Hi, Chuck. I thought I would chime in on this one. In my years of fly fishing
and rod building, I have had three favorite rods: A Powell 6-7 weight, A Sage
XP and a Scott SAS (both 5 wt).The Powell was a factory rod, used when fishing
in lakes where an 18 inch fish is average, the five weights I built myself, and
used for everyday fishing. All three of them have been lost. The Powell fell
out of the back of my truck between a rest stop in Pocatello Idaho, and Idaho
falls, on the road to Yellowstone Lake. I had opened the tailgate to get a
drink out of the cooler, was distracted by a question my wife asked me, and
forgot to put the tailgate back up. The Scott ended up in the bottom of
Strawberry Reservoir, in Utah, after falling out of a cheap rod holder attached
to my kick boat. I lost the Sage last year after fishing at a local community
pond. I laid it across the bed of my truck, got distracted (can't blame this
one on my wife), and drove away. It rolled off, I assume, and was picked up by
the jerk behind me who decided finders keepers . I realized my mistake and
went back 10 minutes later and there was no sign of the rod or any piece of it.
I posted flyers around the pond, notified the local police, put ads in
newspaper, all to no avail. The rod has my name on it, so it wouldn't be hard
for an honest person to track me down. Maybe someday I will come across
somebody fishing with it!
These were all expensive rods, costing over $300. And they were the ones I
fished with the most.
Anyway, were they worth the cost? For me, yes, but I have to admit that a
large part of the value was pride of ownership, which is the intangible that
often drives people to purchase luxury items. Also a desire to have the VERY
best, even though the differences between it and something cheaper are often
negligible.
But as far as performance goes, the Scott fit my casting style the best. I
tend to have a punchy cast, and need a rod with a good solid butt section that
doesn't collapse when I power the rod. Oh, I can slow down and cast softer
rods (like a bamboo rod, or a Winston) just fine, but I prefer a punchy cast
and faster rods. Also, I do a lot of high stick nymph fishing, and a faster,
stiffer rod seems to give me a better connection to what is happening at the
end of my line.
I also own several rods I made from cheaper blanks, as well as a couple of St.
Croix Pro Graphites and a St. Croix Legend Ultra, which cast a lot like the
Sage XP.
So what ended up happening? I replaced the Scott SAS with a factory Scott rod,
the successor to the SAS. Different name, but casts about the same. (Scott
has quit selling blanks, so that was my only option). A buddy of mine found a
factory Sage XP on ebay and bought it for me, but it is still sitting in his
garage waiting for me to drop by with the $280.00 he paid for it. He is a
young entrepreneur who is running a multi-million dollar computer business he
started, so to him it was pocket change. Not to me. But eventuality I will
pick it up, in the meantime he fishes with it himself occasionally. I replaced
the Powell with a 6 wt Cabella's rod that was on sale for half price. It casts
fine, and has the power to handle bigger fish, but I can't say I love it like I
did the Powell. (The Powell rod can't be replaced, that company has been
bought and sold twice and the new rods aren't the same. Mine was built by the
original owners, and was a sweet rod).
So, Were THEY REALLY THAT GOOD? From a purely practicable point of view,
probably not. Your not going to catch six times as many fish because your
fishing with a rod six times more expensive than the guy next to you. But if
you love the rod, if it performs exactly like you want it too, and you love the
way it looks and feels in your hand, then its worth every penny. This is a
hobby, after all, and when did anyone worry about the cost of their hobby?
From a practical standpoint I would be WAY ahead if I had never started
building rods or tying flies. Much cheaper in the long run to just go it and
buy what you need, when you need it. No money wasted on flights to a fly tying
conclave. No rod blanks, or rods that you built but really didn't need
cluttering up your life. But it also wouldn't be as much fun!
Tom Davenport
On Feb 9, 2013, at 2:28 PM, Chuck Alexander chuckalexan...@centurylink.net
wrote:
Folks: I just downloaded and started watching a video called “Sage Fly Rods:
Made in America” and it takes you on a tour of their factory, which is on an
Island just off Seattle Washington, and tells about how great the fly rods
are etc. Are their flyrods REALLY “THAT GOOD”?? Are they REALLY worth the
prices they charge?? I have never casted one, but I have always told ppl
that I think I’d put my $100 St Croix “Premier” against any rod on the
market. And the Bamboo rod Tony built for me puts that St. Croix to shame.
But that is sorta
