Order your new Sage Spey Rod completely rigged by us and it will
perform to the highest standards.
Sage Rod Orders received Monday Through Friday prior to 2:00pm PST are
shipped same day!
Smooth actions & improved balance for deadly fishability.
These long rods allow you to roll cast, spey cast and overhead cast in
areas with back cast or height limitations. Sage two-hand rods are
available in modern fast action Z-AXIS, super-fast TCX models and
economical VXP models. Sage ONE Spey Rods will become available
around June 15, 2012. They are a revolutionary improvement in
two-hand rods that will rock the anadromous world!
Sage
IS the leader
in two-hand steelhead rods. This
is because of their unique understanding of steelhead, steelhead
rivers and steelhead fishermen. Sage is also the leader in
two-hand rods designed with King Salmon in mind. One of the guys
that leads this advisory committee is George Cook, pictured here fishing
out of Alaska West Lodge on the Kanektok River, with an 8129-4 Z-AXIS.
This rod has the butt strength to pressure fish that weigh over
50-pounds, yet incorporates enough sensitivity to be useful as a
steelhead rod. It's shorter powerful flex loads easy to throw very
large flies without casting fatigue; a rod to fill the nitch.
8129-4 Z-AXIS is proven.
The Sage 7136-4 Two-Hand Fly Rod evolved in the Pacific Northwest of
North America, which is a geographic area with lots of
steelhead. In the 20-years that this basic design has been around, it
has landed thousands of (Oncorhynchus mykiss). In the Pacific
Northwest is a vast array of snow-melt rivers that fall precipitously
from rain drenched mountains to the sea. These watersheds are wild with
vegetation to the water. Here the terrain is some of the most challenging in
the world for fly fishing. Many rivers are large and hard to wade. Some steelhead eat dainty little flies, but
most prefer flies that are as long as your middle finger, and are often
tied on shanks or tubes that are equipped with heavy metal eyes. Sinking
tip lines rule here. Two-hand rods (Spey rods) started to become popular
in the Pacific Northwest around 1990. Most rods used in the Pacific
Northwest during the early 1990's were 14' -
15' nine-weights. These big rods had evolved in the parts of the world
where Atlantic Salmon are the main target. These fish average twelve to
thirty pounds. Steelhead average six to twenty pounds. Around
1992 Sage offered what they termed a summer steelhead rod, the 7136-4
RPL. At 13 1/2 feet, for a seven-weight line, it was long and lean. The
first model 7136-4 was produced and fished in an era before Americans
had acquired much experience in fly fishing for steelhead in their home
waters. As more and more Northwest Anglers entered the
steelhead-fly-fishing sport, their tackle was adapted to the unique
personalities of their own rivers and fish. Rods and lines were adapted
to cast large flies to moderate size fish, which live in hard to fish
places. Seven weight rods took the popularity from the nine
weight rods. During the last three years the best selling steelhead rods
are for seven-weight lines and are from 13' to 13 1/2 feet in length.
The Sage 7136-4 was the first popular rod in this category. I've owned and fished four generations of Sage 7136-4 Spey rods. The
first ones were brown from the RPL Generation. After a love, hate, love
relationship, which went like: bought one and caught several steelhead
with it, didn't like it, sold it, regretted it, and bought another one.
Then fished that rod for three summer seasons as my go-to rod for
windless-days. This generation was parabolic and somewhat wobbly in
action. It would throw long casts, but with the lines available at the
time, it needed quite a bit of room to form a reasonable D-loop. Because
of the slow action it was a pain in the wind, but was the right size for
the water and the fish. This rod became my morning rod on the Deschutes,
but cluttered up the boat during the windy afternoons. Next came the
dark green SP Series. These rods were more responsive than the brown
rods. I sold the second brown 7136-4 rod, and bought a green one. It
filled the roll of the brownie as a morning rod, and occasionally it was
used in the winter. It was superior to the brown rod, but in my opinion
only marginally so. However, there are a number of experienced anglers
who believe that the dark green 7136-4 is the best all around Spey rod
that was ever made, and there are many of these rods that are still in
action. Then there was a tiger-eye colored version that actually was
called an 8136-4. It worked better as a Skagit rod, but lost the edge as
a greased line Deschutes rod. Once again there are long term believers
in this version. Then in 2006 came Z-AXIS and everything changed. The
Skagit/Scandi shooting head craze came into full bloom and the 7136-4
Z-AXIS fit the new lines perfectly. A year ago, my best fishing
buddy Bob said he wanted to refine his steelhead skill-set by
simplification. He wanted to be able to present the fly better and
realized that being able to cast better was the key. He wanted one rod
that would fish both summer and winter steelhead. What would be his
single best choice? My reply was, "Buy a Sage 7136-4 Z-AXIS". He did,
and the improvement in his catch became noticeable almost immediately. A
year later he says he has no regrets about his rod selection. This
winter Bob has scored at will, and it is because he is covering more
water better. My own 7136-4 is battered and bruised from five seasons of
constant use. It is the best big water gun I own for fishing Skagit
style heads with sinking tips to 175-grains and it throws average size
Intruder flies with ease. At 13 1/2 feet, the extra length maximizes
control.
The 7136-4 evolved slowly, over a period of many years. I think the
method is called incremental change. Little by little the handle
changed, the reel seat changed, the guides changed, and the cosmetics
changed. But when the parabolic action changed to a progressive action,
line speed and casting accuracy improved dramatically. Sinking tips came
out of the water easier allowing the anchor for the next cast to be
placed more precisely, which made loop length and tension more
predictable, which made all facets of casting easier, which cut fatigue,
and ultimately brought more fish to the hand. During this period of
development, graphite technology improved, and the traditional parabolic
Spey rod taper design was finely discarded in favor of a more responsive
progressive taper, which generated more line speed and allowed fishing
in tighter quarters. THE ONE
from Sage Sage has always been an innovator in graphite
rod blank technology. Their latest masterpiece is called is call
Konnetic technology. It involves placing the graphite
fibers in each rod blank in perfect alignment to gain casting accuracy
and recovery time. Single-hand Sage ONE rods made with Kt have been
well-received in the market place, and on the water. A series of
two-hand rods has been under development for an extended period of time
(under very tight security that was hard for us to crack). We got a
sneak peek at a couple of these rods in the summer of 2011. They were
killers and they created a lot of excitement around camp. We have waited
11-months to have them in our shop. They are here now!
May 19, Bob and I got our hands on a new Sage
7136-4 ONE "prototype". (This rod is finally available now).
Bob got to go first with the new rod, and spent a full fifteen
minutes casting before he gave it to me. After a twenty-cast tune up
to gauge this rod's personality, I dropped downstream a hundred feet
and went fishing. Twenty casts later a brand new native steelhead
conveniently impaled herself on the fly and ran into the backing.
After a short, but determined fight my buddy Josh was kind enough to
slip the net under it for me, and after a couple of quick clicks of
the camera the fish went upon her merry way. I surrendered the rod
back to the other boat, and Bob and I proceeded to fish our Z-AXIS
rods for the rest of the day. So how does this new rod compare
to previous generations? The cosmetics on the new series is
distinctive, but the finish on all top-line Sage rods has been
superb for years. In the cosmetics department the difference between
the old and new series is a toss. The color of the ONE Series rods is called
"black ice". Wraps are black with metallic bronze accents; very
subtle, but sophisticated, kind of like pearls
and gold against a black dress. The reel seats are plain and very
functional anodized aluminum without extra grooves to collect grime.
The handle is similar in shape and size to the previous generation,
but is plainer looking, which is okay with me. I'm more interested in what
the cork will look like after three years of hard use. The cork on
the sample rod looked good. Sage handles have always stood up well.
Forty casts and one steelhead doesn't tell a person everything about
any rod. While playing the fish, there was little noticeable
difference between the old and new rods. They seemed to bend about
the same, and both rods are very forgiving. No improvement in this
category is needed. Casting, however was a different story. Once
again both rods seem to bend about the same. (Josh Linn who got more
water-time with the ONE, thinks it is slightly faster in action than
the Z-AXIS). Both rods are easy to load. Yet the new rod lifts
sinking tips easier, and allows for a more accurate placement of the
anchor. This, of course makes all the rest of each cast easier. Where
I was fishing at the time, there was no need for extreme casting distance. The
cast that caught the fish was about 65' from the rod tip to the fly.
The cast had landed very straight with very little slack in it, so
the fly came under tension immediately and the fish took after the
fly had travelled less than twenty feet. Fly speed can be
everything and slack in the line can be your enemy during certain
water flows. Unintentional slack in the line is created by poor
casting technique, and rod designs that create tip wobble. If you
are a smooth caster the Z-AXIS throws a very tight line with a
minimum of bounce-back. But the ONE is even better in this
department. The High Compression Molding (HCM) process in the
Konnetic technology that makes the ONE single-handers
the most accurate casting rods on the market, definitely improves
the effectiveness of the 7136-4 as a fishing tool. The density of
the (HCM) blank construction isn't lighter in weight than the
Z-AXIS, but you are so much more connected to your fly through it.
The feeling is really startling. The take of that fish was
transmitted with incredibly sharp detail, which created a heightened
awareness of the whole event, which is indelibly etched into the
steelhead archives between my ears, a pleasant memory amongst a
myriad of other pleasant fly fishing fishing memories.
The Sage ONE rods were incredibly popular at the Sandy River Spey Clave in
May, 2012! George Cook brought a huge supply of samples, but there
were hardly ever any in his booth to try. They were always on the
water being flogged by loving hands. Our stock varies from day to day. We get rods
continually, and we ship every day!
This Video
Was Shot Last September On the Deschutes River In Oregon
Sage ONE Two-Hand Rods - Switch and Spey Blanks
Sage ONE Switch and Spey rods and blanks are available now in
small supply. The initial production will be of limited
number available on a first come first served basis. We are
extremely confident that this new series will be a winner. Be the first on your water to
own one or several.
"What!
A six-weight Chinook rod...you gotta' be kidding!" We're not kidding
,...but this isn't your average 6-weight Spey Rod either.
VXP is a new design direction for Sage. As a
matter of fact, it might fit a new category of of two-hander. In the
past, two-hand rods were placed into several specialized categories.
Each model was designed with a specific task relating to a specific kind
of fish, certain size of water, or a certain casting approach. Rods have
been assigned to many designations in an attempt to explain the role
they were meant to play. Two-Hand rods normally are tagged with
designations such as: "European", "American", "Scandinavian", "Scani",
"Skagit", "Beach", "Overhead", and "Spey". The VPX's fit all of
these categories...easily. We could call it a "Universal Spey" rod,
the two-hand rod that does everything. It makes a lot of sense
considering the the VXP is designed to be a high end entry-level, and
back-up series. I first
came across this a VXP Spey at Summer Steelhead PHD 2010 on the
Deschutes River. Simon Gawesworth brought a 6129-4 VXP to the party. He
had it loaded with a 435-grain Rio Steelhead Scandi line, which was a
very good match for the kind of fishing we do most on the
Deschutes: presenting small wet flies in the film. The new rod fit the
size of the river, size of the fish and size of the flies we were using.
It was popular with our students. I finally got my 6129-4 VXP in
November, too late for the Deschutes for me. I had just spent three and
a half months camping there. The weather was turning cold and my
attention was drawn to the west side of the Cascades, where newer,
brighter fish were expected in the Sandy River. The winter of 2011 was
rough and tumble, with many floods and freezes. Fishing conditions were
incredibly challenging much of the time. Most of my December/January
schedule was lost to bad water conditions. In January, we started our
Winter Steelhead School season. Our first on-the-water session was held
with muddy water up in the willows. Josh Linn did a very impressive
clinic on how to "dead-stop" roll cast when standing waist deep and
completely surrounded by willows. His weapon of choice was a Sage 5126-4
Z-AXIS loaded with a 400-grain Skagit Short and 11' of T-14. With this
combo Josh showed how to pull a very shallow D-loop straight up out of
the willows turn it at right angles over his shoulder and send it out
over the water to ranges of seventy feet. I thought, "Sweet! I've got to
set up an outfit for that trick." I own many two-hand rod set-ups.
Normally five complete set-ups are stored inside Harding rod/reel cases
which are placed all-five-at-a-time, inside specially designed waterproof
bags. One five-rod-system-set is carried in the cat-boat I use
during winter trips, and two sets are carried in the jet boat I use
during the summer. Each rod/reel set up is designed for a specific task.
As many as twenty combinations might rotate through my "boat-bags"
during the season. During the winter my rod combos are assembled to
cast certain size flies and work best for certain kinds of water
conditions. Primarily each rod is selected to throw a specific type of
sinking tip. I carry T-8 rods, T-11 rods, T-14 rods and T-17 rods.
Outfits that launch 2 1/4" tube flies with 13' of T-11 get the most use.
I rigged up the 6129-4 VXP as a T-11 rod and mated it with a 450-grain
Rio Skagit Flight as prescribed by the Sage Cook Book. It was found to
be an adequate, but unexciting performer. Even when paired with my
favorite gold colored Sage 6010 reel, it displayed a blah personality.
Josh Linn advised that more grains were needed. My next move was a
480-grain Skagit compact from Airflo. There was a noticeable increase in
user friendliness, but still nothing to set the 6129-4 apart from the
crowd. So the next move was to add even more grains with a 525-Skagit
Flight. Whammo! What a difference. Launching big flies to the other side
of the river, even while wading deep, was no problem. The next move was
to try a 525-grain Skagit Short to see if tweaking the outfit further
would produce benefits. It worked well too, and proved to be the best
pick for shorter range casting with very large flies, or where casting
room was very restricted (such as Josh's water-in-the-willows trick).
But the Flight gave me more overall range, and is my present favorite
for fishing deep sunk flies with the Sage 6129-4 VPX rod. When it's
time to head back to the Deschutes. Both a Rio Steelhead Scandi
435-grain and a Rio Skagit flight 525-grain with sinking tips will be
carried. Guaranteed both line types will get plenty of action.
The new VXP combines the performance and
power of Sage's renowned (discontinued) XP rod Series, but utilizing
newer materials for a thinner profile and quicker recovery. The result? An exceptionally light,
lively fly rod that generates high line speed for easy distance and wind
penetration. In keeping with the versatility theme, each VXP is built
with a specific taper to meet the particular performance needs of each
line weight.
The 5120-4 VXP is perfect for large trout and average steelhead.
Line Match: Steelhead
Scandi 385, Skagit Flight 400, Skagit Short 425, Scandi Short
VersiTip 370. Sink Tip Use: 15’ 109 & 129 grain in type
3, 6 and 8 densities. T-8/T-11 in 10’ and 12.5’. 10’ Spey
Versileaders all types (SH Scandi) M.O.W. Match:
Light/T-8, Medium/T-11 Reel Match: Sage 3880, Sage
4280
Don't think this is just a lightweight summer rod. The 6129-4
VXP has plenty of punch to propel all but the largest winter
flies. Line Match: Steelhead Scandi 435,
Skagit Flight 500, AFS 6/7, UniSpey 6/7
Sink Tip Use: 15’ 129 & 150 grain in type 3, 6 and 8
densities. T-8/T-11 in 10’ and 12.5’. 10’ Spey Versileaders all
types (SH Scandi/AFS) M.O.W. Match: Light/T-8,
Medium/T-11 Reel Match: Sage 3810, Sage 4210
Versatility, killer performance and price-point all meet
on the curve in this new lightweight performer. All around
Steelhead, big Alaskan Rainbows, Sea-Run Browns & Dollies all
fit the use profile of this stellar new rod.
Line Match:Steelhead Scandi 510,
Skagit Flight 550 , UniSpey 7/8 Sink Tip Use:15’ 129 & 150 grain in type 3, 6 and 8. T-8/T-11/T-14
in 10’ and 12.5’lengths.M.O.W.
Match:Light/T-8, Medium/T-11, Heavy/T-14 Reel Match: Sage 3810,
Tibor Riptide, Sage 4210
The all-purpose Pacific Northwest big-water two-hander for
steelhead and Chinooks. Stick one of these in your quiver before
embarking to Gaspe, Scotland, or Kola Peninsula. Get ready to
jack some epic casts, and apply some serious fish fighting
pressure with this meat-stick. Macho!!! Line Match:Steelhead
Scandi 550, Skagit Flight 575 , UniSpey 8/9, PowerSpey 8/9 Sink Tip Use: 15’ 129 & 150 grain in type 3, 6 and 8.
T-11/T-17 in 10’ and 12.5’lengths.
M.O.W. Match:Medium/T-11, Heavy/T-14 Reel Match: Sage 3810, Sage
4210, Nautilus 12, Nautilus 12DD, Nautilus 11/12NV
The Sage
Lifetime Warranty Every Sage Rod, reel and blank
is covered by our lifetime, original owner warranty. Regardless
of cause of damage, Sage will repair or replace the Sage Product while
it is still owned by the original owner.
