Rugged Creek switch rod?

[Trout-tacular!]

I put this question in the consumer report forum too but thought I should cover my basis and ask in this section as well. Hope that's ok.

I was wondering if anyone has seen, held, cast or even purchased and fished a witch rod. I'm curious mainly for their seemingly reasonable price; $300 for rod, reel, backing, line and case. I was thinking their 7/8 would be a good backup / buddy can bower steelhead rod.

Thanks for any input.

 

[fishing_mission]

I seen those to on Craigslist and I'm thinking bout getting one. But yeah it would be nice to hear a report on it first

 

[DWFII]

I'd be interested in hearing from someone who has had experience with this rig as well.

 

[Trout-tacular!]

They claim that you can send it back for a full refund if you don't like it (as long as it's in re-sellable condition). I'm going to drop them a email to have 're-sellable' clarified and to ask a few other questions.

 

[Trout-tacular!]

I got a rapid response to my email and this is the gist of my 're-sellable' question:

The 're-sellable' condition is a take it out of the box have a look, put it together, give it a good feel and make your decision sort of deal. If you don't like it return it. So, no going to the river and casting it. They cover manufacturing defects for one year. They have been fishing them for two years and only had a tip snap on a tree, which made them decide that it would be cheap enough to include an extra tip in the combos in order to cut down warranty issues. They have only been in business for a month or so and have sold 30 rods without a return yet.

It seems these guys are trying to put a reasonably priced, decent quality rod out without having a ton of middlemen piling on overhead resulting in empty wallets and questioning spouses. They have much ahead of them in steering the company, but it seems for now they are trying to keep it at the grassroots level.

 

[fishing_mission]

So what do you think trout-tacular you gonna get one?

 

[Trout-tacular!]

So what do you think trout-tacular you gonna get one?

Don't know...maybe. Waiting for the boss to calm down a little more from my last rod purchase

What a about you?

 

[Trout-tacular!]

I seen those to on Craigslist and I'm thinking bout getting one. But yeah it would be nice to hear a report on it first

They have a post on Facebook from a wife about her husband purchasing the 7/8 combo and saying 'he's thrilled with the quality and workmanship and that it casts like a dream'

That does't really tell me much.

They are offering free shipping until Oct. 1st

 

[halibuthitman]

Im gonna say it..... it is virtually impossible to get a high qaulity switch, reel and line for $300... they severely sacraficed on one of them, or even worse... a little bit on all of them. You get what you pay.. I bet the guides are taped on, and the line probably has wicked memory.. buy and echo, lampson reel and some airflo line and go fish with confinence.

 

[john montana]

100% with halibuthitman. Buy an Echo...the SR switch is reasonably priced and well made. Package deals are usually subpar in some way, you are better off spending a little extra and piecing it together.

 

[Trout-tacular!]

john montana and halibuthitman,

I agree with the old adage 'you get what you pay for'. I have great single hand rods and switch rods from Beulah, Winston, Echo...etc. To me this is more about whether its worth it for an extra rod a friend looking to try steelheading could use without emptying my wallet.

I get asked a lot about fly fishing and if I could take them. I have a couple decent, but inexpensive, TFO's I let people use when I trout fish. I didn't spend much, they cast decent enough for beginners, I like using them on my backpacking trips, and I don't mind lending them out. I'm trying to find that decent, but inexpensive, steelhead rod, for the same purpose. I've looked at TFO's and Echo's switch rods but by the time I get the rod, put an ok reel on it and spool some line its over $450.

My thought with this is 'why not give a couple guys from Idaho who don't have to pay for warehousing, advertising... etc (a.k.a. a bigger company's overhead costs which translates to higher consumer costs), a chance'. At least that's the thought of their lower price.

Of course it could mean I'm out 300 bucks with a rod that's unraveling and has a seized reel. Not to mention a friend that could be frustrated with steelheading and thinks I'm a jerk for having them fish with junk gear. Its a matter of what's the real cost savings of that $150 or so.

 

[halibuthitman]

Trout I understand your angle, and in reality you should buy it.. fish it.. and report back on it, I very much enjoy being proven wrong. I use warrantied lamiglas rods for loaners, and have had to use those warranties. I will say that I think these guys know about steelhead and rods, the 7 wt is the ultimate weight especially in a switch rod, and it looks like a nice rod.. they should give me one, Id beat the hell out of it and get to the bottom of whether its worth the $300. If you picked up the phone and called Don at river city and told him about this deal Im pretty sure you would be shocked by what he could do for you. Good luck with your search and I hope you come out pleased in the end- Brad

 

[Trout-tacular!]

Trout I understand your angle, and in reality you should buy it.. fish it.. and report back on it, I very much enjoy being proven wrong. I use warrantied lamiglas rods for loaners, and have had to use those warranties. I will say that I think these guys know about steelhead and rods, the 7 wt is the ultimate weight especially in a switch rod, and it looks like a nice rod.. they should give me one, Id beat the hell out of it and get to the bottom of whether its worth the $300. If you picked up the phone and called Don at river city and told him about this deal Im pretty sure you would be shocked by what he could do for you. Good luck with your search and I hope you come out pleased in the end- Brad

Thanks. The whole warranty issue is certainly a big thing and one of the main reasons I'm on the fence. The savings might not stack up against utilizing a good warranty on a rod from a more established company. If I do end up trying one of these I will surely put it through the test and give a full report here on OFF.

 

[john montana]

If you picked up the phone and called Don at river city and told him about this deal Im pretty sure you would be shocked by what he could do for you.

Wow...twice in a day that I am in agreement with Halibuthitman! Seriously, give Don a call. Good luck either way, i'm sure we are splitting hairs.

 

[RuggedCreek]

I Found quite a bit of buzz about us on this forum through google, and I thought I might be able to answer a few of your questions. We've had a quite a few of you emailing us asking about our return policy and warranty, and we've been in business for about a month. We knew that selling our rods direct would create some hesitation because you can't go down to a shop and get your hands on one until you've already committed, so we've decided to make some revisions. We have decided to offer a 2 week, no questions asked money back guarantee, so you can get your hands on a combo and put it to the test. Also, we have made a major revision to our warranty which I think most of you will like. We haven't had many reviews yet, and unfortunately no real detailed down to the nitty gritty type reviews, but the ones we have had have been more than positive. I just thought I'd let you all know, because with our new return policy any one of you could be the one to answer all these questions for everybody.

Jake Semons

 

[halibuthitman]

Welcome Jake, Its nice to have an Idaho steelheader around here, so... if your rod is what you claim it is why don't you sell one to the Origional poster of this thread for cost... and then become a forum supporter.. and post a $hitload of pictures of the Henry's fork... feel free to toss a bunch of shots of giant Potato state steel as well, There is a group of us heading over to the D to swing for steel in the middle of next month, come on over sip the wine tell some lies and let us dink around with one of those packages... you in? Brad

 

[Trout-tacular!]

Welcome Jake, Its nice to have an Idaho steelheader around here, so... if your rod is what you claim it is why don't you sell one to the Origional poster of this thread for cost... and then become a forum supporter..

Hmmm, :think: interesting.

 

[Trout-tacular!]

halibuthitman, is there a thread about the lower D meet up? I'll be up there...down there river flow... a handful of times in October. It would be nice to meet some OFF members in person.

 

[RuggedCreek]

Welcome Jake, Its nice to have an Idaho steelheader around here, so... if your rod is what you claim it is why don't you sell one to the Origional poster of this thread for cost... and then become a forum supporter.. and post a $hitload of pictures of the Henry's fork... feel free to toss a bunch of shots of giant Potato state steel as well, There is a group of us heading over to the D to swing for steel in the middle of next month, come on over sip the wine tell some lies and let us dink around with one of those packages... you in? Brad

Nice to join you all! I like everything you just said. Unfortunately I don't think I would be able to join you guys on the D because every ounce of spare time I have away from work is being spent at BSU. I'm a full time marketing student and it has really put a damper on my fishing, which makes me aggravated. I think might be able to work something out for trout-tacular, and I really would love to join you guys sometime. Here's a little bit of henrys fork eye candy for ya... Me snagging some quick dinner below island park dam, on a 6 weight IM12 9 footer we're gonna be dropping pretty soon, because single handers are fun too. One of these days I promise ya'll I'll get out there.

 

[RuggedCreek]

Steelhead photos to come...