by Mike Wilson, February 01, 2005
Welcome to the first installment of the Frugal Fly Fishermen for 2003. I hope everybody has been out enjoying this incredibly mild winter we are having. I got a chance to take advantage of the weather and cast a fly to the steelhead in the Methow River a few days after Christmas. I won’t bore you with the details of the one that got away but will say I hooked into a heavy fish on my second cast.
In my first article for this column, I reviewed about a dozen fly rods that performed quite well for not a lot of money. As I was writing that column, I had just finished a multi day shopping trip for the Physical Education Department where I work. The PE Department wanted to buy some graphite rods but did not have a large budget to work with. I was forced to look at rods in the sub $50 range and to be honest; I really didn’t think a decent rod existed in this price range. Saying that I was skeptical would be a bit of an understatement.
My first stop seemed to confirm my beliefs. Every rod I picked up was of poor quality and built with cheap components. I was getting ready to tell the instructor that it wasn’t possible to get anything decent for that kind of money when I stumbled into the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Spokane. During my visit I told the staff what I was trying to accomplish. Immediately they directed me to a rack that had several rods by W.W. Griggs and started raving about how good they were. I figured that I had nothing to lose by taking a few moments to pick one up and evaluate it. Boy was I surprised. These rods were way above everything else I looked at that day in quality, components and finish. I left the store with a 4 piece rod I was so impressed.
I have had the 4 piece rod for about 6 months now and I also recently added a 2 piece to our family collection as a Christmas present for my 9 year old son. Christmas break offered me a chance to cast the two piece rod and I used the 4 piece rod a few days later so I feel like I have a good comparison of the two rods. Below are my thoughts on how they performed.
W.W. Griggs 4 piece travel rod. 5/6 wt. Price as tested $49.99 which includes a fabric covered pvc rod case.
I had the pleasure to take this rod with me on several great fishing trips this last year. July found me at Amber Lake with aggressive and hungry fish. The rod got a real workout with a fat 18 inch brute and performed nicely.
August found me on the St. Joe River. The wind had come up a bit and I could no longer use my 3 wt. so I decided to give the Griggs a try in windy conditions. It worked great and really allowed me to toss the line into a decent head wind. I also thought the rod provided fair accuracy. Not like a Sage but we are talking a $300+ difference in price so I found it more then acceptable.
November found me on the Okanogan River in single digit temperatures chasing after steelhead. My Sage rod had a tip break off as I was massaging ice out of the guides. The Griggs rod bailed me out and saved the trip. I didn’t hook into a fish with it but I would have been done fishing had I not had it along. The rod did a good job casting the heavily weighted line and fly but again, it did not have the power for the long cast that my Sage did.
Bottom Line: A great entry level fly rod. The rod seems to combine a soft tip with a heavy but section which works out great for fighting larger fish. I have had some minor, and I mean minor, trouble with the tip section flying off while casting. Usually it is because I did not get it on tight enough. Once I figured that out, I haven’t really had a problem with it. In fact it didn’t come lose once during the steelhead fishing trip and that was while casting a fast sink, sink tip fly line with a bead head size 6 fly on it.
W.W. Griggs 2 piece rod. IM7 model*. (Note that Griggs now offers an IM6 and an IM7 model in their 2 piece line.) Price as tested. $39.99. The IM6 retails for $29.99.
As I mentioned above, I love my 4 piece rod and it has worked great. The only thing I have had trouble getting used to is the heavy butt section of the rod. It has been my theory that this was due more to the 4 piece design and extra weight associated with it then any other factor. Picking up the 2 piece instantly confirmed this theory. If the 4 piece is the Volvo of the line up due to its sturdy design, the 2 piece is the Porsche. This rod is very light and extremely well balanced.
The fit and finish of this rod was good. I build fly rods as a hobby and am very critical of the wraps and finish job. In fact, that is the first thing I usually look at when I pick up a rod. This particular rod did have one small finish flaw and I would have bought a different one had there been more in stock but this was the last one on the shelf. The flaw is minor but it does show that it pays to look your rod over from tip to reel seat before your purchase it. The wraps are smooth and burnished properly to give the rod a nice look.
Casting the two piece was a great experience. My son is a beginner fly fishermen but with a little practice, he was able to cast 25 feet with it. In the name of research, I had to steal, er I mean borrow the rod from him and cast to some rising ducks in the distance to test its accuracy. The rod allowed me to knock out several 60-80 casts with ease and the accuracy was very good. This rod was a lot easier to cast then the 4 piece and felt very comparable to some of the early St. Croix rods.
Bottom Line: If you don’t need a 4 piece rod then I highly recommend you pick up the 2 piece. The 4 piece is no slouch but the 2 piece version is a real pleasure to cast and would be my first choice for a day on the river.
That’s all for this months column. Next month we are going to explore the early spring fishing opportunities in Eastern Washington. March 1st signals the opening of many high quality fly fishing lakes in the Columbia Basin and Spokane region.
Until next time, stay frugal!
Mike Wilson
frugaflyguy@aol.com