Life Outside My Door

As an avid trout fisherman, I have strictly relied on my ultralight spinning setup to this point in my life. And while I don’t intend to give that up, I have succumbed to the temptation to advance into fly fishing. I suppose I’m just a glutton for punishment. My primary considerations for moving ahead on this decision are price, quality and reputation, and customer reviews.

The price point that I have set for myself is $200.00. I hope to avoid buying something so cheap that I’ll want to upgrade quickly. This is assuming I love the experience. While it is likely that I’ll upgrade in the future, I’d really like to make my money go far with my initial investment.

That leads me to the second most critical factor in my decision process: quality and reputation. Quality and reputation are closely related, but I’ve considered the materials that reels and reel seats are made of, rod construction material, and overall aesthetics. Furthermore, needing a rod storage bag that will accommodate the reel is important to me as well. In the end, all of things are generally controlled by price (you get what you pay for), but what I get for the price does matter. With that being said, reputation of the company carries a lot of weight. Do people keep coming back to them? Do they have a wide assortment of fly-fishing gear? Are they a new company? Is it a company that is widely respected in the fly-fishing world? I’ve spent much time considering these things.

Finally, I’ve relied on reviews, reviews, and reviews! Many hours have been spent on the Amazon reviews to help me narrow down the three combos I’m considering. I’ve also Googled reviews for each, and I’ve watched a ton of YouTube video reviews. In fact, I’ve watched so many that I often dream of being out on the water casting and catching a monster trout with my new setup.

In closing, the three finalists are: Orvis Encounter ($198 on Amazon); Redington Original ($199.99 on Amazon); and the MaxCatch Premier Combo ($163.00 on Amazon). Over the next few weeks, I’ll be updating you on what I’ve learned and what decision I’ve made. So, stay tuned!

If you have any commentary on either of these selections, please share them with me. Thanks!