One of the advantages of working with some of the world’s most talented fly fishing instructors is that those instructors are always challenging your views.

“Is that really the best way to teach the students how to make a reach cast?”

“Seriously? That’s how you rig your nymphs?”

“Nobody fishes Double Taper fly lines anymore. Why are we recommending them?”

“Would you explain why you’re raising your rod tip at the end of that cast? That’s not how I do it.”

“If you’ve never fished an Iris Caddis, which caddis patterns do you prefer?”

There’s nothing quite like bringing a dozen incredibly skilled and extremely opinionated fly fishing experts together and giving them carte blanche to share their thoughts. Everyone has a theory on why one way of doing things is more appropriate than another, and everyone will tell you why one piece of gear is the absolute best you can choose. It can be a little overwhelming — having so many talented fly fishing professionals offering their opinions is a bit like drinking from a fire hose — but it also makes for some fascinating conversations.

I’ve spent hours and hours talking about rods and rod design with other fly fishing instructors and as you might imagine, those discussions have invariably helped inform my thinking. While my basic opinions on fly rods haven’t changed all that much — I’m still focused on the same design elements I was writing about 20 years ago — it feels like my current perspectives are both more refined and more nuanced.

With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to look back in time, consider all the wonderful graphite rods I’ve been fortunate enough to cast and fish, and then share the five rods that sit atop my all-time favorite list at the moment. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to put rods from Orvis, Sage, Winston, Scott, Douglas, Thomas & Thomas, G. Loomis, Redington, St. Croix, Mystic, Burkheimer, McFarland, LL Bean, Cabela’s, Fenwick, Hardy and a number of other brands through their paces. Here, in descending order, are the ones I’d place at the pinnacle of the rod maker’s art.

1. R.L. Winston 9' 5-weight IM6

Winston’s 9’ 5-weight IM6 lands at number five. This medium-action 3-piece rod from the 1980s and 1990s is the only 5-weight on my list, and it’s as close to a do-everything trout rod as I’ve ever come across. It will handle a decent-sized streamer, fish nymphs under a strike indicator, and bomb out more than 90 feet of fly line. Yet at the same time it loads in tight — to the point where I can feel the rod load with 8 or 10 feet of line — while throwing beautiful loops and doing a fine job of protecting light tippets. When old fly fishers say “they don’t make ‘em like that any more,” don’t be surprised if they’re referencing this particular Winston.

2. R.L. Winston 9' 4-weight IM6

My next rod on the list is the Winston 9’ 4-weight IM6. It’s another medium-action Winston 3-piece from the ‘80s & ’90s, and it shares many of the same qualities as its ‘big brother’ 5-weight. Perhaps the most important difference is that this 4-weight is a bit lighter in the hand, which makes it even more enjoyable to cast. It won’t throw as long a line as the 5-weight, or handle streamers or a big wind, but this particular Winston has been my top choice for rising trout since the mid-90s. It’s a fantastic casting and line-manipulation tool, and it’s been a favorite of serious anglers for more than 30 years.

3. Tom Morgan Rodsmiths 8'6 4-weight

Number three is the Tom Morgan 8’6” 4-weight. When I wrote about this rod for my Sporting Classics fly fishing column back in 2010, I said: “Tom’s company only builds 60 or so fly rods a year, but the rods ... well, they shine. The materials and components are, as you’d imagine, exceptional, and the craftsmanship is superb. But that’s only part of it. This is a Henry David Thoreau rod, a Dali Lama rod, a Thomas Merton rod - it has a soul. It’s without a doubt one of the sweetest, most transcendent graphite fly rods I’ve ever cast.

Now don’t get me wrong. This little 4-weight won’t excel in the wind. It won’t handle 80’ of line. Nor will it impress the high-modulus parking lot casters who hang out at your local fly shop. But if you love throwing small dry flies to rising trout on a warm summer evening, this rod is pure magic.”

14 years later, I wouldn’t change a word.

4. Montana Brothers Rodworks 904M

My number two all-time rod is also the first “new” rod on this list. The 904M from Montana Brothers Rodworks is a medium-action 9’ 4-weight. It’s also the single finest fly fishing tool I’ve ever held in my hand. If you love to cast, and if you love to fish, and if you’ve done enough of both over the years to be able to tell an outstanding rod from a rod that doesn’t quite reach that level, then I’d suggest picking up a 904M and giving it a workout. It’s a transcendent rod that, at least from where I sit, helps define the pinnacle of the rod-maker’s art. I should also point out that my colleague John Juracek, who is one of the finest fly casters on the planet, noted: “Almost all my fishing is done with dry flies or small nymphs, and this rod handles the casting and fishing demands of challenging situations like no other rod I’ve ever seen or fished.”

5. Montana Brothers Rodworks 904L

My favorite rod, as of this exact moment in time and space, is another new-ish rod, the 904L from the aforementioned Montana Brothers Rodworks. Brothers Dan and Doug Daufel set out to recreate Paul Brown’s classic slow action rods. They ended up with a rod design that not only surpasses Brown’s original Fenwick “World Class”, but that truly blows me away. While I suspect that most fly fishers — especially those who have little-to-no experience with slow or medium action rods — would take a while to adapt to the 904L, the best anglers I know pick one up, make a handful of casts, and literally start to smile. Sure, it’s a wonderful fly fishing tool. More than that, though, it offers the kind of sublime yet visceral pleasure most of us associate with the very finest bamboo rods. While it’s not quite as versatile as the 904M, and while it won’t cast quite as far, the 904L is more fun to fish, and to cast, than any other rod I’ve ever held in my hand.

So there you have it. And now, of course, the question becomes “what have we learned here?”

Well, it should be obvious to everyone that I focus on trout, rather than salmon, steelhead, pike, bass, bonefish, tarpon or permit, and that I prefer rods that flex easily and are geared towards dry flies and smaller nymphs. I own quite a few fast action trout rods, but I’m afraid that they’re not nearly as enjoyable to cast or fish. The same is true of all my heavier steelhead and salmon rods. Long story short, a rod that makes me work harder is always going to end up further down my personal list, while a rod that’s enjoyable to cast will be higher up.

It should also be obvious that my opinion is subjective. Any experienced angler who prioritizes different species or different styles of fishing will have different favorites. We’re not all the same — nor should we be — and what’s right for me may well not be right for you.

What else? While I’ve played around with a ton of rods over the years, I have not cast, or fished, every rod that’s been sold over the last 50 or 60 years. Not even close. There are undoubtably rods that I would love, but that I haven’t yet run across. The list above is focused on rods I’ve used personally, which is a pretty serious limitation.

Finally, all the rods I mentioned up above are, or were, awfully expensive. To be frank, there’s not an inexpensive rod on the list. So to make up for that, I’d like to point you towards a very reasonably-priced series of rods that garners far less attention than it should. Redington makes an absolutely stellar line of rods that goes by the name “Classic Trout.” In fact, if you offered me a choice between the majority of the $1000 fly rods available today and a $170 Redington, I’d actually choose the Classic Trout. This particular Redington proves that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to find a wonderful fly rod, and that rod manufacturers can build a stellar rod without breaking the bank.

Todd Tanner runs the School of Trout. The school’s staff includes angling legends and luminaries like Craig Mathews, Tom Rosenbauer, John Juracek, Kirk Deeter, Hilary Hutcheson, Bob White, Jeff Currier, Tim Romano, Pat McCabe, Steve McFarland, Karlie Roland and Brant Oswald. In addition to his work with SOT, Todd has been teaching fly casting for more than 30 years and writing rod reviews for more than 20.