

If you can spare a couple more dollars or find a used one, I would highly recommend moving to a GL3. They are great rods for the price.

Pete

 

The thrill is not in the kill---But to let them go.

I use a GL3 9'5wt for all of my summer fishing. Be Steelheading,lakes,small rivers,big rivers,just about any place that I fish. I've caught little fish on it and big fish on it(chums). I've used them for about 10 years now,but my first one broke on me this last summer,but I got another one and I still like it.

Jim

 

Of the makers mentioned, I would lean toward the Sage SLT right now in that 5/9 set up.I have cast them with the sage lines and they are SWEEEEEEEEET! Perfect trout rod.I like a little more action than most of the Winston stuff. I do know they are getting into the higher performance area now so it's worth investigating.Look up the 2003 lines of each.Then go out to the shops and cast some rods. sage has a great DEMO program so you can try the rods on the water and fish them. that's the way to see what you are getting. Casting flyrod on a gravel lot behind a shopping mall will lie to you- You will fall in love with the fisrt pretty rod you meet.