Sage Bass Series

[Mike G]

Anyone using these rods regularly? It is interesting that they come with a custom wf line and do not have the standard AFTMA wt designation. The Blue Gill gets a 230 grain line. That's an AFTMA 9 wt, Bubba. The Bass models are 290 and 330, 10 wt and 11 wt respectively. That's very interesting.

[Guest rich mc]

these were at the short rod shoot out. very nice for short on the mark casts.. i found the bass model to be a heavy rod for carrying around and casting alot. jonn recently purchased one. michael got the ross version in a 6wt[ from his wife] which he wrote about. rich

[Guest]

I have both the 330 and the 290 and love them both. I haven't tried them wading but on a boat they are everything the manufacturer says they are. Extreme castability even with big stuff. They fish like a seven and a nine weight rod. I'm thinking of trying some T-14 shooting heads on them for deep water fish. I'm a fan!

[Jonn Graham]

I have the smallmouth model. Paired it with redington Rise reel. So far, I love the outfit. I would say the rod is about a seven weight. The special line is wonderful. Casts a mile with very little effort. I would reccommend it to anyone. I like the shorter length as it works great for wading or floating.

[Joe D]

john, man I'm jealous!!! you have not been fly fishing all that long and you already have a SAGE!! I've been fly fishin for a long time and dont have one I know you gotta love that set up.

 

Joe

[Mike G]

I once heard a personal trainer say that one of the problems he had with clients was that they watched the numbers too closely. That is they were too concerned with the reading on the scale that showed they were not loosing much weight though in reality they were trading fat for muscle. He told his clients,"Don't worry about what you see on the scale; worry about how you look in the mirror." Similarly I was too concerned about the 10 and 11 wt lines and not paying attention to the performance of the outfit. Here's a good review of the rods by someone who has two years of experience with them.

 

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/articles/reviews/product/2009/product_reviews20091102.php

[Steve S.]

Thanks, the information in that article was helpful. Still thinking about getting one of these next.

[ronk]

I once heard a personal trainer say that one of the problems he had with clients was that they watched the numbers too closely. That is they were too concerned with the reading on the scale that showed they were not loosing much weight though in reality they were trading fat for muscle. He told his clients,"Don't worry about what you see on the scale; worry about how you look in the mirror." Similarly I was too concerned about the 10 and 11 wt lines and not paying attention to the performance of the outfit. Here's a good review of the rods by someone who has two years of experience with them.In my opinion while the

 

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/articles/reviews/product/2009/product_reviews20091102.php

The shortness combined with the stiffness of Sage's yellow rods(can you say baitcasting rods) would be an advantage in keeping fish out of/pulling fish out of heavy weed/woody cover such as is often fished in pursuit of cover loving lmb.The fact that Sage associates these rods with bass tournaments whose primary quarry is lmb should be a tipoff of what sage had in mind in designing them.The above article considers the Lmb/Smb series as the equivalent of 8-9 wt rods which is probably a little light considering they're to be paired with 10-11wt lines.I think that makes them too heavy for most smb stream venues for which the 6/7wt Bluegill series would be more appropriate.I certainly wouldn't want to lay down 10-11wt lines on low clear streams either for aesthetic or practical reasons.Btw calling this series "bluegill" is a misnomer since the biggest bluegills are nicely managed & a lot more fun with rods at least 2 line wts lighter.In my opinion while the heavier 2 rods in this series would have application in some lmb fishing they are not the rods of choice for most smb fishing.

[Mike G]

Ron,

 

Have you used any of them?

[Guest rich mc]

these rods are made for a specific use. which is casting large flies at short to medium distance, to hit a smaller target area. as Joseph mentioned , short rods that areover lined were first used by lefty krey for casting large flies into mangrove pockets. rich

[ronk]

Ron,

 

Have you used any of them?

Mike

Just briefly at last year's cast& compare.As flyrods I found the lmb/smb series too stiff for my taste & except for the misnamed bluegill series more powerful than necessary for most smb fishing.

[ronk]

these rods are made for a specific use. which is casting large flies at short to medium distance, to hit a smaller target area. as Joseph mentioned , short rods that areover lined were first used by lefty krey for casting large flies into mangrove pockets. rich

A good caster doesn't need to use a "specific use" rod to cast large flies accurately at any distance.He'll be able to do that with any good 6 or 7-8wt rod.The answer for anyone who can't isn't to buy a specialty rod (which would be what the rod mfrs& retailers would like him to do) but to strive to improve his casting.The only real advantage of short,stiff rods is in muscling fish in heavy cover.

Speaking of specialty equipment ffing mfrs are really trying to sell gullible flyfishermen a bill of goods with all the specialty flylines they're shoving at us:nymph lines,streamer lines,bass lines,trout lines,pike lines,saltwater lines,striped bass lines,bonefish lines,tarpon lines ad nauseum.To say nothing about all the xtra reels/spools needed.