Recommend medium grade rod?

W

Wilderness Medic

Smolt
Technically been fly fishing for about 20 years but didn't really get into it until about 5 years ago when I moved to Idaho. In fact I never even caught a keeper trout before then.

I've had the same low end White River rod forever. It took a lot of beating over the years. Last week, it finally met it's end when a buddy slammed his door on it. I went to cabelas and the guy recommended a Lamson Guru rod for my price point.

Well....after a 3.5 hour drive back up the mountains... it immediately snapped. I have no idea why. I was casting and suddenly it felt different and I noticed the tip was hanging down my line.

After that experience I'm hesitant to buy another Lamson. Can someone recommend a good 5wt rod in the 250-350ish price range? I guess I should be concerned with durability the most. I don't know if the more expensive ones are a lot more fragile than my White River, but I do hike a lot with them. I've slipped and sent my rod into the rocks too many times to count. My old rod always held up. If that one broke from casting (too hard?) I can't imagine it surviving a fall.


Thanks.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Welcome to the forum.
I'll second Echo rods. The Redington Classic Trout is hard to beat. Rod technology is at a point such that there are several/many good choices in that price range. Search for one that fits your casting style, a faster rod if you like or moderate/slower like I prefer for most of my fishing. That parts hard to recommend.
Rods break. It might of got dinged at some point by a bead head or rock bump, just hard to know. I just broke one in use, my fault, not the rods.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
+1 on the Redington CT if you are going to buy another rod. And anything from Echo is good too.

Did your Lamson rod come with a warranty? Will they fix or replace it?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I have heard some bad things about how Cabelas handles their rods for what it’s worth. Might be better off ordering either from someone else or get a rod your local Cabelas doesn’t have instock and order online.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks for the recommendations. Cabelas did honor the return. Funny you mention Cabelas Rod handling. The guy at the returns said that wasn't the first one he's had returned today, and it that it may have been damaged when they were messing with it.

I'll check out the Echoes. I did borrow my buddies Reddington when he snapped mine and liked it.

What do you guys think of the Moonshine Drifter II? Amazon has them for $120 right now. The idea of having a backup tip in case this ever happens again is pretty appealing after two 7 hour round trip drives over broken rods in a week.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wilderness Medic said:
Thanks for the recommendations. Cabelas did honor the return. Funny you mention Cabelas Rod handling. The guy at the returns said that wasn't the first one he's had returned today, and it that it may have been damaged when they were messing with it.

I'll check out the Echoes. I did borrow my buddies Reddington when he snapped mine and liked it.

What do you guys think of the Moonshine Drifter II? Amazon has them for $120 right now. The idea of having a backup tip in case this ever happens again is pretty appealing after two 7 hour round trip drives over broken rods in a week.
Click to expand...
Moonshine is a marketing company. Ie, they buy their rods overseas, use some fancy branding and market it.

More than 3 people have mentioned the redington classic trout and I’ll add my hat in the ring for that rod as well. I just rigged up my buddy with the same exact rod and it’s the rod I recommend to EVERYONE from beginner to expert that’s not a gear head
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
mcswny said:
Moonshine is a marketing company. Ie, they buy their rods overseas, use some fancy branding and market it.

More than 3 people have mentioned the redington classic trout and I’ll add my hat in the ring for that rod as well. I just rigged up my buddy with the same exact rod and it’s the rod I recommend to EVERYONE from beginner to expert that’s not a gear head
Click to expand...
Ahh. Alright thanks. That sounds like a safer bet. And it looks almost $100 cheaper. That will leave me enough to buy a second cheap backup rod. I don't ever want to have a trip ruined so that'll solve that problem!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wilderness Medic said:
Thanks for the recommendations. Cabelas did honor the return. Funny you mention Cabelas Rod handling. The guy at the returns said that wasn't the first one he's had returned today, and it that it may have been damaged when they were messing with it.

I'll check out the Echoes. I did borrow my buddies Reddington when he snapped mine and liked it.

What do you guys think of the Moonshine Drifter II? Amazon has them for $120 right now. The idea of having a backup tip in case this ever happens again is pretty appealing after two 7 hour round trip drives over broken rods in a week.
Click to expand...
Go to a fly shop and ask for help. Have the shop get a couple of rods out and string them up for you. You won't get this service at Cabelas or Bass Pro or Sportsmans. For what it's worth, the price of a brand name rod at your local fly shop and at one of the aforementioned stores will be the same. The difference will be, at the fly shop, you will get advice from someone who also fly fishes.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Buzzy said:
Go to a fly shop and ask for help. Have the shop get a couple of rods out and string them up for you. You won't get this service at Cabelas or Bass Pro or Sportsmans. For what it's worth, the price of a brand name rod at your local fly shop and at one of the aforementioned stores will be the same. The difference will be, at the fly shop, you will get advice from someone who also fly fishes.
Click to expand...
I had planned on that before I got suckered into the Lamson. The guy wouldn't shut up about how it casts like a $1000 rod and couldn't wait to buy one himself.

I think I'm going to order the Reddington classic trout. I'll have enough leftover for a bighorn complete starter setup to keep as a backup for less than the Lamson cost.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wilderness Medic said:
I had planned on that before I got suckered into the Lamson. The guy wouldn't shut up about how it casts like a $1000 rod and couldn't wait to buy one himself.

I think I'm going to order the Reddington classic trout. I'll have enough leftover for a bighorn complete starter setup to keep as a backup for less than the Lamson cost.
Click to expand...
If you're getting a whole setup as your "backup", you might consider getting a different weight. Maybe a 3wt if you like to sometimes fish tiny creeks, or a 6wt if sometimes you feel undergunned with streamers or big fish.
It gives you another option, but can still work as a backup if your 5wt is off getting fixed
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Northern said:
If you're getting a whole setup as your "backup", you might consider getting a different weight. Maybe a 3wt if you like to sometimes fish tiny creeks, or a 6wt if sometimes you feel undergunned with streamers or big fish.
It gives you another option, but can still work as a backup if your 5wt is off getting fixed
Click to expand...
Thanks, that's probably a good call. I've actually been wanting something bigger. Shop guy said if I want to go after steelhead go with an 8wt? I like casting big heavy terrestrials and struggling with bigger streamers on my 5wt. Could a 7 be a nice in between?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wilderness Medic said:
I had planned on that before I got suckered into the Lamson. The guy wouldn't shut up about how it casts like a $1000 rod and couldn't wait to buy one himself.

I think I'm going to order the Reddington classic trout. I'll have enough leftover for a bighorn complete starter setup to keep as a backup for less than the Lamson cost.
Click to expand...
"going to order the Redington" - so much for test casting rods at a fly shop.

Giovanni, I think it is a very rare fly rod that just breaks and the tip hangs there and I'm not saying it didn't happen. I'm sure you didn't slip and send your rod into the rocks or weren't guilty of hitting the rod with a bead head on a double haul nor were you ever slapping the water with your rod or swinging it against a tree on your hike in.

I'd guess that close to 100% of us that fish have broken a rod or two. Have you considered sending the rod to Lamson along with $50 for repairs? I have a number of Lamson reels and have found Lamson to be superb to deal with; they actually answer the phone.

Good luck.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Buzzy said:
"going to order the Redington" - so much for test casting rods at a fly shop.

Giovanni, I think it is a very rare fly rod that just breaks and the tip hangs there and I'm not saying it didn't happen. I'm sure you didn't slip and send your rod into the rocks or weren't guilty of hitting the rod with a bead head on a double haul nor were you ever slapping the water with your rod or swinging it against a tree on your hike in.

I'd guess that close to 100% of us that fish have broken a rod or two. Have you considered sending the rod to Lamson along with $50 for repairs? I have a number of Lamson reels and have found Lamson to be superb to deal with; they actually answer the phone.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Well that's a par for the course with my luck because that's what happened. I could send you a list of dozens of other random "extremely rare" things that have happened but you probably wouldn't believe them either. I have a reputation for being cursed with gear and will be that one in a million guy every time. It doesn't even make sense.

Cabelas already gave me store credit. As I said in over 20 years I've never broken a rod, which is incredible considering what my last one went through. I fully expect to break one of my own fault at some point. This wasn't it. If I broke it Cabelas would have refunded it regardless...... I did not fall. I was standing in a wide open area with no trees... I was using a soft hopper......

I can check out rods at other shops but unless Cabelas has it I'm kind of stuck buying what they have since I got store credit.


Are you affiliated with Lamson somehow other than owning their stuff?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wilderness Medic said:
Well that's a par for the course with my luck because that's what happened. I could send you a list of dozens of other random "extremely rare" things that have happened but you probably wouldn't believe them either. I have a reputation for being cursed with gear and will be that one in a million guy every time. It doesn't even make sense.

Cabelas already gave me store credit. As I said in over 20 years I've never broken a rod, which is incredible considering what my last one went through. I fully expect to break one of my own fault at some point. This wasn't it. If I broke it Cabelas would have refunded it regardless...... I did not fall. I was standing in a wide open area with no trees... I was using a soft hopper......

I can check out rods at other shops but unless Cabelas has it I'm kind of stuck buying what they have since I got store credit.


Are you affiliated with Lamson somehow other than owning their stuff?
Click to expand...
Didn't mean to get your hackles up. Good luck and no, not associated with Lamson, I like their reels.
 
Upvote -1 Downvote
I have 4 Redington CT's in the 3,4 and 5 wt range and they are all smooth casting rods that easily match my casting ability. I also fish with 4 of the old Cabela's L-Tech rods in 4 or 5 wt, these are rods that truly matched the performance of some of the name brand rods of the day. They were bargain treasures that I still love to fish today.

My newest rod is an Echo Carbon that I bought in a 6 wt for some of the bigger fish I have been catching recently. The surprise about this rod was the accuracy, right from the first cast it was apparent that it was bang on. I prefer using a family of rods rather than a mix of a dozen different rods, the same with reels. I buy modestly priced equipment that just works well for what I do. These days I can afford lots better stuff but stick with what got me here. Reels are a problem with a lot of guys as they have an eclectic mix of models and sizes but somehow don't have enough spools for all situations. Two years ago while shopping for a new spool I found Okuma reels on sale in mid winter and bought 6 identical 5/6 reels for a total of $219! Before that I bought 3 Orvis reels for my 3,4 and 5 weight stuff and a total of 9 spools. Now I have 15 fly lines that fit on just 2 bodies and everything is so much simpler.

July 28 will be my 73rd anniversary of catching my first trout on a fly rod. In those years I have learned that time spent on the water is far more important than mega buck gear. You can give a noob $2,000 worth of rod, reel and line and he is still a noob. But a guy with experience can buy a $170 package at Walmart and fish rings around a noob. This is the golden age of good modestly priced fly fishing gear, enjoy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top