20 Best Cheap Fly Rod (2022 Updated)

This thing is tons of fun and definitely easy to cast. Makes for an awesome summer dry fly rod!

The six weight butter stick is the sweet spot . Great responsive flex , strong enough backbone with a great reel seat and phenomenal retro color design . My new favorite glass rod by far .

Smooth casting, handled chunky rainbows and cutts on recent lake fishing trip throwing size 8 – 10 weighted streamers with ease. Liked the light weight in the handle/reel seat, helped wearing out arm & shoulder after a long day on the water.

Only wish it had a full wells grip for more power and leverage on larger trout. otherwise, quite satisfied. also spent a couple hours on a brushy small creek drifting soft hackles on way home, helped reach hard spots to access, very responsive to soft takes.

This rod casts nicely. It’s probably the best rod I’ve owned. It’s smooth and it casts effortlessly. I like the color and alignment dots. I caught a trout on my very first cast, which I think is a good sign.

Solid rod at a great price. Got it for my wife’s first 3-wt with a Lamson Liquid reel. Pretty to look at. More experienced anglers would like a rod that loads better. Nice reel seat and hardware. Grip had minor damage, but not worth the time to return it.

Good buy overall.

Tried the 6 and 7 wt, both very nice rods but the 6 wt suited my usage better. I was looking for a rod that could double as my practice rod for the FFI Casting Instructor’s certification. Needed a rod that was pin-point accurate in close and still able to hit a target at 75 ft.

Not a lot of rods can do both well. This one can! Very similar action to the Scott Centric but manged to save $400 with the Sonic which makes me happy. Stillwater was great in returning the 7 wt Sonic I tested and making this transaction easy.

Great job folks, will buy from you again.

This rod balances very well and is so light in hand that it feels like a 9 foot. I purchased it specifically for a return trip to the Bighorn river. There is a great review on telluride anglers highlighting this particular model.

I have lawn cast it with everything from 175 gr SA amplitude Infinity (6wt) and Rio big nasty (6 wt) to Airflo river and stream (5 wt gr wt 155) So far the best baance has been with. 168 gr Rio Lumalux (168 gr) but I suspect for dry fly fishing a SA amplitutde trout (6wt-160 gr) will be ideal.

The heavier lines will work well for nymph rigs.

I recently purchased a Sage X 590-4 rod from Tom’s and the process from go to whoa was genuinely well expedited. The company is terrific to deal with – especially their handling of phone orders. I’m a returning customer having previously bought a couple of pairs of waders, boots and bits of miscellaneous fly fishing kit.

So, that wasn’t a surprise. The Sage X is a marvellous rod and didn’t disappoint on its initiation at Bronte Lagoon in January. Great piece of kit and looking forward to many years of using it.

I have the 7’0″ 3 weight and 9’0″ 7 weights and found them to be excellent values and solid performers. The 3 weight is a great small water rod for close casting. The medium-fast blank is very thin and the rod feels super lightweight in hand.

The 7 weight’s faster action is very capable at casting streamers in the wind and doesn’t have a heavy swing weight. I didn’t feel any need to over-line the rod at all. The cork and components seem decent enough and work just fine.

Very satisfying rods for the money.

This rod is amazing value even when compared with the best, for casts up to about 60 feet. It has a soft feel to me reminiscent of the great Sage SLT. It is not fast enough for casts from 70 to 90 or 100 feet, which I’ve come to expect from 8 wt rods.

The fit and finish is impressive for the price. A little stiffer belly and mid and it would be five stars.

I now have two of these rods, a 5 & a 6wt. They are GREAT! So they don’t have fancy reel seats, and only mid. grade cork (fish won’t know the difference). Blanks are a beautiful semi-translucent blue.

They cast like high grade (expensive) rods. Don’t be turned off by the Fenwick name. Pure Fishing Co. bought Hardy & Greys (part of Hardy)companies. These are essentially Grey’s rods with different cosmetics.

I would check them out before the word gets out, they sell like crazy, and the price doubles. I have Sage, Loomis, Scott top of the line rods that I paid big bucks for. Seems pretty stupid now! Only negative I can think of is they have only limited models.

Maybe they we add more.

I have been a Hardy customer for many decades. Love the tradition and the history of this great brand. But, I am picky about my gear and brand loyalty is a secondary consideration for me. Quality and performance are the top on my priority list.

With the Ultralite fly rods, Hardy hit a mark that is truly admirable. I love how this rod casts at short, medium, and long distances. It keeps the loop stability for long casts with long/light leaders.

Also, Hardy did a superb job of reducing any rod vibration during casting, The rod casts and tracks very well, one of the best I have seen. This rod is right up there with the best of them for performance.

The Hardy attention to details and aesthetics nudges it ahead of the pack. Love the light feel in the hand. Responsive feeling during the cast, and quick tip recovery for great presentation at any distance.

One of the prime fly rods in the market. I love the 9′ 5WT for big water trout fishing. I use this rod for technical dry fly fishing. But the rod is equally capable of fishing dry dropper, nymphs, and streamers.

The rod has plenty of backbone and predictable tip section to fight big fish on light tippet. I am not overly thrilled about over engineered reel seat design. Other than that, hardy built another winner here.

I have 3 of the Ultralite LL rods. The 10’2” 2wt, 10’8” 0/2wt and the 11’2” 2wt. These euro style rods are super sweet, extremely sensitive and have ample power to bring large wild Delaware River Browns and Rainbows to the net in pretty short order.

I like the latter two mentioned for fishing bigger, wider, harder to get to runs but the 10’2” 2wt has an added bonus of being very capable of throwing a dry line to rising fish. This rod is very universal by loading the reel with a regular weight forward line and just changing out leader systems for the situation your in.

long mono leader for euro nymphing or shorter traditional leader for dry fly fishing. I have opportunity to try many different euro rods thru my clientele and these LL rods are spectacular. Kudos to Hardy for a great product!.

Bought this rod to use with a mono rig based on trout bitten review. Extremely happy with rod. Very light weight so I can fish all day without any fatigue. Quality is what one would expect in this price range.

Love the flexible guides. If you need a rod for euro nymphing this is it. Flexible tip to protect light tippet but good backbone to bring in large fish.

I bought the 596 for float tube fishing as my secondary rod. When I tube I have 2 rods with me, one with a sinking line and one with a floater. I have Sage X 10′ 6 wt I love but bought the Sonic to use as a dry dropper or indicator rod.

I absolutly love it for this application. It will handle to rungsten bead nymphs and an indicator with ease and it will cast a mile. I will say it is very fast and maybe not the best for small drys and light tippets but I have a sage X 4 wt for that.

Love Love Love this rod out of a tube with nymphs.

I use this as a streamer rod and have only ever run it with full-sink line. For that purpose it has been a great value. That type of fishing can be hard on rods, and at this price I can afford a back-up rod and won’t be too sad if this ever gets sent in for warranty.

This rod feels a little slower than I would like, but I can certainly live with that. It casts about 90% as well as my other streamer rod worth about 6x as much. Fighting fish is where the action really shines.

There’s no problem horsing in big fellas on 15 lb leader. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this rod to chuck 11 inch streamers to pike.

As my casting progresses (after 25 years of practice) I find fisheries I wish to pursue and discover I need specialty rods and lines to better enjoy them. That is definitely the case with this rod. I would call it an offshore rod.

My first time fishing it required double hauling (fishing a lake on a day that I didnt control the boat) and the rod excelled! My soft tipped rods are no match for the distance it provided me. Hooksets at a distance were not an issue either.

I have several ECHO rods from an 8 4wt through several other series in 5s and 6s. Not a small stream rod but one I wont be without on open water. Mr. Rajeff and staff: Keep up the good work. Amazing rods that, due to your pricing, allows me to own MANY!.

I just returned from an eight day rainbow trout fly fishing trip in Alaska. I used this rod extensively for the first three days and caught a good amount of large rainbows (20+ inches, 3+ pounds). I was using small beads to heavy conehead leech patterns.

The 10 foot length and stiffness of the rod enabled me to cast great distances, but my shoulder soon gave out and I found that I was missing a lot of takes simply because of the “heaviness” of the rod.

The rod actually feels like a 9 weight rod, but to be fair it was perfectly matched to my WFF 6 weight line. In addition, I had no problem handling a 13+ foot leader. I consider myself a good fly caster, but not expert.

I will use the rod in the future for casting heavy saltwater flys where a subtle take is not an issue with the fish I’ll be pursuing. I may also use it in my travels to Saskatchewan to pursue large “Jack Fish” (Northern Pike)–which always like big heavy flys thrown at them.

Practicing with the rod before going on an extended trip will build up my shoulder strength.

Like I said, Great Fly Rod!! Get you one!! Moosejaw price and shipping, Outstanding. I will be back!! 39 characters to short on my Review lol Really!!??

I love this rod , the extra length and medium fast action make it great for casting to tailing Reds while wading the Indian river , here in Florida !!!! I wish it had a counter weight system to help balance the rod with any 6 or 8 weight reel.

The extra length makes it hard to find the right reel.

Like most of the negative reviews I have broken 5 Clearwater rods (7’5” 4W, 9′ 5W, 10′ 3W X2) in about 18 months. The rod tips are of poor quality and I even had a 5-weight break while casting just above the cork – a tell tale sign of poor graphite.

I’ve been a long time supporter of all-things Orvis and when you include in-store purchases I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on their products. Within this same 2 year period I have gone through TWO pairs of Clearwater Waders and the sole of my Clearwater Boots popped right off in the middle of the stream.

Clearwater products are not the representation of the Orvis that I grew up with and it’s incredibly disappointing; especially with the global Supply Chain problems we are all experiencing. Virtually everything outdoorsy has been sold out everywhere since COVID and I didn’t even bother trying to replace rods/waders/boots after I broke the last one and was told that just the tip section of one of the rods was “delayed several months” and that the best option would be to just order a new rod that could be overnighted.

I’ve moved on to Patagonia waders and I really don’t see myself ever buying a rod or boots from Orvis again. Maybe this is isolated to the Clearwater line of products, but as others mentioned I would look to other brands – especially when looking at rods that wont break the bank.

Buying any “entry-level” fly-fishing gear certainly comes with some quality risks, but to see a personal investment in my beloved hobbies turn out to be a complete waste of time and money is the most disappointing part.

I have owned a Clearwater 3-wt 10-ft rod for just over a year. It gets heavy use once a week or so. The rod is used exclusively for Euronymphing. The rod is nice enough for a low end low price offering.

After 10 months I noticed the reel seat ring did not hold. It has to be tightened every few minutes or the reel will drop off. My fishing buddy with the same rod also has the exact same problem. I contacted Orvis to suggest there was a design flaw or manufacturing defect, but was told that Orvis does extensive product field testing and they look for this kind of issue during their product tests.

I don’t believe they have sufficiently tested the ring. Anyway my Clearwater rod (and my friend’s rod) has ring seat issues that I have not experienced with my Recon and Helios rods. Bottom line from me is you get what you pay for.

Don’t buy this rod if you intend to submit it to heavy use.

I had this rod for, not even, 6 months. It was well cared for and always properly stored after fishing. The rod completely snapped in the middle of the handle section on a simple cast. Orvis wants to charge me 1/4 of what I payed for the entire rod just to fix it? VERY DISAPPOINTING.

What warranty is there exactly?! My money would be better spent simply investing in a new rod. a SAGE perhaps?! Never had problems with their rods or their customer service. What’s even more disappointing is the exact same situation happen to a good friend of mine just last year.

He will never buy Orvis rods again and I am now with him on that! Should have learned from his experience and NOT purchased this rod, or any rod from Orvis perhaps! If after reading this you still happen to purchase this rod, make sure you always carry a back-up with you! (and perhaps not another Orvis!) With how easily these seem to snap, your day on the water is also easily ruined.

I purchased the Orvis Encounter in the 9′ 6 weight model and have found it to be more than acceptable. Fit and finish are good but lack the refinement of the companies higher end models such as the RECON and HELIOS series.

However this in no way retracts from the Encounters value or overall quality as an affordable fly fishing rig. The reel is a polymer build which should lend to its ability to handle some abuse such as being dropped on gravel.

The reels drag system is capable of typical freshwater species such as bass, carp and pike but less than ideal for more powerful species. Overall the Encounter reel is a good value considering its price point.

The rod is also good both in construction and aesthetics. Again at this price point you should not expect the same refinements in visual grandeur as the companies higher end models. The addition of the solid rod tube only adds to the value of the Encounter fly fishing rig.

Overall the Orvis Encounter 9′ 6 weight rod/reel package is a high value product that should lend itself well to most freshwater applications.

I’ve been very happy with my encounter outfit (9′ 5WT) and have used it to successfully reel in a lot of bass and bluegill in my local pond. I have not encountered any issues with using it and am overall really happy with its performance.

I was a little disappointed by the reel because it’s made of plastic, but the drag system is fully operational and it has not kept me from catching any fish. For the price, I suppose you really can’t ask for much more than you get.

I use the rod so much that if I ever find I need a better reel I can always spend a little more money on one while still knowing that everything else works great. The case is also very nice and keeps the outfit safe when I’m traveling.

I’ve owned this combo for a year now and overall performance is decent. However, if you pay attention to the product description Orvis has not made it known what materials the rod and reel are made from.

This combo is low quality and features a 4 piece graphite rod and a ABS plastic reel. The handle on my reel broke on the first drop (and you will drop it at least once. ) There are plenty of beginner fly combos that feature all aluminium reels with a 4 piece graphite rod.

You’re spending money on the brand name here. This also happens to be one of the only Orvis products not made in America and not backed by their 25 year warranty. This combo is by no means bad in terms of performance on the water, but it lacks the durability that should be standard at this price point.

Cabella, white river, Penn, and fenwick all have products of a higher quality at a lower price. Orvis does have exceptional customer service. And you’ll probably need it with this combo. Tight lines and Jesus loves you!.

Received the rod prior to departure for the Bighorn river and realized I received the 9′ version of the rod instead of the 9’6″ version. Too close to the departure date to ask for exchange so just kept the rod.

It casts well and is accurate but I used it mostly for indicator nymph so accuracy not real important as is for dry fly fishing. Would have liked the extra 6″ for control of like for indicator and extra reach.

It fought fish well with good backbone and soft top to protect light tippets.

I have two of these rods, a 7 1/2 foot 3 weight and a 9 foot five weight. The 3 weight is my favorite rod for fishing small, brushy creeks. It is true to line weight and casts very accurately at close distances, even with little or no fly line out the rod tip, yet has enough power to buck the wind a bit and to cast across bigger pools or runs with ease.

It balances great with a light click pawl reel. I really love this rod and find it a blast to fish with and aesthetically pleasing too. I’m not so thrilled with the nine foot five weight. This rod is easy to cast, mainly because it is really a lighter, softer four weight rod (I did a “deflection” test on it) and will cast an average four weight line just fine.

The flip side of this is that an average sized trout can put a decent bend in the rod and feel a little big sometimes! Although it has worked well for me in fishing dry flies and lighter nymphs rigs, it lacks the backbone to effectively fish heavier indicator rigs and I find it harder to cast in the wind when compared to my other rods.

For me, this rod is just rather tip heavy unless you hang a reel with an unloaded weight of about six ounces off the back end. Also, the cork on this rod is a poorer grade than the cork on my three weight and has developed some voids with minimal use.

I probably won’t fish the five weight much any more, but I heartily recommend the shorter rods, especially in three and four weight.

An excellent affordable fly rod. Fishing distances with perfect control: up to 45 feet (with 12 leader max , tippet included); beyond, accuracy fluctuates. Works a treat with dry flies and wet flies.

Not a streamer rod. Medium action. True to its indicated line weight. Do not use a half size heavier line. A light #5 line with a progressive taper works best. A #4 line works just fine too. I would say the rod is a #4.

5. Do not force the rod, adapt to its tempo. You wont get ultra fast line speed nor extremely tight loops, so avoid windy situations or shorten the leader. Light tippet friendly. Cosmetics are excellent.

Shapes of guides and alignement are impeccable for a rod assembled in China. Fairly light weight and good balance. One con: the tube with integrated sheath. I wish they had used a classic cloth sleeve which, to my mind, protects the rod way better than those compartimented tubes where the pieces rattle somewhat loosely.

But it would increase the price a little. So, an excellent rod for dry fly, wet fly, and greased leader light nymph fishing.

If you want a modern rod that behaves like top shelf pre-World War II bamboo, then this is the rod for you. I have a number of pre-World War II Grangers and Philipsons and a Heddon Black Beauty. They really give you a fuller insight to the origins of the sport which is all about the casting.

This is the second one I have bought, simply because I wanted a back up in case they go out of production.

I purchased this Redington Path II 5wt combo for my oldest daughter’s first fly rod and reel. I personally have experience with a handful of different Redington fly rods and, after some research, thought this combo would be the best choice for someone starting out.

The Redington Path rod is very similar to the entry level Redington Crosswater rod as far as the action and weight are concerned but my daughter really liked the classic colors of the Path blank and wrapping as well as the lifetime warranty that Redington offers on this rod.

The Crosswater reel that comes with this combo leaves a lot to be desired due to the plastic construction, but the drag system feels worthy of handling any freshwater fish we will be targeting on a 5wt fly rod.

Overall, I believe this Path combo is a better choice than the Crosswater combo for someone just starting out due to the warranty alone. I would not recommend this to someone looking to upgrade from an entry level fly rod and/or reel.

This is the fourth item I have ordered from Madison River. I ordered this combo doe my brother who is just getting into fly fishing. Every time I deal with MRFC, they are very helpful. Orders are placed and shipped next day.

In September, I finally had the opportunity to go fish Montana. I had to make a stop at MRFC for some advice and fishing g locations. They did not disappoint. Super friendly and knowledgeable and got us on some great fish below Three Dollar Bridge.

Work with MRFC and you won’t be disappointed !.

I purchased this combo to replace a starter combo from a no name brand. I can deffinetly feel the difference. The Reddington path casts smoothly and effortlessly. I went with the 5 wt for creek and small river trout fishing and it is durable enough to handle good sized bass at the same time.

I haven’t caught anything over 3 lbs yet, but I feel like it could handle that.

Great rod for the money. I have this rod in a 3wt and 6wt. The 3 wt is amazing. The 6wt with fighting but is a good rod but you can feel it is slightly heavier than a high end rod. Would definitely buy again or recommend to anyone.

I haven’t had a chance to fish with the Sage Pulse yet, but from what I experienced playing with in on the lawn, I think it’s going to be a great rod. The purchase experience with Fin & Fire was wonderful, as well.

Too be honest, I bought this rod for a trip that has not happened yet. But, I have mounted my reel and got it loaded up and have been practicasting with it in my yard. The action seems great paired with my Reddington reel.

This is a solid looking rod with a nice travel case. An extra nice touch that I have not seen before is the inclusion of a spare rod tip. I really look forward to my trip and days on the water with this rod.

I live in the Piedmont area of SC now but got relocated from the Charleston area so an especially appreciative of their oyster replenishment mission. If they had included a Toadfish decal, it would definitely be on my hard cooler or truck! (note to Toadfish marketing team).

Cancun: Tarpon, Snook & Permit Fellow Ladies- Get your Fly on and lets slam some fish with the Toadfish FlyRod. 4. 5 out of 5. Worth buying and trying. I have 2 other ToadFish Spinning rods, love them! This one isn’t my favorite but deff puts up a good fight to my Sage Rod.

The reason why I say that is because its heavier and takes a bit getting used to as my other rods are cork. It looks great, feels great, is responsive but if you’ve got small paws like me, maybe stick with a smaller cork rod.

Pratice before you go out slamming for fish- learn the weight and understand the way the rod works- it will make the experience better- thats true for any big fishing day!.

Everything about this fly rod is perfect. The look, the feel, the weight, the action, and even the case. I love that it comes with an extra tip section and so will anyone who has broken a rod on the water.

The versatility of this thing is impressive. I’ve used mine in salt flats, lakes, ponds and deeper water off the coast. I’ve underlined to a 7wt and overlined to a 9wt line and it’s handled both beautifully.

As my catch list continues to grow with this rod, so does my appreciation of it. When making a trip it always makes the pack list.