A Chronicle of Glass

Once I became hooked on flyfishing, it wasn’t long before I was attempting to amass a collection of rods that spanned all weights I thought I’d need for both trout and bass fishing. While perusing a flea market, I came across a long aluminum tube containing a flannel rod sock and a practically new Fenwick Feralite 7-8-9 weight fiberglass rod – perfect for poppers and bass bugs. I don’t recall how much I paid for it, but I was totally stoked over the poop brown rod and still have it today – although I don’t remember the last time I used it. 

Older fiberglass rods can feel heavy and noodly with slow actions. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the new glass rods currently available. They are lighter, less noodly and slightly faster actioned. As a relatively new fly caster I always found that old fenwick tough to cast, especially after casting the graphite rod I had at the time. 

Pro tip: With old school glass rods, you really need to slow down your cast and let the rod load - all the way to the grip. Thankfully, these new glass rods have a much more gentle learning curve. 

A few years ago, I picked up the Wade Rod Co. Dragon Glass 3 weight (Bluegill) and soon after an Epic fiberglass rod building kit and built my own 5 weight glass rod (actually built it for my wife, but I use it more). So, my current experience with newer fiberglass rods is limited to those two (at the moment). For starters the aesthetics of the Wade are really cool – white/blue colored blank with some different color wrapping – way better than the poop brown of the old fenwick and also better than the black graphite rods currently dominating the market. The Epic is their “Salsa” color blank, which I think looks awesome too. 

These new rods are heads above their grandparents and definitely worth looking at. Improved rod feel, delicate presentation and some soul of their own will keep you reaching for them more often than you think. The price tags are reasonable too, at $279 you can pick up the Wade Rod Co Dragon Glass. For a comparable bamboo rod (if you want that soft action) you are looking at more than triple that price. 

So if you are jaded by the fiberglass rods of yore, there is no better time to pick up a new glass rod and shatter your preconceived notions. Ok, enough reading, order yourself up a rod (LINK HERE),  head on down to your local creek, golf course pond or wherever, and see how these modern rods perform. 

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