I recently booked a great fly-fishing trip over spring break. One of the professors here is a licensed guide and he's taking a few of us on a school sponsored 7 day fishing trip. Food, lodging, boats, guides, transportation all included for $200!

Due to this I'm in the market for a new fly rod as my current one is a POS.
I'm looking at the G Loomis GL3, Sage Launch, and Sage FLi. I know they are all good rods made by very reputable makers, but which is the best "bang for the buck"? Any others that I should be looking at in this price range ($300ish)?

 

All the rods you have mentioned are reputable brands. I suggest you find a shop that will let you test out thier rods. Most shops have demo rods, for you to cast and get a feel for them.

I'm personally a Temple Fork Outfitters guy. They make great rods for the price. I have a 3 wt series one that is as smooth as my buddies $500.00 Albright. The temple fork only cost $90.00. Another good brand is Winston.(Pricey) My buddy has one in a 6 wt, and it is his go to rod. Cant remember the name or model.

Have anymore questions, post them up. Nice to see another flyfisher.

jrbhc8

 

Also check out http://www.redington.com/

A couple years ago I started getting into fly fishing as well & picked up a Redington combo (redfly2 rod & reel) - it was a very nice outfit for a beginner and pretty forgiving. I think it was around $200-250 at the time..... unfortunately since then, time for fishing has been extremely limited...

Tight lines!

 

I checked out Temple Fork Outfitters and could only find 4 piece rods. I'm pretty set on getting a 2 piece. As for the redington, they look like fine rods but I'm getting a better deal on Sage locally.

I found one place with the Sage FLi, and a cheaper reel/backing, and of course the rod tube for $280. The shop I normally go to is willing to do the Sage FLi with a Sage reel, Sage backing ($65), for $300, and the rod tube. I've been looking online for quite some time trying to find better deals and can't find any, closest I can come is Cabela's and its $275 for just the rod.

I think I just might have to go pick up a Sage this week. If only it would get up to about 40 degrees so I could try it out. Still open water to fish... I just don't want to go when its this cold.

 

Cabelas is pretty good about selling their rods. My buddy wanted to get one of their combos, but didn't like the reel options available for it. So he talked to the manager, and they were willing to give me a more expensive reel at the same price. So basically he got a free reel upgrade. He's happy with it.

jrbhc8

 

They are pretty good, but I doubt they'd throw in a Sage Reel, plus Sage fly line for another $25 over what they are charging for just the rod, then throw in free shipping. Their combo's for the same rod with Cabela's reels start at $420.

Don't get me wrong I love shopping through Cabelas, I think I just got too good of a deal to pass up.

 

Temple Fork has lots of two piece rods. I have a couple myself and they are the best bang for your buck. Try this page.

If you don't already own a flyrod then are you sure you'll even like flyfishing? If you're not sure, why would you start out with a Sage? 100.00 rod would be better to start with and spend the rest of your budget on a good reel and line. Temple Fork is the way to go if you're just starting out or if you've been flyfishing all your life and just want to add to your collection.

 

Sorry, I missed the part about you just looking to upgrade your old one. I would still go with a TF.

 

It looks to me like its just their lower end/entry level rods are the 2 piece. All of their higher end rods are 3 and 4 piece. I'd be more able to be convinced if I could actually pick one up and compare it to a Sage or Loomis.

I have a $100 rod already (St. Croix) and am looking for better performance. I've always been told and definately learned in Econ classes, that you get what you pay for. I could be wrong, but it just seems to me, there has to be a reason that they are going for less money.

I'll go down to the local TFO retailer and take a look at them. If they really are as good as you say they are, I'll probably have to pick one up. Save me some money for more bugs and gear.

 

I have a series one 3wt TFO and a 6 wt series one TFO. Both cheap rods, bought the 6 wt as my first rod, liked it so much got the 3 wt. The 3wt is even better. Plus they have an awesome warranty with their rods.

jrbhc8