Phil Ew, Yellowstone Anglers DO NOT use "six or eight recognized expert fly casters!", they use their staff from the shop, including George Anderson and his son!

I have been a follower of their rod "shoot outs" for years and respect their opinions, but recognize that the only really factual data they present is Weight, price and warranties. Beyond that it is a compilation of each of the four persons opinions.

With your dislike of advertising and marketing lingo, I find it unusual you do not object to their usage of these terms from some of their recent shoot outs, "wide sweet spot, long bomb, rod is a powerhouse, like a freight train, absolute beast, rod is a true cannon", and my favorite, "zing & pop!"



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2020 06:04PM by Phil Erickson.

Come on Phil, they use similar subjective terms all the time. You presented them as providing "objective" info. Wasn't objective, might not have used your favorite subjective terms, but they have a lot of their own, like my first post quoted. Including one that wasn't allowed on the forum. You condemn a certain selection of terms yet ignore that Yellowstone is using almost the same terms. And opinions are in no way objective.

Complaining about a lack of objective results, measurements, statements, etc., is all well and good. It's true. But posting about it here isn't going to change anything. Perhaps the same comments made on the various fly fishing forums will do more good; rattle more cages, etc. You're preaching to choir here...


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The Y.A. articles publish the average distance cast in feet and inches for each caster with each rod, and the average accuracy in feet and inches for each caster with each rod. Personally I am more interested in this information than how sweet or soulful the rods are, which is also reported in the articles - but if people want to hear this stuff I don't begrudge them one bit. Enjoy. I would welcome an explanation of what "extra fast" or "smooth" or "powerful" means when applied to fishing rods. It would help me select the right blanks. Seeking facts should not offend?

The most important thing about a fishing rod is if you like it or not. It is impossible for someone else to tell you that.

Jeff I believe you described the essence of rod crafting. The true worth of a rod is its value to the user.

The true value of a golf club is if you like it or not, but that generally depends upon how it performs. What do you do if a customer who wants a rod made requires the rod to be "smooth, powerful, lite, and fast - like a Shakespeare Wonder Rod "? If you have been around for a while I KNOW you have dealt with potential customers like this.

There are folks out there that will never be satisfied.
I find it hard to believe these people only emerge after the sale. It would seem to me that these folks would be putting up red flags during the initial negotiations. If I sense a difficult customer I let them know up front that I do not think I can give them what they want and I politely extract myself from the situation. If you pick up on these folks and continue to do business with them then you deserve all the grief you get.

PS If a person wants a rod like a "Shakespeare Wonder Rod" Let them know they can still get a "Wonder Rod" from @#$%& or the internet.

John D.

On the internet but not But not "custom made"!

You are correct! My point is if a person wants a rod like a Shakespeare Wonder Rod then they should consider buying a Shakespeare Wonder Rod.

PS I believe one can get just about anything "custom made" on the internet.

Phil,
One of the worst designed rods is the GLoomis NRX - powerful? Yes. A pleasure to csat - NO.
Yet it won the #8 shootout a few years ago. WHY??? Because they sell them.
Herb

Herb: I have never casted, let alone owned an NRX. Apparently it doesn't "agree" with your casting style, but it might easily thrill another fly caster, maybe even me? No amount of hogwash about "power" or "smoothness" or "speed" or "magic" [positive or negative hogwash] will improve or change my ignorance about how an NRX will fit my casting or my needs - or enlighten anyone else. Human progress uses qualification and quantification of reality, not hype, to advance.

"Apparently it doesn't "agree" with your casting style, but it might easily thrill another fly caster, maybe even me?" Your words, and exactly why there will never be a set of numbers that will adequately describe a rod so that there will never be expectations unmet. You can eliminate the "hogwash" (which has been quoted from YA earlier) and still it's too complex for a set of numbers to describe a rod adequately for everyone.

No matter how you slice it , it all boils down to it "feels" to the user. I'm not aware of any chart that reflects that.

You can get close. If you have a rod you like and have measured it for length, weight, power action and, perhaps most importantly, relative frequency, then any rod that matches all those specs is going to be very very close to what you have. The relative frequency (speed) is the measurement most closely related to how a rod "feels."

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Just shake it..lol.

ben belote Wrote:
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> Just shake it..lol.


This made me laugh

Robert, sounds like your and old shaker too..lol.

I may be able to replicate what feels right to me by using measurements, but who knows what the next guy feels?

ben belote Wrote:
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> Robert, sounds like your and old shaker too..lol.

I always shake my rods :P