In the past year, my quiver of rods has grown quite a bit. Thank God for deep discounts working in retail. But one rod really stands out.
It’s not anything fancy, far from it. And you might think that the notable rods would be hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Not always so. This one cost a whopping $12.
I’m talking about my Eagle Claw fiberglass rod. In bright yellow, of course.
Photo by Shane Rickert
I bought it more as a joke than anything else. We had a couple at work and for the price I figured what the hell. So it sat in a corner of my closet for weeks. Then on a slow day at work I happened to cast one.
Wow.
Maybe it’s just the fiberglass, maybe it’s just something different, but that rod feels incredible. I had never spent much time with fiberglass rods, always trying to stay on the techie curve, following the new technologies and materials with eager anticipation. Taking a step backwards as it were never occurred to me. I’m glad it did.
The first time I went fishing with it, it took me about 15 minutes to adjust my cast to something that flexes soooo slowly. Make your backcast… and wait … and wait … and wait … and finally it loads up. If you put your index finger right above the cork you can feel the rod flex all the way down to there. Pretty awesome.
Photo by Shane Rickert
It casts surprisingly well. Sure, it has issues with longer distances and wind, but as a small creek dry fly rod (East Gallatin, anyone?) I predict it will be unparalleled. I’ve only had one fish on the rod, a large-ish rainbow at Davis Pond, which of course got off. But that rod bent double, line was peeling out; it felt like I had a new state record on. That’s where this rod is going to get really fun.
Too often as fly fishermen we get sucked into the realm of “stuff”. We’ve always got to have the newest, brightest, and best stuff. And a lot of times we determine just how good it is by how high the price tag is. This Eagle Claw rod proves this is not always the case. This summer I’m going to try to find and point out some other awesome deals.
If you can find one of these rods, buy it. It’s worth it if just for shits and giggles.
