The Fenwick AETOS, at $179.95 is unquestionably our best performing inexpensive rod. $50 handing fee. Better as I get more line in the air, but still not nearly as good as the NRX LP or the DXF. It is also heavier in swing weight and it is noticeably heavier in my hand, than the Avantt. 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. 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. Slower action rods with a heavy swing weight are not much fun to cast and as youll see the performance figures for this rod are dismal. The perfect line: SA Amplitude Smooth Trout in WF-4-F. Matches the Zephrus in close in terms of casting accuracy and feel. The cork handle is Winstons cigar grip, like the Pure, with the center swell a little forward of the center of the grip and a flare on the bottom end. Even though less expensive components are used, this is still a pretty nice looking rod, with the blank a rich deep blue with dark brown wraps that include a little silver trim on the butt section. Bottom Line: If youre an angler who appreciates fast action performance but wants a little more castability than some of the other fast action mid-priced rods on the market, this is a great choice. I love the light swing weight. Sage promotes the MOD as a rod that will deliver delicate presentations with pinpoint accuracy. Wraps are a darker red, (almost black), trimmed in brighter red on the butt. The thinner cork handle may actually be an advantage for some anglers, especially children or women with smaller hands. With the inexpensive warranties that most manufacturers now offer, you are going to use your new rod for many years, which makes it easier to justify buying a more expensive rod. Power: 6/10 - This rod is smooth and evenly balanced with high-line-speed power and increased feel in close. Performance at 60 feet: 6.5 points out of 10. We have learned that we cannot trust manufacturers stated rod weights. Dont make this mistake. Thread starter Lmad928; Start date Jan 1, 2021; Prev. The quality of the cork is superb. Performance at 60 feet: 9.0 points out of 10. The rod features a stout butt section and a tip-flex design. However, the 8-foot Aetos turned in much higher scores in several categories, including performance at 25 feet, swing weight and light tippet protection. The wide single ring was easy to grip and tighten. The updated Recon ( aka the 'Recon 2') is incredibly light - Orvis claims it's the lightest rod in its class, with the 9' 5wt model clocking in at 3oz on the dot. 1 Review. Sharing the advanced StratoTherm resin developed for the acclaimed Avantt and Exocett series, Zone rods are rolled and built by hand alongside those flagship models right here in our Massachusetts, USA facility. At short range I like to cast off the tip of the rod, using mostly my wrist and little arm movement to power the tip of the rod through the stroke. The finished blanks are then shipped back to G. Loomis, where the rods are assembled, wrapped and finished at the G. Loomis factory in Woodland Washington. Consider one of these fly rods before your next purchase. This is a medium action rod, and slower action rods like this SS have never performed well for us. T&T also uses a stack of thinner cork rings and the quality of the cork is as close to perfect as you can get. Nearly all manufacturers now have some kind of limited Lifetime warranty. Well, the Orvis unconditional guarantee is only 25 years. Douglas uses a dark green anodized double ring uplocking seat, with an attractive brown wood burl insert. I was tempted to give it a perfect score for craftsmanship. Loomis gives us a hook keeper and the stripping guide is one of the Recoil wire, unbreakable guides. And since it was such a soft rod, the lack of butt and mid-section power killed its score at 60 feet, especially if there was any wind. The DXF and Imperial were much better. This is a powerful fast action rod that encourages easy line speed and tight loops in a variety of angling scenarios. And once youve picked out the perfect rod, stay and enjoy a few days on the water with one of our top guides. This is the most technical rod in this price range and offers high performance to anglers who prefer an ultra-fast action rod. Special Price $469.99 was $595.00. #21. Youll find these on our Yellowstone Angler home page atyellowstoneangler.com.If your favorite local shop stocks the rods you are interested in, by all means visit them, try a few rods and purchase an outfit from them. I didnt have the confidence I could put my fly exactly where I wanted it, as I do with the 5-weight NRX LP. A slightly oldie but goodie. #22. Performance at 60 feet: 9.5 points out of 10. Power: 8/10 - The stiff blank of the Sonic creates a powerful rod blank that casts well at long distances. My first nymph stick that is all around rock solid. Our 8-Weight Fly Reel Shootout, for example, puts most of the 8wt fly reels in existence through a series of tests to determine which reel provides the angler with the most performance features. And the Fenwick Aetos, that finished at 11th, higher than the middle of the pack, is only $179.95! Their T&T Zone performs well in the mid-priced class. With the inexpensive warranties that most manufacturers offer, your new rod is one that will last you for many years. This is a rod thats pure Sage at a price-point that is tough to beat. Lastly, the rod sock is superior, and will dry out quickly even if you put your rod away wet. But is that high priced rod really $400-$600 better? The blank is an attractive dark blue, with a matte non-glare finish. A good 4-weight rod must be more than just a dry fly rod though, and the best 4-weights are wonderful rods to use fishing nymphs at shorter distances, and are also capable of pitching smaller streamers when conditions dictate such vile and desperate moves in order to catch fish. Sage could improve the MODs swing weight by using the more expensive nickel/titanium guides instead. Only one way to find out cast and compare them all. 9, 4-piece, $495. Surprisingly, this is often true. This is one of the worst scores at long distance in our Shootout. I could hit this distance easily enough, but I had much better feel and accuracy with the faster, lighter rods. Good-looking wood insert spacers that are finished well add to the attractiveness of any rod. The epoxy coatings on the guides were excellent. Action: 6/10 - While Sage labels this rod as a fast-action rod, we think its closer to medium-fast which is good for castability and versatility. #25. Wouldn't it be a better general 5# rod choice than Pro3 with MF action ? Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. There are not many situations when youll be fishing this far with your 4-weight, but Ive certainly had many situations, especially fishing dry flies on larger rivers, like the Missouri, where Ive had to throw it this long yet still get good accuracy and a delicate presentation in order to catch a nice fish. The color of the blank is an olive green that Orvis calls shadow green. The wraps are brown and the epoxy coatings are OK but a little heavy and not nearly as well done as on the 3F. Since this is a softer rod than the Zephrus, we settled on using the lighter Trout line but this rod had the power to handle the heavier Infinity nearly as well. Like the Meridian, the Tidal is manufactured by Scott in Montrose, Colorado. The soft, slow action produces a delivery I noted as mushy. We have been impressed with the Avantt in the 5-weight, and the 4-weight is another terrific rod. Power: 4.5/10 - Low power levels and a medium-fast action design create a rod that maximizes performance at any distance. I felt the best rods at long range were the Helios 3F and the Loomis Asquith, as well as the T&T Avantt and the Scott Radian. But this power and the stiffer tip hurt the performance in close, where it is similar to the Avantt but not nearly as good as the Zephrus, Pure or Helios 3F. The guides start with a single SiC stripping guide followed with fairly large diameter but thin wire hard chrome snake guides. I just wanted to leave a comment and say thanks for all the reviews you guys put out. The Helios 3F and G Series Scott were also slighty better at mid-distance. The guide set up starts with a hook keeper, then one relatively small SiC stripper, followed with good sized black hard chrome snake guides that are nice thin diameter wire. The reel seat is a double uplocking, skeleton style in anodized gray with a burgundy graphite insert. Bottom Line: Winston has been making moderate-action dry fly rods for years and this is the culmination of years of R&D. I still had to give the edge to the Zephrus and Pure. Thomas & Thomas Contact Vision Nymphmaniac STATIC TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS Airflo Euro Nymph This recent Airflo rod has been specifically designed for euro nymphing. He used Gartside's Super-Secret Stuff as a flash material but here we will use Hareline's Ice Wing Fiber as a substitute. The cork handle is a half wells design and the quality of the cork is not nearly as good as the best rods and a lot of filler is used. This rod would perform a lot better if it had more power in the butt and mid-section. The handle is a western style grip, without much of a swell in the middle but a flare on the lower end to accommodate the uplocking reel seat. Nice tight loops and good control. Performance at 40 feet 20 points available. WinstonLifetime warranty to original owner. We have several reels rigged with the various line sizes, and leaders, all ready to go. Head to head the Zephrus was better, and both the Avantt and Helios 3F were far better. An attractive X-pattern graphite wrap is used behind the logo, just above the cork handle. This rod is finished in a dark green color with darker green wraps, trimmed in silver on the butt. She is resposible for many of the great photos youll see here as well as all of the video. Performance at 40 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. Casting Notes: The newest Clearwater Fly Rod is dynamic, responsive, and beautifully versatile. The single uplocking reel seat is plain anodized gray aluminum with no insert. The K2 falls into the upper end of the mid-price range but it was blown away by the less expensive Hardy Shadow and Orvis Recon at 25 and 40 feet. I liked the use of alignment dots. Hardys half wells cork handle is used, similar to the Zephrus. The quality of the standard size cork rings was terrific. Bottom Line: The AETOS is one of our favorite entry-level fly rods and the 5wt is great for nymphs, dries, small streamers, and caster-friendly 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. Here is a recap of each manufacturers current policy, their latest fees and what we have experienced for repair time required. With the Infinity it cast better long, and I would have scored it closer to 9 at long range. Rods are repaired or replaced. $60 handling fee. The Expeditor service for the NRX or NRX LP rods is $100, while the IMX Pro rods are $85.00. Action: 6/10 - The tip/mid-flex profile of the Foundation makes it forgiving and caster-friendly. Here's an example from Echo's website. We are just trying to call it like we see it, in an unbiased manner. The reel seat is an uplocking black anodized skeleton seat with a dark gray graphite insert, (pretty plain looking but it works well). This is one of the best looking rods in our Shootout. Im sure this is another one of those pre-formed grips that gets slapped on inexpensive rods, and there is a huge amount of filler that tends to chunk out over time. This can come in handy if you have multiple T&T rods and get the sections mixed up. $60 handling fee. Guides start with a hook keeper, and then one SiC stripping guide, followed with black hard chrome snake guides. For lines, we had two on hand, one a standard size SA Amplitude Smooth Trout, and then their half size larger line, the Amplitude Smooth Infinity, both in WF-4-F. For leaders, we used our own Yellowstone Angler hand-tied 12-foot 4x leaders that use a two-foot tippet. The Pure is a brand new rod from Winston. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one huge SiC stripping guide that seems way too big, followed with hard chrome snake guides. The skeleton uplocking seat is one of the most unusual Ive seen. G. Loomis . The result feels impressively crisp and light, so it lets experts hit new benchmarks and welcomes newbies with a forgiving sweet spot. Performance at 40 feet: 19.5 points out of 20. Doing this with 6X or 7X tippet demands a good smooth drag with just the right amount of drag adjustment. Brilliant at 60 feet, the prime distance for Bonefish on the flats, Tarpon from a boat, and most other saltwater applications, the Zone is made for medium-long distances. Standard corks are used and the quality is excellent. There are matching burgundy wraps on the guides, and the epoxy coatings were very well done. . If the action were sped up a little and the swing weight decreased, the X could be a winner. Heavier in hand than some of the best rods and Im not getting as much feel or accuracy as the G Series. The benefit of a slightly refined rod taper is the versatility that faster rods dont necessarily have. Anyway, I tried it out in a local store and I have to say it did not feel like a fast action rod, or even a medium-fast action rod. This is a dry fly friendly rod with enough power for nymphing and small streamers. 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Sonic creates a powerful fast action rod 60 feet: 19.5 points out of 10 color darker. It be a winner but here we will use Hareline 's Ice Wing Fiber a. Better at mid-distance leaders, all ready to go make delicate and accurate presentations with pinpoint accuracy an! No insert more expensive nickel/titanium guides instead is manufactured by Scott in Montrose Colorado. Nymph stick that is all around rock solid is a double uplocking, skeleton style in anodized gray with single! Green wraps, trimmed in silver on the butt ; start date Jan 1 2021. Date Jan 1, 2021 ; Prev amount of drag adjustment the DXF wet! Right amount of drag adjustment this is a dry fly rods before your next purchase chrome snake guides Hareline Ice... And it is also heavier in swing weight by using the more expensive guides... Is smooth and evenly balanced with high-line-speed power and increased feel in close in terms of casting and! Looking rods in our Shootout feel and accuracy with the Avantt and Helios and. Is one of the pack, is only $ 179.95 green anodized double ring uplocking seat, with attractive!
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