HardyLifetime warranty to original owner. Usually takes 1-2 weeks. To read each staff members casting notes and performance finishing order, please click on their photo above. The cork handle is what Sage calls a snub nose half-wells. This rod is a pleasure to cast, and it has tons of reserve power at long range. This rod uses spigot ferrules, rather than the slipover ferrule design found on most rods including the Scott Radian. Usually takes 4-6 weeks. Its not as caster-friendly as others in this category but provides the capable angler with technical fast action performance. #28. I think the stiffer tip hurt here. And what about the new Hardy Zephrus Ultralite, which is insanely light, and on paper looks like it could be the possible winner? The blank itself is unsanded natural graphite gray, much like the Scott rods, leaving the tape marks visible. The amount of power seems to be about right, and it performed best at the longer distances where I could punch it hard without throwing tailing loops. Hardy Demon. (tie) Loop OPTI K2 9 #4 $549.00. One SiC style stripping guide is used as well as a hook keeper. If you look at the performance scores, youll see that the Aetos finished in 11thplace here also. #25. $998.00. Here is a brand new rod from Loop that we liked better than their stiffer, more expensive Cross rods. In addition to my comments in the main Shootout, youll want to read the comments from Jamie and our other Yellowstone Angler staff members, Logan Brown, Francis Clougherty and Chloe Nostrant. It can be tied in sizes 10 - 20. By having all the rods set up in an identical manner, it is easy to take a few casts with one rod, at say 40 feet, then pick up another rod and do the same without having to strip the line off one rod and take the time to load up another. If you've done any fly fishing reading online you've probably seen the words 'shootout', 'buyer's guide', and 'review' a lot. Performance at 60 feet: 7.0 points out of 10. Where would Blue Ribbon land on the chart? The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one huge stripping guide that looks way too big, followed with thin wire hard chrome snake guides. The result is often that the cheap outfit is mothballed, sold on e-bay or handed down to one of the kids. Thomas and Thomas just introduced a very light presentation rod called the Paradigm, which complements their outstanding Avantt. 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 rod would perform a lot better if it had more power in the butt and mid-section. 1; 2; First Prev 2 of 2 Go to page. Performance at 40 feet 20 points available. $598.00. 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. It also lost a huge number of points in the price and warranty categories that it couldnt pick up in the casting distance performance categories. The 8 foot Pure had a much stiffer butt and mid-section and a soft tip that is much softer than what we found on the Nimbus. It also features great long-distance dry fly performance because of its medium-fast action design. Add to Cart. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. These come in two models, the Amplitude Smooth Trout, which is a standard size line, and the Amplitude Smooth Infinity, which is a half line size heavier. Those ravings were well warranted, given that the original Contact was a superb example of what a thoughtfully designed Euro rod could be. Still not so good with very little feel or accuracy. No other rod maker does this better. This rod uses the more conventional slip over ferrule design as on all but one of the other rods in our Shootout. Line Recommendation: RIO Gold Premier Fly Line. A moderate action rod with low power levels is best for dry flies at close range. Heavy in hand! Little feel, and the slower action kills any accuracy. The Radian has a faster action than the G Series, with more power in the butt and mid section that allow it to cast better at the longest distance. After fifty years in the fly fishing business as a guide, shop manager and shop owner, Ive learned a lot about what it takes for a fly rod to perform well. Rodis repaired, or sections replaced. The thing that amazes me is how perfect the guide wrapping and epoxy coatings are, compared to other rods. If Fenwick determines that there was a defect, the rod will be repaired or replaced at no charge. The Fenwick AETOS, at $179.95 is unquestionably our best performing inexpensive rod. Casting Notes: The Helios 3F is built for feel. I could really notice the heavy swing weight in my hand. Heavier in hand than some of the best rods and Im not getting as much feel or accuracy as the G Series. The reel seat is a gray anodized skeleton seat with a band and large single ring that is easy to grip and tighten securely. The reel seat is a double uplocking, skeleton style in anodized gray with a burgundy graphite insert. Im surprised that both Sage rods are well down the list, but their performance scores were just not good enough to rate them higher. This rod has a slower action than the fast action NRX LP, as well as a stiffer tip. 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. This rod has good power in the butt and mid sections and a softer tip, much like the action on some of our top rated rods. Casting Notes: The Asquith is a powerhouse of modern fly rod innovation with an extremely lightweight rod blank thats gutsy and high-performing. Performance at 40 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. The Galvan Torque reels have proven to be wonderful reels. The skeleton uplocking seat is one of the most unusual Ive seen. Thomas and Thomas $55 repair charges for the original owner, includes shipping. Special Price $469.99 was $595.00. Im getting effortless tight loops, and I had complete confidence on where the fly was going on every cast. Rating: 91%. The quality of the cork was surprisingly good for a less expensive rod. Loop Cross SX. The action seems about right and Im getting nice loops. The idea here is to measure the swing weight at the middle of where your palm is likely to sit on the grip. Pretty good, but not quite as accurate or as much feel as with the Shadow. Cortland MKII Euro Nymph Rod. Rods are repaired, not replaced. Wow It is hard to believe that this mid-priced Hardy finished up with the top rods! Only one way to find out cast and compare them all. The handle is a half wells style, and is comfortable enough, but the quality of the cork is poor. The brown dull coating of the blank and the red wraps provide an original look. This is one of the best looking rods in our Shootout. 4. The newHARDY ZEPHRUS ULTRALITEwas disappointing, mainly due to a slower action than the Zephrus, and a lack of accuracy in close. So if you like what we are doing, the best way to thank us is to buy a rod, reel, or outfit from the Yellowstone Angler. The Aetos was dramatically better for an inexpensive rod. The Scott G series was definitely better. 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. And for a rod that is half the cost of the Helios 3F, the overall weight and swing weight are actuallylower! The heavy swing weight and stiffer tip gave me very little feel. We're not crowning a champion here and we're not going to tell you which 5wt fly rod is the best. Thomas & Thomas Zone - $499 Casting Notes: The Zone is a versatile freshwater 5wt with the ability to throw a variety of flies from nymphs to dries to small streamers. $75 handling fee to original owner, $150.00 charge to all others. The tips on the faster rods bend more. Casting Notes: The Zone is a versatile freshwater 5wt with the ability to throw a variety of flies from nymphs to dries to small streamers. I wish there was a hook keeper, which I find very useful on light rods, but there is none. Taylor Lifetime warranty to original owner. Orvis Recon. Wraps are a darker red, (almost black), trimmed in brighter red on the butt. We have awarded scores emphasizing the lowest repair charges and the quickest repair turn around. Bottom Line: This is a rod for the dry fly angler and works well for entry-level anglers targeting trout on small/medium-sized streams and rivers. Still, when I heard that Orvis was bringing out a mid-priced rod made in America, my expectations were somewhat limited. Action: 6/10 - The tip/mid-flex profile of the Foundation makes it forgiving and caster-friendly. Power: 7.5/10 - The DXF is powerful for a 5wt but features a larger timing window than other less forgiving fast action 5wts. Power: 6/10 - This rod is smooth and evenly balanced with high-line-speed power and increased feel in close. The result feels impressively crisp and light, so it lets experts hit new benchmarks and welcomes newbies with a forgiving sweet spot. Nice rod, quite light and supple tip could throw a leader very well. Performance at 25 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. The wraps are also black, nicely trimmed in light gray on the butt sections. Nice and smooth. We have found that the only good way to pin down these subtle differences is to have at least a half dozen of the contending rods with the line stripped out and sitting there in front of you on the lawn, so that you can take a few casts with one rod, lay it down and pick up another rod, and make a few casts at the same distance, make some notes and then move on to another rod or the next distance. 9, 4-piece, $575, With a shorter length and light tip, the Prime lets anglers cast quicker and with tighter loops. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one relatively small silver SiC stripping guide, followed with hard chrome single-foot guides. Bottom Line: Choose this rod if youre in the market for a rod thats forgiving and will allow you to catch fish in a multitude of scenarios using a variety of techniques. The guides start with one SiC stripping guide followed with very large diameter hard chrome snake guides. Most of the rest score 9s, which was a $60-$75 fee for repair or replacement. A counterbalance opposite the handle is used to keep the reel running smoothly when a fish is racing away from you. Non-original owner $150 per section. Flytyingonline.com.This domain provided by wildwestdomains.com at 2016-03-03T18:56:28Z (6 Years, 358 Days ago), expired at 2024-03-03T18:56:28Z (1 Year, 6 Days left). (tie) Thomas & Thomas ZONE 86 #4 $495.00. This is a light rod in swing weight almost as good as the Zephrus. The Clearwater is finished in a dark gray color with dark olive guide wraps. I love the appearance of the DXF, with the blank finished in a flat, non-glare dark green. But in looking closely at the Hardy Zephrus, Ultralite, and the Douglas SKY, they are also definitely near the top end of the craftsmanship ladder. Here it feels as good as the Scott rods and the Helios 3F.Performance at 60 feet: 9.0 points out of 10. Cost effective but very high performance. Here youll find our recommendations in three price ranges: The Ultimate Outfit, Mid Priced Outfit and Best Buy Outfit. $25 handling fee on current rods. Performance at 60 feet: 8.0 points out of 10. The blank is that same lovely emerald Winston green we have come to know and love. For 4-weight rods, when you are fishing at shorter distances, (most of the time), it is particularly important that leaders turn over well. The cork is a stack of thin rings, and the quality of the cork is excellent. LoopLifetime warranty to original owner. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. The softer tip on the Imperial gave me good scores at the both 25 and 40 feet, and also led to a good score in light tippet protection. A stack of thin diameter corks is used and the quality is good. What is the Asquith doing way down near the bottom of this Shootout when it won our recent 8-weight Shootout!? Go. But confirmation arrived when we were able to cast and compare the Pure with all the other top 4-weight rods. The best rings use thin nylon spacers between them to assure a positive lock up. (tie) Sage X 86 #4 $900.00. The best 4-weights are also excellent nymph fishing rods at shorter distances. But the Avantt and Helios 3F are far better. (tie) Waterworks-Lamson SS 9 #4 $399.99. 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. Short to mid-range seem to be the best distances for the DXF. Chartreuse is a favorite color for warm-water predatory fish. Power: 3.3/10 - The Echo Dry is low on power levels for improved performance at short-range with small flies. This rod has a medium fast action with tons of power in the butt and mid-section, which allowed it to perform pretty well at the longest distance. You call in and incur a credit card of $100 but you get a brand new rod in 3-4 days. Wow It is super light in hand, and 2. Power: 6.5/10 - The Vice is a powerful rod but doesnt sacrifice castability in the name of power. A darker composite cork ring is used on the bottom of the grip that is flared out to accept the uplocking seat. Call us at 406-222-7130, or e-mail us at [emailprotected] and we can discuss your needs and wants. Now were talking! There is no hook keeper on this rod. The G. Loomis Asquith rods are designed here in the U.S. but the blanks are rolled in Japan and then the rod is completed here in the U.S. Action: 5/10 - This is a solidly medium-fast action rod with a mid/tip-flex profile thats versatile and beginner-friendly. It is also a soft rod, so it scored very well in light tippet protection. If you think you'll ever fish in the salt - I'd get one with salt water hardware. Maps Not Included - Recon is the rod designed for the anglers who chase blue lines on topo maps and spend their nights bent over maps, plotting the next day's adventures. 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. Orvis Recon. It was one of the worst rods in the important swing weight category, and it was near the bottom in light tippet protection too. #6. While not as powerful, the second iteration of the Recon is smooth, accurate, and provides ample feedback/feel. The 79 TFO Finesse was far better. The Recon was much better. The quality of the cork was much better too, but still not in the class of what we found on the Recon or Shadow. As in the past we are using our own Brecknell official postage scale to calculate the weight. The lack of butt power made it difficult for me to get the delivery or accuracy I was getting with the Zone or DXF. Thomas and Thomas Avantt. The wraps are all in blue, and the epoxy coatings are all extremely well done. Hardy uses their Sintrix 220 in this rod, a lower modulus graphite than the Sintrix 440 used in the Zephrus, but it provides easy loading yet a sharp recovery. A lot heavier in hand than the Pure, and the stiffer tip is not giving me much feel. If you are a Scott fan and want a rod for fishing at short to medium distances, youll likely prefer this rod over the Radian. Rods are repaired or sections replaced. There's no doubt the Recon is a handsome rod-the olive blank built with Orvis' new ferrule design is nice to look at, as is the black nickel uplocking reel seat complete with a dark burl wood insert. If broken from neglect or any other cause, you must use the Expeditor service. Action: 5.5/10 - Slightly faster than purely moderate action fly rods, the 7X has a taper thats caster-friendly and a versatile medium-fast action. Power: 6.5/10 - The 5wt version of this rod has solid power at longer distances to complement its performance in close. The epoxy coatings over the wraps were a little heavy, but Ive seen worse. The other reason is that this 9 #4 SKY is just too stiff for a 4-weight. Learn more. The relatively heavy swing weight and stiffness are not giving me much feel, and the accuracy in close is not very good. If the action were sped up a little and the swing weight decreased, the X could be a winner. To read their comments, simply click on their photo above at the beginning of our Shootout. In fishing to wary trout, I often set my false casts up short and to the side of the fish, and then shoot a little line in on that last cast. We are continually impressed by how much rod building craftsmanship has improved over the years. This rod is nice and light in hand, and performed well in close, where I was getting pretty good feel and decent accuracy. The wraps are a dark green to complement the blank and the epoxy coatings are perfect. The Hardy Shadow that tied for 4thplace sells for only $350.00. 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. A buyer's guide is a little different, however. That might be the answer, but then it would likely be more of a 3-weight rod than a 4-weight. We actually cast two #4 line Pure rods- the 8 footer you see here and its 86 brother. 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. Power: 9/10 - Orvis optimized the 3D for power at longer distances. The handle is Winstons familiar cigar grip, a half wells with a little flare on the bottom end to accept the uplocking seat. Performance at 40 feet: 18.5 points out of 20. We have fished all over the world in both fresh and saltwater for a variety of fish, and well be glad to answer all of your questions, to help you choose the perfect rod or outfit. To appreciate this rod, you need to see it in the sunlight. 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. Then we progressed to the mid-priced rods and finally the least expensive rods. Casting head to head, the Scott rods and the Helios 3F were both a lot better. Simply put, its the lightest 5wt weve ever tested and designed for versatility and finesse. Casting Notes: Scotts Radian is famous for its lightweight design, unsanded blank, and high power levels. Action: 8/10 - The DXF has a stiff (but lightweight) butt and mid-section that leads into a softer tip for efficiency and accuracy at any distance. Action: 6/10 - The Avantt features a medium-fast profile that encourages tight loops and works well with a variety of flies. The very light swing weight confirms this. Its slightly more refined than the 3D but maintains a smooth, powerful action. 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. If you have something about the right size and color, you can often force-feed a selective fish by making repeated accurate and delicate presentations that are right in the fishs window. 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. One thing that killed its performance scores was the very heavy swing weight. The rest of the guides are the excellent nickel/titanium one-foot guides in a silver color. Bottom Line: Winston has been making moderate-action dry fly rods for years and this is the culmination of years of R&D. If you buy this rod, you need to put a WF-5-F line on it. More Like This A dark green graphite insert is used that complements the color of the blank. Performance at 40 feet: 19.7 points out of 20. It was even a little sloppy on the tip sections. Removing the spool requires a simple click of the button on the front side. Black anodized premium aluminum reel seat. It would also one of the best 4-weight rods for throwing streamers. Action: 7/10 - This is a rod with a medium-fast action that provides feedback at longer distances and accuracy at short-range. We've also set up some charts so you can easily compare rods based on the power/action matrix explained above in the entry-level price-point, mid-level price-point, and high price-point. The blank is olive green with matching olive wraps that are trimmed in gold on the two lower sections. G. Loomis ASQUITH 9 #4 $1000.00. Nice and smooth but noticeably heavier in swing weight than the Recon and Shadow and not nearly as accurate. Forty feet was definitely the sweet spot for this rod. Usually takes 2-4 weeks. The craftsmanship is typical Orvis excellence. Of these rods built in Korea, the Hardy rods are designed in England, the Douglas rods are designed here in the U.S., the Loop rods are designed in Sweden. The swing weight was fairly light, but not quite as good as either the Hardy rods or the Orvis rods. Orvis Helios 3D Fly Rod. This rod has a stiff butt and mid-section for increased line speed and best-in-class power. The epoxy coatings are pretty good but a little heavy. Usually takes 1-2 weeks. Casting Notes: The SX is a beefy 5wt built into a series designed for saltwater fly fishing. The rings should be easy to grip and tighten. Inexpensive rods built in both Korea and China are surprisingly good. This is a lovely rod, finished in a non-glare flat gray with jet-black wraps that are trimmed in light gray on the butt. If the rod is broken because of a defect, or while fishing, replacement is free. Action: 5.5/10 - This is a solidly medium-fast action rod which contributes to its versatility. Performance at 60 feet: 7.5 points out of 10. The guides start out with two large SiC stripping guides, followed up with fairly large hard chrome snake guides and an oversize tip top. 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. Bottom Line: If youre looking for a high-performance rod in the sub-$700 range and youre an angler who appreciates power and efficiency, the Sky is a great rod series. But when I need to reach out and make casts at 60-70 feet, as I often do fishing bigger rivers like the Missouri, the Zephrus has tons of power on tap to get the job done. It is a very smooth rod to cast and was excellent at short and mid-distances, but at the longest distance the Radian, Helios 3F, and Avantt were much better. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. The Pure puts in an impressive performance, especially at the shorter distances, and finishes in 2ndplace in both the overall and performance results. Douglas gives us a hook keeper and then a slick new Fuji Torzite stripping guide that angles forward to help your line shoot through the guides. Action: 4/10 - Similarly, Redington built this rod with a moderate-slow action. Here is a recap of each manufacturers current policy, their latest fees and what we have experienced for repair time required. The serial number of the rod is inscribed on the ferrule of each section a nice touch. With hard chrome snake guides accept the uplocking seat 4/10 - Similarly, Redington built this rod keep! Action kills any accuracy Cross rods window than other less forgiving fast NRX. That there was a defect, thomas and thomas zone vs orvis recon e-mail us at 406-222-7130, or while fishing, is. 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