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Gear — No Comments
29
Nov 15

Remember Albright?

Albright GP's

Albright GP’s

The emails were as frequent as they were slightly misleading. SALE! Everyday a SALE of some kind or another and you had to ACT FAST to take advantage… except you didn’t need to act fast because the sale price was the every day price.

That was Albright for you. Some years ago now the emails stopped and I didn’t even realize it. Albright shut down, although their shell of a website says warranties are still honored.

I own two of their rods. I have an 8/9 rod that was the first rod I got to do anything in the salt, quickly replaced by a better stick, and a spinning rod I got to chase after jacks and cudas. Oddly enough, I’ve had way more joy out of the spinning rod, although I recently cracked one of the ferrules out prospecting on the beach here.

I guess we are fortunate that we live in a time where a company like Albright can disappear and I don’t even notice it. We are flush with options, most of them pretty good, at a variety of price points, from just over $100 to well over $700 when it comes to rods capable of casting to a bonefish.

They had reels too and it felt like they tried to branch out into other gear as well, but my memory is fuzzy here and it isn’t like I can go research on their website. Whatever it was they did, didn’t work. Fly fishing is a tough market to crack, I’d think. It matters profoundly to those of us who are passionate about it, but we are not so numerous as we sometimes think we are and the established players are very, very established.

So long Albright. My inbox doesn’t miss you.

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Gear — No Comments
29
Mar 13

The Quiver

Here’s what I’m bringing to the Bahamas… for my “family” vacation.

I’m bringing three fly rods.

I’m bringing one spinning rod (first time for that).

I’m bringing three fly reels.

I’m bringing one spinning reel (thanks Charlie).

The quiver for Spring Break 2013

The quiver for Spring Break 2013

The gear is almost all mine and almost all on the budget side of things, with the major exception of the Abel Super 7/8n. I’m going to fish the TFO and Abel as my go-to set-up here with the 10 for the cuda and the spinning rig for my daughter and wife.

I think the lines on the fly reels are all RIO. Pretty sure the Lamson’s both have RIO Clouser Tropical lines, which have been kind of my standard lines in the salt, but which, as far as I can see, isn’t in the RIO lineup anymore, although maybe it has just been re-branded. The Abel has the new RIO Quickshooter, which I’m interested to try out.

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Gear — 10 Comments
09
Jul 12

Budget Bonefishing Rods

I figured I’d update a post from a while ago about budget rods for bonefishing.

In truth, the rod is way less importance for bonefishing than the reel. If you have cash-eesh to spend, spend it on the reel.  What you have over, spend on the rod.  Here are some options that I’m pretty comfortable recommending.

The Redington Pursuit – $120

Redington has really emerged as of late as a price leader.  Their gear is serviceable and workman-like. You won’t impress the pants off your buddies at the fly shop with your Redington, but then, the fish are less label conscious.

That will get the job done.

Echo Ion – $190

Echo continues to be one of the least promoted rod companies out there. I seem to never hear about them, but what I’ve seen of them, I’ve liked.

The Echo Ion

Rise Balance – $125

I’ve been a fan of the Rise Company for a while. They are the little guys, the newcomers and it is hard not to root for the underdog.

 

Others…

There are rods that sell for almost $800 and those are fine, fine sticks. I’ve fished some of those and I can attest to how magnificent they cast. If my payday ever arrives, I may own several such rods.  For now, when I’m looking for a rod to buy, I don’t look for the rods in the $750 area, I’m more interested in what value might be found in the lower ranges.  Luckily, we anglers live in a good age.  There are a lot of options at a variety of price points.  There are even rods to be had south of $200. These rods will catch bonefish.  They may not be the equal of the $750 rod, but, in a pinch (and when you are pinching pennies) they will do the job.

 

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Gear — 5 Comments
31
Jan 12

The Most Expensive 8 wt. in the World

UPDATE (4/17/2012) – Yup… still running the 70% Off Sale, which does not appear to have ever ended.  The EXT is still $238.50.

UPDATE (4/18/2012) – They are running a sale right now that actually looks like a sale. $238.50, which is really way down from the $358-$430 numbers with $795 seeming to be steady as the MSRP.

UPDATE (3/26/2012) – March Madness Sale… The EXT continues to have an MSRP of $795, but now is back to $358.50.  This means this actually IS a sale of -$80.

UPDATE (3/2/2012) – They’ve changed their tune a bit.  Now they say the MSRP is $795. Oddly, the old price, for the $1,195 rod was $358.  Now, with the lower MSRP it is now $430. (I think they’ve also unsubscribed me from their marketing emails)

UPDATE… Super Bowl Sunday and I get an email from Albright. 70% off… Free Shipping… Sounds familiar.

So… is the EXT from Albright the most expensive 8 wt. in the world? Well, depends on how you look at their numbers.  See, the MSRP is $1,195.00.  Um… that would be the the priciest 8 wt. on the planet (by $300+).

The NRX =$760

The Sage One =$730

Winston iiix = $810

Orvis Helios = $825

Well… that just sounds a bit crazy, no?

Don’t worry though… they aren’t selling the EXT for $1,195. You can get it for the low, low price of $358.50. Yup… 70% off the MSRP.

Here’s the thing… that rod has never sold for a grand. Never.  It never will. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad rod, but it isn’t a thousand dollar rod.

I have an Albright. It is a decent stick. It was very good in terms of price. I think it was about $90 and it casts like a $130 rod. It’s a deal. The question Albright needs to answer is if the rod is money for value at $358.  It might be that.  There is a good chance it is.  They don’t need to say it casts well for $1,000 because there is no 8 wt. that should cost $1,000.

Come on folks. Play it straight.

(I’m not the only one who has noticed, it seems.  Hatch Magazine has as well.)

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