For any of you that know me from other forums and I think this forum. (was there another older version?) I have gone through a ton of fly rods. Graphite, glass, and bamboo. I was looking for something, but wasn't sure what it was. I felt that when I found it i'd know right away. I also fished many different types of waters. I kind of liked the Frying Pan, but the crowds drove me nuts. No to mention the 200 mile round trip.
I finally settled on small streams as my favorite kind of fishing. It put the biggest smile on my face, and it did it everytime. Ok, so that made picking a rod a little easier. Sort of. Again I tried graphite, glass, and bamboo, but now in shorter lengths. I love the looks and tradition of bamboo. It's what my grandpa used. Graphite leaves me cold. Even if they do cast well.(some) Glass is ok, but still not the tradition of bamboo and i'm not crazy over the looks.

So, it was going to be bamboo for sure. Not a hard decision, because I love bamboo. I looked for the perfect rod for my streams. I wanted a well known taper, because, well, tradition again. After much experimenting I settled on the Garrison 201 taper. It has a soft tip and will load with 1' of line out. It will also cast a good distance when needed. Farther than I can see the fly, and that far enough. I do fish a pond during runoff, and the distance helps. The rod does all I ask of it in my fishing, and puts a huge smail on my face everytime I use it. Which is everyday I fish.

My battle of buying and selling rods is over. I have no interest in the latest and greatest fly fishing gear. I love tradition and i'm comfortable back in that time period. Catching fish is a bonus.