loomis fly reels are about 355.00 and are not nearly as good as a redington wich is about 135.oo, why is this?

Fish On, the reason is advertising and a created image.

[ 10-24-2001: Message edited by: Hammerhead ]

Wow, It's L'Enfant Provacateur!LOL www.winternet.com/~mikelr/flame11.html

[This message has been edited by Neanderthal (edited 07-30-2000).]

buzz to a bomb,ha ha you mean $hity fisherman that can only snag fish.what a loser.

Sad.

[ 10-24-2001: Message edited by: Hammerhead ]

Exactly right Neanderthal!

[This message has been edited by Jake Dogfish (edited 07-31-2000).]

Good question. Why should any relatively simple reel, even one with a disc drag, cost substantially more than a baitcasting reel which is mechanically far more complex and whose parts must be machined to equally close or even closer tolerances? I suppose that production volume might have something to do with it, but I'm afraid that most flyfishing equipment is just plain overpriced. I think that the Redington reel is a good sign, an indication that an established manufacturer is willing to buck the trend and produce and market a quality reel at a more reasonable price.

Hammerhead,
I agree that the best way to deal with posts like buzzbomb is to ignore them. The other day I ran across this really funny site that profiles different "flame warriors", I couldn't help making that post becuase the guy fit this particular profile so well. I think this is the best fishing site on the web and certainly don't want to contribute to it going down hill, which I don't really think it has. Anyway thanks for getting back to the subject Preston.

Preston, your right, and I thought I was in the minority on these price's that have been getting worse on fly gear. The word on this board and elswhere is that the Tioga and Teton are good reels for the money.

Fish On,

I think Preston pretty well captured the essence. It seems like the yuppie boom of the early 80s merged with marketing creativity, and fly fishing equipment prices have never been the same. Good fly gear was never cheap, but that seemed due in large part that fly fishing was a niche market (which it still is compared to spin fishing). But it used to be a lot more affordable for the average working stiff.

I'm not familiar with either of the brand reels you mention, but just from advertising and what other anglers have said it's easy to associate Loomis with quality and high prices and Redington with moderate quality and price. If Redington's reel is actually a better product, well, then that's an excellent example of marketing success by Loomis.

Fortunately, the fish have never cared how much I spent on my gear. I often use cheap plastic reels (recall the Berkley 556?) for trout, since it's just a line storage device. It's not that I don't appreciate quality, either. I use Hardys for steelhead fishing. Since I'm gonna' get ripped off on the good stuff, I might as well get the snob appeal of one of the oldest names in quality fly tackle. Not to mention the notoriety of not having a disc drag reel. Sorry to digress. I could go on and on. When I was a student, and then a father raising kids, the cost of the gear really used to get my ire.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

So having debated one against the other, what would you guys recommend for a first time fly rod? (and having just spent buccu bucks on a Sage and Orvis for my boyfriend, not having a lot of $$ left)

Hey SPIG:

Don't run much fat line myself, but several of the guys around here use a St Croix. Pretty decent rod, and not a lot of bucks. Hope this helps.

Yeah, I think St. Croix is an excellent choice, very nice rods for not too many bucks. I have a St. Croix 9 1/2 foot 8 weight Avid that I used a couple of times last winter and will be using for salmon this fall.