There are still a lot of good fly rods being made in the states (mostly in the $300 and up range) by Winston, St. Croix, Scott, Sage, G. Loomis and other smaller shops but some of those MIC's stand up pretty well against the high end sticks.
As for flies, I like to use flies I tie myself but if something is beyond my meager tying skills I prefer locally tied ones which seem to last longer and catch more fish. They're a bit more expensive but still generally a better buy than those from overseas factories,IMHO.