Fly Fishing Pictures

Fly Fishing Pictures From Our Customers
It has been said, " A picture is worth a thousand words." Some are worth even more. Our customers live all over the world, and fish the varied waters of our planet.
Here are some of the recent pictures emailed to us by our customers.

Simon's New Love...Sage 8129-4 Z-AXIS
By Simon Gawesworth
Okay, so I gushed poetically and lyrically about the 7130 VT2 and what a great rod that was. Could Sage make a better rod than that? I doubted it - that is until the launch of the new 8129-4 Z-axis.
Without being too poetic and romantic about a stick of graphite I have to say that this is unbelievably good. It is a rod to be treasured. I don’t want to use anything else - whether it is for 20 inch brown trout, 15lb steelhead, 50lb Kings or even 3” gudgeon… I don’t care - give me a rod that is so perfect and let me snap off my fly and cast. Don’t talk to me, don’t let night fall… leave me with this pleasure!
The smooth taper of this rod is incredible. It tip casts with short Scandinavian lines like RIO’s AFS heads and delivers such a smooth tight loop that a slight giggle of madness escapes one’s lips. It loads with a long belly line and flexes gracefully down to the lower butt section, generating power for distance and controlled casts and it also loads with a skagit line, ripping out the deepest sunk tip and lobbing out big ugly’s with supreme authority. In short, this rod has no equal. Sure you have to use the right line to make it work and of course a 12 ft 9 inch rod isn’t designed for big rivers and long casts (or 50lb Kings… I was just waxing poetic), nor will it be fun for trout and small summer run steelies or grilse, but what the heck…. This is awesome!
While it casts with all lines under the sun and does so with consummate smoothness and ease, this rod combined with the 7/8 AFS head (in any density) and a 10ft VersiLeader is perfection.
Personally, I find this the king of the Z-axis series. The other rods in this range don’t ring my bell like this one. I know George Cook, that great caster, hunter and rep out of Washington calls the 7136 his jewel in the Z-axis crown, but not for me… Long live the King!
Action: 11 out of 10
Cosmetics: 10 out of 10
Line Rating: Skagit: 550 grains, AFS: 7/8, WindCutter 7/8/9, PowerSpey: 7/8
Ideal Line: AFS 7/8 – an insane combination….
Overall: 11 out of 10
Footnote. While I am as accurate as I can be with my summaries and line recommendations, please note that I do like faster action rods than many casters. Some people will prefer to step up one line size from my recommendation.

Greg Snider, our Cortland rep dropped off the new Western Drifter DynaTip fly line and said, "You've gotta' try this new floating line. It's designed to load quick and shoot long, and the tip floats under the most extreme conditions." I loaded it on one of my favorite Abel trout reels and took it to the Deschutes. Three days of fishing redsides with both wet and dry flies convinced me that this line does perform as stated. The Mango (peachy orange) color is easy to see and the line performed on the Sage, Winston, Burkheimer, and Thomas & Thomas rods I tried it on. Best of all the white color tip floats exceptionally well.

The modified Rocket 2 taper loads with a minimum of line for easy pick-ups and quick shots to those fast water pockets, but will also reach out with ease for longer casts. An oversized running line section allows easy mending and better line handling and Cortland's special core and jacket formulation means almost no “memory” for reduced coiling. Easy-to-see Mango color helps you track your drift and the specially formulated 3’ “Dyna-Tip” keeps the line tip floating for less drag, easier strike detection and better hook sets. Whether you’re drifting a pair of bead heads under an indicator, fishing dries in the pockets or swinging a streamer, the “Western Drifter” is the new go-to line for big “water anglers” everywhere.
Color: Mango with 3’ White Tip