"A $1,750 fly rod, that's stupid". "Ridiculous". "Overpriced". "Not needed". "I'd never pay that". "Lefty and Clouser said you don't need an expensive fly rod". I say to each his or her own.
Interestingly enough, and I'll see it this weekend, is I'll pull my 2002 Chevy Silverado with 300,000 miles on it into the parking lot at Edison and see just what everyone is tooling around in. I'll see vehicles old and new. I'll be envious of some of the pick-ups people have, especially the Chevy's and GMC's. They'll have big wheels, all leather interiors, four doors, LEER caps,
and the DECKED storage systems in the bed. Throw in a roof rack with some long rod holders and they're all set. Those rides will cost you probably somewhere between $75,000- $85,000 dollars. I again used ChatGPT for the above image and had to laugh, it does so good, until it comes to the reels. What the hell are those things?
While we both will wind up at TFFS early Saturday morning the difference lie in the start of our journeys. When I get in the cab and sit on the well worn seat I'll hope the truck turns over. And I pray, as I always do, that the homemade bed doesn't fly off on while on the road one day. The other side will wake up, go and take a leak, look outside and hit the remote start, with the heated seats, to get her ready for the ride. If I wanted a heated seat I'd need to bust out a lighter.
The point of all of the above is, no matter what kind of ride you're in, they'll both get you to where you want to be, but the confidence and experience may be different. And that brings me to the latest in fly rod technology and pricing.
So I did a little research from when I got my first saltwater fly rod. It was around 1999 and Choinard hooked me up while I hung around and occasionally worked at The Fly Hatch between shifts at the firehouse and the hospital. Back then the rod Orvis was
pimping was their Orvis Trident PM 10+ rods. I'm not a techy guy so I don't know the difference between all of the rod technology out there. But below is a price list for the series,
So in 1999 Orvis's top of the line 9 weight rod ran $495 dollars. Remember that when I circle back. And I'm sure someone is reading this saying, "See things were cheaper back then".
That brings me to the newly released fly rod from G. Loomis. For the saltwater anglers the "Asquith" would be for you offered in a range from 8- 12 weight rods. So I looked up "Asquith"
during a quick Google search and found, "Asquith is primarily an English surname of Old Norse origin, meaning ash tree wood". Funny, when I saw the price tag I thought it meant, "expensive", "overpriced", or "sucker". In the presser that G. Loomis released they explain this update in this series is "the most technologically advanced fly rod series ever produced". Well, haven't we all heard that before?. Remember, Orvis's newest was the "...most accurate ever". Loomis also states that the Asquith "...is purpose-built for passionate fly anglers who demand a rod capable of elevating every cast, presentation, and moment". But hey, don't we all want that?
This line of rods run from $1,635 to $1,750, the higher price for the 10, 11, and 12 weights. They are made with a "Spiral X Core" which means nothing to me, and probably most anglers. They are "rolled" over in Kumamoto, Japan and handcrafted in Woodland, Washington. Oh, well there you have it, now I see it.
If you know then you know when a new product comes out people love to get their hands on one and do a review. Now, for those invited to the try-it-out party, they get one from the manufacturer to try out and do a review. Most aren't paying retail prices for them which can lead to a biased review. They don't want to be that source, a magazine, a blog, or a dealer, that puts any such product or company in a bad light, so in the end they go easy as to not ruin that relationship.
I read a review over at Flylords, written by Max Inchausti. He explains the rod and his experience in testing it. Again, these reviews are more for the fly gear techy people, not the average anglers out there. But below was Inchausti's take, or Final Verdict,
The line that got me was, "For the price of a new Asquith, anglers could get a new rod, reel, waders, and boots". Tru dat. This is for a very niche fly rodder, one that has very deep pockets. But to be fair all of the big rod manufacturers have crested the $1,000 mark. Although TFO's top
of the line saltwater rod, the Moment, tops out at $649. It uses what they call a "Kevlar weave" in their technology, which again, means nothing to me. But like other companies out there
they have attracted the big guns to be a part of their team. Above is a picture from the TFO website featuring Blane Chocklett and Flip Pilot. If a $649 fly rod is good enough for them, maybe it should be good enough for you. I also saw a picture of Blane on the TFO site with a
big bull redfish talking about another of the TFO's rods, The Blitz. That rod is touted as their best seller and comes in at a swallowable $499. You can see and hear Blane explaining it below,
To be honest anything that talks about redfish these days gets my attention. And truth be told I'm not here to boost up TFO over another company, but when you talk price point I had to look what's out there, and supported by the big names in fly fishing. Over the years we've seen Kreh, Clouser, Popovic's, Chocklett, and Pallot all part of the company. And if you compare them to a NBA basketball team that a pretty good starting lineup.
A lot of people want things that are made in America, although they shop on Amazon and Temu for the best deals for anything and everything. Companies are slick these days as they label their products, "Assembled in America", or, "Made in America with Overseas Parts". But that's for another time. Truth be told a ton, if not most, of all of the products you buy, in whole or in part, come from some overseas manufacturing company. In fly fishing that goes from flies, to waders, to rods and reels, and all of the apparel. Let's just be honest.
TFO is a big company. They have Canadian and United States "branches" with the bulk of the manufacturing taking place in Incheon/Seoul area of South Korea. I found an old "How It's Made" episode on You Tube which explains where and how TFO rods are made,
But not all of their rods are built overseas as their Blue Bight series, a spinning rod line, is now exclusively made in Texas.
So what does money mean these days compared to 1998 when I purchased my first Trident PM -10+ for $495? Of course we think, and rightfully so, that things these days are far more expensive than they used to be. That goes from eggs and milk, to vehicles and houses, to fly rods and reels. I did a quick search to see what $495 from 1998 would look like today.
If I were to buy that same rod today it would be about $1,000 dollars, which is just about where most of the upper fly rod price points are today. An example would be the Orvis Helios D, which comes in slightly higher at $1,198. But the Asquith, with that Spiral X Core, would be almost twice the cost.
The question is what company is going to hit the $2,000 fly rod first? It's funny how no one wants to ever be the first when it comes to the highest price. Back in my old guiding days on the
Upper Delaware most lodge and guides would charge a max of $495 for a two-person drift boat trip. They figured that extra five bucks would deter people from booking. But if you add in a tip for the guide they were over that anyway. These days a guide trip will cost you a few bucks more with the West Branch Anglers at $550, Crosscurrent $575, and Dette's at $625. I have heard of some owner-operated guides already hitting the $700+ mark.
I've been out of the Upper Delaware guiding game since 2014. It was May of that year when I did a three day back to back to back run to end my guiding career. Above is a great picture of me and Charlie "Bunky" Limpert getting ready for a day outside of Steve Taggart's place where Charlie lived in what he called "The Sugar Shack", which was an apartment over Steve's garage.
While I always try and keep my licenses up to date I let my New York State guide license go. I was guide # 6225, and I'm sure the number these days is much higher. On my drift boat and truck was the National Park Service (NPS) sticker which meant I was a legit guide, as far as insurance and the required permits go, which included both NY and PA guide licenses. At the time NY's fee was $125 for five years, while PA's was $400 annually, which sucked. I was
NPS sticker number 11, and back then the lower the number you had the better, well, really it just meant you had a lower number. If you know then you know. So what's the reason I went down this rabbit hole? I guess was to explain the cost of things today. Truth be told when I first starting guiding the price tag for a day out on the water was $325, plus a tip, or not, for the guide. I think back on how much money I didn't make while guiding up there. Driving from New Jersey, the gas, the tolls, the gear and flies, the lunches, the shuttles, and the lodging, which some nights included sleeping in my truck to save the money. What was the point of getting a room at the Capra if I wouldn't be getting into bed until midnight? Add into that the insurance and fees, plus a cut if I was working for another guide, lodge, or outfitter. Not a good business move. But it was fun. I tip my hat to those guides that get it done, and don't just support a habit like I did.
Today I'll make my way into my fly tying room. I'll need to dig around and find my fly tying stuff to sit at the Squimpish booth this Saturday and not embarrass myself. And during that I'll be editing down and getting rid of things I don't need or use and pack the things that will head down to South Carolina, God willing. I'll also be looking at my gear, my rods and reels, and figure out what's still serviceable or not. So much of my stuff is beat to hell and is past it's life, but, I won't be replacing any of it soon. So for me an Asquith is out of the question, no matter what a Spiral X Core would do for my cast or the pressure I could put on a big fish. If there's one at TFFS this weekend I'll go and put hands on it, just to say I touched a $1,700 fly rod.