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What is the best fly rod for general fishing on rivers and streams?

orvis? sage? loomis? which one? i'm thinking of getting a 5 or 6 weight fly rod ... one that is packable maybe a 4 piece

Public Comments

1. Those are all pretty solid brands. My personal opinion is that the brand itself doesn't matter all that much. I have an LL Bean rod which was actually manufactured by G-Loomis. I think the warranty is the bigger thing to keep in mind, especially when you consider the terrain you are often trekking while fishing. Sage for example, offers a lifetime warranty on their rods and Orvis has a very good warranty on some but not all of their rods.
2. I have a 2 piece 6 weight fly rod from cabela's.
3. The best fly rod is the one that works for you and you budget. Orvis makes a full line-up of rods ranging from the Clearwater starting at $169 to the ZG Helios - upwards of $755. They are 4 piece rods. The nice thing about Orvis is that you can choose the action of the rod - they make their rods from full flex (trout bum series) to mid-flex and tip flex in all their other series, and are covered by a 25 year warrantee. Loonis flyrods are generally fast action. You can spend $660 for a GLX, $300 for a GL3 (which is old technology ) or now they have a new series for beginners called the Neptune - for $215 all are 4 piece rods Sage makes great fly rods - Introductory rods include the Sage Launch ( I bought one of these for my daughter) which is a medium fast action rod and not too expensive and casts well at $250 and the Sage Flight which is a fast action introductory rod for $280. You can step up to a Z-Axis for for about $630 All are 4 piece rods There are others to consider that are not as expensive Echo makes a great casting rod (called the Carbon) for under $200 that is terrific, check out www.kmdtackle.com for a great deal on it. St. Croix makes some nice value series rods as well, the Triumph series is not bad for $120, but in my opinion, most St. Croix fly rods have a "clunky" feel to them. Redington (owned by Sage) makes a decent rod for money as well. If I were to spend your money, here's what I would get: Unlimited budget: Orvis Zero Gravity Helios Under $300: Sage Launch Under $200: Echo Carbon Under: $150: I'd spend an extra $20 on an Orvis Clearwater Under $100: Cabela's Traditional 2, or I'd spend an extra $20 for a Ross Worldwide Essence Flystart rod.