Do you prefer Matt finish rods or Gloss finish rods, Just to be a pain, I prefer a satin finish, but not seen that on a fly rod yet. If looking at rods in a rack, then a glossy one appeals more.
Is there specific conditions when you would choose one over the other? Having stalked some extremely spooky fish using glossy rods, I am not sure I would be too worried. I also used to fish a lot of small, clear burns and used a glossy rod..never seemed to spook the fish I could see.
Do you think it matters? I think footfall and sky lining are more of a fish worrier than the possibility of a flash from the blank.
Does a Matt finish rod appear more specialised ? That is the way the bigger companies market them, so yes, I would say so.
Or are you swayed by the attractive colour on the nice shiny new toy? Colour of blank is important to me....says the person with 3 very red looking blanks!! I prefer a natural carbon or a very dark olive/green. For some reason, blue has been popular with the Pike boys, maybe they are used to saltwater rods that also seem to be blue.