Picked up the 7wt a couple of weeks back and love the rod....unlike the method I do not feel it needs to be overlined as it has more feel than the method...I use a 7wt Rio gold and have no issues even with shorter casts.....awesome rod for streamers and when the wind gets up through the winter....love it
I know this is a well-beaten dead horse, but if a rod can't be easily cast by fly fishing professionals with a Gold in the appropriate weight, consider that these rods aren't actually their claimed weight. A Rio Grand is a full line weight heavier, more or less, and if you're recommending that line over and over for a 7 (in other words, over-lining the rod), it's actually an 8 weight rod. It's weird that Sage would do this, given that instead of a labelled 7, what they're really producing is an 8 that is super, super light. Is that not better for marketing? What's more important for the consumer is that they're being consistent with all this, I suppose, even if there now seems to be absolutely zero adherence to line weight standards across the industry for rods. I ran into this issue with a Sage VXP 3 weight, where the shop guy (note: not Red's) was trying to sell me on a Rio Perception 3 for it when he knew I already had a 4 weight Gold. If you look up the specs on the 4 weight Gold vs the 3 weight Perception, the first 30 feet weigh almost the same. The Gold 4 feels fine on the rod. The traditional double-taper 3, which I also have for that rod, doesn't have a lot of feel. It's time to switch to grain window recommendations (for the first 30 feet of line) for single handers like is done with two handers. It makes it much less confusing.
jimmythefish there is no such thing as a proper lineweight its simply an individual thing The truth of the matter is that good casters can overline and underline and adapt to eatch situation New casters need some individual adjustments and casting lessons. And alot of rods are made for a specific task its that simple
I have Sage Foundation in 5wt and 8wt. My 5wt is perfect with an 8wt Rio Subsurface, and my 8wt is a tad weak for my 525gr Scandi line, but it does cast it. I'm not surprised it follows into even the more expensive models.
Fjellfiskeren ...which is why grain windows is a better solution as I said. I’m a spey fisherman and there’s no weights for heads, only grain windows and the line charts making recommendations. Matching line weights to rod weights is indeed implying that there is a proper line weight for each rod. A beginner likely isn’t buying a $1200 ultra fast Sage but the conceit stands.
That's just silly. Most people that call themselves "decent" casters have no concept of grain weight whatsoever. Those are folks that never experiment with rod/line combinations because they regard their fly fishing tools like their vehicles. Just put gas and oil in it, or a matching line on it, and off you go. I think Sage really stepped on it with the golf shoes this time. This rod series isn't even for all advanced casters. They are for advanced casters in certain situations. I have the 5 and 8 wt. Love them both situationally, not all the time. That said, if you're spending this kind of money on one rod for everything regardless of casting ability, get something else.
I just picked up a new sage motive recently and I absolutely love the rod but I’m having trouble getting line to lay out straight past 75 feet. I have it paired with some scientific angler mastery bonefish line (8wt) which casts great and seems to load the rod well. I know this doesn’t have much to do with the rods showcased in the video but if anyone can give some feedback on how to maybe straighten up casts at range that’d be great!
You probably are getting the line completely tight behind you. Work on drifting with your casting arm fully extended behind you, rod parralel to the ground, and "pulling the rod and line" forward to gain tension before actually starting your forward stroke. Almost all casting issues stem from slack in the backcast.
Not necessarily. False casting 40' or more is challenging and a fly line is typically most efficient when it grows from short to long (vs a long static length). For what it's worth I typically only forward false cast a maximum of 3 times even for the longest casts.
Where is the small note of criticism about this ever going fast action rods? This concerns everyone in the industry (fly shops, magazines). Maybe Yellowstone Angler is the only one that puts some critical notes on rods in their shoot outs.
I'm with ya. Trout get caught at ranges from 5' to 75' but most commonly within 3 rod lengths. I personally don't have an IGNITER or any pure fast action rod for anything but saltwater. I love the Sage X because it is a good all arounder. The IGNITER is all all about fast action and particular circumstances.
Picked up the 7wt a couple of weeks back and love the rod....unlike the method I do not feel it needs to be overlined as it has more feel than the method...I use a 7wt Rio gold and have no issues even with shorter casts.....awesome rod for streamers and when the wind gets up through the winter....love it
I know this is a well-beaten dead horse, but if a rod can't be easily cast by fly fishing professionals with a Gold in the appropriate weight, consider that these rods aren't actually their claimed weight. A Rio Grand is a full line weight heavier, more or less, and if you're recommending that line over and over for a 7 (in other words, over-lining the rod), it's actually an 8 weight rod. It's weird that Sage would do this, given that instead of a labelled 7, what they're really producing is an 8 that is super, super light. Is that not better for marketing? What's more important for the consumer is that they're being consistent with all this, I suppose, even if there now seems to be absolutely zero adherence to line weight standards across the industry for rods.
I ran into this issue with a Sage VXP 3 weight, where the shop guy (note: not Red's) was trying to sell me on a Rio Perception 3 for it when he knew I already had a 4 weight Gold. If you look up the specs on the 4 weight Gold vs the 3 weight Perception, the first 30 feet weigh almost the same. The Gold 4 feels fine on the rod. The traditional double-taper 3, which I also have for that rod, doesn't have a lot of feel.
It's time to switch to grain window recommendations (for the first 30 feet of line) for single handers like is done with two handers. It makes it much less confusing.
jimmythefish there is no such thing as a proper lineweight its simply an individual thing
The truth of the matter is that good casters can overline and underline and adapt to eatch situation
New casters need some individual adjustments and casting lessons.
And alot of rods are made for a specific task its that simple
I have Sage Foundation in 5wt and 8wt. My 5wt is perfect with an 8wt Rio Subsurface, and my 8wt is a tad weak for my 525gr Scandi line, but it does cast it.
I'm not surprised it follows into even the more expensive models.
Fjellfiskeren ...which is why grain windows is a better solution as I said. I’m a spey fisherman and there’s no weights for heads, only grain windows and the line charts making recommendations. Matching line weights to rod weights is indeed implying that there is a proper line weight for each rod. A beginner likely isn’t buying a $1200 ultra fast Sage but the conceit stands.
That's just silly. Most people that call themselves "decent" casters have no concept of grain weight whatsoever. Those are folks that never experiment with rod/line combinations because they regard their fly fishing tools like their vehicles. Just put gas and oil in it, or a matching line on it, and off you go. I think Sage really stepped on it with the golf shoes this time. This rod series isn't even for all advanced casters. They are for advanced casters in certain situations. I have the 5 and 8 wt. Love them both situationally, not all the time. That said, if you're spending this kind of money on one rod for everything regardless of casting ability, get something else.
Let the marketing begin...
I just picked up a new sage motive recently and I absolutely love the rod but I’m having trouble getting line to lay out straight past 75 feet. I have it paired with some scientific angler mastery bonefish line (8wt) which casts great and seems to load the rod well. I know this doesn’t have much to do with the rods showcased in the video but if anyone can give some feedback on how to maybe straighten up casts at range that’d be great!
You probably are getting the line completely tight behind you. Work on drifting with your casting arm fully extended behind you, rod parralel to the ground, and "pulling the rod and line" forward to gain tension before actually starting your forward stroke. Almost all casting issues stem from slack in the backcast.
Red's Fly Shop should I try to keep the amount of fly line to a minimum while false casting as well?
Not necessarily. False casting 40' or more is challenging and a fly line is typically most efficient when it grows from short to long (vs a long static length). For what it's worth I typically only forward false cast a maximum of 3 times even for the longest casts.
Red's Fly Shop thank you man, love the channel by the way. Hoping to plan a big trip with the lodge in the coming future.
Oh thanks, that would be great. Our river in front of the shop is the Yakima, beautiful! redsflyshop.com/yakima-river-fly-fishing
Sage new under classed broomsticks, no thanks...
Jeez, what's new? Just get a stiff rod, rate it line weight lower and call them high performance rods... Seriously, what's the logic here?
I understand what you are saying, however the 5 weight does weigh less than 3 oz. so its an extremely light rod per strength.
Where is the small note of criticism about this ever going fast action rods? This concerns everyone in the industry (fly shops, magazines). Maybe Yellowstone Angler is the only one that puts some critical notes on rods in their shoot outs.
I'm with ya. Trout get caught at ranges from 5' to 75' but most commonly within 3 rod lengths. I personally don't have an IGNITER or any pure fast action rod for anything but saltwater. I love the Sage X because it is a good all arounder. The IGNITER is all all about fast action and particular circumstances.
Sure thing. Just giving a pros and cons when reviewing would make the whole review a better review