Best Saltwater Fly Rods 2025
The subjective comparison everyone always wants to know: What is "the best" saltwater fly rod? I get asked this every day. No matter how I rank rods and evaluate them, people will question it, argue, complain, cry, etc. If you already have a favorite, I suggest you use it. This guide is for people who aren't sure what to buy and would like some guidance. Remember you can always call or email us for advice, we are happy to help!
The Thomas & Thomas Sextant has always been one of our favorites and is a very easy recommendation to all levels of fly fishermen. Great balance of power and finesse, plus it's so easy to cast for all skill levels. Price, performance, warranty, customer service, all are 10/10 for the Thomas & Thomas Sextant
The Fantastic Orvis Helios - This is the top pick in the "Premium" segment (20% more than a Thomas & Thomas Sextant but the performance combined with a fantastic warranty make this the nicest fly rod money can buy.
The Orvis RECON Rods are excellent at $598 (Made in USA at this price is wild), easily defeating competitors which cost a bit more and lag behind the RECON in performance. The Orvis RECON dominates the mid-range of fly rods for saltwater. We stock tons of 8wt and 9wt rods especially and they sell incredibly well. People love these!
The ALL NEW TFO MOMENT Rods are here and they are fantastic. Kevlar-reinforced, ultra-fast action, and half the price of similar rods with this level of performance. These are a no-brainer if you are a skilled caster, but go for the TFO Blitz below if you are new to saltwater fly fishing as it's easier to cast well. Take one even as a backup for a high-end rod ($1,000+), they are really that good. As of 2025 this rod is probably the best saltwater option under the $1,000 price point.
The TFO Blitz - By far the best reasonably priced fly rods for saltwater (By which I mean "Rods Less than $500"). The TFO Blitz really doesn't even have much competition at this price. There are rods twice the price that aren't this good. I'd even take one as a backup to my $1,000+ rods if I was going somewhere remote. Want to save a little more money? The TFO Mangrove Coast is also a decent option, and again unbeatable at that price point.
Bonus: Best "Specialty" Saltwater Fly Rods of 2025: My favorite cool new rod is the Thomas & Thomas Exocett 88 - This rod isn't for everyone and it's not your first rod to buy but for the intended customers this is perfection. Guys throwing big streamers, intermediate or sinking lines, peacock bass and golden dorado, etc will love this new rod series.
In a hurry? Don't want to read even more long reviews? Pick any of these top saltwater fly rods we suggested and you are good to go. You wanted the best? You got it. Want more details? Keep on reading.
First of all, what should you even be looking for in a saltwater fly rod, and how do we rank them and evaluate them when reviewing? We developed a 10-point concept covering 10 different aspects of any fly rod to give a number to some of these qualities (10 categories x 10 possible points each for 100 total points). It's still somewhat arbitrary but may help people in their research phase before buying a rod.
We are the original saltwater fly shop (and we hope the best as well). We make money when you buy anything from our shop here, but we don't let that influence our gear reviews. We only stock what we feel are the very best fly rods, reels, lines, and flies for our customers because we like them the most. If we don't have it here in our shop, there's probably a good reason. Sometimes some reasons we can't share in a blog post but they are based on our extensive knowledge of the brands in the fly fishing industry. We can't always directly say what's going on with other brands we choose not to carry so you will need to take our word for it. We want customers 100% happy with what they get, and without any gear failures on their next trip.
