Fishing

The New Fiberglass Fly Rods - A Pure Pleasure to Fly Fish With

If you haven't fly fished with any of the new fiberglass rods being built today, you are missing out. "Glass" has a feel and rhythm to it that you won't find in carbon fiber. These aren't the heavy rods that your father fished.

Ken Baldwin

Finding solitude with a fiberglass fly rod.
Finding solitude with a fiberglass fly rod. / photo by Chase McCoy

Fast, Extra Fast, Supremely Extra Fast, So fast you are into your forward cast before you even back cast.

As My Dad Used to Say, “Slow Down, Son.”

Back in the day, it was commonplace to fish a "slow" rod. Fast and Extra Fast rods weren't the norm until the 90s and into the 2000s. I'm sure there is a whole generation of fly anglers that don't know what it feels like to fish a slow-action rod. That's a shame because, if done right, and with the right mindset, there can be a real pleasure found in a day spent fishing slow and deliberate.

Slowing Down: A Rekindling of the Lost Art of Fiberglass Fly Fishing

I'm noticing that a growing number of fly anglers are rediscovering the pleasures of fishing a fiberglass fly rod. It's a stark contrast to the snappy, high-performance rods that have become today's norm. What many anglers are discovering is there's a "sweetness" in fiberglass that you won't find in today's "Stealth Bomber" rods. It's a soft, smooth, easy feel similar to the traditional glass our fathers fished, without the weight.

Use Fly Fishing To Get Away From All Things Social and Digital

I'm a fan of fly fishing saltwater. Big water, fast rods, and bigger fish. I live in Charleston, SC and I can find a lot of opportunities to fish the salt up and down the East Coast. But sometimes I need to check out, go slow and small, and get away from everything "social." What usually works for me is a small freshwater creek, a few flies, and a fiberglass fly rod.

Find Places To Escape to Right in Your Backyard

North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia are loaded with creeks and streams where I can find rainbow trout, brown trout, and native brookies. To get to some of these streams takes a walk in the woods. I use the hike in as a transition to check out of my day-to-day life and into the right mindset for slowing down.

When Fly Fishing was Simple


I believe these "small" trips are the heart and soul of my fly fishing life. This is the type of water I learned on, and it's the waters I return to when it's more about the fly fishing and less about the catching. I make an effort to go slow, each step taking me further away from the daily noise.

Fiberglass Days

I call these outings a Fiberglass day. On these days I don't worry about precise, pinpoint casting. I know my loops will be a little bigger, my casting a little looser. That's ok, it's not a high performance day. Catching a 13 inch brook trout is an accomplishment, and the fight it will put on a 3 weight fiberglass rod is a blast.

The Language of Trout

To cast a fiberglass rod well, you have to practice patience and take your time. Each cast requires a slower, deliberate motion, letting things unfold. It just so happens that these are things that trout respond well to.

A fly angler fly fishing with a fiberglass fly rod is hooked into a big fish.
The fight is different on a fiberglass fly rod. / photo by Mason Cochran

A Good Sandwich Counts for a Lot

To make the day complete I pack in a good sandwich, something chocolate, and a bottle of beer. It's important we define what a "good" sandwich is. It's simple, find a neighborhood deli that has been around for at least 15 years, or a Publix Grocery Store. Get a "Pub Sub" from Publix and you will know what I'm talking about.

A backpack and a fiberglass fly rod resting on a moss covered rock at the base of a waterfall.
Small creeks and fiberglass fly rods are a perfect match. / photo by Chase McCoy

Find a spot along the creek to sit down, eat the sandwich and drink the beer. Don't do this in a hurry, instead find a big pool or a promising stretch of water and set up a good eating/viewing spot to just watch.

Let it Breathe

Let the pool come to life as you eat. About 15 minutes into sitting quietly things will start to happen in and around the water. The birds will start singing and the living things that ran and hid when you showed up start to come back out to do what they do when you aren't there. This goes for the fish too. If you sit long enough and quiet enough, the alpha fish of the pool may raise its head and reveal itself.

A Timeless Investment

I know thousand-dollar, high-tech carbon-fiber rods are the rage right now, but if you don't have a fiberglass rod in your collection, you really should treat yourself to one. A good fiberglass rod is like a classic car—it won't go out of style or become dated; it's already dated, and that's exactly what you want.

Sharpen the Saw

It's not a rod you will fish with on every outing, but there will be those days when you want to shift gears and get lost in the woods on a small creek. Experience the old-school, butter-like feel of casting before graphite came along. It's a healthy reset—a "sharpening of the saw," as author Stephen Covey likes to call it. You don't need much: a fiberglass fly rod, a small box of flies, and a packed lunch. KB

Custom Fiberglass Fly Rod Makers:

• Graywolf Fiberglass Fly Rods
• Moonlit Fly Fishing
• Kabutorods

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An Inexpensive 50mm Lens: A Fly Fishing Photographer's Best Friend

An fly angler hooked into a big fish captured in mid-action by the photographer with a 50mm lens.
Hooked / photo by Ken Baldwin

Experience an Epic Adventure of Fly Fishing, Bear Viewing, and Rafting in Alaska

A big Alaskan brown bear with a red sockeye salmon in his mouth.
A big Alaskan brown bear is part of the adventure on a fish and float trip in Alaska / photo by Ken Baldwin

“The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover

Published |Modified
Ken Baldwin
KEN BALDWIN

Ken Baldwin's career in fishing and the outdoors started twenty-two years ago. For twenty of those years he guided anglers in remote Alaska. Along with his work as a guide, he created a TV show called Season on the Edge, which aired on NBC Sports, worked on the nature documentary Our Planet 2, for Netflix, specialized in photographing the Alaskan brown bear, and has published his photographs and writing in several magazines. Ken Baldwin is a graduate from the University of Washington.

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