Sage Bass Fly Rods

[jtmr]

Has anyone fished either of these rods yet? I'm looking for general comments (positive or negative) about their fishing characteristics. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

[Big Bad Wulff]

I have heard they cast well and very accurately and are strong. All 2nd-hand info.

[rnelson]

I haven't fished with them but I cast both the largemouth and smallmouth models at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo in Minneapolis. They both cast nicely but in my opinion not any better than the other "bass" rods I tried at the expo.
I tried many other rods in the 7 wt - 10 wt category and found several that I liked better than the Sage rods. I really liked the new TFO Axiom 8 wt. I fish from a float tube and like a longer rod. The Sage rods are a bit short for my bass fishing.

I was excited to try them but after casting them I decided it is a marketing strategy as they pitched the tournament legal aspect of the length. But I may have considered one if the Sage rep I talked to had not been such a jerk. He spent most of the time badmouthing rods I currently own and made statements like "I can see why you want a Sage if you're fishing with those rods." And while I certainly don't mind a rod rep making comparisons between rod manufactureres, this guy's attitude was very condescending.

Sage does include a special fly line with both models. That is a plus but I came away (lousy salesman's comments excluded from my analysis) that the rods aren't for me. But if you fish tournaments or fish in areas where cover and casting in tight places requires a shorter rod then maybe these are for you. At $350.00 each the price seems to be comparable to other good "bass" rods I tested.

Rick

[2Fly]

Yes. I bought a Smallmouth (equiv to an 8 or 9). It will take your big deer hair frogs, poppers etc and turn them over. It casts extremely accurately. It is 7'11" and you just can feel the power and accuracy. This is not the rod for sending it a mile with a delicate presentation. It is perfect for the 20 -40 yd "pound the bank" with something big and bassy.
Now for my complaint. I love Sage rods. My SLT and XP are pretty/aesthetically pleasing. The Bass rods are a cheesy color and have cheesy components e.g.the rod butt has cheap plastic.
I wish this rod was more like a flat matte (like the classic GLoomis GLX) with quality components.
However, they have (for a fly rod) kept the price reasonable.
I put my first bass of the year on it yesterday, with a frog fly. I give it the thumb up.
Ward

[RS1]

Interesting article in Fly Rod & Reel about the Sage and Scott Bass rods (tournament-ready). Sage advertises their bass rods are tournament ready, under the stats of 8' long, but the article says the B.A.S.S organization doesn't currently allow fly fishing gear. So a B.A.S.S tourney wouldn't allow anyone to use that rod with a fly reel or line. The other bass organization FLW tour just says one fishing rod may be used at one time.
I guess if you just like to fly fish for bass, it just might be the rod for you. The rods are designed for close, tight quarters, low line speed with little line out (Jerry Seim quote).
Maybe Sage wants to get a jump on the other makers for the bass end of fly fishing.
Maybe it'd be good on tiger muskie, muskie, walleye and few of the other warmwater beasts.
Cast one and you make your own decision. I'd try a fiberglass too.

[Bamboozle]

I was excited to try them but after casting them I decided it is a marketing strategy as they pitched the tournament legal aspect of the length.

'zactly!

The rod is a gimmick that will never be embraced by the pros. If I'm wrong I'll buy Denny Braurer, Kevin Van Damm, Rick Clunn, Mike Iconelli, Zell Roland and the rest of the BASS tournament pros a steak dinner the day I see one of them wasting their time with a fly rod in a tournament.

I cast one and personally thought they felt like a club; more akin to my 7' medium heavy baitcasting rods. If I was so inclined to fly fish seriously for bass I could find a whole lot of other rods I like better. IMHO there is no reason to fish a fly rod that short if you don't have to and 99% of the time if you are fishing for bass in a boat or wading you could use any length rod you want.

If you were restricted to that length due to BASS tournament rules and chose to fly fish...

...you would lose!

[Bluegill222]

I honestly wasn't expecting to like these rods at all, thinking they were just a gimmick to attract hardware chuckers and/or get Sage some extra publicity on bass tv shows. I haven't fished one yet, but I've cast them with and without flies and I'm really very impressed with the action and the accuracy I got from them. I'll be field testing one soon and will let you know how it fishes.

[Lew]

This oughta solve all your problems. Do what I did. Just take an 8' glass Fenwick 7 weight, and slam the first three inches in the door of your pick-up. Glue the tip-top on what's left, and go fishin'. It will huck a 6" bunny fly 60 feet or so without any problem.

[DarrinG]

I was told the fly line that comes with the "smallmouth" version is equal to a TEN weight!!!!!
Geez! A 10 weight for smallmouth bass fishing??? I guess it does chuck a big fly well.

[bonefishwhisperer]

I will be on the water today in the Everglades with a customer...he just bought one of them rods so I will know much about them in a few hrs...will be after peacocks mostly