Category:Modern Rods

Modern Rods

Sixty years ago, traditional split cane rods dominated fly fishing. But over the next twenty years, fiberglass rods took the lion's share of the market from cane. The new material was tougher, cheaper, and more amenable to mass production. Eventually, the large production cane shops were gone. Yet a small core of dedicated craftsmen persevered with split cane and founded the bamboo Renaissance that grows to this day. Thirty years ago, the tide turned again and graphite took the market from fiberglass. However, just like glass never completely replaced cane, graphite never completely replaced glass.

Just like split cane, fiberglass rods are entering a Renaissance. For the fiberglass fly rod fanatic, times are good and getting better. The companies now working with fiberglass do it because they are proud of their products. They all consider fiberglass an excellent material for fine fly rods. As a result, modern production fly rods may be the best ever produced in glass. And there really aren't any dogs out there. Better still, new companies are experimenting with glass so this list of manufacturers just might grow.

This is the index of Modern Rod makers: There is a link to a Wiki page on each of the (known) modern makers/manufacturers of fiberglass flyrods. Each of these makers has full control over the manufacture of their blanks and other production methods. This is not a listing of custom rod makers building on pre-made blanks. The rods are listed in roughly increasing order of cost. Most of these makers also sell unfinished rod blanks. Interestingly, of the manufacturers listed, only Lamiglas and Wright & McGill were producing fiberglass when it dominated the market.