SAGE Flyrod

[kevpack]

I'm usually more of a lurker but after this weekend I just had to say something to somebody. For my rather short flyfishing career (ten or so years) I have gotten by with a used Abercrombie & Fitch fly rod. It suited me well ,so I thought, until last summer when I fell on the rocks and broke it. After three failed attempts at repair - and the temporary replacement with a cheap rod that I won't mention the name of - I decided to spoil myself.
I did after all just quit smoking.
I purchased a Sage rod. You can sell my clothes now, I have gone to heaven. The fishing was crappy below the oldman dam this last weekend but casting that entry level piece of art was ecstacy. Every flycaster who has struggled through with something else should really, if he or she has the means, purchase, or at least try out, a quality flyrod. I could have cast all weekend without a single fish. I'm afraid now what might happen if I try some of the more expensive rods.....at twenty bucks a day no cigs savings though....hmmm.
Spoil yourself, I heard Country Pleasures in Calgary will load a rod with line and a reel and send you out to the parking lot to try the equally fine Orvis Rods.

[fishman]

I find that the rod has to suit the fisherman not the other way around as i have used so many diffrent fly rods and i cannot change the way i cast so i need a rod to suit the way i cast and i have used cheap rods that are basically junk and i have used cheap rods that i loved ....i have also used expensive rods that i hated and some i love, i have about 6 rods as i use to until last satuday when i was getting out of my tube and stepped on my rod and broke the tip off and the week before i got hooked up on something in the lake and give the rod a jerk and the line snapped and the top half came off and into the lake.............so in all the expensive rods have better guides, better fit between top and bottom pieces and the reel attachment is usually alot better material.................so yes you usually get what u pay for but does a expensive rod improve my casting naaaaaaaa a chance.......................just my 2 cents

[slingshotz]

Don't underestimate the TFO rods and their local warranty service. I love my 4wt and sadly it's earning my favoritism over my more expensive 6wt rod from NZ. And as fishman noted the rod doesn't always help the casting. On the weekend during the Jim McLennan class when he was using my NZ rod I was thinking to myself was that the same rod I was casting with?!? He used it so efficiently like someone that had been casting with that rod for decades, put me to shame as I've been using it for almost a decade.

[ESOXangler]

first thing i bought with my first check from my first job was a sage DS580 5wt. 13 years later its still going strong and a true pleasure to cast.

[flygirrl]

Well Ive used both cheap and expensive rods and I now have a Winston 4 weight, Its the Joan Wulff Favorite series and I can cast all day long with this. I bought it aprox 10 years ago as I come from atlantic canada and did a lot of Salmon fishing with a 9 weight rod. I wanted to try something smaller so went with a lighter weight. Low and behold I broke it in Pararie creek 2 years ago, boy oh boy I dont cry and i amost did. E-mailed Winston and they said send her down and we will repair it, They not only repaired it they built me a new butt section( its a three piece rod ) and what a job they did, NO CHARGE, thats one of the reasons I use quality, the other is you can tell the difference when your casting, I dont know about you guys but once I hit the river i dont come out til dark and I like a rod thats easy on the arm. But to each his own I guess I dont knock anyone even if they have a cheep rod, met a young fellow one day down by Canmore, new to fly fishing and the rod he had just purchased was so heavy and awkward that you could only cast it for a few hours. So I gave him some pointers, fixed his flyline to his leader advised him to continue to see if he even liked fly fishing and purchase a better rod at a later date. he tried mine and couldnt belive the difference. He was having fun and that is all that matters.

[Kingfisher]

Originally Posted by fishman

so in all the expensive rods have better guides, better fit between top and bottom pieces and the reel attachment is usually alot better material.................so yes you usually get what u pay for but does a expensive rod improve my casting naaaaaaaa a chance.......................just my 2 cents

I have some very nice rods and some not very expensive nice one's. They all have their place in my arsonal.

Actually I hate to tell you that not all the top selling rods have the best guides on them.

I build custom rods and repair lots of rods as well. It makes me sad when I look at my Sage Z axis and see that the cork and the guides on it are not as good of quality as the cork or guides on my Reddington CPX. Or not near as good as what I put on my custom rods that I build. Too bad Sage can't dig a little deeper into their pockets to put some decent quality guides and cork on their rods. Concidering the price they charge for them. I suppose they are all about the bottom line and all that advertizing they buy in every fishing magazine throughout the world cost lots of money. It's all about marketing.

If you guys have a rod that you need repaired I'd be happy to have a look at it for you and see what we can do.

Rob

[tolait]

sage rods are one of the nicest casting rods you can buy,from entry level to top end they all work great.i have four sage rods but all future rods will be from tfo they make a great rod and thier warrenty is the best.sage warrenty is ok but you have the expence of sending your rod to the us plus they have a set $40 .00 buck charge

[rustynailz]

Buying a rod because of the warranty is like buying a car that's cheap to fix if it breaks down. TFO rods are absolute crap when it comes to quality, both in terms of materials and workmanship. Plus, why would you make a rod without a hook keeper? That's just plan silly.

Agree 100% with you Rob - I have two custom Sages, both with Fuji singlefoots. The 890 VPS casts like a rocket. I have no idea why Sage puts $8 worth of cheap snakes on a rod instead of spending $40 or $50. The singlefoots cast nicer and require less wrapping. I have three factory Sages as well and they just don't cast as nice as the customs.

[slingshotz]

Originally Posted by rustynailz

Buying a rod because of the warranty is like buying a car that's cheap to fix if it breaks down. TFO rods are absolute crap when it comes to quality, both in terms of materials and workmanship. Plus, why would you make a rod without a hook keeper? That's just plan silly.

The reason I like the warranty is not because that I'm afraid it'll break from poor quality but from the abuse our rods takes during our travels. A $800 rod will still break if you step on it by accident. Not sure about the lowest end TFOs but mine has a hook keeper and is a delight to cast with. There are lots of others who love TFO rods and to me they are great bang for the buck. Absolutely nothing wrong with spending the money for Sage rods if you can afford it.

[ABDUKNUT]

The VPS were great rods, and my favorite rod until I tried, and got used to the XP.

I decided this year I wanted a new 7# streamer rod and couldn't justify the expense and wait-time for another custom XP, so I decided to try a Winston Vapor. I got a great deal on one (Craigslist), a good bit under $200 brand new shipped to my door, and although I haven't fished it (yet) i've played around with it and am happy with it. Kinda reminds me of the Sage VPS's, although Winston markets the vapor as a fast-action.

[Kingfisher]

ABDUKNUT where are you located? I would love to give that Winston a shake sometime and see the feel of it.

Rob

[ABDUKNUT]

Im in GP. No problem trying it out, just let me know if you are passing through.

[Kingfisher]

I don't think I'm coming to GP any time soon. I'm on a team for the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships this September. It's being held in Fernie BC, so I am going to be fishing there as much as possible from now until the competition.

Rob