Scott McKenzie Rods

[speymaster]

I have been advised to invest in an a decent rod for fishing River Tay. I am very interested in the Scott McKenzie rods. I see that the 18 foot rods sell for £899.00 why are they so expensive? I am sure this will cut down on the average man being able to own one of these rods. If you fish association Waters then normally you do not have the money to fish posh beats or buy posh kit

Has anyone tried these rods? Is there anyway that the cost of the rod could be halved so that people could afford it. I thought that only the Hardy rods were so expensive - aimed at the top for the toffs only.

[rpsalmon]

A decent rod for the Tay is a 15ft rod. Unless you are rather proficient with a 15ft rod I would not advise moving up to an 18ft rod, it is quite a change and brings practical and real difficulties with casting, playing a fish, landing a fish, as well as strain to your arms/shoulders/back. All these factors will depreciate from your enjoyment and so if you already suffer from these with a 15ft rods there is no point in compounding the problems.

[speyghillie]

I think the Signature 18ft Scott Mackenzie rod is a limited edition, only a hundred being made, still expensive, but at least you know you are getting a rod by someone who can cast and put a rod through some real testing, as with most things Hardy, well enough said.

[rpsalmon]

Are these casting rods or fishing rods? The reason I ask this is that I am sure Mr McKenzie has his competition casting rod specially made with certain custom strengthened sections to specifically help with his own competition casting, resulting in a rod more suited for his casting rather than fishing. In which case, unless you were a above average caster who wished to take part in competitions and wished to take advantage of a casting expert's knowledge, why would anyone want such a casting rod?

Surely it can't just be a money making exercise when there are only 100 rods being made.