Thomas and Thomas $55 repair charges for the original owner, includes shipping. These will hold up longer, even with hard usage. A slightly oldie but goodie. $35 handling fee. This is a great 5wt for heavy nymph rigs, streamers, and casting dry flies at long distances. The reel seat is a double uplocking, skeleton style in anodized gray with a burgundy graphite insert. And what about the new Hardy Zephrus Ultralite, which is insanely light, and on paper looks like it could be the possible winner? Heres a mid-priced rod that put in a good performance across the board. This is one fantastic looking rod one of the very best in our Shootout. This is a soft rod, with a slower action than the Pure. 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. Much heavier in hand than the Avantt, and the stiffer tip is not giving me as much feel or accuracy. Add to Cart. But the Avantt and Helios 3F are far better. The accuracy was not good either. Im getting nice loops but the Scott rods were better. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one relatively small silver SiC stripping guide, followed with hard chrome single-foot guides. This is also a great rod for terrestrials from a boat or smaller dries at long range. These stiffer 4-weight rods require lines that are slightly heavier than a standard AFTMA 4-weight line. T&T designed this rod to cater to the widest range of anglers and its versatility shows through in its power and action levels. A nice piece of dark hardwood is used for the spacer. Now the lack of butt power hurts, and I cannot throw the tighter loops or get the same kind of accuracy I was getting with the Radian, the Helios 3F or the T&T Avantt. The Orvis Clearwater rods are designed in Vermont and built in the orient. The lack of butt power made it difficult for me to get the delivery or accuracy I was getting with the Zone or DXF. 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. This rod was a lot lighter in hand than the $495 IMX Pro, and also performed better at most distances. This is a fast action rod. Annette McLean, Winstons long time rod designer did a great job with the Pure, giving us a rod that is Pure fun to cast and fish. #2. 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. Casting Notes: The Flex is a beautiful combination of versatility, castability, and a medium-fast action for power when you need it. Power: 6/10 - The Zone is a powerful rod yet maintains castability and versatility. #16. 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. 2. Those rods are both a lot lighter in swing weight and faster in action. 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. This is a rod thats pure Sage at a price-point that is tough to beat. Now I can really feel the heavy swing weight. Tough for me to hit the longest distance, and if there was any breeze I couldnt hit within ten feet of where I need the fly to go! The single uplocking reel seat is plain anodized gray aluminum with no insert. At the head of the pack was the Orvis Helios 3. Even with the lighter Trout line, it is hard to maintain good loops and get any kind of decent accuracy. The rods delicate action encourages feedback and feel at short distances and places flies gently on target in small water scenarios. In making the deflection chart, we first put up some white butcher paper on the wall. This is a soft rod, and that gave it good marks in the light tippet protection category, but its performance distance scores were lackluster. You are familiar this term if you play golf. 2 Reviews. 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. An attractive X-pattern graphite wrap is used on the butt, behind the logo. Bottom Line: If youre considering the Foundation or you want a mid-priced Sage, this is a stellar 5wt and definitely worth the upgrade. Still not so good with very little feel or accuracy. 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. Action: 3/10 - This is a moderate action fly rod with a mid-flex profile for enhanced dry fly capabilities. The wraps are brown with some amber trim. 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. Moreover, if you want to fish with a 4-weight we consider to be the optimal choice, you dont have to spend $850, $900, or $1000, but only $679 for the Hardy Zephrus. Bottom Line: This is a great entry-level rod for anglers looking to get into trout fishing. This is a smooth line, rather than one with a textured coating. 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. 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). Im sorry if we offend some people or manufacturers. 1 Review. 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. (tie) Loop OPTI K2 9 #4 $549.00. It would also one of the best 4-weight rods for throwing streamers. We kept the best rod in each category, high priced, medium priced, and inexpensive category handy for comparison. Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. 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. At long range no rod has more power. Good, just not great. Power: 6/10 - This rod has some reserve power and can definitely carry line in the air and present flies at longer distances. The cork handle is a half wells design with a contrasting cork ring on the bottom. 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. The medium fast action seems just right and Im getting both good feel and good accuracy at the shorter distances. 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. Thomas & Thomas Zone. Many of the best rods are built in one factory in Korea. It is nearly impossible to cast off the tip of the rod like I can with the best 4-weights. Action: 8.2/10 - The Sonic is a tip-flex rod bordering on extra-fast action. The DXF was better and the Shadow was far better. Pay in 4 interest-free installments of $149.50 with. An oversize tip-top is fitted to match the large guides. The Recon was much better. If you must move now I'd consider the sage sonic (with FB - salt water hardware) and the Orvis recon or the Thomas and Thomas zone. Im getting nicely controlled loops and good presentations. A hook keeper is used just above the handle, and the one black SiC style stripping guide is followed with silver hard chrome snake guides, that are small and light out on the tip. The cork handle is that same snub nose, half wells found on the X and feels very comfortable to me. Orvis 25 year warranty to original owner. Guides start with a hook keeper, then one SiC stripping guide followed with hard chrome snake guides. Casting Notes: The Echo Dry Fly Rod is a rod built specifically for delicate presentations at shorter distances with dry flies. 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. Power: 6.5/10 - The 5wt version of this rod has solid power at longer distances to complement its performance in close. You call in and incur a credit card of $100 but you get a brand new rod in 3-4 days. Power: 5.5/10 - This rod recovers quickly and features a strong rod blank with plenty of lightweight reserve power. I think that this can be attributed to the slower action of this rod compared to the Zephrus. The JXP is also very stiff. Performance at 25 feet: 16.5 points out of 20. Performance at 60 feet: 9.5 points out of 10. A 5wt can be used in a variety of freshwater angling scenarios but is most commonly used to target Trout. 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. Heavy, slower action rods never perform well. The new Orvis rods are clearly to be taken seriously. 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. 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. A 12-foot leader also gives you a stealthier presentation. This one is simple The least expensive rods get the highest points. If you want to economize, look carefully at both the Hardy Shadow at $349.95 and the Orvis Recon at $429.00. Power: 2/10 - Low power levels reflect this rods purpose-built design. I thought the larger, wider single ring on the Helios 3F was much easier to grip and seemed to lock up better. New Echo Shadow II, w next level being new Echo Shadow X. Cortland Competition. We're a retailer (not a blog or a review site) so all of our funding comes from your gear purchases. I loved the look of the Mod, with its standout, jazzy lime green color. To make it easy to judge the turnover and accuracy, we tie in a small fluorescent yarn indicator at the end of the 2-foot 4x tippet and then trim it so that the wind resistance equates to a smaller dry fly. For this 4-weight Shootout, we decided to make the short distance 25 feet, the mid-distance 40 feet, and the longest distance 60 feet. But this also means they have a heavy swing weight. 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. The rod is stout yet smooth for refined performance at short range and enough power to propel large terrestrials through the wind. Flex and Feel The Zone feels like most 'fast action' saltwater rods today. Bottom Line: This is a fly rod for dry flies and short distances only. The cork is excellent, and Douglas uses darker contrasting composite cork rings at both the top and bottom of the grip. Heads up the Recon and Shadow were far better. Id like to see Howard Croston re-design this rod with a softer tip. Ive fished with Howard here, on our Montana Spring Creeks, and better understand how and why he came up with these designs. Good butt power also helps me land fish in a minimal amount of time. Line Recommendation: RIO Gold Elite Fly Line. Mystic Lifetime warranty to original owner. The 8 foot rod had a much slower action and a stiffer tip than the 8 footer, and didnt cast nearly as well. For others, seeing how a rod performs in an expert casters hands, convinces them it would make them great anglers as well, or at least take them to the next level. Casting Notes: The BVK is designed for double nymph rigs, streamers, and long-distance casting in windy conditions. I normally prefer an 8 foot rod in a 4-weight but when we cast the two rods heads up, and put them on the deflection board, it was obvious that these rods had two different actions. (tie) Waterworks-Lamson SS 9 #4 $399.99. Its also nice to look down at your rod and appreciate the craftsmanship as well as its performance. The 5wt is a great boat rod with ample versatility and the ability to throw nymph rigs and mend line all day long. The wraps are also black, nicely trimmed in light gray on the butt sections. Good, just not great. The craftsmanship on the LP is typical Loomis excellence. #25. The handle is a half wells western style grip with contrasting dark composite cork rings at both the bottom and top. Now Im getting nice tight loops, and the rod tracks very well with better feel and accuracy. Douglas Lifetime warranty. Thread starter Lmad928; Start date Jan 1, 2021; Prev. Thomas and Thomas just introduced a very light presentation rod called the Paradigm, which complements their outstanding Avantt. We look at many hings to determine craftsmanship What kind of guides are used? Chloe has been working in the shop for two summers and now works with us full time. 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 epoxy coatings on the guides are pretty good but a little heavy in spots. 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. To read their comments, simply click on their photo above at the beginning of our Shootout. The best 4-weight rods are superb at the short to medium distances, such as the Zephrus, the Pure, the Scott G-Series and the Orvis Helios 3F. The nice soft tip allows me to cast off the tip of the rod with a flick of my wrist. This can come in handy if you have multiple T&T rods and get the sections mixed up. 'The best' dry fly rod isn't the best rod for streamer fishing and vice versa. With any breeze at all, Im dead. The AETOS is powerful enough for double nymph rigs and small streamers or dry flies at longer distances. The accuracy is only fair. Casting Notes: Scotts Radian is famous for its lightweight design, unsanded blank, and high power levels. 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. The blank is an attractive dark blue, with a matte non-glare finish. It also features great long-distance dry fly performance because of its medium-fast action design. We have been impressed with the Avantt in the 5-weight, and the 4-weight is another terrific rod. The blank is finished in a dark olive green with dark green wraps, that include a little light green trim on the butt. This had a negative effect on its scores, trying to compete with the best 8 foot and 86 rods. We liked this rod a lot in our last 4-weight Shootout, and for the price, this is a very pleasant rod to cast and fish. Therefore, this buyer's guide should help you determine which 5wt is best for you. Here the lack of butt power hurts a bit but it was better than the Shadow out long and matched the Scott G-Series. 9, 4-piece, $495. Performance at 60 feet: 6.5 points out of 10. Fly rod action, on the other hand, is how a fly rod flexes when cast. The ultimate dry fly trout rod, the NRX+ LP is lighter than ever before and provides the angler with tons of feedback and feel. Performance at 60 feet: 9.7 points out of 10. Casting Notes: The NRX+ Freshwater Rod is an ultra-fast action rod made for big flies and technical scenarios. Heavy in hand! The softer tip is giving me a good amount of feel and the accuracy was better than the Zone or Nimbus. The Avantt tied the Pure for the only perfect scores in Craftsmanship. 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. (tie) Sage X 86 #4 $900.00. The blank is that same lovely emerald Winston green we have come to know and love. 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 would be so much better with a WF-5-F. I wish there was a hook keeper, which I find very useful on light rods, but there is none. 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. A beautiful birdseye maple insert is used. Not very good at long range either. Id gladly pay another few dollars to have one. But confirmation arrived when we were able to cast and compare the Pure with all the other top 4-weight rods. Nothing beats this rod at 40 feet. Use this link to go to ourFavorite Freshwater Outfitsfor the 3 through 8-weight rods, in our Online Store. That it's supposed to be a tip flex rod but with less backbone to it than other fast rods? Learn more. Action: 8.5/10 - The Cross SX is a tip-flex rod built for larger flies and larger rivers. A gray graphite insert is used that goes well with the blank. This is a good-looking rod finished in a matte gray color. The handle is a comfortable full wells design, and the quality of the cork was very good. Here's an example from Echo's website. Sage R8 Core Fly Rod. 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. backing and fly line. $199.95. However, if all rods are measured on the same day, the relative numbers will be consistent. The Tidal adds more mass in the tip for better feel, and counteracts that weight with three types of graphite fiber (compared to five types in the premium-priced Spector) placed at various angles to optimize energy transfer to the rod butt. But that nice soft tip produces great feel and exceptional accuracy. The epoxy coatings over the wraps were surprisingly good for a one-coat finish. Bottom Line: If youre looking for one of the most versatile 5wts in this price range, the Zone is a great option made by a well-known manufacturer. 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. This is especially important for 3 and 4-weight rods, when you are often using very light 5X, 6x and 7X tippets while fishing small dries, emergers and spinners. This is still a very good casting rod overall, but it just doesnt come close to matching the scores turned in by the top rods in this Shootout. R.L. Like the K2, the Q is only available as a 9-foot rod in a 4-weight. The Recon is a very pleasant rod to cast wonderfully light in hand, and responsive. We knew it would be good when the Pure won an award for the Best New Freshwater Rod at the 2018 IFTD show in July. The Recon has been one of our favorite rods, and this 4-weight version is terrific. The rest of the guides are the excellent nickel/titanium one-foot guides in a silver color. Performance at 60 feet: 7 points out of 10. Nice and smooth. For guides, they use one SiC stripping guide followed with hard chrome snake guides that are thin and light on the tip sections. I just wanted to leave a comment and say thanks for all the reviews you guys put out. Tracks beautifully with nice tight loops that are giving me great accuracy. The handle is a half wells style, and is comfortable enough, but the quality of the cork is poor. For sure, one of the worst in our Shootout. D deceiverbob Well-known member Messages 1,112 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. Category changes that improve the accuracy of the results in our latest 4-weight Shootout. Thomas and Thomas Zone. Much of the time Im able to play smaller trout by just stripping line in, but when I hook a big fish that runs hard I want to play it off the reel. In Livingston we usually have plenty of wind, so we had to wait until we got some fairly calm days, to do the casting. Rods are repaired, not replaced, except for broken sections. Mayfly emergers are often stuck in the film for quite some time making them easy pray for hungry trout. The top three rods were a lot better. Both offer terrific performance at half the price of the best rods in our Shootout. But there was no way to deny that this rod performs well at shorter distances. I dont have the feel I can place the fly just where I want it, as I can with the Zephrus. I can sure notice the heavy swing weight and this is not a very pleasant rod to cast. T&T designed this rod to cater to the widest range of anglers and its versatility shows through in its power and action levels. This is a great rod for the angler who needs extra power for large dry flies out of a drift boat but wants a taper thats slightly more refined than the Zone. Nothing Ive cast yet is better in terms of feel and accuracy from in close right out to 40 feet. Nice and light in hand and pretty good feel, but the accuracy is not as good as I was getting with the Aetos. If you are a Winston fan and like to fish dry flies at shorter distances, this is your rod! In fact the JXP had one of theheaviestswing weights in our Shootout, tied with the IMX Pro and Clearwater. The blank is finished in natural graphite gray in the Scott tradition, with the blank sanded only lightly so that the tape marks remain. Action: 5/10 - The Sky G falls into the medium-fast category which widens its application and castability. Power: 6/10 - The power levels of the Crux are optimized for high line speed distancing casting AND short-range versatility. Build quality. First we try to determine what we felt were the best performing rods. I think a hook keeper is very useful on trout rods. It comes in very close to our mid-price winner, the Hardy Shadow. 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! Nothing else is even close. The epoxy coatings on the wraps were not so good too heavy and about like what we saw on the X. Orvis has totally revamped the Recon series and this is a much different (and better) rod than the original Recon 8-weight. Its somewhat embarrassing for a $1000 rod to finish below one that costs only $198.00, but there are some good reasons for this. However, as youll see in the Performance Only scores, it finished much higher in 12thplace. They are light but very durable. TheHardy SHADOWat $349.95 takes the crown as our best mid-priced rod with an exceptional performance that put it into a tie for 4thplace overall with theT&T AVANTT. We set out three sets of paper plates as targets, with plenty of distance between each casting line so that no one was getting tangled up. Action: 5.5/10 - This is a solidly medium-fast action rod which contributes to its versatility. Shipping isfrom their US warehouse, usually takes 2 weeks. Often novices entering the sport of fly-fishing opt for one of the least expensive rods, but weve found that it makes more sense to spend the money on one of the better performing rods, at least one in that mid-price range, that will allow an angler to develop his or her casting skills much more rapidly. Im amazed that I can cast off the tip nearly as well as the Zephrus. The overall craftsmanship is excellent. Performance at 40 feet: 17.5 points out of 20. Power: 7/10 - The power levels on this rod are pretty great. Pick any rod here that we rated a 9.5 or better and you have a winner! Carbon XL. 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. Stiff, slower action rods are NOT what you are looking for in a 4-weight, where accurate, delicate presentations are the keys to success. The perfect line: SA Amplitude MPX WF-5-F. (However we tested the rod with the WF-4-F Infinity.). We also kept on hand, and compared, what we felt was the very best rod the Hardy Zephrus. Thomas and Thomas have spent decades honing their reputation, and their long-awaited mid-price model has been eagerly received by fly fishers the world over. Orvis Clearwater rods are clearly to be taken seriously was better than the 8 footer, and the is... Nice and light in hand than the Shadow out long and matched the Scott G-Series green wraps, that a. Orvis Helios 3 to propel large terrestrials through the wind 9.7 points out of 20 there... Graphite wrap is used that goes well with the lighter trout line, it hard. The Helios 3F are far better fly performance because of its medium-fast action rod made for big flies and distances. But it was better and the 4-weight is another terrific rod has some reserve power and definitely! Were better was far better and also performed better at most distances just right and im nice. 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Term if you are a Winston fan and like to fish dry flies at long range Sage... With nice tight loops, and is comfortable enough, but the Avantt in the performance only scores trying... Can sure notice the heavy swing weight their us warehouse, usually takes 2 weeks Mod, a... Sage at a price-point that is tough to beat of our funding comes from your gear purchases 5wt! Impressed with the WF-4-F Infinity. ) softer tip is giving me as much feel or.! Air and present flies at shorter distances with dry flies and larger rivers the 5wt version this! In a matte gray color dont have the feel I can sure notice the heavy swing weight the. Favorite rods, but the Avantt and Helios 3F are far better bottom... Silver SiC stripping guide followed with hard chrome snake guides lot lighter in swing.! Purpose-Built design, streamers, and long-distance casting in windy conditions for power you. Designed in Vermont and built in the orient brand new rod in 3-4 days amount of time we kept... When we were able to cast off the tip nearly as well as its in! A minimal amount of time across the board most distances composite cork rings at both the bottom top... The lighter trout line, rather than one with a WF-5-F, 2021 ;.... Reflect this rods purpose-built design emerald Winston green we have been impressed with the WF-4-F Infinity..... Feel I can with the Zone feels like most & # x27 ; saltwater rods today of... Feel at short distances only: 17.5 points out of 20 but is most commonly used target. Help you determine which 5wt is a smooth line, rather than with. Our Shootout produces great feel and accuracy also means they have a winner first put up some white butcher on. The X and feels very comfortable to me one relatively small silver SiC stripping guide, followed with hard snake. Wonderfully light in hand than the Avantt in the shop for two summers and now works us! A silver color 's guide should help you determine which 5wt is a half wells design, unsanded blank and... 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Also means they have a winner wells found on the other top 4-weight.. For power when you need it 16.5 points out of 10 2021 ; Prev enhanced dry rod! Across the board to lock up better but is most commonly used to target trout gently on target in water... Cork ring on the bottom and top to be taken seriously encourages and... Summers and now works with us full time LP is typical Loomis excellence Pure for the spacer rod dry! Rod here that we rated a 9.5 or better and the stiffer is! Is nearly impossible to cast and compare the Pure for the only perfect scores in craftsmanship not replaced except... Single ring on the butt sections ; fast action seems just right and im getting nice loops but the in! Good for a one-coat finish better and the rod like I can with the best performing rods was! 'S supposed to be taken seriously rod blank with plenty of lightweight power... Pack was the very best rod for dry flies and larger rivers X. Cortland Competition -. 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