Whats your favorite odd ball and mainstream fly rod?

[Justin H 0]

To be fair I only have two rods, but I really love my 5 wt. It is a TFO Finesse which has a slower action than most rods out there, and it makes nice smooth casts. It won't do super long casts, but at short to medium range it is just a joy to use. I got it for 50% off too because they decided to discontinue it, so that was nice.

[cphubert 0]

I have a 8' one piece fiberglass Fenwick built by a friend for me in the early seventy's. I don't really know what line it is rated for but it feels overloaded with a  6 and a 5 seams to light. I have kept the rod for most of my life but transportation with it leaves a lot to be desired so it never or rarely gets fished. More of a remembrance piece that the next guy will have to get rid of.

[Jacks Grampa 0]

Sage 390RPL from 1991. It's my sniper rod.

[Pbass 0]

On 8/8/2020 at 5:43 PM, cphubert said:

I have a 8' one piece fiberglass Fenwick built by a friend for me in the early seventy's. I don't really know what line it is rated for but it feels overloaded with a  6 and a 5 seams to light. I have kept the rod for most of my life but transportation with it leaves a lot to be desired so it never or rarely gets fished. More of a remembrance piece that the next guy will have to get rid of.

That kind of stuff is cool to keep around. I have an old bamboo rod with a wind up reel that was my Grandpas. It’s really not in fishing condition now days but cool to have around.

[Pbass 0]

On 8/8/2020 at 6:31 PM, Jacks Grampa said:

Sage 390RPL from 1991. It's my sniper rod.

That would be a great stick for sure! 

[Jacks Grampa 0]

It is. One of the few older rods that are still going for pretty good money. My guide in Montana was the first to call it a "sniper rod". I may leave it to him in my will.

[utyer 0]

After starting out with some real junk, I started working in sporting goods stores, and bought one of the first Fenwick Glass rods that had no metal ferrules.  Then I started building custom rods for about 25 years.  Went through about every brand you could think of.  Every year I would "step up" with a more expensive rod.  Winstons, Loomis, Sage, and Orvis rods were lined up on my rack.  My favorite OLD rod is a Sage RPLX 8 weight that I built in a rush. With only a week to get ready, I tied flies, and  I built that rod.  I coated the guide wraps  with 5 mix epoxy since I didn't have time to let it set up overnight.  Next morning I set off for Boca Paila, and had a great week of fishing.  29 years later, the finish on the guides was cracking and pealing off, so I re-wrapped the whole rod.  I still had two spools of the same thread.   I still fish it, and expect it to last another 29 years.    Ever since leaving the tackle industry,  I have "devolved" my rod collection.  I can fish with ANY rod, and as long as it performs well I don't care what brand it is, or where it might be made.  I fish with rods that cost LESS than $200 and they cast just as well for me as any rod I have ever own and better than many.    The second photo was taken just after the finish was applied, the milky areas dried clear by the next morning.

 

[mikechell 0]

Hah!  Nice wraps, utyer!  Not enough blue, but definitely an eye catcher!

[caloosa bug 0]

My favorite odd ball rod would be my Maxcatch Extreme 8’4” 4pc 3wt.  It’s the lightest wt rod I’ve owned and has been a blast catching fish on it. I had one for 2 years before I broke a tip. I could carry it in my backpack on the motorcycle, and stowe it easily on camping trips. When I ordered a replacement last winter I got another 3wt and a 5wt. For $30 each, I have no complaints at all. For an inexpensive rod they have performed perfect for what I use them for. I have other name brand rods, but these are a favorite odd ball.

because everyone likes pics, here’s a bass on the 5, and a pea on the 3. Lol🤪

 

 

[Rocco 0]

Way back in time, I fished Back Bay, the upper end of Albermarle Sound in North Carolina. It was a huge brackish water dish maybe 4-5' deep that in fact was a sea of floating weed beds with boat trails cut into it. It was loaded with forage fish and snakes.

The bass waxed fat and plentiful.  Landing one nearly always meant wrestling it in with a bunch of salad on the line. So I made a purpose-built  9' 9 wt fiberglass Fenwick fly rod which was butt ugly but very durable and up to the tortuous demands of that style of fishing.  The game was to cast a weedless deer hair floater onto the vegetation and and strip it toward fairly open pockets of water where explosive surface takes often happened. Heavy leaders -- 20- 25 lbs -- were the norm and even then things came unstuck and you only got grass back sometimes. 

I understand Back Bay has lost much of its vegetation and that fishing is way down now. The rod would probably do service as a musky rod now.

Rocco 

 

[DrLogik 0]

I build most of my rods so they are all "odd ball".  The only store-bought rod I have that falls into that category is a graphite Gatti rod I ordered straight from the factory in Italy years ago.  I've never seen another Gatti rod on the stream.  It's a beautiful and serious casting tool.  Workmanship is almost on-par with older Winston's, at half the price of Winston's at the time

[vicrider 0]

I don't know what is up with photobucket but I can't get to my account with the pics. My favorite oddball is a 7' 3wt. that performs best by far with a Wullf Longbody line. It is a one of a kind rod built by a master craftsman in CO., the Gnome Jeff Hatton. It is the only Penta he has built and did it as a special request by me with a Cholla Cactus handle. I'd show this rod but like I said PB won't let me get to my pictures. Here's a pic from computer with a small portion of handle.

I also have a companion set from the Gnome's cave in CO. with a 4 and 5 wt. tips and butts for ether 6'9" or 7"9" rod. Can be 4 different configurations for any conditions. These are his standard design of hex bamboo with specialized hardware and raised bamboo handle. This I have a few pics of on my computer.

 

[Pbass 0]

On 8/12/2020 at 4:58 PM, utyer said:

After starting out with some real junk, I started working in sporting goods stores, and bought one of the first Fenwick Glass rods that had no metal ferrules.  Then I started building custom rods for about 25 years.  Went through about every brand you could think of.  Every year I would "step up" with a more expensive rod.  Winstons, Loomis, Sage, and Orvis rods were lined up on my rack.  My favorite OLD rod is a Sage RPLX 8 weight that I built in a rush. With only a week to get ready, I tied flies, and  I built that rod.  I coated the guide wraps  with 5 mix epoxy since I didn't have time to let it set up overnight.  Next morning I set off for Boca Paila, and had a great week of fishing.  29 years later, the finish on the guides was cracking and pealing off, so I re-wrapped the whole rod.  I still had two spools of the same thread.   I still fish it, and expect it to last another 29 years.    Ever since leaving the tackle industry,  I have "devolved" my rod collection.  I can fish with ANY rod, and as long as it performs well I don't care what brand it is, or where it might be made.  I fish with rods that cost LESS than $200 and they cast just as well for me as any rod I have ever own and better than many.    The second photo was taken just after the finish was applied, the milky areas dried clear by the next morning.

 

That is a sweet rod and a great story! Thanks!

[Pbass 0]

22 hours ago, caloosa bug said:

My favorite odd ball rod would be my Maxcatch Extreme 8’4” 4pc 3wt.  It’s the lightest wt rod I’ve owned and has been a blast catching fish on it. I had one for 2 years before I broke a tip. I could carry it in my backpack on the motorcycle, and stowe it easily on camping trips. When I ordered a replacement last winter I got another 3wt and a 5wt. For $30 each, I have no complaints at all. For an inexpensive rod they have performed perfect for what I use them for. I have other name brand rods, but these are a favorite odd ball.

because everyone likes pics, here’s a bass on the 5, and a pea on the 3. Lol🤪

 

 

Nice fish! 

[Pbass 0]

27 minutes ago, vicrider said:

I don't know what is up with photobucket but I can't get to my account with the pics. My favorite oddball is a 7' 3wt. that performs best by far with a Wullf Longbody line. It is a one of a kind rod built by a master craftsman in CO., the Gnome Jeff Hatton. It is the only Penta he has built and did it as a special request by me with a Cholla Cactus handle. I'd show this rod but like I said PB won't let me get to my pictures. Here's a pic from computer with a small portion of handle.

I also have a companion set from the Gnome's cave in CO. with a 4 and 5 wt. tips and butts for ether 6'9" or 7"9" rod. Can be 4 different configurations for any conditions. These are his standard design of hex bamboo with specialized hardware and raised bamboo handle. This I have a few pics of on my computer.

 

That thing is awesome!