When I started fly-fishing, “quality” was where you found it regardless of country of origin.
American rods were considered tops but the best reels were English, along with fly boxes and other gadgets. These days, you can definitely find reels as good as or better than the best on the market back then, for prices that equal what the going rate was back then.
I remember all too well when Hardy & the Orvis CFO reels topped the $100 price point but to honest, many of the import reels of today are better quality then a Hardy was back in the 1980’s. My first “good” rod was an Orvis Limestone Special that went for over $100, which was a big chunk of change for a graphite rod.
Bottom line, a $200 combo today is WAY better than a $200 combo was in 1980. That’s because the quality & bling bar is way higher today than it was back them so reels are machined and rod hardware is better quality. So, if you are fishing with Asian tackle, you are fishing with better stuff than I was when I was fishing the best. You have nothing to apologize about or explain.
What pisses me off is when companies take their manufacturing off-shore and keep the price point the same.
Some of you may remember about 15 years ago when Hardy was selling UK built reels around the $300 price point. They then took those models to Korea but lowered the price only marginally. They also moved production of their top of the line Zenith Titanium to Korea and kept the price @ $800 which pissed off those folks who bought one after the move.
If that wasn’t bad enough, they introduced or rather re-introduced certain “classic” reels as “built in the UK” but they cost you $600-$800!!
Fast forward 10 - 12 years and you can buy any number of Hardy classic reels made in the UK for $250-$300 including a few that would have cost you $600-$800 10 years ago.
So what happened?
Asian economy changes, UK economy changes….sorry, I don’t buy it, just like I don’t buy the excuses for rising gas prices every Memorial Day, 4th of July & Labor Day.
The manufacturers see us coming with our opinions, snobbery and fat wallets. That’s why $800 - $1000 top of the line rods are the norm along with $100 fly lines, $500 reels, $15 tippet material and $100 nippers to cut that $15 tippet material.
A fantastic pair Abel fishing pliers cost you $100 only a few years ago UNTIL two years ago when one manufacturer pushed the envelope with a $300 pair. Now, the Abel’s are $300 and their nippers that hit the market @ $50 are now close to double that. Top of the line fly lines are getting ridiculous ever since the $100 Sharkskin hit the market when everybody else was sitting at $50. Now $70 - $80 is the norm.
I understand inflation but fly tackle plays by its own set of rules. A great fly reel with a massive amount of porting to reduce weight and no gearing or gizmos will run you about $100 an ounce. If you want a super duper rod, you will spend $500- $800.
A great complicated geared, fancy-schmancy baitcaster with run you about $40 an ounce while a great graphite baitcasting rod MIGHT run you $200.
Why, maybe only because conventional tackle anglers just aren’t willing to spend that kind of dough.
What about the PFBC “voluntary” fishing permits? It seems suspicious to me the permits that would have the greatest appeal to fly fishing trout anglers, cost twice as much as the permits for warmwater. Why?
Yup, they see us coming…;-)
