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I have been fishing fiberglass rods a lot this season.  I have also fielded a bunch of questions as to why I am fishing with a non graphite rod.  So I turned to the pros to explain a bit about fiberglass.

Jim Bartschi, chief rod designer at Scott fly rods .

What would be the advantage of Fiberglass versus other materials?

Fiberglass allows rod builders to build short flexible rods that load deeply to form loops on short line casts, and still feel connected to the the rod and line.

 

Why are there not many short graphite rods on the market while fiberglass rods are almost all 'shorty' rods? 

Glass is better suited for very short rods designed to fish in close. On the other hand, if you're designing a short 10 weight back country mangrove rod for large snook, graphite would be the choice. It's not so much absolute length of the rod that should determine material choice. Rather the combination of length, line weight and application 

 

What circumstances make a short, softer action rod superior to a fast action rod?

Certainly applications where average casts fall inside of 30 total feet of line and leader. Another area where softer rods excel is in protecting very fine tippets. 

 

Would they work on the Driftless Area creeks? 

Of course. Some of your waters are ideally suited for high performance glass rods. 

 

Can you cast dries, nymph rigs, and streamers or does glass limit you to lighter presentations? 

Absolutely. Glass rods cast heavy terminal rigs very well at close quarters. Where you will feel disadvantaged with glass is on very long casts or long casts with heavy flies. But that's not the application they are intended for. I actually prefer casting weighted streamers and nymphs on glass rods over graphite if I'm making most of my presentations with only 5 to 10 feet of fly line out of the rod tip. 

(More fiberglass talk and a more in depth interview with Jim can be seen at the Fiberglass Manifesto site)
    
I am of the opinion the Fiberglass is a much underrated material for creek rods.  They tend to be shorter than many graphite rods letting you cast in tight quarters, they feel more natural to cast, are deadly accurate (shorter rods are much more accurate), and can deliver a fly gently to spooky fish, AND will protect a much lighter tippet (a lighter tippet catches more fish and spooks fewer fish).  More durable than graphite, and less maintenance than bamboo.  Plus it does not get brittle in freezing weather like graphite making it a great winter rod!
  
  If you are looking for a specialty creek rod, take a serious look at a fiberglass offering.  There is rarely a need to belt out huge amounts of line on our waters, the focus should be on accuracy, and a stealthy presentation.

   Many rod companies are hyper focused on selling rods to fish the bigger waters in the West, and fiberglass has fallen to the wayside.  On our waters, on high elevation meadows, small springs and creeks worldwide, glass is a superior material!
We need a fiberglass revolution.