New Sage smallmouth and Bass rods

[okflyfisher]

I have a question about Sage's new smallmouth and bass rods. At 290 grains and 390 grains does that not put these rods in the upper end of the 10wt and 12 wt classes respectively?

[Bluegill222]

yep, and at 7'11" it's gonna make for one stiff rod. Haven't had a chance to cast one yet, but I can't imagine how it would be easy. The main thrust of the new bass rods is to create a tournament legal flyrod.

[tailingloop]

Not necessarily 10 and 12 wt equivalents. The Largemouth rod is 330 grains not 390.

Common practice for using 30ft shooting heads is to upline by 2wts, thus a 10wt heads are used on an 8wt and so on. Also integrated lines such as the Teeny 'T' and 'TS' series and S.A. Streamer Express series are often used in heavier weights than you would use a floating line on a rod. So you, for example, you would use a 300grain Teeny T or S.A. Streamer Express on an 8wt rod. The reason is that for distance casting you only extend the head to make the cast, whereas with a floater you may extend 40 - 50 feet to make a long cast.

I am eagerly waiting for a chance to examine these new rods and associated lines, but I am guessing that the special lines will have heavy front sections to allow the rod to be deeply loaded without having to extend a lot of line - a desireable feature for shortrange work with large flies. I am also going to guess that that Smallmouth rod will work well with standard 7 or 8wt WF line and the Largemouth rod with a standard 9 or 10 wt WF line. I often use a 10wt WF floater on my 8wt rods for casting large flies at short ranges. I will have to get my hands one for the new rods to be sure though. I am really interested in the Largemouth model for Calico Bass fishing in the southern California kelp forests where we often make short casts with large flies into holes in the kelp canopy.

[okflyfisher]

Thanks for the replies. Maybe I will have to win one so I can broaden my horizons

[anglerdave]

I think to Sage's credit designing a 7'11" rod was right on. I think that longer rods are nice, but for smaller rivers and short to medium casts, a shorter rod is the way to go. I mostly fish a 6wt for smallie fishing in either a 7 1/2' glass or 9' graphite. Every once in a while I pull out my old 8' 7wt boo.

[Micropteris]

Yeah 330 puts it in the 11 wt class. I use a 330 grain line on my six weights all the time. One you get past the 'oh no this is supposed to be wrong' phase fishing that line is actually pretty easy. A flick of the wrist and a big deer hare bug shoots out 60 feet no problem.

Of course if you are fishing a nymph or dry fly for bass that setup would be over kill.

I too would be curious to see how stiff and fast the rod is in terms of line handling once the line is on the water.

[BassYakker]

I signed up. I fish for bass from a kayak and my first rod of choice is routinely my 10wt.

[wayneb]

Hi All;

I recently purchased a J.P. Ross 7' Kayak rod and love it! I purchased 2nd hand so don't know everything about it but it casts a 9wt beautifully. It's built on a fiberglass spinning blank(I think forecast e-glass). One thing that attracted me to it was being able to use it in a bass tournament someday but I'm a long way from that!

It's short length definetly works for kayak fishing. It's the rod I used to land the fish that towed my kayak around(see topic fighting large bass/fish on flyrod). I think it's short length and stiff design helps muscle fish away from cover.

If the sage rods are anything like the J.P. Ross, it's a good product!

Wayneb

[Bear742]

The 800 pound gorilla is whether Sage will be sponsoring fly anglers on the bass tournament circuits.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I would like to see a fly gal or fisherman take home the big check. On the other hand, I would like to have fly fishing continue to be a refuge from the dog eat dog competition and commercial hype that surrounds the "tournament trails."

My knight or maiden in armor would win the Classic showing it can be done and then immediately retire to recreational fishing showing that winning is just a bump in the road.

Is this asking too much?

Mike

[Micropteris]

Hey Bear,

Would it really be any different than casting tournaments or fly fishing tournaments that are alreay out there?