There is no question that the craftsmanship is better on the very best rods, and with a few exceptions they do perform better than the less expensive rods. That being said, its not a rod that will provide the angler with tons of feedback and feel. Features: 3wt-4wt Medium/fast action 5wt-10wt fast action. In this years 4-weight Shootout, we found that most manufacturers are building more powerful 4-weight rods than in the past. There is no hook keeper on this rod. Mystic Reaper X 86 #4 $299.00. The color of the blank is an olive green that Orvis calls shadow green. The wraps are brown and the epoxy coatings are OK but a little heavy and not nearly as well done as on the 3F. This rod encourages high line speed and wind-cutting power in technical situations. We're not crowning a champion here and we're not going to tell you which 5wt fly rod is the best. #21. The epoxy coatings over the wraps are nicely done, and I especially like the fact that they inscribe the rod length and weight on the bottom wrap of each section. Take tricky undulating currents, and then add in a little wind, and getting a fly right in the fishs window with that drag-free drift becomes quite the challenging task. Anyway, I tried it out in a local store and I have to say it did not feel like a fast action rod, or even a medium-fast action rod. The ability of this rod to track precisely combined with its ability to form beautiful tight loops allowed it to perform almost as well as the best rods at long range. Keep in mind that what you will read here are only our opinions. backing and fly line. This is a very smooth rod to cast and Im getting nice tight loops and good accuracy. Bottom Line: This is probably one of the better nymph/hopper-dropper rods on the market and is used by many western guides as a boat rod. This is one of the worst scores at long distance in our Shootout. Now Im getting nice tight loops and I can punch it hard into the breeze. The rest of the guides start with a single wire recoil stripper like G. Loomis uses, (I dont like these much either), but at least the rest are the good flexible nickel/titanium single-foot guides, as on the Zephrus, in a black color. Very little feel or accuracy. Action: 7/10 - A fast action rod design means the Pulse does everything a high-performance 5wt should with efficiency and ease. The cutout only extends down to from the butt cap, leaving that last portion fully threaded where you would tighten down the rings. Very tricky and very attractive. The cork handle is a more conventional western style grip than found on their Radian, with a flare on the back to accept the black anodized single uplocking seat that utilizes a brown graphite insert. The amount of power seems to be about right, and it performed best at the longer distances where I could punch it hard without throwing tailing loops. If you are thinking about buying a fly rod, we suggest reading one of our Shootouts for the line size rod you want. It performed better than any of the sub $300 rods, including the Orvis Clearwater. Our advice is that if you feel one of the top rated, expensive rods works best for you, go for it. Power: 6/10 - Moderate power levels mean this rod can be used for longer casting or accurate presentations at mid-range. Rods that were very light in swing weight like the Zephrus, Avantt and Helios 3F blew the X away in both feel and performance. However, if all rods are measured on the same day, the relative numbers will be consistent. Just about every major fly rod manufacturer was brandishing their newest, tech-packed stick. This rod uses spigot ferrules, rather than the slipover ferrule design found on most rods including the Scott Radian. Also right up at the top are the Scott rods, like the Raidan and G series as well as the Orvis Helios 3F. I look for rods that feel totally solid and track well. The quality of the cork is not so hot though, and a lot of filler is present. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one huge stripping guide that looks way too big, followed with thin wire hard chrome snake guides. The Orvis Clearwater rods are designed in Vermont and built in the orient. If you're still confused about fly rod action, here's a video from our beginner series. The 8 foot Pure had a much stiffer butt and mid-section and a soft tip that is much softer than what we found on the Nimbus. The stiff tip didnt allow me much feel but the accuracy was decent. Much of the time Im able to play smaller trout by just stripping line in, but when I hook a big fish that runs hard I want to play it off the reel. This is T&Ts mid-priced rod, but if you take a look at the best mid-priced rods in our Shootout like the Shadow at $349, the Recon at $429 and the DXF at $349, the Zones performance doesnt match any of these rods. The Sky is a rod made for distance casting, heavy nymph rigs, and streamer fishing. #16. #15. Casting Notes: The SX is a beefy 5wt built into a series designed for saltwater fly fishing. The overall craftsmanship is excellent. The craftsmanship was excellent and it performed very well for me, especially at 40 feet, where I was getting beautiful tight loops and very good accuracy. Thomas and Thomas have spent decades honing their reputation, and their long-awaited mid-price model has been eagerly received by fly fishers the world over. Will they make you a better angler? Dont make this mistake. When you pick up this rod, youll first notice how light it is in swing weight. Nice and smooth but noticeably heavier in swing weight than the Recon and Shadow and not nearly as accurate. The epoxy coatings on the wraps were not so good too heavy and about like what we saw on the X. The attractive cork handle is a half wells design with a flare on the bottom end, a comfortable swell in the middle, and a nice forward taper. Thomas and Thomas just introduced a very light presentation rod called the Paradigm, which complements their outstanding Avantt. Once we determine how the rods perform at the various distances and compile these point values, we then add in points earned from all the other categories to determine the final finishing order. The heavy swing weight and stiffness made it impossible for the JXP to compete with the best mid-priced rods like the Orvis Recon, or Hardy Shadow. But confirmation arrived when we were able to cast and compare the Pure with all the other top 4-weight rods. The Orvis RECON, at $429 wasn't far behind! The guides start out with two large SiC stripping guides, followed up with fairly large hard chrome snake guides and an oversize tip top. Logan and Francis have worked here for many years and are both great casters and anglers. Scott Tidal. The reel seat is a double uplocking skeleton seat in anodized gold, with a pretty wood burl insert using green and brown highlights to complement the blank. Heads up the Recon and Shadow were far better. The DXF and both Scott rods were better, while the Zephrus and Pure were in a totally different league. (tie) Loop Q 9 #4 $229.00. Action: 6/10 - The AETOS is a fast action rod but not as fast as rods like the BVK and others. The Reaper X is an improved model of this original rod. It had the power to hit 60 feet easily enough but my accuracy was not very good. Copy of Sage Z-Axis (example) G. Loomis Asquith 8wt. The best thing I found about the Clearwater is the price. Fundamentally, because there are so many gear options in fly fishing, shootout-style blog posts help anglers determine 'the best of' a particular selected subcategory. T&T also uses a stack of thinner cork rings and the quality of the cork is as close to perfect as you can get. However, nearly all manufacturers are charging a handling fee of $25-$100 to repair or replace your broken rod. We set out three sets of paper plates as targets, with plenty of distance between each casting line so that no one was getting tangled up. This is a light rod in swing weight almost as good as the Zephrus. Its a great all-around rod and less technical than the 3D. In terms of performance, the Recon was actually better at mid to long range. And the Fenwick Aetos, that finished at 11th, higher than the middle of the pack, is only $179.95! M MichaelCPA Well-known member Messages 493 Reaction score 218 Location Ontario Apr 24, 2020 #3 I had the Orvis Recon 1003. Im having trouble casting off the tip well and this is hurting the accuracy. But that nice soft tip produces great feel and exceptional accuracy. In fact the JXP had one of theheaviestswing weights in our Shootout, tied with the IMX Pro and Clearwater. There are not many situations when youll be fishing this far with your 4-weight, but Ive certainly had many situations, especially fishing dry flies on larger rivers, like the Missouri, where Ive had to throw it this long yet still get good accuracy and a delicate presentation in order to catch a nice fish. Accuracy is pretty good, heads up matching the Zone and NRX LP. The new Orvis rods are clearly to be taken seriously. Rather than give us their beautiful nickel silver uplocking seat with a fancy wood spacer of birdseye maple as on the Pure, the Nimbus uses a silver anodized uplocking aluminum skeleton seat with one wide ring and sliding band. It is a very smooth rod to cast and was excellent at short and mid-distances, but at the longest distance the Radian, Helios 3F, and Avantt were much better. The TFO rods, the Taylor rods, the Mystic rod, and the Waterworks rods are all designed here in the U.S. and built in Asia. Pros The quality of the standard size cork rings was very good. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Power: 5.5/10 - This is a rod that doesnt have a ton of power but makes up for it in feedback and feel. This fast action produced extremely good feel and accuracy, especially at 25 feet. Tippet materials are getting stronger every year, and today we end up fishing 6x, 6.5X, and 7x fluorocarbon a lot of the time, trying to get that perfect drift to entice a big fish to sip in a fly. I love the handle design it tapers outward allowing you to quickly get and maintain a good grip on the handle. The lower ring uses a thin nylon spacer that helps it lock up securely to the upper ring. Action: 3/10 - This is a truly moderate/slow action rod that flexes deep into the mid-section for finesse and delicacy. Use this link to go to ourFavorite Freshwater Outfitsfor the 3 through 8-weight rods, in our Online Store. If you get to Montana, we invite you to stop at our shop and do your own rod comparison right here on our lawn. This 4-weight Q was one of my least favorite rods to cast in our Shootout. For the lighter rods, we used their Amplitude Smooth Trout. Its somewhat embarrassing for a $1000 rod to finish below one that costs only $198.00, but there are some good reasons for this. Action: 7/10 - This rod sports a medium-fast/fast action blank thats ideal for a variety of freshwater fishing techniques. Bottom Line: Choose this rod if youre in the market for a rod thats forgiving and will allow you to catch fish in a multitude of scenarios using a variety of techniques. Add to Cart. He has been a very important and integral part of our Shootouts and tackle comparisons over the years. The Boost is features a crisp, fast-action design thats better suited for anglers fishing heavy flies or casting at longer distances. The wraps and coatings on the guides are close to perfect. Both the Zephrus and Pure were far lighter in hand, and far better in performance at 40 feet. If you own a money tree and enough real estate to warehouse dozens of situation-specific fly rods, stop reading now. Not much feel with all that swing weight, and the accuracy was pretty crappy too. The matte gray blank does look nice, and the guide wraps are a dark gray, trimmed in black on the butt section. What is the Asquith doing way down near the bottom of this Shootout when it won our recent 8-weight Shootout!? If you find yourself fishing more hoppers and larger dries, you will like this rod as it will really fire them in there with authority. Performance at 25 feet 20 points available. Rods with a light swing weight are pleasant and effortless to cast. Wraps are a darker red, (almost black), trimmed in brighter red on the butt. Now the stiffness is becoming an advantage, and Im getting some nice tight loops. Performance at 60 feet: 9.7 points out of 10. The best rods will throw very tight loops at this range with consistently good accuracy. Quality of the cork was excellent with a stack of thinner rings. For those anglers that like fast action rods with more power, (for fishing at longer distances or in windy conditions), the G. Loomis Asquith, the T&T Avantt, and the Scott Radian are good choices. Equals the DXF but rods like the Recon and Sky were much better. But if you look at just the three distance performance scores, it would have finished below the top dozen rods! The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one huge SiC stripping guide that seems way too big, followed with hard chrome snake guides. The action of these two rods is very different. Another stiff rod, the Avantt, was slightly better. Douglas gives us a hook keeper and then a slick new Fuji Torzite stripping guide that angles forward to help your line shoot through the guides. Some good alignment dots and lines are used. The one thing that I have never liked much on the Reaper is the shape of the handle. For most of my fishing with a 4-weight rod in critical conditions Im using one of our 12-foot leaders down to a 5X or 6X tippet, but in the Shootout we stick with 4X Rio Powerflex as a tippet in order to minimize breaking off the yarn indicator. The Fenwick AETOS, at $179.95 is unquestionably our best performing inexpensive rod. Does the tip of the rod load well enough in close to give you the feel and accuracy you need with little line or only the leader out of the guides? Sure, most of these 4-weight rods will turn over a 9-foot leader, but having to turn over a 12-foot leader requires a rod to perform at a higher level. The stiffness and slower action hurt its scores in a lot of categories. The rod is a more refined, caster-friendly version of its high-priced brother, the Radian. With the Infinity it cast better long, and I would have scored it closer to 9 at long range. We like the lower price, and you cant expect the same kind of performance as the $845 Avantt which uses a more expensive, higher modulus graphite. (tie) Sage X 86 #4 $900.00. We set the casting line so that we generally had the wind at our back if possible, or at least off our left shoulder (all of us are right handed). Bottom Line: If youre looking for one of the most versatile 5wts in this price range, the Zone is a great option made by a well-known manufacturer. For 4-weight rods, when you are fishing at shorter distances, (most of the time), it is particularly important that leaders turn over well. The quality of epoxy coatings on the guide wraps was excellent and almost the equal of the T&T rods. At long range, the lack of power now becomes evident. #23. It can be tied in sizes 10 - 20. Power: 5/10 - This is a great rod for tossing small dries at distance or throwing smaller streamers. Chartreuse is a favorite color for warm-water predatory fish. Casting Notes: The Epic Graphite 5wt is one of our favorites. The cork handle is that same snub nose, half wells found on the X and feels very comfortable to me. Like the K2, no hook keeper is used, which I miss on a 4-weight. I thought the larger, wider single ring on the Helios 3F was much easier to grip and seemed to lock up better. Orvis 25 year warranty to original owner. This is a very pleasant rod to cast, and I was especially impressed at what nice tight loops I was getting at long range, where it proved to be better than any other rod tested, even the powerful Asquith. This is a soft rod, and that gave it good marks in the light tippet protection category, but its performance distance scores were lackluster. Rods are repaired, not replaced unless broken. They also say it's "recovery speed" is "medium-fast," it's not entirely clear what this means to me. We actually cast two #4 line Pure rods- the 8 footer you see here and its 86 brother. and they examine it. #8. I dont have the feel I can place the fly just where I want it, as I can with the Zephrus. If Fenwick determines that there was a defect, the rod will be repaired or replaced at no charge. The guide wraps are a dark green to complement the rod. The epoxy coatings are painstakingly done and close to perfect. I love the way this rod tracks and the accuracy is good too. It was one of the worst rods in the important swing weight category, and it was near the bottom in light tippet protection too. 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