This is a soft rod, and that gave it good marks in the light tippet protection category, but its performance distance scores were lackluster. The secret sauce is Sages Konnetic Technology, which places carbon fibers to exacting tolerances. In general the SKY rods do cast well, and the SKY 9 foot #6 won our last 6-weight Shootout. Nearly all manufacturers now have some kind of limited Lifetime warranty. Well, the Orvis unconditional guarantee is only 25 years. Head to head, the Radian and Avantt were better. The wraps are all in blue, and the epoxy coatings are all extremely well done. The DXF has been one of our top mid-priced rods, but there was no denying the Hardy Shadow and Orvis Recon were better. If you think you'll ever fish in the salt - I'd get one with salt water hardware. 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. Orvis 25 year warranty to original owner. Casting Notes: The IMX Pro is a well-known rod series. I dont have the feel I can place the fly just where I want it, as I can with the Zephrus. We're a retailer (not a blog or a review site) so all of our funding comes from your gear purchases. 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. The epoxy coatings were excellent. Its perhaps a little heavy in swing weight, and this as well as its stiffness, hurt its score at 25 feet. We've cast almost every mid-priced saltwater fly rod on the market including the new Recon 2 Rods (check out the review of the 5wt here and the 8wt here) and many others. Here's the power/action matrix for all price ranges. 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. Thomas and Thomas Avantt. 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. Power: 8.2/10 - This is a highly powerful 5wt and casts smoothly and effortlessly out to 60-feet. Performance at 40 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. 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. The final change in our performance categories is putting a lower value of 10 points on the longest distance 60 feet. A great 4-weight rod is the best tool Ive found to meet these demands. Heavy in hand! For the softer rods in our Shootout, the Trout worked best, while most of the other rods performed better with the Infinity. What is a cheap rod like this doing up here with all the far higher priced rods, many of which cost $700more? Performance at 40 feet 20 points available. I found the locking rings easy to grip and tighten. This is the best way to examine the action of each rod the faster action rods have tips that bend more, with stiffer butt and mid sections, while the more medium action rods will have softer butt and mid sections and stiffer tips. This rod provides the angler with a ton of feedback and feel at short range and features a classic aesthetic that harkens back to trout rods of old. This is one of the best looking rods in our Shootout. Heavy, slower action rods never perform well. To read each staff members casting notes and performance finishing order, please click on their photo above. Action: 3/10 - This is a moderate action fly rod with a mid-flex profile for enhanced dry fly capabilities. Power: 4/10 - While this is a dry fly rod, it has a little reserve power to allow anglers to present dries accuracy at medium-long distances, too. Are you comfortable showing up with a $200 rod when everyone else has one of those hotshot $750 to $1000 rods in their hands? The All-Around 5-Weight Fly Rod Buyer's Guide, Scientific Anglers Amplitude MPX Fly Line, How to Tie the Crappie Killer Fly Pattern, How to Tie the Film Critic Emerger Fly Pattern, How to Tie the Puterbaugh Foam Caddis Fly Pattern, How to Choose the Best Fly Rod for Bonefish, Sage R8 Core Fly Rod Series Review: Model-By-Model, How to Tie the Golden Retriever Fly Pattern. Bottom Line: A great all-around trout rod for the angler looking for castability, versatility, and performance. What're the differences between these posts and how do you, the reader, get the most out of reading them? This rod was a lot lighter in hand than the $495 IMX Pro, and also performed better at most distances. The rest of the guides are their terrific nickel/titanium single foot guides that are light and flexible but will never break. Bottom Line: This is probably one of the better nymph/hopper-dropper rods on the market and is used by many western guides as a boat rod. 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. #3. 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. The heavier swing weight makes casting at longer distances a workout. The quality of epoxy coatings on the guide wraps was excellent and almost the equal of the T&T rods. We can attest to this as these lines shoot like crazy! The craftsmanship on the LP is typical Loomis excellence. Performance at 60 feet: 7 points out of 10. The Recon has been one of our favorite rods, and this 4-weight version is terrific. I wish there was a hook keeper, which I find very useful on light rods, but there is none. Performance at 60 feet: 8.8 points out of 10. Action: 7/10 - A fast action rod design means the Pulse does everything a high-performance 5wt should with efficiency and ease. Developed with new materials, actions, and tapers, the H3 certainly has some . TheHardy ZEPHRUSsteamrollered all contenders by combining a very light swing weight with unmatched accuracy and feel at close to medium distance. You will be surprised to see how well mid-priced rods like the Hardy Shadow, the Orvis Recon, and the Douglas DXF performed, all of which made it into our top ten overall in the final results. #16. That's a lot. Here's an example from Echo's website. 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. Little feel, and the slower action kills any accuracy. Casting Notes: The newest Clearwater Fly Rod is dynamic, responsive, and beautifully versatile. Craftsmanship is second to none, and is what we have now come to expect from T&T. 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. Thomas & Thomas introduced the Contact series of Euro-nymphing rods a handful of years ago and they almost immediately garnered a cult-like following, with many an experienced nymph angler raving about their performance and build quality. The craftsmanship was very good, but not good enough to give it a perfect score like the Pure. The attractive cork handle is a half wells design with a flare on the bottom end, a comfortable swell in the middle, and a nice forward taper. This is a sharp looking rod. There are a few 8 foot and shorter rods as well as a few 9-foot rods in the mix, especially when manufacturers dont offer an 8 foot model. Like the K2, no hook keeper is used, which I miss on a 4-weight. 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. More manufacturers should use light guides like this to minimize swing weight if they arent using the more expensive nickel-titanium guides. This is a soft rod, with a slower action than the Pure. In our 2018, 8-weight Shootout the Q finished in the middle of the pack, but the 8-weight had a swing weight that was pretty good, while here as a 4-weight, the swing weight was one of the worst. The Recon was much better. Feel is good and the rod is very light in hand. The Pure is a brand new rod from Winston. Usually takes 2 weeks. Casting Notes: The Air is a beautifully-built rod with high-end componentry and a smooth moderate-action blank. In Livingston we usually have plenty of wind, so we had to wait until we got some fairly calm days, to do the casting. Action: 6/10 - The Avantt features a medium-fast profile that encourages tight loops and works well with a variety of flies. 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). The rest of the guides start with a single wire recoil stripper like G. Loomis uses, (I dont like these much either), but at least the rest are the good flexible nickel/titanium single-foot guides, as on the Zephrus, in a black color. You call in and incur a credit card of $100 but you get a brand new rod in 3-4 days. The reel seat is a simple gray anodized double uplocking, solid aluminum seat with sliding band. The action of these two rods is very different. The craftsmanship is second to none and it earns a perfect score along with the Winston Pure and T&T Avantt. Casting and rating the performance of rods at the different distances is the real meat of our Shootouts. Rods are repaired, not replaced except for broken sections. 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 Ultralite did get perfect scores for overall weight, swing weight and light tippet protection and these all helped to boost its final scores in both the overall and performance results. Here it matches the NRX LP and the Recon. A lot of this can be attributed to the nice action good butt and mid section power combined with a lighter, softer tip, much like the Zephrus. A gray graphite insert is used that goes well with the blank. 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. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. One of the reasons is that the SKY is available only as a nine footer, while the DXF is 86. This was the best distance for me with the Zone. Bottom Line: The X is more refined than Sage rods of old and offers a really high-quality do-it-all freshwater package in the 5wt version. Tracks beautifully with nice tight loops that are giving me great accuracy. Epoxy coatings on the wraps were a bit too heavy, adding unnecessary weight. This means you can generate line speed but you can also focus on delicacy at short range. (tie) Scott G SERIES 84 #4 $845.00. It can be tied in sizes 1/0 - 10. The blank is a pleasing burgundy that sparkles in the sunlight. I can sure notice the heavy swing weight and this is not a very pleasant rod to cast. And since we are in Montana, there is no sales tax.Once you get your new rod or outfit, do some casting on the lawn, and if you feel it is not just what you want, (and has not been fished), well allow you to return it to us for a full refund, less the shipping charges. If you look at the deflection chart, youll see that the Zehprus has one of the stiffest butt and midsections, yet then it progresses to a nice soft tip. I look for rods that feel totally solid and track well. Orvis Recon. Cheaper rods often utilize pre-formed grips that use a lot of filler in the cork that will chunk out or erode with hard use. Both lines utilize an improved dry tip, (the last 5 feet of the front taper that is designed to float better), and utilize SAs AST Plus slickness additive for superior shooting performance. Casting head to head, the Zephrus, Pure and Helios 3D are all a lot better. All of the rods mentioned will do double duty well - light salt and streamer/bass rod. G. Loomis . The Cork handle is a full wells design that is slightly smaller where your thumb would rest, ahead of the swell in the middle of the handle. Id like to see Howard Croston re-design this rod with a softer tip. I just cant push it at all and have to slow down my casting stroke to get any decent accuracy. Here youll find our recommendations in three price ranges: The Ultimate Outfit, Mid Priced Outfit and Best Buy Outfit. Chartreuse is a favorite color for warm-water predatory fish. Here the lack of butt power hurts a bit but it was better than the Shadow out long and matched the Scott G-Series. At long range, the lack of power now becomes evident. This is a dry fly friendly rod with enough power for nymphing and small streamers. Performance at 60 feet: 9.3 points out of 10. Performance at 40 feet: 18.5 points out of 20. It has a larger swell than most rods, and the swell is set closer to the top of the grip, than most rods well forward of the center of the grip. We're here to help. There are dozens of 5wt rods on the market at a variety of price-points and each rod offers something different to every angler. Power: 7/10 - This rod is powerful enough to throw a variety of flies and is highly accurate at all distances. Now Im getting nice tight loops and I can punch it hard into the breeze. Of all the reels we have carried over the years, Galvan continues to have the fewest warranty issues and returns. One thing I like is that there is a serial number on each rod section. Below are all the 4-weight rods in the order they finished. The insert is a gorgeous piece of bamboo, sourced from the same company that uses it for Lexus steering wheels. R.L. 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 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. The Hardy Shadow that tied for 4thplace sells for only $350.00. Only you can make that decision. In this post I really appreciate putting all the rods into a power action matrix to compare, it's very useful since there really doesn't seem to be any standard for what "fast" means in the industry. 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. Rods with heavier swing weights or ones with stiffer tips dont fare nearly as well.Ive often had a fish grab a halfway submerged fly in the surface film, when I havent been watching closely enough, and bolt off before I could react, snapping my 6x tippet. To read their comments, simply click on their photo above at the beginning of our Shootout. I think this is due to the fact that this is a stiffer rod than the other good 4-weights, including Scotts own G-Series. Accuracy is pretty good, heads up matching the Zone and NRX LP. Casting Notes: The Finesse Trout is a small water rod built specifically for delicacy and finesse with dry flies for Trout. The 8-weight rods versatility makes packing easier for traveling fly anglers. Sage MOD 86 #4 $850.00. The 79 model was far better and a lot more fun to cast and fish. Bottom Line: This is a fly rod for dry flies and short distances only. 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. The lower ring uses a thin nylon spacer that helps it lock up securely to the upper ring. It is trimmed top and bottom with contrasting, composite cork rings. If you are a Winston fan and like to fish dry flies at shorter distances, this is your rod! 1. The blank itself is a deep burgundy color, with dark gray wraps. For most grips this will be at the midpoint in the swell, or the center of the grip. Bottom Line: If youre considering the Foundation or you want a mid-priced Sage, this is a stellar 5wt and definitely worth the upgrade. This is one of the best rods at long range. Scott uses a stack of thinner cork rings on this handle and the quality was excellent. Consider these mid-priced 8-weights, which get er done in virtually all shallow-water situations. $50 handing fee. Also, by having 8-10 rods set up, 2-3 testers can simultaneously do the casting. Bottom Line: This isnt the best rod for a novice angler who needs a forgiving rod action, but its a great option for the intermediate angler looking for a budget rod. Then the dark green finish just sparkles. If you feel your rod has broken because of a defect, you pay to send the rod to their warranty dept. How well are the guides wrapped and how nice are the coatings? We see fly rods getting better each year, and today it is often only subtle differences that separate one rod from another. For reels, we again decided to use one of our all-time favorites, the Galvan Torque (T-4), loaded with 100 yards of 20 lb. 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. 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. Bottom Line: While the most expensive rod in the buyers guide, the Asquith is also one of the most powerful, a rod for serious anglers who need power in any scenario. The wraps are also black, nicely trimmed in light gray on the butt sections. If you find yourself fishing more hoppers and larger dries, you will like this rod as it will really fire them in there with authority. Better as I get more line in the air, but still not nearly as good as the NRX LP or the DXF. Unfortunately like a few other rods, it is only available in a 9-foot model as a 4-weight, and this hurt its performance scores a bit. 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. Thomas and Thomas Contact 10'8" . We felt the 86 Helios 3F was the best rod to test since the 3D is available only in a 9-foot model. I like the action, which is medium fast. Now I can really feel the heavy swing weight. Casting Notes: The Axiom II (not to be confused with the Axiom II-X) is a lower-mid-priced trout rod that marries a medium-fast action with short distance accuracy and feedback. It has a butt and mid-section that is stiffer than most rods tested. #4 (Tie) Thomas and Thomas AVANTT 86#4 $845.00. The shorter rod is nice and light, and faster in action than its longer brother. Its powerful and efficient. Action: 2/10 - The medium-slow blank of the TFO Finesse Trout is the slowest rod blank in the low-priced category. It is a double uplocking, anodized gray seat with an attractive burl insert, but right under where the reel seat fits, they have cut away both the threads and the burl leaving the blank that is covered with composite cork! The locking ring was harder for me to grip than most. That it's supposed to be a tip flex rod but with less backbone to it than other fast rods? Scott Sector Fly Rod. Below, we provide power levels, action levels, casting notes, and a line recommendation for the majority of the 5wt rods we carry. Action: 6/10 - The tip/mid-flex profile of the Foundation makes it forgiving and caster-friendly. I think that the vague feel I was getting hurt here. Just about every major fly rod manufacturer was brandishing their newest, tech-packed stick. Weve found that fluctuating temperature and humidity from one day to the next can make a difference of .2-.3 oz. I could really notice the heavy swing weight in my hand. For this Shootout, we again checked the warranty policies in detail, as some have changed slightly. 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. The Recon is a very pleasant rod to cast wonderfully light in hand, and responsive. Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. First we try to determine what we felt were the best performing rods. This rod is absolutely the winner for our Best Buy (best inexpensive) 4-weight Rod. The guide wraps are in blue with some silver trim on the butt. All line recommendations are for the WF5F version of the line unless otherwise stated. This helps me to easily fine tune the exact amount of drag needed while fishing very light tippets, something that is tough to do with other small reels. I am going between the Soldarini, the Orvis, and the Thomas & Thomas Contact at $795. Equals the DXF but rods like the Recon and Sky were much better. The lock rings were a little harder than most to grip and tighten. This is T&Ts mid-priced rod, but if you take a look at the best mid-priced rods in our Shootout like the Shadow at $349, the Recon at $429 and the DXF at $349, the Zones performance doesnt match any of these rods. 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