Quality made simple, and affordable: The Echo fly-rod kit
By HOPE STRONG
This sidebar is a supplement to My Day with the Duchess
Remember when you got your first driver’s license? Odds are, no one put you behind the wheel of a Porsche when a Volkswagen was a simpler way to learn to use a stick shift.
Fly-fishing is much the same. This sport can be intimidating enough without having to worry that you’re casting a rod worth a month’s rent. And the subtleties of things like rod speed and action aren’t terribly relevant in the beginning. Novice anglers just want to have their lines lay out straight at the end of a cast.
Knowing all this, a company called Echo Fly Rods has simplified the complex and often expensive world of fly-fishing gear by offering a variety of more affordable choices without sacrificing quality. The people behind this company know their business. Echo Fly Rods was co-founded by Tom Rajeff, a highly respected casting expert and a leading member of the Golden Gate Casting Club, in San Francisco, which is one of the nation’s premiere casting ponds.
Among other items, Echo sells a four-piece rod matched with a reel, fly line, and a protective carrying case. It’s called the Echo Base Kit and, in my opinion, it’s one of the best entry-level options on the market.
You can spend more on equipment once you’ve established a love of the long rod, but you might not ever want to. Priced at $170 and available in a number of different weights, you could fill your rod quiver with four set-ups and spend as much as you would on a single rod elsewhere. Echo, which is based in Washington State, also has the confidence to offer a lifetime warranty on its Base Kit—essential in the cruel world that likes to break rod tips.
Once you have perfected your cast, Echo offers rods and reels with more backbone or lighter touch, but price points never get out of hand. Engineered and endorsed by legends in the industry, I think Echo rods are a great choice for starting and seasoned anglers alike.
If I’ve convinced you, check out the Echo Base Kit. Then you can begin your fishing adventures without breaking your bank.
Hope Strong is a freelance writer and fishing guide in eastern Idaho. He started out as a reporter and photographer for Idaho’s Teton Valley News, went on to serve as the paper’s managing editor, and finally switched gears to become a guide with WorldCast Anglers.
© 2023 Hope Strong. All rights reserved. Under exclusive license to Craftsmanship, LLC. Unauthorized copying or republication of any part of this article is prohibited by law.
