I'm 79 Years old and have fly fished in the Florida Keys and Many places in the Tn. mountains, The only thing I use the reel for is to store line on except for Tarpon and Snook in the Keys and you have to have a large reel with drag and much backing for these fish. I use a 7' rod for all the small creeks and rivers here and a 9' rod for large bodies of water, I can't see how a $1,000 rod would improve on my catch. If you are like me don't think you have to break the bank to start Fly Fishing.
I'm 79 Years old and have fly fished in the Florida Keys and Many places in the Tn. mountains, The only thing I use the reel for is to store line on except for Tarpon and Snook in the Keys and you have to have a large reel with drag and much backing for these fish. I use a 7' rod for all the small creeks and rivers here and a 9' rod for large bodies of water, I can't see how a $1,000 rod would improve on my catch. If you are like me don't think you have to break the bank to start Fly Fishing.