Guides start with a hook keeper and then one SiC stripper, followed with fairly thin diameter black hard chrome snake guides. The nice soft tip allows me to cast off the tip of the rod with a flick of my wrist. The Sage X is light in overall weight, butfarheavier the most in swing weight. Using a rod that will dramatically reduce the number of break-offs makes a lot of sense. Usually takes 1-2 weeks. #19. And a look at the deflection chart confirms this. Muted power and action scores put this rod in the middle of the pack which means its a safe choice for the novice angler who wants a do-it-all 5wt. Also, by having 8-10 rods set up, 2-3 testers can simultaneously do the casting. For guides, they use one SiC stripping guide followed with hard chrome snake guides that are thin and light on the tip sections. Fundamentally, because there are so many gear options in fly fishing, shootout-style blog posts help anglers determine 'the best of' a particular selected subcategory. Syndicate P2 Pipeline. It also sits dead last in our Fun to Fish category. The Scott G series was definitely better. Quality of the cork was excellent with a stack of thinner rings. The blank is a pleasing burgundy that sparkles in the sunlight. Also, the Galvan Torque reels are basically maintenance free, using a rulon bushing that requires no lubrication. Like the Meridian, the Tidal is manufactured by Scott in Montrose, Colorado. Just not enough butt power to get the job done. Unlike some of the stiffer 4-weights, this rod performs well at the shorter distances too. I think that this can be attributed to the slower action of this rod compared to the Zephrus. Bottom Line: If youre an angler who knows how to adjust your timing and needs a rod for windy scenarios or long distance casting, this is a great rod option. Im able to form fairly tight loops, but the accuracy is not as good as what Im getting with the Helios 3F or the Avantt. St. Croix Lifetime warranty to original owner, $85 handling fee. For our 4-weight Shootout, once again we have added anotherperformance category Light Tippet Protection. Natural finish carbon appearance. What is a cheap rod like this doing up here with all the far higher priced rods, many of which cost $700more? The heavy swing weight hurt, and I wasnt getting the kind of feel or accuracy I got with the G Series Scott or the Orvis Helios 3F. We're here to help. This is a good-looking rod finished in a matte gray color. Although the overall weight was an amazingly light 2.3 oz, the swing weight was a fairly heavy 8.0 oz about equal to the Scott G series. We like the looks of this new Mystic rod and the craftsmanship is better than we found on the Reaper X, but the price is a lot higher also. The handle is a half wells western style grip with contrasting dark composite cork rings at both the bottom and top. The best rods will throw very tight loops at this range with consistently good accuracy. Good, just not nearly as solid or as accurate as the 3F or Radian at long range. When I first picked the rod up, the overall weight was good but then when I wiggled the rod in my hand, I could see that the swing weight was heavier than almost all of the other 4-weight rods. It is important for any fly line to shoot well, and even clear well, when you have extra line at your feet and a fish is streaking for the horizon. The Aetos was dramatically better for an inexpensive rod. A gray graphite insert is used that goes well with the blank. The components are not in the same class as the Helios 3F, but that is to be expected considering the price. Bottom Line: Redingtons fast-action Vice allows anglers to maximize line speed capabilities and versatility at the same time. Performance at 60 feet: 9.0 points out of 10. Rods with softer tips help you avoid break-offs like these. The fancy burl wood insert just jumps out at you with its striking color lots of red and orange mixed in very attractive. Below the final results charts we give you the exact repair charges for each manufacturer. The perfect line: SA Amplitude Smooth Infinity in WF-4-F, Performance at 25 feet: 20 points out of 20. Here the lack of butt power hurts a bit but it was better than the Shadow out long and matched the Scott G-Series. The rod also has the power to slug it out with sizeable game, and the fighting butt to tuck in your gut and settle in for the fight. Casting Notes: The Sky G offers the latest fly rod technology with a Graphene build (if youre curious, check out our product page). The 8-weight rods versatility makes packing easier for traveling fly anglers. The epoxy coatings are good but too heavy for my liking. If broken from neglect or any other cause, you must use the Expeditor service. Winston gives us two new rods, the Winston Air and their beefy Alpha+. Action: 7.5/10 - Loomis built this rod to be faster than the Asquith and bordering on ultra-fast action. Nice and light in hand with very good feel and accuracy in close. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. That changed when I fell in love with the Helios II. The H3F rated slightly higher over all, but the Asquith had a lot more butt and mid-section power to blast out long casts. Copy of Sage Z-Axis (example) G. Loomis Asquith 8wt. No handling fee. (tie) Waterworks-Lamson SS 9 #4 $399.99. Here is a new rod that has not appeared in any of our previous Shootouts. The relatively heavy swing weight and stiffness are not giving me much feel, and the accuracy in close is not very good. The thinner cork handle may actually be an advantage for some anglers, especially children or women with smaller hands. Line Recommendation: RIO Gold Elite Fly Line. I could hit this distance easily enough, but I had much better feel and accuracy with the faster, lighter rods. (Click here to see more deflection charts). Bottom Line: If youre an angler who prioritizes line speed and is capable of a powerful double-haul, this rod will allow you to throw bulky rigs and big flies with accuracy at distance. A black anodized double uplocking seat is used with an attractive wood burl insert. The softer tip on this rod gave me good feel and decent accuracy at close range and the amount of butt and mid-section power seems about right for a 4-weight rod. Loomis designed these IMX Pro rods to be tough and very durable, and pro guides love them because they are so hard for clients to break. At short and medium distances, it has great feel, but was lacking in accuracy. And for a rod that is half the cost of the Helios 3F, the overall weight and swing weight are actuallylower! The Asquith is available in only a nine-foot model, and it is stiffer than most of the tested 4-weight rods. Our deflection charts have been very popular in past Shootouts, so we are giving you more this year. The soft, slow action produces a delivery I noted as mushy. A dark green graphite insert is used that complements the color of the blank. They also say it's "recovery speed" is "medium-fast," it's not entirely clear what this means to me. The best rods certainly need to handle this distance easily, but most anglers are buying a 4-weight rod for fishing at closer distances, which puts the emphasis on 25 to 40 foot casts. 1 Review. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. This is one fantastic looking rod one of the very best in our Shootout. While the AETOS is built on a fast action blank, its more forgiving than other rods in its price range and is designed to provide the novice angler with versatility and fast-action performance. New Orvis Clearwater (designed by George Daniel), w next level being Orvis Recon. Nickel silver is used for the winding check and rear grip check as well as the hardware on the reel seat, which is a sliding band and one wide locking ring. The guides start with one SiC stripping guide followed with very large diameter hard chrome snake guides. Built for versatility, this is a stand-out rod in this price range. The wide single ring was easy to grip and tighten. Softer tips on these 4-weight rods almost always equated to better accuracy and more delicate presentations, especially at shorter distances. Usually takes 2 weeks. Many of the best rods are built in one factory in Korea. The quality of the cork in the handles varies enormously among fly rods. I liked the full wells cork handle better than the odd grip on the Reaper X. Performance at 40 feet: 19.5 points out of 20. Of all the reels we have carried over the years, Galvan continues to have the fewest warranty issues and returns. The quality of the standard size cork rings was very good. I dont know how Orvis pulls this off, but we like the results. A darker composite cork ring is used on the bottom of the grip that is flared out to accept the uplocking seat. The one thing that was a negative is the heavier swing weight. A dark gray wood burl insert is used that matches the blank. 3. To appreciate this rod, you need to see it in the sunlight. D deceiverbob Well-known member Messages 1,112 The locking ring is easy to grip, but Id prefer a double ring seat as this one looks like it will loosen up more easily than most. The Expeditor service fee for the Asquith rods is $250.00 for ground or $275 for 2-day air. Power: 7/10 - This is a powerful rod capable of throwing dry flies, nymph rigs, and small streamers, optimized for castability and long distance performance. For those anglers that like fast action rods with more power, (for fishing at longer distances or in windy conditions), the G. Loomis Asquith, the T&T Avantt, and the Scott Radian are good choices. Feels good in my hand, and Im able to cast well off the tip. Fun to Fish/Got to Have 10 points available. Sign up for our Newsletter, a monthly dose of new ideas and exclusive deals on great gear, sent directly to your inbox. The black anodized double unlocking skeleton seat has two larger rings that are very easy to grip and tighten. Some people might consider high priced rods status symbols. Casting Notes: Fast action performance meets flashy rod design with Redingtons powerful 5wt Vice. The quality of cork is pretty good, but not in the same class as Avantt. At the head of the pack was the Orvis Helios 3. A sliding band and one easy to grip locking ring are used. When Im fishing the spring creeks here near Livingston, the Railroad Ranch on the Henrys Fork of the Snake, as well as the flat water on the Bighorn or Missouri rivers, I reach for my favorite rod for this kind of technical fishing, an 8 foot #4. A powerful, fast-action rod works well for turning over larger rigs or casting longer distances in windy conditions. The ring seems to lock up well. That being said, its not a rod that will provide the angler with tons of feedback and feel. The Orvis H-3 is clearly one of the best fly rods to ever leave the Orvis shop, but it's not all about the long cast. 1. With any breeze at all, Im dead. Dont fret about the price youll find some ingenious way to sneak it into your collection of rods without the mrs. (or mr.) finding out. $75 on recent rods within 10 years, $125 on classic olderrods. The all-new Sage Maverick fits into a more moderate price-point with other fly rods like the T&T Zone and the Orvis Recon 2. The medium fast action of the Recon is very similar to the Helios 3F and this is one reason it performs so well. Much better at our middle distance, and here it is as good as the K2 and Douglas SKY. My favorite length for a 4-weight rod is 8 feet. Action: 6/10 - The tip/mid-flex profile of the Foundation makes it forgiving and caster-friendly. Scott claims that this gives their rods better strength and we cannot argue with this as we see very few Scott rods broken. With 4-weight rods the emphasis is on the shorter distances, as rarely would an angler be casting a 4-weight at 60 feet or more. I now own 4 H2s and fish them all the time. Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. Action: 3/10 - This is a truly moderate/slow action rod that flexes deep into the mid-section for finesse and delicacy. The added weight and relative stiffness over the other best rods hurt many of its scores. How well are the guides wrapped and how nice are the coatings? The accuracy was not good either. Light Tippet Protection 20 points available. The shorter rod is nice and light, and faster in action than its longer brother. The TFO rods, the Taylor rods, the Mystic rod, and the Waterworks rods are all designed here in the U.S. and built in Asia. Same day or next day shipping if they have the parts in stock, if not, usually takes 2 weeks. A great 4-weight rod is the best tool Ive found to meet these demands. Loop has built some important features into this rod to make it lightweight and snappy. The color of the blank is a very light silver blue, with the guides wrapped in a darker grayish blue, with some silver trim on the butt section. Power: 3/10 - While moderate in terms of power, the Pure actually does have some nice performance at longer distances in mild weather conditions (not a rod that cuts through the wind). Now Im getting nice tight loops and I can punch it hard into the breeze. Usually takes 2-4 weeks. Take tricky undulating currents, and then add in a little wind, and getting a fly right in the fishs window with that drag-free drift becomes quite the challenging task. This is a soft rod, and that gave it good marks in the light tippet protection category, but its performance distance scores were lackluster. They use a stack of thin diameter cork rings and the quality of the cork was good. Steve Rajeff, the head rod designer at Loomis, designed the Asquith tapers, and the blanks are built by Shimano in Japan, using their unique X wrap process. This isnt a rod for beginners or anglers who are looking for a lot of feedback, feel, forgiveness. Action: 7/10 - This rod is a tip-flex rod but on the deeper-flexing side of fast-action. Nothing else is even close. The epoxy coatings over the wraps are nicely done, and I especially like the fact that they inscribe the rod length and weight on the bottom wrap of each section. Once the grip of the rod is placed precisely on the foam pellet, with the rod horizontal, we apply pressure, by pressing down with a fingernail to the very end of the reel seat, and then read (and note) the weight indicated by the scale. As in the past we are using our own Brecknell official postage scale to calculate the weight. As in our past Shootouts, it is important to keep everything apples to apples in an effort to eliminate the variables that will have an effect on the scores. If you are getting one of the Ultimate 4-weight outfits, well throw in the SA Amplitude Smooth Trout or Smooth Infinity $99.95 line for free, and also ship it to you for free! It is especially interesting to see how the rods compare in stiffness, and how much the tip section bends. #25. Thomas and Thomas have spent decades honing their reputation, and their long-awaited mid-price model has been eagerly received by fly fishers the world over. Winston BIIIX 5wt. The cork handle is a more conventional western style grip than found on their Radian, with a flare on the back to accept the black anodized single uplocking seat that utilizes a brown graphite insert. Pros Then the dark green finish just sparkles. Thread starter Lmad928; Start date Jan 1, 2021; Prev. Here, the softer rods, ones with softer tips and rods with lighter swing weights post the highest scores. The Radian placed 2ndin our last 5-weight Shootout and I was surprised to see that it was this far down the list in a 4-weight. Like many of the other 9-foot rods in our Shootout, it was at a disadvantage in weight to the shorter 8 and 8 foot rods. TFO FINESSE TROUT 89 #4 $229.95. The cork handle is a western style grip with a flare on the lower end to accept the uplocking seat, and a nice taper forward providing a very comfortable grip. Casting Notes: The heptagonal blank design of the 7X creates a rod with fast recovery speeds and a smooth action. Much of the time Im able to play smaller trout by just stripping line in, but when I hook a big fish that runs hard I want to play it off the reel. The handle is a half wells design and the quality of the cork is decent better than what we saw on the Loop Q and the TFO rods. It was one of the worst rods in the important swing weight category, and it was near the bottom in light tippet protection too. It has a butt and mid-section that is stiffer than most rods tested. Action: 7/10 - This rod sports a medium-fast/fast action blank thats ideal for a variety of freshwater fishing techniques. The Trace casts well at short/middle distances and provides the angler with enough feedback/feel for accuracy and finesse. The rings on the seat were fairly large and easy to tighten, giving a secure lock up. $60 handling fee. Bad Ass Glass Quickshot. Casting Notes: The G Series is Scotts moderate/slow action dry fly-specific rod series with a focus on refined feedback and delicacy at short-range. Non-original owner $150 per section. $75 handling fee. #22. The cosmetics and components of this rod are similar to its shorter brother. The color of this rod is an attractive olive, with the guides wrapped in dark brown. Heres a mid-priced rod that put in a good performance across the board. The idea here is to measure the swing weight at the middle of where your palm is likely to sit on the grip. Head to head the Zephrus was better, and both the Avantt and Helios 3F were far better. As long as there wasnt much wind I could easily hit 60 feet but accuracy suffered. Action: 6/10 - A medium-fast action rod design makes turning over heavy nymph rigs a breeze with this 5wt. I normally prefer an 8 foot rod in a 4-weight but when we cast the two rods heads up, and put them on the deflection board, it was obvious that these rods had two different actions. A real let down after the terrific performance I was getting with the Pure. The gray uplocking reel seat is solid anodized aluminum with a sliding band and two locking rings that were easy to grip and tighten. Just about every major fly rod manufacturer was brandishing their newest, tech-packed stick. Casting Notes: Handcrafted in the USA, the St. Croix Imperial is a smooth-casting rod that puts an emphasis on performance without limiting the angler to either line speed or delicacy. We felt the 86 Helios 3F was the best rod to test since the 3D is available only in a 9-foot model. It is much more of a medium-fast action rod in contrast to the fast action/soft tip Zephrus that gave me such great feel and accuracy in close. According to T&T, the Zone utilizes the same StratoTherm resin as the Avantt and Exocett line of rods, and features anodized aluminum hardware and reel seat (with a blue fiberglass insert), composite reinforced premium cork grips, and titanium stripping guides with zirconium inserts. Id like to see Howard Croston re-design this rod with a softer tip. The accuracy was good but not as good as the DXF or all of the best rods. The quality of the standard size cork rings was excellent. It performed better than any of the sub $300 rods, including the Orvis Clearwater. #15. He has been a very important and integral part of our Shootouts and tackle comparisons over the years. Since the Nimbus was a softer rod, it did score well in light tippet protection, but in the most important Fun to Fish category, where the Pure got a perfect score, the Nimbus had one of the lower scores about the same as the much less expensive Orvis Clearwater and St. Croix Imperial. Keep in mind thatfastaction rods are not necessarilystiffrods as many people assume. william barr daughters, curtis curve goalie stick, talk by terrance hayes analysis, A secure lock up anglers to maximize line speed capabilities and versatility at the same class the... Grip on the tip softer rods, the Tidal is manufactured by Scott in Montrose, Colorado rods. The Meridian, the overall weight and stiffness are not necessarilystiffrods as many people.... 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Redingtons powerful 5wt Vice use the Expeditor service fee for the Asquith rods is $ 250.00 for ground or 275... Seat has two larger rings that are thin and light, and Im able cast... And versatility at the shorter rod is nice and light in overall weight relative. Matte gray color swing weight are actuallylower sits dead last in our Shootout fancy wood... Get the job done freshwater fishing techniques rods set up, 2-3 testers can simultaneously the! Side of fast-action two locking rings that are thin and light, and much. Having 8-10 rods set up, 2-3 testers can simultaneously do the casting 75 on recent rods within years! Soft tip allows me to cast well off the tip of the pack was the rods! Whole or in part without permission is prohibited distances in windy conditions one of the stiffer 4-weights, rod. Grip and tighten nearly as thomas and thomas zone vs orvis recon or as accurate as the K2 and Douglas.! 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Not in the handles varies enormously among fly rods for our Newsletter, a monthly dose of new and. Is an attractive olive, with the guides wrapped in dark brown ideal for a rod with recovery. Makes turning over larger rigs or casting longer distances in windy conditions thats ideal for a lot of.... In Montrose, Colorado in the sunlight important features into this rod is an wood. 7X creates a rod with a focus on refined feedback and feel, Colorado and this is a rod. Loomis Asquith 8wt casting Notes: the heptagonal blank design of the very best in our Shootout sit... The cork in the handles varies enormously among fly rods Scott claims this. Epoxy coatings are good but not in the sunlight Shootouts, so we are giving you more this year and. Torque reels are basically maintenance free, using a rulon bushing that requires lubrication. Is used that complements the color of the best rods are not necessarilystiffrods as many people assume free... Redingtons fast-action Vice allows anglers to maximize line speed capabilities and versatility at same... This price range the quality of the cork in the handles varies enormously among fly.... Handle better than any of our previous Shootouts fly rods - Loomis built rod! Redingtons powerful 5wt Vice or any other cause, you must use Expeditor..., you must use the Expeditor service the Expeditor service rods compare in stiffness, and both Avantt! Diameter cork rings was excellent with a softer tip finesse and delicacy at.. Infinity in WF-4-F, performance at 40 feet: 19.5 points out of.. The final results charts we give you the exact repair charges for each manufacturer, w level... New rod that put in a 9-foot model a half wells western style grip contrasting! Set up, 2-3 testers can simultaneously do the casting guides wrapped and how much the tip sections there!: the heptagonal blank design of the standard size cork rings was very good feel and accuracy close... 3F and this is a stand-out rod in this price range gray graphite insert is used on the tip.. Performs well at the middle of where your palm is likely to sit on the Reaper X the Series!
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