Ive been in the sport for less than a year I think but have already built up a collection.

I was fortunate to squeeze in a Brule, WI steelhead run trip/Punta Allen MX trip and have been banging around in the Black Hills of SD every chance I get.  

This summer I will be on and around alot of MN lakes to practice on panfish/northern/bass and take a trip up to Rainy Lake for Musky and everything in between.

That said how many rigs do you try and limit to? Better to have a handful of perfect rods than a closet full of mediocre ones.

So far I have
Tenkara Teton - (always in the truck)
Epic Boost 4wt 8' - Sage 2200 (first rod/tight streams)
Sage Pulse 5wt 9' - Sage 3200 (do it all trout)
Sage One 9wt 9' - Sage 4200 (Bigger saltwater setup and maybe steelhead rod))
Orvis Helios 2 8wt 9ft flex tip - Hatch 7+ (bigger saltwater setup/possible steelhead rod)

Ive got the bug for a EPIC fiberglass setup too somewhere in there.

I don't try to limit my count to anything. I have a lot of fly rods by some standards and not many by others. Wait here, Ill go count, I only counted 17 fly rods. Less than I expected.

Out of all those rods only one or two don't get fished regularly. Those are the ones I keep in my rowers bench as back up's. OK, I forgot to count those, 19 rods, or so.

I just received a 4 wt glass rod today. I loaded it with a line and tied on a stonefly pattern. That rod is going to be fun when the stonefly hatch comes off!

These damn fly rods breed and reproduce like nobodies business

I started with a couple a few years ago, after many years of getting side lined by a wife, kid, etc. Got a divorce, kid is now an adult and I got back into it

Between Craigslist and eBay and various other sales, my "collection" has grown.

Right now, I am in NC fishing the Davidson and my car is full of rods, reels and gear.

2 wt 7'-6"

4 wt 9'

6 wt 9'

2 - 8 wt 9'

1 - 13'-6" spey


Plus a couple others laying around

90% of what I do I use either the 4 wt or the 6 wt depending on wind conditions.

man you're really gonna make me do this, lmao. Hope my wife doesn't see this.

FRESHWATER.

4wt Scott F2 fiberglass 7'7 with a Orvis Battenkill.
5wt Sage Flight with a Ross CLA.
7wt Scott A2 with a Ross Evolution LT plus a spare spool.
9wt Beulah Blue Water with a Ross CLA 5 plus a spare spool.
Clutch React 250 (roughly a 8wt) one piece with a Hatch 5+ and a spare spool custom colored to match the rod (black and neon green), this is my 8ft, 1inch smallmouth cannon.
Clutch Tannik 450 Musky rod(roughly a 11ish wt) one piece with a Hatch 7+ custom colored to match the rod (black and orange).

SALTWATER.

Clutch Archipelago 8wt with a Hatch 7+
Clutch Archipelago 10wt with a Hatch 9+.

SPEY.

11'9 7wt Ross Reach Switch with a Hatch 7+.
12'8 7wt Scott T3h Spey with a Hatch 9+.

Been living the fly "life style" hard and heavy for close to a decade and have been fly fishing for close to two decades. The list amounts to a lot of OT pay and even more time and relaxation on/in the water.Without exception I get my money out of each of these rods every year.

J-

Fly rods are like guns. I need just one more......

If I was starting from scratch with my knowledge today, I could cover 99% of my fishing moods with 3 rods.

Orvis Superfine 7'9" 5wt - my go-to rod.  Slow and precise.

I've got an older Sage 5wt 9' rod, fast action, that I use if I go out when the wind is up or in really big water

And a Sage 7 or 8wt 10' for big stuff.

This!


For me I have everything from several SPL 0wt to a 9wt then I have a Meiser as my go to spey.

I make my own fly rods. Tends to slow down the rate of acquisition.

I have a 7 wt switch, used probably 80% of the time
a spey that is used maybe 1%
2 identical 9ft 8 wts that I use for smallmouth fishing, keep one rigged for streamer and one with popper so I can switch back and forth real fast, fish out of a 12 ft row boat. Haven't fished smallies for 2 years, just no time lately.
1 9 1/2 ft 8 wt that I use for indicator fishing, use the rest of the time.
a 9ft 5 wt

and I think thats about it. I could dump the spey and the 5wt and never miss them. But I think I'll hang onto them a little while longer and see what happens in the next couple of years.

Saltwater:

12 wt Sage Xi3 with Tibor Gulfstream
8 wt Sage Salt with Tibor Everglades QC
8 wt Sage Xi3 with Bauer M4 SL
10 wt Okuma Celios with Okuma Celios

Freshwater

3 wt Sage Vantage 7'6" with Orvis Battenkill
5 wt Orvis Recon with Orvis Acess
5 wt Sage Flight with Lamson Konic
6 wt (don't remember)
7 wt 11'9' custom Talon with a Ross (bought it while in exile for 10 years to NE Ohio)
7 wt St. Croix with St Croix reel (sinking line)

I'd suggest you concentrate on fishing and not gear collecting.  The gear collection will come with time, if it's necessary for a specific species you take an interest in.

Very sage advice. Rods just seem to multiply, like guns.  A good 5wt and a good 8wt will catch most fish that the average Joe pursues.

I'm a fly rod junkie.  
5wt 10ft Scott, & 7wt.10ft Scott these are my float tube rods.
8.5ft 4wt Redington DFR my small stream rod
9ft 5wt Redington Nano Titanium only fished it once, it's too damn fast and stiff for my liking.
9ft 5wt 5piece Redington This is under the backseat of my pickup with a small kit just in case
9ft 8wt Redington DFR This is my Lake Powell striper fly rod for fly fishing the feeding boils.
9ft 5wt Winston my favorite rod for stream fishing.
9ft 5wt Winston my backup fly rod, and twin to my other Winston.
8ft 4wt Powell Bamboo This was my grandfathers rod and it is mounted in a place of honor in my man cave  

TFO Pro 8' 2 wt
Echo carbon 7'3" 2 wt
Redington Classic Trout 7'6" 2 wt
TFO Pro 7'6" 3 wt
Redington Classic Trout 8'6" 3 wt
Cortland Competition Nymph 10' 3 wt
TFO Pro 8'6" 4 wt
TFO BVK 9' 4 wt
G Loomis GL3 9' 5 wt
Echo Carbon 9' 5 wt

Totally agree. For the record I get out quite a bit and in drastically different scenarios(saltwater in ascension bay mexico/steelhead on the bois brule/north shore duluth small stream/black hills tight and fast streams/lake fishing for pike/bass/lake fishing for crappie and bluegill etc.

Forced me to buy a few different rods really early into the sport.

Fortunately I love it and knowing more now I can hopefully assess my needs better.

That said I have been considering a EPIC 9ft 5wt fiberglass roll your own kit.  A bit of a random want but I think they look awesome!

Also looking at a 3wt for panfish back home at my parents farm. Lots of little gills and bass in their lake.

No need to justify your rods to us. Buy them and enjoy them.

A glass rod is a great step back to the good old days. If they are quality rods they are a ton of fun to fish. During our salmon fly hatch this year my 4 wt Echo glass rod was the most popular rod. It was just fun!