(Click here to see more deflection charts). Our deflection charts have been very popular in past Shootouts, so we are giving you more this year. The craftsmanship is typical Orvis excellence. Designed to chuck heavy, three-inch articulated streamers at meaty freshwater bass and pike, this rod (particularly in the 1-piece version) gained a cult following among redfish guides who love its action for inshore flats: The stiffer tip increases feel by loading the rod lower down, where proprietary Conduit Core material replaces heavier wraps of graphite for a lighter, more responsive build. The reel seat is a single uplocking skeleton seat in anodized gray that has a very attractive burled wood insert. Heavy, slower action rods never perform well. Will they make you a better angler? Same day or next day shipping if they have the parts in stock, if not, usually takes 2 weeks. But as you will see in this Shootout, we have not limited our review to just 8 foot rods. 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. Usually takes 1-2 weeks. Now Im getting nice tight loops and I can punch it hard into the breeze. In looking at our deflection chart, the SKY is nearly as stiff as the Loomis Asquith one of the stiffest rods in our Shootout and a lot closer to a 5-weight than a 4-weight. He wanted another 4-weight that was very accurate and delicate, yet one that had more power in the butt and mid-section. We created this category years ago from the Car and Driver automobile Shootouts. The best rods will throw very tight loops at this range with consistently good accuracy. 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. Many of the best rods are built in one factory in Korea. We have found that the Asquith rods are terrific rods in the heavier line sizes from 6-weight right up through 12-weight. I normally prefer an 8 foot rod in a 4-weight but when we cast the two rods heads up, and put them on the deflection board, it was obvious that these rods had two different actions. Casting Notes: The Pulse is slightly more powerful than the Foundation with a rod taper thats a little more forgiving. Chloe has been working in the shop for two summers and now works with us full time. Flytyingonline.com.This domain provided by wildwestdomains.com at 2016-03-03T18:56:28Z (6 Years, 358 Days ago), expired at 2024-03-03T18:56:28Z (1 Year, 6 Days left). When Im fishing dry flies Ill use a 12-foot leader most of the time as this keeps the fly line farther away from the fish, minimizing the number of fish you spook while casting. If you are a Scott fan and want a rod for fishing at short to medium distances, youll likely prefer this rod over the Radian. Ive always liked the smooth lines, as they dont make so much noise running through the guides. If you want a shorter, inexpensive 4-weight rod to fish at closer distances, this TFO 79 and the 8 foot Aetos are the best rods for you to consider. We have liked the Mystic Reaper that has done well in some of our early 5-weight Shootouts. The stiff tip didnt allow me much feel but the accuracy was decent. 5. Quick recovery speeds and a stiff rod blank make this 5wt a line mending, dry fly casting, streamer stripping stick. This is a fast action rod, a tiny bit stiffer and a tad slower in action than the Helios 3F, but still a very good casting rod. Casting Notes: Loomis new LP rod is built for delicacy and finesse. Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. The quality of the cork was much better too, but still not in the class of what we found on the Recon or Shadow. Its medium action is far slower than the Recon or their H3F, and it didnt perform nearly as well, especially at 25 feet. New rods must be registered at time of purchase. Im amazed that I can cast off the tip nearly as well as the Zephrus. Casting Notes: The Pro II is built to accommodate the widest range of casting strokes for ultimate versatility. It is important for any fly line to shoot well, and even clear well, when you have extra line at your feet and a fish is streaking for the horizon. This is an attractive rod, with very good craftsmanship. Next, holding the rod in a horizontally, we position the grip over the foam pellet so that the pellet is centered under the exact spot where you will most likely hold the rod with your hand. The accuracy was not good either. Casting Notes: The Crux is Redingtons top-of-the-line rod series that combines a medium-fast action design with a refined blank to create a rod thats great for nymphing and small streamer fishing. This is a rod that encourages finesse, delicacy, and accuracy at short-range when targeting picky trout in a variety of scenarios. The quality of cork was excellent. Because of the cost, we downgraded the Asquith to 7 points. So if you like what we are doing, the best way to thank us is to buy a rod, reel, or outfit from the Yellowstone Angler. A Bonnier LLC Company. But then rather than a beautiful piece of burled wood insert as on the Avant, there is a plain piece of blue colored graphite that also shows the tape marks. Just about any rod can turn over a 9-foot leader, but only the best casting rods can turn over a 12 footer at short distances. In our 2018, 8-weight Shootout the Q finished in the middle of the pack, but the 8-weight had a swing weight that was pretty good, while here as a 4-weight, the swing weight was one of the worst. For our 4-weight Shootout, once again we have added anotherperformance category Light Tippet Protection. The craftsmanship of the K2 was very good. If you feel your rod has broken because of a defect, you pay to send the rod to their warranty dept. Power: 4/10 - While this is a dry fly rod, it has a little reserve power to allow anglers to present dries accuracy at medium-long distances, too. Action: 5/10 - The Epic Graphite features a mid-flex design and a soft tip for accuracy at any distance. The Clearwater is finished in a dark gray color with dark olive guide wraps. Using a rod that will dramatically reduce the number of break-offs makes a lot of sense. Performance at 60 feet: 9.0 points out of 10. Natural finish carbon appearance. Action: 8.2/10 - The Sonic is a tip-flex rod bordering on extra-fast action. First, it is very light in swing weight and the fast action is a lot like the Zephrus in that it has a stronger butt and much softer tip than most of the other rods. Heavy in hand! Power: 7.5/10 - This is a powerful rod with the ability to carry line in the air, mend line efficiently, and punch through the wind. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. As I have grown older, I derive a lot of pleasure from stalking and catching rising fish, where the keys to success are casting accuracy and making delicate presentations. An oversize tip-top is fitted to match the large guides. Long distance was hopeless. Rods that have good power and backbone help me fire my cast accurately. Call us at 406-222-7130, or e-mail us at [emailprotected] and we can discuss your needs and wants. $75 handling fee to original owner, $150.00 charge to all others. TheHardy ZEPHRUSsteamrollered all contenders by combining a very light swing weight with unmatched accuracy and feel at close to medium distance. The Expeditor policy on the IMX Pro is $85.00. This 8 foot Pure is somewhat like the Zephrus in acti0n with a fairly strong butt and mid section and then a nice soft flexible tip. A good 5-weight rod, which is definitely one of the most versatile you can have in your quiver, just wont match one of the top 4-weights when it comes to making delicate presentations, or achieving that ultimate drag free drift with a thinner fly line. Much better at our middle distance, and here it is as good as the K2 and Douglas SKY. No other rod maker does this better. The lower 7 inches of the butt, including the logo is also finished in a dark blue. The blank is olive green with matching olive wraps that are trimmed in gold on the two lower sections. If broken from neglect or any other cause, you must use the Expeditor service. Power: 8/10 - Loomis built a ton of power into this rod so you can feel confident throwing streamers, nymph rigs, and dry flies at long distances. The best Korean built rods now rival what is produced here in the US. Thomas & Thomas Zone. I love the feel of this rod it is nice and light in hand, and the action is fast and seems about right. 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. Not so good in close. Their choices sometimes differ from mine, but we are almost always in general agreement on the top 4-6 rods in the Shootout. Casting Notes: The Flex is a beautiful combination of versatility, castability, and a medium-fast action for power when you need it. A black anodized double uplocking skeleton seat is used with an unusual x-pattern design and a laminated wood insert. The soft tip also earns it one of the best scores in light tippet protection. This rod gave me better control and accuracy at long range than any other rod in our Shootout. The handle is a comfortable full wells design, and the quality of the cork was very good. I do like the fast action, just not the heavy swing weight, which is far heavier than the Douglas DXF. Bottom Line: This is a fly rod for dry flies and short distances only. Out long the overall softness of the rod is a handicap. Swing weight is on the heavier side and this hurt the performance to some degree. 3. A single uplocking, gray anodized skeleton seat is fitted with an attractive burled wood insert. Scott uses a stack of thinner cork rings on this handle and the quality was excellent. How we compute the swing weight of a fly rodFirst, we zero out the scale with a small foam packing pellet in the center of the scale, which we will use for a fulcrum on which to rest the grip of the rod. 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. Overall a very good performance. $998.00. The Ultralite has a proportionally stiffer tip than the Zephrus, and much softer butt and mid section. The H3F rated slightly higher over all, but the Asquith had a lot more butt and mid-section power to blast out long casts. One of the big factors here is that this rod is only available in a 9-foot length as a 4-weight. Performance at 60 feet: 7 points out of 10. For some reason they dont use a hook keeper on this rod, maybe another way to cut the cost? This was the best distance for me with the Zone. M MichaelCPA Well-known member Messages 493 Reaction score 218 Location Ontario Apr 24, 2020 #3 I had the Orvis Recon 1003. 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. In all, this is an extremely attractive rod. Im not getting much feel either. Youll find these on our Yellowstone Angler home page atyellowstoneangler.com.If your favorite local shop stocks the rods you are interested in, by all means visit them, try a few rods and purchase an outfit from them. These single foot guides are finished in a dark color to complement the blank. 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. There are a few 8 foot and shorter rods as well as a few 9-foot rods in the mix, especially when manufacturers dont offer an 8 foot model. We were all especially anxious to see how the Orvis Helios 3F and the new Winston Pure would fare, compared to our favorite 4-weight, the Hardy Zephrus.

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