At short distances like 25 feet, you dont have much line out of the tip of the rod, so the best leaders must flex like an extension of your fly line. The blank is finished in a medium brown with brown wraps that complement the blank. The Expeditor policy on the IMX Pro is $85.00. The double size uplocking ring was easy to grip and tighten. The Expeditor service fee for the Asquith rods is $250.00 for ground or $275 for 2-day air. If you are a Winston fan and like to fish dry flies at shorter distances, this is your rod! The guide wraps are a dark green to complement the rod. Quick recovery speeds and a stiff rod blank make this 5wt a line mending, dry fly casting, streamer stripping stick. This is a rod that encourages finesse, delicacy, and accuracy at short-range when targeting picky trout in a variety of scenarios. It is the relationship of the club head weight to the shaft when you wiggle the club in your hands. is hung from the tip-top of the rod. If the rod is broken because of a defect, or while fishing, replacement is free. The best rods will throw very tight loops at this range with consistently good accuracy. With the inexpensive warranties that most manufacturers offer, your new rod is one that will last you for many years. The wraps are a slightly lighter blue, trimmed with white on the butt section. If you own a money tree and enough real estate to warehouse dozens of situation-specific fly rods, stop reading now. The epoxy coatings are fairly good, but a little heavy. Bottom Line: If youre an entry-level angler looking for a fly rod for dry flies only, this is one of the best in its price range. With comments by the Yellowstone Angler staff. In the past we have used the Scientific Anglers lines since they shoot better and hold up longer than any other line we have found. Doing this with 6X or 7X tippet demands a good smooth drag with just the right amount of drag adjustment. The perfect line: SA Amplitude Smooth Trout in WF-4-F. Matches the Zephrus in close in terms of casting accuracy and feel. 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. 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. And what about the new Hardy Zephrus Ultralite, which is insanely light, and on paper looks like it could be the possible winner? The IMX Pro is one of Loomis newest rods and we have liked it in the larger line sizes, like their 5 and 6 weight rods. Leaders are a critical element in making accurate presentations and fooling spooky trout. In looking at our deflection chart, the SKY is nearly as stiff as the Loomis Asquith one of the stiffest rods in our Shootout and a lot closer to a 5-weight than a 4-weight. Here is a new rod that has not appeared in any of our previous Shootouts. One of the things I really like is the shape of the full wells cork handle. 1 Review. As in the past we are using our own Brecknell official postage scale to calculate the weight. It is also a soft rod, so it scored very well in light tippet protection. Just about any rod can turn over a 9-foot leader, but only the best casting rods can turn over a 12 footer at short distances. The cork handle is a half wells design with a contrasting cork ring on the bottom. 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. 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. The rod is light and perfectly balanced, allowing for better accuracy while minimizing fatigue often associated with longer rods. Performance at 60 feet: 8.5 points out of 10. This hurt somewhat in its scores for swing weight and light tippet protection. One of the things that I liked was the light feel of this rod in my hand. I also liked the 12-inch mark on the butt but I wish they had also given us one at 18 or 20 inches. 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. Pick any rod here that we rated a 9.5 or better and you have a winner! $35 handling fee. Add beautiful componentry and a slick rod design and its easy to see why this rod is one of our favorites. Rodis repaired, or sections replaced. Orvis Recon 5wt. Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. Just keep in mind that all these measurements must be made the same day with the same room temperature. Syndicate P2 Pipeline. You call in and incur a credit card of $100 but you get a brand new rod in 3-4 days. I think Burkheimer and the Thomas and Thomas Paradigm are better rods for the money and cast every bit as good as the Helios. Although we thought that the Winston 8 foot Pure was a fantastic 4-weight, the Nimbus didnt get us too excited. The DXF was significantly better. For 4-weight rods, when you are fishing at shorter distances, (most of the time), it is particularly important that leaders turn over well. One of the reasons is that the SKY is available only as a nine footer, while the DXF is 86. The DXF and Imperial were much better. Casting Notes: Sage has refined their typical super fast action rod design into a rod thats more caster-friendly and more forgiving. 4 Reviews. He used Gartside's Super-Secret Stuff as a flash material but here we will use Hareline's Ice Wing Fiber as a substitute. This is a solid rod option for picky fish on smaller rivers and the Echo Dry allows anglers to slow down their casting stroke and focus on delicacy and finesse. #22. The cosmetics and components of this rod are similar to its shorter brother. Nothing else is even close. 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. The extra 3 inches in length also had a negative effect on the overall action. 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. Thomas & Thomas Contact Vision Nymphmaniac STATIC TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS Airflo Euro Nymph This recent Airflo rod has been specifically designed for euro nymphing. These rods are designed in Sweden, but built in Korea in the same factory that produces the fine Hardy rods. This rod uses spigot ferrules, rather than the slipover ferrule design found on most rods including the Scott Radian. New Echo Shadow II, w next level being new Echo Shadow X. Cortland Competition. Nothing to write home about. LoopLifetime warranty to original owner. One SiC stripping guide is used and the rest are the best nickel/titanium and flexible snake guides in a gray color which complement the blank. We have awarded scores emphasizing the lowest repair charges and the quickest repair turn around. The Sky is much heavier in hand than their less expensive Douglas DXF, and is not nearly as smooth or accurate. Unlike some of the stiffer 4-weights, this rod performs well at the shorter distances too. A 5wt can be used in a variety of freshwater angling scenarios but is most commonly used to target Trout. This is a rod thats pure Sage at a price-point that is tough to beat. This is one of the best rods at long range. The uplocking skeleton reel seat is silver anodized aluminum, with one good-sized locking ring and sliding band, similar to the Avantt. Power: 8/10 - Loomis built a ton of power into this rod so you can feel confident throwing streamers, nymph rigs, and dry flies at long distances. Rods are repaired, not replaced unless broken. The cork handle is a half wells design, with a thinner swell than most that seemed very comfortable to me. In our important swing weight category, this rod was one of the worst. It depends on how much I want to spend to not catch any more fish, LOL. Hardy ZEPHRUS ULTRALITE 89 #4 $679.95. A rod with low power levels flexes more under a load and is better for delicate presentations. I look for rods that feel totally solid and track well. That might be the answer, but then it would likely be more of a 3-weight rod than a 4-weight. In this years 4-weight Shootout, we found that most manufacturers are building more powerful 4-weight rods than in the past. Special Price $469.99 was $595.00. Power: 7.5/10 - This is a powerful rod with the ability to carry line in the air, mend line efficiently, and punch through the wind. The color of this rod is an attractive olive, with the guides wrapped in dark brown. Now Im getting a respectable performance that matches the Zone and DXF. 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. In general the SKY rods do cast well, and the SKY 9 foot #6 won our last 6-weight Shootout. Pretty good loop control but the feel and accuracy were not as good as what I was getting with the DXF or the St. Croix Imperial. With a blazing light swing weight and a forgiving action, this 5wt is one of the best all-around rods on the market. The AETOS is powerful enough for double nymph rigs and small streamers or dry flies at longer distances. With the best rods, (and little wind), Im hitting the plate nearly 50% of the time. 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. Action: 6.5/10 - The medium-fast action tip/mid-flex rod taper allows anglers to push flies through the wind and mend line with ease. The stiff tip and heavy swing weight both contributed to a lack of feel and accuracy in close. The Sky is a rod made for distance casting, heavy nymph rigs, and streamer fishing. Orvis Helios 3D Fly Rod. The color of the blank is a deep ruby metallic red that really lights up in the sunlight. I like a lot of things about this rod. A hook keeper is used along with a single chrome SiC stripping guide. A little wiggle helps you to feel this. That's a lot. This is one of the worst scores at long distance in our Shootout. The Recon was much better. A little better here but the DXF still puts it to shame. The tips on the faster rods bend more. Im confident that we can come up with the perfect rod or outfit that best fits your needs. Fundamentally, because there are so many gear options in fly fishing, shootout-style blog posts help anglers determine 'the best of' a particular selected subcategory. A half wells, western style handle is used, but the quality of the cork is only fair compared to the best rods a lot of filler is used. Howard is a great angler and knew just what he wanted for the perfect 4-weight. 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). At one point it was our Best inexpensive rod until the Fenwick Aetos muscled it aside. $60 handling fee. Action: 7/10 - This rod is a tip-flex rod but on the deeper-flexing side of fast-action. If you get to Montana, we invite you to stop at our shop and do your own rod comparison right here on our lawn. 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. Id gladly pay another few dollars to have one. Makes sense because its the most expensive rod in our buyers guide. We have found that the Asquith rods are terrific rods in the heavier line sizes from 6-weight right up through 12-weight. 810, 2-piece or 4-piece, $470, Made from the same materials as T&Ts flagship Sextonbut with a slightly less-fast action that accommodates a wider variety of casting styles and line typesthe Zone offers T&Ts coveted feel, at a price made more approachable thanks to fewer aesthetic finishes: The resin is left unsanded and uncoated, and the fiberglass reel seat is less expensive and lighter than burled wood. Action: 3/10 - This is a truly moderate/slow action rod that flexes deep into the mid-section for finesse and delicacy. If you are getting one of the Ultimate 4-weight outfits, well throw in the SA Amplitude Smooth Trout or Smooth Infinity $99.95 line for free, and also ship it to you for free! The epoxy coatings on the guides were good for the most part but a little too heavy on some guides. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. For broken rods that are not registered to the original owners, most companies are going to charge you $150 or more for repairs. It had the power to hit 60 feet easily enough but my accuracy was not very good. The skeleton uplocking seat is one of the most unusual Ive seen. If you look at the deflection chart of all the rods, it was the stiffest rod in our Shootout, being almost as stiff as the Douglas SKY6-weight! We also kept on hand, and compared, what we felt was the very best rod the Hardy Zephrus. It also sits dead last in our Fun to Fish category. Orvis 25 year warranty to original owner. 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. The Aetos was dramatically better for an inexpensive rod. The one thing that was a negative is the heavier swing weight. 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. The gray uplocking reel seat is solid anodized aluminum with a sliding band and two locking rings that were easy to grip and tighten. Black anodized premium aluminum reel seat. Bottom Line: If youre looking for power and feel, this is one of the better 5wts on the market. 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. (tie) Douglas DXF 86 #4 $349.00. The single uplocking reel seat is plain anodized gray aluminum with no insert. The 5-weight boasts a 7-inch half-wells grip and heavy-duty black nickel hardware throughout. If you think you'll ever fish in the salt - I'd get one with salt water hardware. The color of the blank is a natural graphite gray, and only lightly sanded so you can still see the tape marks, much like the Scott rods. 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). I wish they would had used the lighter, flexible nickel/titanium snake guides found on the Helios 3F, or even better, the nickel titanium single-foot guides found on the Hardy Zephrus, which would have improved its heavy swing weight. Winston says Pure Feel, Pure Presentation and Pure Fun I cant disagree. The rods delicate action encourages feedback and feel at short distances and places flies gently on target in small water scenarios. Built for versatility, this is a stand-out rod in this price range. (tie) R.L. The blank color is a non-glare, graphite gray with slightly darker gray wraps and alignment dots. Quality of the cork was excellent with a stack of thinner rings. The best rods are not always the most expensive ones. A dark green graphite insert is used that complements the color of the blank. This helped improve its score in swing weight and it picked up a lot of points in both the price and warranty categories. Features: 3wt-4wt Medium/fast action 5wt-10wt fast action. This lightweight freshwater rod is powerful enough to throw larger flies and light enough for accurate presentations at short-range with dry flies. 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. We created this category years ago from the Car and Driver automobile Shootouts. Great rods dont make great casters, but there is no doubt that they will improve any anglers casting skills and his ability to catch fish. Feels great out long! The DXF has been one of our top mid-priced rods, but there was no denying the Hardy Shadow and Orvis Recon were better. With the Infinity it cast better long, and I would have scored it closer to 9 at long range. However, if all rods are measured on the same day, the relative numbers will be consistent. I wish there was a hook keeper, which I find very useful on light rods, but there is none. Mystic Reaper. TFO FINESSE TROUT 89 #4 $229.95. The rods rated 9.5 rods had a $50 fee. The JXP was also better. R.L. Guides start with a hook keeper, then one SiC stripping guide followed with hard chrome snake guides. A buyer's guide is a little different, however. We like the looks of this new Mystic rod and the craftsmanship is better than we found on the Reaper X, but the price is a lot higher also. As I have grown older, I derive a lot of pleasure from stalking and catching rising fish, where the keys to success are casting accuracy and making delicate presentations. Its slightly more refined than the 3D but maintains a smooth, powerful action. Although the overall weight was an amazingly light 2.3 oz, the swing weight was a fairly heavy 8.0 oz about equal to the Scott G series. According to T&T, the Zone utilizes the same StratoTherm resin as the Avantt and Exocett line of rods, and features anodized aluminum hardware and reel seat (with a blue fiberglass insert), composite reinforced premium cork grips, and titanium stripping guides with zirconium inserts. Rods are repaired or replaced. If you cannot find or cast the rods that interest you, we are here to help. The Clearwater is finished in a dark gray color with dark olive guide wraps. But even with the lighter line, the accuracy was not very good. Scott Tidal. Bottom Line: This isnt a mainstream rod built by a popular manufacturer but its hand-built nature and versatile action make it a great choice for expert anglers. The stiffness did not allow much feel but the accuracy was surprisingly good. Scott Sector Fly Rod. When Im fishing dry flies Ill use a 12-foot leader most of the time as this keeps the fly line farther away from the fish, minimizing the number of fish you spook while casting. The result feels impressively crisp and light, so it lets experts hit new benchmarks and welcomes newbies with a forgiving sweet spot. For most of my fishing with a 4-weight rod in critical conditions Im using one of our 12-foot leaders down to a 5X or 6X tippet, but in the Shootout we stick with 4X Rio Powerflex as a tippet in order to minimize breaking off the yarn indicator. To see perfection, take a look at the guide wraps on the T&T rods they are stunning, but they require multiple coats, carefully applied. We are just trying to call it like we see it, in an unbiased manner. (tie) Thomas & Thomas ZONE 86 #4 $495.00. Out at long range it performed extremely well and was one of the very best, pretty much being equal to the Helios 3F and Avantt. Rods are repaired or sections replaced. Certainly the Aetos wins points in the price category, but the biggest reason is its performance. Add to Cart. This isnt a rod for beginners or anglers who are looking for a lot of feedback, feel, forgiveness. 2 Reviews. The 5wt is a great boat rod with ample versatility and the ability to throw nymph rigs and mend line all day long. Ive found that it is almost impossible to judge accuracy and presentation if you have strong gusty winds, but having a little wind tells you a lot about how the various rods perform, especially at long distances. The lower 7 inches of the butt, including the logo is also finished in a dark blue. In this Shootout, we again used the Scientific Anglers lines, which we have found to cast better and last longer than other brands. Loomis designed these IMX Pro rods to be tough and very durable, and pro guides love them because they are so hard for clients to break. My first nymph stick that is all around rock solid. The stiffness hurt, and it was hard for me to cast off the tip of the rod. The accuracy is only fair. 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. Pay in 4 interest-free installments of $149.50 with. 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. It was very light in swing weight, and quite accurate in close, but it just didnt have much feel in close like the best rods. The Reaper X is an improved model of this original rod. Much better at our middle distance, and here it is as good as the K2 and Douglas SKY. 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