Some fly rods end up as more than just another entry in that year’s product catalog. A select few gain a cult following, often retaining their value (and exceeding their original retail price) as the years march on. The venerable Winston IM6 rods are a great example of that, along with the Sage XP, Scott G Series, the original Orvis Seven Eleven, and plenty of others.
These highly-collectible rods probably don’t get fished as much as they should, but we love owning them anyways, because they’re both a snapshot of fly fishing history, and downright fantastic fishing tools.
Are there any rods on the current market that might end up as sought-after as the Winston BIIT 8’6″ 4-weight? Or the Sage LL 380? It’s hard to say for sure, but I think the following list is as good a guess as any.
Orvis H3D 9′ 6-weight
The H3 was groundbreaking in many ways, not the least of which is the NASCAR-style sticker Orvis slapped on these sticks. I personally like the departure from traditional design, even if it’s still polarizing (although it’s telling that Orvis has kept that same theme all these years later).
The H3D series is powerful, built for distance casting and larger flies. The 9′ 6-weight is the most impressive of the bunch (closely followed by the 8-weight), however, because it retains a soft enough tip to still fish dry flies. I’ve used this rod in the Alaskan interior chasing grayling, on rainbow trout streams in southern Alaska, and even on some high-alpine lakes in Utah. It’s not the first rod you’d reach for in those situations, but it has such great line control, and such a wonderfully soft tip, that it does a great job with flies down to about a size 16.
On the flip side, I’ve used it to land sockeye and pink salmon, dolly varden in the surf, cutthroat from Pyramid Lake, and plenty of larger rainbow and brown trout on streamers. This rod is a workhorse, with the backbone and strength to handle large flies and large fish. It’s a rare rod with both power and feel, and it’s now what I reach for first when heading to Alaska.
Sage R8 Classic 8’6″ 5-weight
Of all the rods I’ve recently fished, the Sage R8 Classic 865 stands out as perhaps the best dry fly rod made in the past decade. It utilizes the latest and greatest in materials and tapers from Sage, but it’s built not for the more modern fast-action we tend to see these days. It’s finely-tuned for dry fly fishing.
The R8 Classic, in the 865 configuration, throws laser-tight loops that are accurate, land softly, and stay together out to 60 feet. For a shorter rod, that’s incredible, and it makes the 865 a true dry fly weapon.
Unlike other dry fly rods, though, the rod doesn’t lack stability or backbone. It’s not going to throw a heavy hopper-dropper rig through the wind as well as other rods, but it has enough power to bring in large fish in heavy current.
Scott Radian 9′ 5-weight
When the Radian released, I think it was Scott who coined the “fast meets feel” phrase that’s been liberally borrowed by other rod manufacturers and gear reviewers alike. It’s a great marketing phrase, but also an accurate way to describe this rod.
I first fished a Radian on a lake, throwing long leaders with multiple flies, and it handled that work effortlessly. On the river, it’s accurate, light, responsive, and everything you’d want a flagship rod to be. That Scott chose to re-issue it for part of the company’s 50th anniversary speaks a lot to the rod’s staying power, and it’s still selling for $800 to $900 on eBay.
Winston Pure 2 8’3″ 4-weight
In picking the most collectible size of the Pure 2 4-weight, I opted for the 8’3″ instead of the 7’9″ because, while both are sweet, the extra bit of reach I get from the 8’3″ makes the rod slightly more versatile for fishing pocket water, or reaching out at greater distances for rising trout.
You can’t go wrong with either, as any of the Pure 2 models I’ve fished are among the best rods to ever come out of Twin Bridges, Montana. Winston knocked it out of the park with this rod series, building something that evokes the lovely light, crisp action of their vaunted IM6 sticks, but with modern stability and tapers that give the rod an edge against the wind, at distance, or when stalking picky trout.
The Pure 2 is definitely a dry fly rod. If I was spending the day on a spring creek, or tossing flies to high-mountain trout, it’d be among the first rods I reach for. Outside of that, it’s not the best with dry-dropper rigs, although it has enough power to coax larger trout to the net.
Montana Brothers Rodworks 9′ 4-weight M
The 904M from Montanan Brothers Rodworks is the best four-weight you’ve never heard of. These rods are built by two brothers from Bozeman, who run the company as a hobby. Their rods aren’t cheap (retail is $975) and they’re built to order, with wait times up to 8 months. Currently, they’re not taking orders for 2026 anymore, either.
I was lucky enough to get a rod a few years ago, and it’s become a go-to stick for me. These three-piece rods are wonderfully slow and relaxed, but the blanks are stable, accurate, and incredibly light. They cast almost effortlessly, and love true-to-weight lines in both double taper and weight-forward configurations.
These rods were designed and optimized for the style of fishing done in Yellowstone National Park, and its surrounding streams. The rod matches it perfectly, handling all sorts of fly sizes and fish with ease. It’s not the rod I’d reach for when throwing heavier rigs, but even in the wind, it holds its own.
What do you think? Are there any other more modern rods that should be included on this list of potential collectibles? Let us know in the comments!
I own an original Scott G 9’ 5wt, and a Sage XP, same. They are indeed classics. I mourn the loss of my Winston LT, 8’9”, 4 wt.
I have never fished the Air 2, but it seems to be a cult classic. Someday I’d love to see whether it lives up to the hype. And the Sage R8 Classic is intriguing. But frankly, my Scott Centric is as integral to my life as my Victorinox knife, and every bit as usefully multifaceted.