How We Test Fly Rods

At Flylords, one of the topics we cover frequently is new gear. Our goal with gear coverage is to test new products on the water and determine whether they are worth the investment. Our gear reviews are never paid product placements; every piece of gear we test is chosen by our internal team to answer questions about products anglers frequently use. In particular, fly rods are one of the more important pieces of gear for anglers and one of the hardest pieces of gear to test. With several notable releases this season and a bunch of testing underway, we thought it important to share how we test fly rods with readers.

To ensure consistent testing across different rods and testers, we developed a two-stage testing method. This process is two-fold, first relying on lawn casting followed by a regimen of on-the-water testing. Combined, this gives us an accurate feel of the rod in terms of “technical performance” as well as in actual fishing scenarios. From there, we translate this into reviews, calling out what we like and don’t like about each rod. So, with every fly rod test we publish, you can be assured it went through the paces and is an honest and informative gear review.

Stage 1: Lawn Casting

The first stage of every Flylords rod test starts on the lawn. The idea behind this test is to eliminate external factors that you might find on the water and learn about how the rod performs. We set up a 90-foot tape measure, the standard length of a fly line, and work through casting at different distances. Then we move on to accuracy, setting up objects at varying distances to see how accurate the rod is. When it’s time to evaluate performance, the following criteria are what we consider.

Power

When considering a rod’s power, several factors affected our perceived rod testing. The first is overall power, measured as a rod’s ability to deliver flies at distance. The more “powerful” a rod, the more it’s able to transfer the casting stroke energy into total casting distance. In layman’s terms, rods that cast further have more power.

Our next consideration is power distribution. This directly relates to the action of a rod and how the blank distributes its power. Is the rod power concentrated in the butt section, or is it distributed throughout the rod? This translates to how the rod performs at different distances. For instance, a medium-action rod focuses the power in the lower half of the blank. The softer upper half of the rod has less power, flexes more, and loads better at close distances but falls off at longer distances. Conversely, a fast-action rod will have power throughout the rod blank, typically softening at the tip. While this is great for generating high line speeds and delivering casts at distance, it doesn’t bode well for short casts.

Accuracy and Recovery

An accurate fly rod is a good one. It allows you to place your dry fly in the lane of a feeding fish or lead a school of wary bonefish. In lawn testing, we take this into account and place an emphasis on accuracy. This emphasis isn’t based on accurate casts at 90 feet, but rather throughout a range of distances most anglers encounter. If a rod can accurately deliver casts from 20 to 60 feet, then it is more than capable for most anglers.

Rod recovery is another important factor in terms of accuracy. We define recovery as how quickly a rod’s tip returns to its natural position between casting strokes. A rod with poor tip recovery will oscillate more before returning to its natural state. While this might seem insignificant, it can have detrimental impacts on a rod’s accuracy.

Balance/In-Hand Feel

The last key indicator of how a fly rod performs that we consider is how a rod feels in the hand. While a rod may look good on paper, if it doesn’t check this box, there’s no point in adding it to your quiver. There is no denying that this is the most subjective category in our testing, but we feel it’s important to relay our thoughts to the reader. Things like the thickness of the cork, overall weight, and perceived swing weight all go into our considerations when reviewing new fly rods.

Stage 2: On the Water Testing

Once we’ve done our due diligence, picking apart our test fly rods, we move on to the second stage of testing: on the water. For most anglers, this is what matters most. It’s real-world testing where we put the rod through various angling scenarios to see how the technical specs translate to fishing.

This phase of testing features anecdotal evidence from our time on the water. You’ll hear our thoughts in real-world fishing scenarios, such as a bow and arrow cast under a tree, sidearm casting to a mangrove pocket, and everything an angler might encounter on the water. We also throw a variety of flies with different techniques. As a result, readers get to see how different rods perform in different scenarios. One rod may excel at dry fly fishing, but lack the backbone to set the hook on deep nymph rigs. Another may come alive with a sink tip and meaty streamer.

The last thing we consider during the water testing is how the rods translate to fighting fish. After all, what good is a rod that can’t land a fish? Rod specs like power and action often determine how a rod can tame fish. In addition, we consider tippet protection and lifting power in our reviews.

Final Criteria:

Our last testing criteria are not directly related to how the rod performs. Instead, they relate to the rod’s price, aesthetics, and warranty. The goal of adding these to our reviews is to guide anglers as to what makes the most sense for them.

Value

Rod value is a very important factor with modern fly rods. As technologies improve, the gap between fly rods narrows. We account for this with the fly rod value, a simple measure of what you get in performance and what you pay for the rod. Some rods may cost more, but have the performance to warrant it; a good value. Others may cost significantly less, but are only marginally lower in performance; also a good value.

Aesthetics/Components 

A fly rod’s aesthetics may or may not be important to anglers. It’s also a very subjective category. Nonetheless, we feel it’s important to briefly share our thoughts on how the rods look. If you’re paying $1,000 plus for a rod, it’s important you get one you truly love.

While we look at aesthetics, we also go over the components of the rod we are testing. This ranges from the type of cork, reel seat design, and guide selection, specific to the rod’s intended use case. I.e., if the rods are marketed for saltwater fishing, then the components must be able to withstand powerful fish and corrosion.

Warranty

Practically all rods come with some form of rod warranty, yet not all warranty programs are created equally. Depending on the rod model and brand, warranties can look a lot different. Since accidents happen, and rods break, we research the warranty cost, terms, and limit of the warranty for the specific rod we are testing.

Final Thoughts

Fly rods are the most debated and arguably the most important piece of gear for fly anglers. With a never-ending supply of new models and marketing campaigns, sorting through everything and making an informed decision can be daunting, especially considering the price of some flagship rods. We developed our testing strategy to put new rods through the paces and deliver unbiased and consistent reviews. Whether it’s a rod roundup, new gear review, or long haul piece, every fly rod the Flylords team tests goes through this process.