Clutch, Epic or others?

[Sylvaneous]

Anyone fish a Clutch fly rod? Or an Epic fly rod? CF Burkheimer? How about a Beulah?
There are a surprising number of fly rod brands. I don't know if all these places roll their own blanks. That's all I'm thinking about. Anything else is just an industrial wrap job, really. There are plenty of asian blank rollers. Not talking about them. I'm looking at quality (premium?) rod makers who aren't one of the big guys, like Loomis, Orvis, Sage, Winston. (and formerly Powell. One of my favorites.)
Anyone fish one of these types of rods or know someone who does? They all seem to sell the same line; how magnificently better they are than the big boys because somehow they figured out how to fly fish but those other guys are...what, spitting nickles I suppose.

Syl

 

[Bamboozle]

Graphite...glass...fast...slow-er?

Burkheimer rolls his own, worked with the master of glass Russ Peak and has been at it for years.

Clutch rolls their blanks in house.

Epic blanks are rolled by CTS in New Zealand and Beulah are rolled in Asia.

 

[DavidFin]

Broad offerings. One word of advice, it's worth buying a rod from a company that will be around years from now just in case it needs to be repaired...

 

[PennKev]

DavidFin wrote:
Broad offerings. One word of advice, it's worth buying a rod from a company that will be around years from now just in case it needs to be repaired...

There is no garuntee any rod company is going to be around in 10 years. And the ones that are likely to be here are the ones the OP is uninterested in.

A lot of guys are missing out on great rods due to warranty anxiety.

Live a little. Break sh!t. Buy new sh!t.

 

[Bamboozle]

PennKev wrote:

DavidFin wrote:
Broad offerings. One word of advice, it's worth buying a rod from a company that will be around years from now just in case it needs to be repaired...

There is no garuntee any rod company is going to be around in 10 years. And the ones that are likely to be here are the ones the OP is uninterested in.

A lot of guys are missing out on great rods due to warranty anxiety.

Live a little. Break sh!t. Buy new sh!t.

Exactly...

Rod warranties are worthless unless you are only interested in having the newest rod out there if something happens.

Case in point:

Just about every rod I own was purchased for the action it had and the build, which in my case is moderate action, down-locking reel seat, spigot ferrules.

Just about every rod I own has a warranty.

Just about every rod I own has been discontinued by the manufacturer or the manufacturer or builder went out of business.

In the case of a discontinued model, that means the likelihood of a repair is low unless they hold on to massive inventories of blanks or are willing to roll a replacement blank (which I doubt). Bottom line, a replacement rod won't be what I had before which in my case means I may not like it or the build.

If you think a warranty is important, make sure to break your rod in the first couple of years 'cause the only guarantee with a rod warranty is that you will pay through the nose for it whether it benefits you or not.

 

[ryguyfi]

Fly fishing in some ways is just like golf. Everyone wants that new shiny driver every couple years as technology changes and shiny things catch your eye. Warranties are good because stuff happens. You cast into the wind and smack the blank with a cone head bugger. Rod snaps 4 fish later only when it's the biggest fish of the day. The warranty helps at times but if you're not fishing too much you're likely to replace the rod with a new one before you break it.

It's like the Tommy Boy clip about the guarantee being on the box...


That being said I came across a company a while back in PA that rolls their own blanks and it escapes me at the moment. Once I remember/find it I'll forward the info.

 

[ryguyfi]

Found it.... Seele (website is down as I type this). They make their rods in house and from PA.

https://www.facebook.com/seeleflyrods/timeline

Clutch rods are actually made in the US but by another major manufacturer.

 

[moon1284]

I believe Seele recently (very recently) is no more. But one of the owners who lives in PA has rolled blanks for a while and will most likely continue to roll blanks.

 

[Sylvaneous]

So no one has any direct experience with any rod like these?

Syl

 

[salvelinus]

I have three Epics and they are excellent rods if you like glass. Burkheimer rolls the blanks for Tom Morgan's glass rods. Both Epic and Morgan are highly regarded in the glass community. Throw in Steffen and you have the best of the best. Of course there's nothing wrong with an old Fenwick either.

 

[dano]

I had an old 6wt Beulah Classic. It was an OK streamer rod and cast deep into the blank and could launch some line. I haven't cast any of their newer stuff.
My friends burky 4wt is a joy to fish. Very smooth med rod. I. This rod loaded somewhat deep, also. I like it more than my friend does but then I grew up casting rods with that type of rod action.
I like the rod but not for $800.
A friend reps Clutch so sometime soon I'll have one in my hands.

 

[Bamboozle]

I have a Tom Morgan (built on a Burkheimer blank). It is a fantastic rod but it's glass and you haven't said what you are after.

 

[Rollingdog]

i have/fish Beulah and Burkie rods... they are very nice and I'm sure i'll get more in years to come

what are your specific questions?


the only thing i see about Clutch is that hilariously horrid performance in the yellowstone shootout... and then the barrage of "dudes" pumping them on social media in hopes of a discount or favoritism

 

[bikerfish]

ryguyfi wrote:
Found it.... Seele (website is down as I type this). They make their rods in house and from PA.

https://www.facebook.com/seeleflyrods/timeline

Clutch rods are actually made in the US but by another major manufacturer.

Mike Mcfarland is/was?? part of Seele, I own quite a few Mcfarland rods that I built, buying the blanks directly from Mike. Some people had issues with him delivering, but I never had a problem dealing with him. Sorry to hear of the demise of Seele rods.
Hopefully Mike starts rolling his own again.

Visit the here if you want to know more about Glass rods and makers, these guys are very knowledgable.

http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/index.php

 

[Sylvaneous]

salvelinus wrote:
I have three Epics and they are excellent rods if you like glass. Burkheimer rolls the blanks for Tom Morgan's glass rods. Both Epic and Morgan are highly regarded in the glass community. Throw in Steffen and you have the best of the best. Of course there's nothing wrong with an old Fenwick either.

I'm not interested in fiberglass. 1st generation graphite is bad enough. The rods and rod companies I'm interested in hearing about are rolling modern blanks to compete with the likes of Sage, Winston, Loomis and the like.


Syl

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Epics are fast for glass. I wouldn't spend the money on one 'cause they don't have the classic glass action. So you may like it!

 

[turkey]

I've owned a Beulah and I really liked it but it was a pretty specialized rod. I think it was 11'5" for 5wt. I only ever used it on the Yough. Not enough to justify keeping it. I can't speak to Epic or Clutch but if I was going to pick one off your list and money wasn't an issue I'd go with Kerry Burkheimer. In fact if I was going to go buy a rod tomorrow I'd get one of his DAL 5wts. I've never cast one but I like his pedigree, I've never read anything about his rods but high praise, and he rolls in house. However, to each their own and all that.

 

[DavidFin]

The Burkheimers are really special, built and designed as true fly rods and not just some fast action brooms that put your fly where you need it without ceremony.

I'm all for expensive rods because I believe, for the most part, you get what you pay for. Most rods these days will last you your fishing lifetime, which is why I recommend spending more. I have certainly outgrown cheap rods and conversely grown into specialized rods I bit the bullet on.

However, this is why I recommended originally going with bigger named companies and their warranties. Firstly, if you outgrow the rod or grow in a different direction you can always trade it or sell it. Secondly, if you're paying more than $500 for a rod you should understand that a fraction of that amount is for the warranty. As someone mentioned previously, you shouldn't let that be your driving force, but you should get the full value of your dollar, which is the I strange built into the price. And let me tell you, if you need to repair a rod outside the warranty, the good deal you got on it is gone. I know this from direct experience.

And as always, cast everything you can before you buy it.

Let us know what you get!!