I’ve cast a lot of different fly rods over the last thirty years, but owing to their unusual nature, I felt like I was in new territory as I rigged the Smallmouth and Largemouth outfits with six foot, 20 lb. tippet leaders and big, 3/0 hair bugs at my local bass pond. I tentatively hauled the 25 feet of line from the water and aimed at a spot 10 feet to the left. I guess I expected the leader to partially collapse on the water, with the bug to follow, because that’s what always happens with flies of this size. Not this time. I watched the tippet arc over in a tight curve and the bug WHAP! into the water with a couple of waves pulsing out. Wow! These rods cast big bugs with crisp authority, and I mean CRISP! A short roll cast to put it in the air in front of you, one quick back cast to load, then shoot. The Smallmouth and Largemouth Fly Lines are massive, short belly (33 ft.), bullet tapers designed to do exactly that: load the rod with a single backcast and store enough energy to turn over almost any leader and fly. The fly lines have fairly large diameter running lines for improved handling when fighting fish. The super fast, very stiff Sage Bass Rods respond remarkably well to this mass. An unexpected advantage of the rod’s stiff tip was apparent when retrieving flies; line strips are more definitive for a bigger “pop” on your surface flies and sub-surface flies swim more realistically. Beginners, who usually find casting bulky flies the most troublesome, will ease their problems with these outfits and a more experienced fly caster, with a reasonable double haul, will make these rods get up and dance.
The Smallmouth and Largemouth Fly Rods derive their strength and power from Sage 3e graphite technology; a reliable combination of high modulus graphite and fiberglass scrim used in the highly successful Sage XP and RPL series. This combination of materials has proven to provide superior hoop strength and impact resistance to fly rod shafts . And the best part is the price; the Smallmouth and Largemouth rods, complete with a custom fly line and case sell for a reasonable $350. One other fly rod that I’m aware of that fits into this category is the Scott Backcountry. It’s a 3-piece, 7’7” graphite rod, 3.7 ounces, rated for a 9 weight line and sells for $625. It’s worth checking out as well.
I do a lot of float tubing for bass, and while most float tubers choose longer rods for distance and to raise their backcast, I find most of my bass fishing to be around overhanging cover with casts of twenty five feet or less. To get a fly back in under cover usually requires sidearm casting to keep your loop very low and parallel with the water’s surface. Long rods that are accurate in the vertical are very poor for this task, where shorter rods excel. With a little practice, I found both the Smallmouth and Largemouth to be extremely accurate, particularly when casting out of the vertical plane around structure. These little rods would be very maneuverable in the heavy cover one might find in the rainforest, cedar swamp, or mangroves as well as the confined space of a kayak or canoe. The extreme mass of the line and stiffness of the rod gives you great authority to direct and power your fly in, under and around thick cover. If you get hung up, (and you’re using a twenty pound tippet) this rod will pull the fly off of leaves or twigs, if it’s going to come at all! The rods will fit conveniently in a small boat, rather than being dangerously exposed over a gunwale, and will get fish closer to the boat more easily for landing.
Fly rods, like all fishing rods, serve two elementary purposes. They cast, to place your fly in position for a chance at a strike, and that being successful, they fight fish. The second element, striking and fish fighting, is where nine foot fly rods, and, in fact, almost all fly rods fall short. Although long rods displace line more quickly on the strike, their limber nature has more difficulty generating enough power to drive a large hook into bone or exerting enough pressure to pull or turn fish quickly from cover. Try dragging a six pound largemouth out from under half a foot of weed with your nine foot, eight weight. Not likely! I probably lose nineteen fish for every one that I land in a situation like this. I would guess that these little Sage rods, as short, powerful levers, should prove to be among the best fish fighting fly rods on the market.
Although these fly rods and respective lines are named “Smallmouth” and “Largemouth”, Sage suggests that their myriad potential applications in both freshwater AND saltwater would better have us view them as “Light Duty” and “Heavy Duty”. The light duty Smallmouth will serve for Smallies, White Bass, Sea Trout and Largemouth, as well, for all but the largest of flies. The heavy duty Largemouth will rock throwing big bugs for Largemouth, Peacock, Pike, and Musky and in the back country mangroves for Snook, Redfish and Tarpon. The Largemouth should be quite capable of beating fish over twenty pounds and in very experienced hands, probably over forty or fifty pounds. Overall, these rods are a lot of fun to cast and fish with, and bestow a feeling of power and control in a small, relatively lightweight package.
· Proven Sage 3e graphite construction
· Compact length and light in hand
· Extremely powerful and accurate at short to medium distances with big flies
· Great hook setting and fish fighting ability
· Heavy duty, English Hopkins and Holloway guides and tip top
· Padded nylon, PVC rod case with dividers and reel pocket
· Limited lifetime warranty
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