http://www.flyfisherman.com/2011/06/23/sage-wins-best-rod-at-efttex/
Well, that’s great news.
I suggest everyone run, not walk, to your nearest Sage outlet and buy “the one”!!
You will be set for life with the greatest fly rod ever imagined, much less built!!
That is until the “next one” haunts the flyfishers market. :roll:
I see Cabela’s is taking prebook orders for the One. It has quite the weight reduction over the Zaxis. It is 1/8 ounce lighter and $500 heavier than the TFO BVK in the 6wt. http://www.cabelas.com/product/ONE-Rod-by-Sage/1253483.uts?WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104721480%3Bcat109787580
I will refrain from any editorial comment 
So lets see, by my calculations that amounts to 4000.00 per ounce. I don’t think so .
Would you guys prefer the evolution of rod development remain in the 40’s? Why is it everytime a manufacturer comes out with a new rod many of you dump on it? Especially one that is high end? I for one own many Sage rods and models and I like the fact that Sage continues to make improvement. I have noticed a big improvement from that of the SLT to the ZXL and the RPL to the Z-Axis, but not so much between the XP and Z-Axis. I hope they never stop coming up with new designs.
I agree. Fly rods are actually cheaper in constant dollars when compared to the past and it is due to leading edge companies like Sage. A moderate priced rod is better than the same cost rod in inflation corrected dollars from the 1970’s, '80s, and 90’s.
I don’t understand it either. It just means that the older “best tech” rods get pushed down the line and we get to buy them as a cheaper model when the new ones come out. I know that a Sage top of the line is never in my future, but the previous best will be remarketed as a second best in the lineup…and that may be doable…some day
New and improved designs are great. Higher & higher prices are not. It’s a fishing rod for crying out loud. Even some fiberglass rods are priced way above the common man’s budget. I understand the cost of research and development, but it seems like the manufacturers are trying to re-coup the price of the proto-type with the sale of every rod. These high prices do nothing to dispell the notion that the sport of fly fishing is for elitists only. It’s a fishing rod, not an antennae for the space shuttle.
Rant over. (for now)
Admin, feel free to delete my post if you think I’ve overstepped my bounds. I just see decent equipment being placed further & further outside my meager budget.
I defy anyone to say that that rod will catch more fish or better fish than any other rod out there. Therefore in my opinion the rod is designed to catch fisherman due to hype and prestiege.
I have sold rods that have been built on 50 to 150.00 dollar blanks (also with a lifetime warranty) that when put in the hands of some professional casters have been more impressed with them than the sage rods they have tested.
OK. The Sage One will catch more fish and better fish than the Shakespeare wonder rod.
Silver;
You may be correct in that statement !! If I had the means to purchase a Sage One, it would be on the water more than any of my other rods.
Well, I would hope you would fish it more than your other rods. It would seem to me you would have to justify the cost somehow?
I’m hopeful also you would catch more fish! How you feel that’s possible because of a high dollar rod I truly don’t understnd?
If someone can explain to me why you would fork over the dough for this rod in a thoughtful, non-argumentable way I’ll just tip my hat and say go for it! I’m of the opinion, and always will be, it’s just the aura and “prestige” of owning the so-called latest greatest!
Do you truly think that it as a fishing tool is going to miraculously make you fool and land more fish…really?
Advertising makes me gag!!!
How Sage will upstage the One in a year or 3 wil be something of epic marketing wordsmanship …i wonder what they will call it…
The Next One…
Brad
or the “OTHER” one…
If we had no advancements in fly rod technologies, how would we ever have the development of 10 ft 3 wt rods? Can you image such a rod in the days of bamboo and metal ferrules?
Even with fiberglass and the early graphites, one could not manufacture a fishable 10 ft 3 or 4 wt that you would want to fish.
To be blunt, if you are not the type to purchase the latest rods, they are obviously not for you. But eventually, the technology will filter down to a rod you might purchase. Then, you might be complaining about the newest rod; but at the same time using the technology that you were complaining about years ago.
I guess I don’t see the purpose of complaining about something you have decided NOT to buy.
The reality of the fly fishing market is that it is a minuscule part of the funds spent on fishing. One of my wealthy friends privately financed fly fishing companies. He financed Korkers, Streamborn of Canada that later partnered to start TFO Fly rods, and Islander Reels to name a few.
When Sage reels was sold many years ago, he had his accountants go over the books to see if he wanted to buy the company. He found that their return on investment was very low. He told me he could make more money in traditional business with much less risk.
Simms was sold at about the same time. He sent his accountants to examine the books at Simms and the story there was the same. He declined to buy the company.
He owned a business with two factories at the time and he manufactured and sold more product in 3 weeks than Sage did in a year, and at a higher profit margin. Investing in fly fishing companies was a sideline business for him, but it was a business that had to have a reward that equalled the risk.
Fly fishing companies do not make much of a profit margin. So although the prices seem high, the costs are just as high to keep these companies manufacturing products in the USA. Is there any other sport where the product has a no fault warranty that will replace the product even if YOU broke it in a car door, essentially giving you a lifetime warranty. The only product I would manufacture and do that with is an anvil. (wink)
Very few of us can afford a Sage One, but I am really really glad that there are fly fishers that can. I believe it is better for you and me that there are.
So essentially you are stating that sage caters to the rich and famous primarily for the prestiege of owning one.
Silver Creek,
After having read your last remarks I’m inclined to agree with you. Please understand that my earlier comments were born of frustration. It just seems to me that the ever increasing price of quality equipment has alienated me from enjoying my favorite sport. When I grew up, fishing was a way for the poor man to help feed his family. And to do it on equal footing with all sportsmen. Now days unless I’m wearing Patagonia waders, a Simms vest & a $100+ fedora, I feel like I’m being snickered at by those with deeper pockets. It’s like I want to be a champagne fisherman and I’m using beer budget gear. It’s too bad Berkley doesn’t still make the Cherry Wood fiberglass fly rod. That was a decent rod for less than $50. I know, it’s my hang up and I have to deal with it. Thanks for at least trying to understand.
Darned if I didn’t go to the Berkley website and find the Cherrywood fly rods for only $35. They aren’t fiberglass though. They are a composite of glass and graphite. Come to think of it, the Pflueger Purist fly rods aren’t bad sticks either. Looks like I may have to eat my previous words. That’s OK, crow tastes better with seasoning.
Joe, you can still get a decent glass rod for well under $50. I young fellow I know recently bought an eight foot five weight Eagle Claw rod for $30. I was prepared to underwhelmed but once I got my fiberglass timing back I found it more than adequate for the river we were fishing. It might be a little heavier than a comparable graphite rod but that isn’t going to bother a twenty year old kid