We all, including myself, get "hide bound" on what's good water and fish for fly fishing. I know if I was stranded anywhere in the world without aid in sight, I'd want a fly set up and a few hooks and thread and maybe a spool of mono(for leaders) over any other type of fishing gear. I just don't think one can beat the versatility of fly fishing and I think it even beats bait fishing for producing in some situations.

I'm not sure everyone is on board with fly fishing is good just about everywhere there are fish and for just about every kind of fish using just about any price of gear. Redfish weren't always a destination type fish, but they are now for lots of folks. Carp are becoming fashionable in many places to pursue with the fly gear. Fly fishing has at least partially or maybe largely broken free from the insect sipping, match the latest hatch cold water trout scene of years past. I don't think there is much room for growth there anyway, the rivers are already too crowded in many places. Tropical flats fishing has been a big deal for a while now and from what I hear, many of those spots get a lot of fishing pressure. But everywhere there is water, especially shallow water or surface or near surface feeding fish, there's potential markets and products to market that fit the fish and the budgets of the vast numbers of potential converts to fly fishing fishermen and women. Hey rod makers, stop pushing so many 9' rods in the 6-12 weight range and give us more choices in the 7-8' sizes.

I think you're going to have to wait a little while. The market trend is definitely longer rods for the foreseeable future.

Is that Spey? Euro nymphing? Sage, G.Loomis, Redington (Same people as Sage), Orvis, and TFO all have an 8' or less rod in the 6-12 weight range. Scott has an 8'4" Meridian skiff model. I've only used the TFO and G. Loomis rods. I think the Short Stix received recognition in the IFTD show 2-3 years ago.

The Short Stix taper seems very much different than the TFO minimag. That tells me there's room to come up with even more tapers in the short rods. It seems like the G.Loomis Short Stix is getting a little bit of a following at least in some circles. Maybe if it sells well enough other makers will put out their new and improved versions.

I've got a 7' 11" Orvis Recon 8 wt.

ST Croix has the Mojo Bass series rods at 7' 11" in 7, 8, and 9 wt. At $149 there certainly affordable, but from what I can tell are only available online. Bass Pro and Dick's have them, but they aren't available in stores.

I have the St Croix Mojo Bass in 8wt and would really recommend it to anyone. Aside from the quality of the cork used in the handle it's as smooth casting as my other more expensive rods. I bought it primarily for it's shorter length to fit inside my boats rod locker. BPS Katy usually has the Sage Bass rod in stock if you wanted to see it firsthand. BPS also has a "casting class" on Saturday mornings where by you could actually try out any of their rods. Its more of a try and buy than an actual learning how to cast class.

I've seen the Mojo rods at the Grapevine BPS from time to time. I've pondered picking one up as a spare or a gateway rod to convert some friends.

I'm not saying they aren't manufactured or sold, but surely you've seen that all the hype is on longer sticks - and that's not spey/switch or Euro-specific stuff. There's more new 10 footers than sub 8 footers coming out.

Hype - that's what leads me to purchase new equipment. Just imagine if there were a bunch of fly fishing pros wearing Nascar looking shirts competing in tournaments every other week with live coverage. Where would this sport be? just kidding of course...

Sort of off topic but I still haven't figured out what Euro specific fly gear is all about.

It's definitely not tweed jacket type stuff, but if you want to kill it on some rough pocket water, Euro is *the* game.

I may have to check out the Mojo. And the Sage.

For me, personally, the rod gets the fly line out wherever, but it's the reel that's the real business of landing the fish. The more time spent casting, the better one becomes at casting, but having a fish explode and fight and pull and jump, the reel, not the rod, has to bring that bad boy to the boat/net. Creating a setup that pairs a line and rod well, is also paramount, but it's the reel that is the workhorse tool.

I feel that way for anything used for saltwater fish. You need corrosion resistance, a drag that comes on smooth, finishes strong, and has the fortitude to not go up in smoke when you latch into the back in of a runaway Ferrari. Most of the stuff you hook in freshwater, though, never sees the reel. At least for me it doesn't. Sometimes I'll put a fish to reel just for the fun of it, but it's by choice, not because the circumstances dictated it.

A nice reel, however, is something you'll keep and use forever. I've had several "latest and greatest" rods that I just don't fish anymore because they got supplanted by newer "latest and greatest" rods. My nice reels, though, were more an investment in perpetuity. I keep using them, and if I were the kid-having type, they're the type of thing that could be passed down. A bunch of graphite rods, not so much. I hate to think of a high end rod as a disposable tool, but that's about what they all are.