Fly Fishing Rod

It's not a Sage but casts really well for an inexpensive rod. Far better than some low end name brands. Perfect for a beginner, in that you can a n feel the rod load (medium action)

Let's just say it. This is a darn nice rod. Is it a Sage? A Reddington? A Loop? Of course not. But it's also not $400. I got this rod because I have 5wt and 6wt rods which were a bit more costly, but I wanted a 4wt for some smaller streams I'm going to be hitting. I won't spend much time there, and money is not abundant, so I figured I would try one of these. Boy was I surprised! I was expecting some moderate (slow) action rod, sloppy, and Heavy. This is light, crisp, and a joy to cast! The cork is great for this price point, and it's all put together and presented quite nicely. There's an attitude in fly fishing that if it's not expensive, it's not worth using. Unfortunately we don't all have the ability or desire to spend $500 on a rod. For those of us in that situation, this is a magnificent option. Look at it like this. You buy a rod at Scheels or Cabela's because you're getting a quality product at a slightly discounted price because it's store brand rather than big name brand. And that usually is the case and works well. Some of the best fishing gear I've got, and I've got a lot, was got from those brands I just named. These Maxcatch rods are built on the EXACT same blanks that the Scheel's Outfitter MDD fly rods are built on. And those were being sold for $100. With that in mind, know that when you get one of these you aren't getting a Loomis rod. But this is probably the best sub-$120 fly rod you can get, and that leaves a lot of money for flies, tippet, line, and a reel. I'll update this review with pics next time I go out. Buy one of these with confidence. I'll probably buy another for my wife and get a 3wt for me. I'm sold on this brand!

I ordered the 9'6" 6wt when my other, name brand 9'6" 6wt (A rhymes with shmedington shmice) was laid up with a broken tip section and wouldn't be ready in time for spring Trout Camp up here in the driftless area. It proved serviceable enough - it survived bushwhacking in the rain/snow for a couple days without breaking or anything bad happening to the cork. The action compared to my other rod is a bit more moderate, which for me translates to a bit less distance but being able to cast to that distance more consistently. It's a bit heavier as well. It has some heft to it and after fishing with it all day I was starting to feel it in my arm. I've also used it to fish for bass in a reservoir near my house, which worked fine. No giants on it yet, but it seems to have plenty of backbone and the tip is stiff enough to work poppers and gurglers. As far as fit and finish go, it looks ok. Theres a little slop in the reel seat, but once the lock rings are down it stays in place. The sections of the rod fit together tightly and stay lined up all day. All the guides are smooth and lined up. The tube works fine but putting everything into the foam pieces and then into the tube is sort of a pain (but not enough of a pain to buy a better tube). It does have a couple design choices I thought were odd. This is the only rod I have that doesn't have the first stripping guide on the grip section. I also wish they'd gone with grip 3 instead of grip 2 for the 6wt, but that's more of a personal preference because I fish streamers on an over weighted short head line most of the time on my other 6wt and I feel like grip 3 would work better for that. On the flip side, when I rigged it up with a "normal" WF6 (accurately weighted with a longer head) line and fished bugs, it threw fairly tight loops pretty easily, and farther than I expected. Long story short, I think it's a decent value for the price, and it'll stay in my rotation as a backup or loaner.

I broke my Cabelas Three Forks rod on Monday during my first outing when I threw it in my trunk with no case. Ordering from Cabelas was not a 100% positive experience. It took a long time and came in a ridiculously huge package. I wasn't really interested in rehashing that experience, so I took a gamble on this rod since it was the same price as the cheapo one from Cabelas that was fine for me as a beginner. First off, the shipping on this was superb. I have Prime and had it shipped to the central hub of a major metropolitan area on the east coast, so your experience might be different, but I paid the 4 dollars to get it on Thursday and it showed up Wednesday morning. I bought the 9' 5wt 4 piece and the packaging was tip top compared to what Cabelas pulled. Second, this thing comes in a rod tube with foam bracers holding the pieces so it doesn't get tossed around. This saves me having to buy a rod tube and in a sport as expensive as this I'll take it. I will probably buy a nicer one, but in the meantime this will prevent another brain dead move like I pulled on my last rod. Thirdly, the rod actually looks better than the one from Cabelas. It's got an olive green anodize finished that I find really aesthetically pleasing, the cork looks good, the locking hardware looks good, the eyes look good and the tip bends like a fly rod, so....I may be updating this review tomorrow filled with scathing hatred of the rod, but first impressions are incredibly positive. We'll see how it casts. If anyone has questions about the rod, I will gladly answer them. Follow up edit - So I have fished with the rod and it was a positive experience. First off, I think Maxcatch may be some kind of import company because the rod is called the V-Explorer and when googled it shows that it might be made by a company called Viking. Either way, it's very clear that this is an off brand rod probably made in China and sold under a hundred different names. But the information I found said it was moderate fast action, which is what anyone would recommend for a beginner and is pretty much identical in feel to Cabelas beginner rod. So to defend my 5 start rating, because I do actually love this rod, if you're a long time fisherman with 12 rods in each weight and length then you shouldn't buy this rod. It simply isn't for you. However, if you're a newbie like me and don't want to go all in on a 200$ outfit or if you're looking for a cheapo backup rod that you can chuck in the trunk this thing is a perfect option. Follow up to the follow up edit - This rod is perfectly fine. I caught a big bass in a lake this past Sunday on it while folks fishing with 100$+ rods were hitting nothing but sunnies. I'm convinced now that cheap rods will get the job done, especially for a beginner. Someday I may end up with a big expensive rig, but for now I'm really happy with this setup. One of my favorite Amazon purchases ever. Final edit - I've now caught a big 15" brown trout on this thing. This is a good rod.