Kelly Galloup on $1000 rods

troutbert said:
Many of the less expensive rods cast very nicely.

Suppose someone started out with blanks that were all the same color, and with no markings, then finished them with the same hardware, etc.

Then you did blind testing casts. Do you think you could tell the difference?
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Yes. I can tell the difference. Between what suits my way of casting.
 
Silent Ocelot said:
The sarcasm was directed at my use of "lowly hunter" as I knew if I didn't annotate that it was sarcasm the constant camo wearers would assault me. With waders, a lot do look alike so it's hard for me to decide on one particular model. For the most part I buy things that appeal to me aesthetically and haven't really found a pair that really appear to me in that regard barring the Orvis convertible top ones, thusly why I haven't really looked into what waders I want to buy when the time comes to get a new set, I just stroll into the local sporting goods store and grab the one that appeals to me most.

As I said you are entitled to your own opinion. I find your reasoning for wader choice and making them a high priority sound and I agree with it, so I would expect you to respect my reasoning for choosing to spend what I want to spend on a fly rod. Your reasoning is confusing to me. You say you should invest in waders but not to put the same kind of investment into a fly rod?

Labeling a video as "this product is BS" implies an absolute, which is a fallacy in of itself. That statement says $1,000 fly rods are not needed by anyone. That statement is incorrect and several members on here have voiced this. On the contrary if I made a video targeting cheaper rods stating they are junk, have sloppy construction, and a are mass-produced and soulless, what do you think the response to that would be? However, that is just my opinion, and unlike Kelly, I keep that opinion to myself and only critique rods I have fished or casted.
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First of all, I'm not telling anyone to invest more money in waders than rods.
I'm simply stating my opinion on things, and what I do.
And that's - for the most part - what we do on this forum

Sorry if I confused you, but I'll try again.
IMO, you can get a nice casting rod at fairly cheap prices.
So for me - why pay more? (But if you want to, by all means do so)

Waders are a different issue IMO
In my experience, most of them - especially the cheaper ones - spring leaks fairly quickly.
Causing you to get wet while you're trying to have a good time fishing.
Simms waders have fared the best for me in that regard.
And I think they're worth the higher cost.
I don't really like getting soaked often when I don't have to.
Quite a difference between that - and fishing with a rod that just doesn't have all the bells and whistles

Again, just my opinions from 40 years of FFing - FWIW
You can take it or leave it
Doesn't matter to me.
 
Not-So-Solent Leopardus pardalis: If I "cast shade" (pun intended) on your top-dollar, multiple-situation load-outs for being the self-righteous nonsense that they clearly are, does that make me a hater or just observant? Of course, I would not have had the opportunity to do that if you hadn't posted so much on how money is no object and how much you spend. It makes you sound like an insecure DB.
 
caddisflyer said:
Yes. I can tell the difference. Between what suits my way of casting.
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As I stated on post #6 (I think #6), I've fished with the Clearwater rods and find them to be very easy to fish with.

As far as Galloup goes, he's a salesman. And there's nothing wrong with that.

In my career I've come to know a lot of different business people. I understand their "styles" and persona. IMHO there are only two types of people in the world. (Broad category here....bear with me). There are "Salesmen", .....and then there is "Everyone Else."

You can tell a true salesman from everyone else by how they react to specific questions.

For example: If you tell a salesman he owes $xxxx dollars on his income tax in 30 days, a true salesman will think....and then respond that he needs to sell 3 units to get that...and "It's Doable". The "Everyone Else" crowd will need to review their estimated cash flow.

Yeah. True.
 
Silent Ocelot said:
I swap my waders annually so I have no worries about leakage. A cheaper set of waders will get me through a year. Too many potential hazards with waders for me to justify buying more expensive ones. Since they aren't terminal tackle and therefore not directly involved in catching fish I do not see the reason to go "crazy" with the waders. That's my own opinion, again you can spend your money however you want. Most waders look similar to me so I am not as motivated to research one I really like cosmetically. I think the Orvis ones look slick. As for your trip experience, that is unfortunate. I guess in that circumstance I would head to the nearest fly shop and pick up another pair.

I could be tempted to get the Simms River Camo patterned waders though they are costly and I don't want to be taken for a lowly hunter as that would clash with the prestigious fly fishing look I am going for (a little sarcasm if I may so be allowed).

On a serious note, making a video telling people where they shouldn't spend their money is asinine.
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Think about what he's done, if 3 people think he's a good guy for calling BS on high priced rods, maybe they trust his word and buy $350 rods from him. If he can get just 4 people to do that he's won. The hits on that video have made him more money than selling one $1000 rod
 
Almost as entertaining as people posting to complain about what others have posted. :rolleyes:
 
What, does this guy sell rods or something? I honestly never, ever heard of him before this video.
 
caddisflyer said:
Yes. I can tell the difference. Between what suits my way of casting.
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I also can tell the difference between rods that suit my way of casting and which do not.

But in a blind casting test, could you tell the difference between rods that cost $1000 and those that cost 1/3 that much?

I think that would be difficult, because you can find rods with similar actions at those price points.
 
My history with waders was $100/year, with inflation that's probably more like $150/year. Buy cheap, buy expensive, the price/hour of wading ended up the same. If a pair costs twice as much, it lasts pretty much exactly twice as long, not more, not less.

But, my most expensive pair to date, Simms G3's, just got replaced. They beat the curve a bit.

Anyone have an opinion on best sub $200 fly rod? Looking for a main stick for my gf who's just getting started, and will be a backup stick for me. Aesthetics, don't care. But lookin for your standard 9 ft 5 wt non specialist do it all kind of rod, nymphs, streamers, dries. Probably will look around at the show Saturday, maybe Risenfly or TFO.
 
pcray1231 said:
Anyone have an opinion on best sub $200 fly rod? Looking for a main stick for my gf who's just getting started, and will be a backup stick for me. Aesthetics, don't care. But lookin for your standard 9 ft 5 wt non specialist do it all kind of rod, nymphs, streamers, dries. Probably will look around at the show Saturday, maybe Risenfly or TFO.
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Man, I have made this recommendation a lot around here lately....Redington Classic Trout. I like it more than my Risen and my TFO's.......plus it can be picked up for $100 at times.

Just my opinion. Take it for what it is worth. I am fishing my Redington CT 8'6" 4 weight today after work. I turn to that rod a lot for small stream stuff.
 
BradFromPotter said:
how much $ did he make on it?
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Google pays the creator of the video $55 for every $100 paid by advertisers. The more hits he gets the more the advertisers pay. As of last week that has 40,000 hits. Highly watched content like that can generate 0.30 per hit, but using the average of 0.18 per hit that's $7,200. I got this info from a Google accountant.
 
I recommend the CT 4wt 8'6" also. Only fished one for a day last year. The rod made some great roll casts with a woolly bugger on some SA floating line. The rod is surprisingly not far off from my H3 in the same configuration, with the H3 really only besting it a tad in accuracy, lightness, light swing weight, and that insane recovery speed those H3's are known for. I wouldn't mind having a CT in that configuration but already have the H3 in that configuration. I thought of buying a CT in the 4wt 8'6" configuration just to lawn cast against my H3 4wt 8'6" rod but I know the H3 would edge it out.

pcray, you may want to also explore a 4wt 8'6" platform in general for your gf. I have found that platform to be more versatile for PA fishing than the 9ft 5wt. I have fished my H3 4wt 8'6" on tiny 10ft wide creeks up to the and including the Tully (where it got stepped on) and it never felt really outgunned, but was small for the Tully. The reduction of 6 inches may make the rod a little less unwieldy for her.

For a little more money I would explore Taylor. I think they make fine rods for a good price and the owner Matt really knows what he is doing with rod design. The company is new so not a lot of people out there know about them, but they are great rods. I have not owned or fished any of their rods but owned one of their reels (the T1) in the "Thunderstorm" finish. The paint (hydro dipping) (bought the reel for $240 so I wasn't expecting Abel quality) was a little bit to be desired, but the functionality of reel felt great and balanced well on my Epic 4wt 7'6". As much as I have ranted about my love of my U.S. made rods on this thread I think some of the Korean built rods like the Hardy and Taylor rods are making some major leaps and are competing with established U.S. brands. My Hardy 10'2" 2wt is my most used rod.

Another recommendation would be the Fenwick Aetos. Really love the color on those rods. I fished a 9ft 5wt last year in on the same day I casted that CT. The Aetos was a great rod and performed well at tossing tandem nymph rigs under a 1//2 inch Oros indicator. The rod felt great and was pretty accurate. I'd fish one if I own and and found the rod to be substantially better than my SAGE Accel, which I have come to conclude is a dog of a rod and will be relegated to the loaner rod pile.

Normally I'd bring up second hand entry level SAGE rods but the prices of them are going up.

That's all I've got other than stay the h*** away from the Encounter! Hope this helps.
 
stephenb said:
Google pays the creator of the video $55 for every $100 paid by advertisers. The more hits he gets the more the advertisers pay. As of last week that has 40,000 hits. Highly watched content like that can generate 0.30 per hit, but using the average of 0.18 per hit that's $7,200. I got this info from a Google accountant.
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Yes, Kelly has probably made a killing off of that vid. I just hope my comments on this thread haven't steered people into watching the video.
 
Silent Ocelot said:
Yes, Kelly has probably made a killing off of that vid. I just hope my comments on this thread haven't steered people into watching the video.
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That's all part of playing the game, put out a video on a topic that is bound to divide opinion and we bite. Share that video with 50 more forums just like this and your off. And we have all unwittingly played our part. in making someone money, and tomorrow we will be at it again.
As Roger Waters wrote "all in all were just another brick in the wall"
Bricks in the wall of money making.
 
See, I've got a backup small stream rod to cover her when we go small stream fishing.

On bigger water, I got 1 graphite stick and 1 boo. I'd been toying with the idea of getting another graphite stick over time, as a backup for me and a rod to let any friends or guests use. She's going to Harmans with me in a week and a half, and will be going to the jam (Spring, Penns, LJR) as well, then Pine Creek 2 weeks after that. I assume at Harmans we'll be dunking heavy nymph rigs for big pellet fed pig rainbows, which ain't the bamboo's forte... Might be time to pull the trigger but I can't spend a ton of money. Can call it her rod and get her used to one rod instead of switching all the time. I've got a free 5 wt reel and line, put it on a rod, build her a leader, and we're good to go. Current competitors are:

Redington Classic Trout
TFO Pro III
Moonshine Drifter II
Risenfly ITB
Echo Carbon XL
Fenwick Aetos
Douglas Era

But I haven't really cast any of them. A forgiving mod/fast action with some backbone, but not a clunker, would be ideal. My current workhorse graphite, #1 rod has been a GL3 9' 5 wt forever, for what it's worth, I love that rod.
 
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I guess with the water you are fishing and the fact you have a reel with 5wt line on it, the 9ft. 5wt seems to be the option. I stand by what I said with going with the Aetos or the Taylor Dynamix. If you wanted to get really technical with it you could take the reel into various fly shops and see what the gf likes as far as reel balancing and how she likes the line on a particular rod. I would just grab an Aetos and be done with it.
 
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