8 1/2 or 9 foot?

[John Harper]

Not sure I'm worthy of a $300-$400 rod quite yet.

John

[BrownBear]

Oh yeah. You'll grow into it fast. Spend half that or less and you really get what you pay for, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

[John Harper]

Maybe I should step up. TFO Axiom 2? Considering it should last me a long time and lots of versatility, not really a bad investment. I'll ponder all this great advice. Thank you to all.

John

[BrownBear]

TFO Axiom 2?

As much as I like the Axiom II, I like dealing with TFO even better. Their warranty service is simply outstanding. We manage to break a few fly rods each year. Doing so with other brands can put you out of action for months, even if their warranty work is free (rare these days). You just won't see your rod again for months. Last year I waited 7 months to get back a Sage. I meanwhile broke two TFO rods- the fault of clumsiness and no dirt on rod quality. One was back from TFO in just 7 days. The slowpoke took 9 days to get back. That can be a big, big deal with the short duration of AK's salmon runs. I missed out on 3 different salmon runs waiting for the Sage to reappear. I hardly missed a beat waiting for the TFO's. That kind of service sure does a lot for the long term life and use of your rods.

[John Harper]

TFO Axiom 2?

As much as I like the Axiom II, I like dealing with TFO even better. Their warranty service is simply outstanding. We manage to break a few fly rods each year. Doing so with other brands can put you out of action for months, even if their warranty work is free (rare these days). You just won't see your rod again for months. Last year I waited 7 months to get back a Sage. I meanwhile broke two TFO rods- the fault of clumsiness and no dirt on rod quality. One was back from TFO in just 7 days. The slowpoke took 9 days to get back. That can be a big, big deal with the short duration of AK's salmon runs. I missed out on 3 different salmon runs waiting for the Sage to reappear. I hardly missed a beat waiting for the TFO's. That kind of service sure does a lot for the long term life and use of your rods.

Well, that's like a dropper off a dry, then, isn't it? Pretty hard not to bite.

I guess I can use it on the beach as well down here in Carlsbad.

John