I have resently been introduced to the fly and rod company Targus. They have a long line of rod options and very tough reels all at a mid range price. The rod I have been using is the Gary Borger model they are fast to medium fast action and very responsive. Throws a nymph taper very smoothly and feels a lot like a Sage XP without the high price and its available. The load is smooth and strong without any hint of collapsing. The package for both rod and reel is around 600 dollars aproximately 400 less for comparable products in the Sage, Winston, Ross line of equipment and the kicker is the rod comes with an extra tip section and all repairs are FREE!

My second gear report involves rod holders, the magnetic type that ride on your vehicle hood. Since I recently had my 7 year old set from Orvis stolen I purchased a set from Tightlines Industries. They have more space for attaching rods and two magnets per piece. After 100,000 miles with the Orvis set never falling off I assumed the same with my new set. Bad assumption, just tonight they flew off my buddies truck with four rods attached. The damage report goes like this; the winston w/hatch reel totally blew up the reel however is still usable, the Sage VPS with a twenty year old Ross cimmeron came through with barely a scratch ( so far ) the 596 xp looked fine till a practice cast broke the but section and the Ross gunnison needed some bending repair to the spool. The 905 Targus rod and reel recieved some good scratches and the reel had its ballance broke off but still casted well and and did not break from the testing, all in all the Targus received the worst abrasions and scratches but held up the best.

I can honestly say that Targus is a great deal and I will begin the replacement of all my equipment with their product!