There's been a bit of renaissance of fiberglass rods over the last couple of years. Seeing manufacturers return to producing glass rods has come as a surprise to many, given the general market trend towards ever-faster and ever-stiffer graphite rods. According to glass aficionados, however, no other material produces the feel and deep load that a fiberglass rod does and this fact has some rod makers adding fiberglass offerings back into their lineup for the first time in decades.

Count Echo rods amongst that crowd. According to the folks at Echo, they could "no longer hold Tim back from another project he's wanted in the offering for quite some time". Tim, of course, is ECHO and Rajeff Sports founder and chief rod designer Tim Rajeff.

According to the company, "chances are, if you're over 50, you probably started with a fiberglass rod. Tim did with both his fishing and casting competition rods. Thus, his desire to bring back that soulful action only fiberglass creates. Working on the Echo Glass project allowed Tim to pull from his large sack of graphite tricks and apply some of them to fiberglass possibilities. Every part of the cast is translated into your hand. They're all about giving you the feedback missing from stiff graphite actions, with deep loads and a smooth recovery that transmits from tip to hand."

The best part about Echo's new fiberglass offerings may be their price. Echo has always been known for offering rods of excellent quality at attractive, reasonable prices, but the new glass offerings may represent their best value yet. Available in 4 sizes ranging from 2 weight to 5 weight, the rods feature ceramic stripping guides, premium grade cork, traditional downlocking cork barrel reel seats, Echo's always handy alignment dots, a "classy" golden caramel blank with olive wraps, and come priced at only $199.

Availability is expected in January 2014. For more information, including specifications on rod sizings, visit Rajeff Sports.