It is the relationship of the club head weight to the shaft when you wiggle the club in your hands. Its moderate-fast action is optimized for the 40- to 60-foot shots that most anglers make in most situations, and its unique handle gives anglers different gripping choices. (tie) St. Croix IMPERIAL 86 #4 $270.00. Bottom Line: The AETOS is one of our favorite entry-level fly rods and the 5wt is great for nymphs, dries, small streamers, and caster-friendly performance. Our answer is a definite yes. For reels, we again decided to use one of our all-time favorites, the Galvan Torque (T-4), loaded with 100 yards of 20 lb. The X provides the angler with finesse in close and power when you need it, a nice combination of feedback and backbone. Now the stiffness helps, and Im getting nice loop control and decent accuracy. The craftsmanship of the K2 was very good. Rods that were very light in swing weight like the Zephrus, Avantt and Helios 3F blew the X away in both feel and performance. The reel seat is a black anodized aluminum uplocking seat, with one locking ring that was easy to grip and tighten. The wraps are all in blue, and the epoxy coatings are all extremely well done. Thomas and Thomas Avantt. The idea here is to measure the swing weight at the middle of where your palm is likely to sit on the grip. Rating: 91%. 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. The DXF was better and the Shadow was far better. The Radian is both stiffer and faster in action. It is refreshing to see such a nice rod, at such a low price that is made here in the US, in Park Falls, Wisconsin. Guides start with a hook keeper, then two SiC stripping guides followed with fairly large diameter hard chrome snake guides. The epoxy coatings are good but too heavy for my liking. It comes in very close to our mid-price winner, the Hardy Shadow. Most of the rest score 9s, which was a $60-$75 fee for repair or replacement. 9, 4-piece, $495. It depends on how much I want to spend to not catch any more fish, LOL. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Casting head to head, the Scott rods and the Helios 3F were both a lot better. Orvis has totally revamped the Recon series and this is a much different (and better) rod than the original Recon 8-weight. Although we thought that the Winston 8 foot Pure was a fantastic 4-weight, the Nimbus didnt get us too excited. The double uplocking, gray anodized reel skeleton seat uses two rings that are easy to grip and lock up extremely well. Power: 8.5/10 - The lightweight, quick-recovering blank of the Sky encourages excellent power and accuracy at long range. Scott claims that this gives their rods better strength and we cannot argue with this as we see very few Scott rods broken. Usually takes 2 weeks. The Q was not nearly as good as their new Opti K2. The Galvan Torque reels have proven to be wonderful reels. The epoxy coatings were excellent. This rod is absolutely the winner for our Best Buy (best inexpensive) 4-weight Rod. Inexpensive rods built in both Korea and China are surprisingly good. For some reason they dont use a hook keeper on this rod, maybe another way to cut the cost? #19. If a rod looks like a million bucks and casts like it too, fly fishermen are going to lust for it. Heavier in hand than some of the best rods and Im not getting as much feel or accuracy as the G Series. If Fenwick determines that there was a defect, the rod will be repaired or replaced at no charge. Action: 8/10 - This is an ultra-fast action rod. (tie) Waterworks-Lamson SS 9 #4 $399.99. The heavy swing weight hurt, and I wasnt getting the kind of feel or accuracy I got with the G Series Scott or the Orvis Helios 3F. 9 and 10, 4-piece, $549, Designed to trim seconds off your shot time, this rod features a particularly powerful tip that increases line speed and dampens the vibrations that reduce accuracy. Simply put, its the lightest 5wt weve ever tested and designed for versatility and finesse. The rings should be easy to grip and tighten. Scott Tidal. Im amazed that I can cast off the tip nearly as well as the Zephrus. I loved the look of the Mod, with its standout, jazzy lime green color. Quality of the cork was excellent with a stack of thinner rings. Nothing Ive cast yet is better in terms of feel and accuracy from in close right out to 40 feet. If broken from neglect or any other cause, you must use the Expeditor service. The uplocking black anodized skeleton reel seat utilizes a single ring that is easy to grip and lock down. Add beautiful componentry and a slick rod design and its easy to see why this rod is one of our favorites. #26. Winston says Pure Feel, Pure Presentation and Pure Fun I cant disagree. A black anodized uplocking skeleton seat is used with one ring and sliding band. An attractive X-pattern graphite wrap is used behind the logo, just above the cork handle. The soft, slow action produces a delivery I noted as mushy. The Pulse is a smooth-casting 5wt that works well for anglers carrying a lot of line in the air and delivering flies with accuracy at longer distances. The Pure puts in an impressive performance, especially at the shorter distances, and finishes in 2ndplace in both the overall and performance results. 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. But in looking closely at the Hardy Zephrus, Ultralite, and the Douglas SKY, they are also definitely near the top end of the craftsmanship ladder. Some people might consider high priced rods status symbols. The lower ring uses a thin nylon spacer that helps it lock up securely to the upper ring. The best Korean built rods now rival what is produced here in the US. It is also a stiff rod almost as stiff as the SKY and IMX Pro. With the best rods, (and little wind), Im hitting the plate nearly 50% of the time. The all-new Sage Maverick fits into a more moderate price-point with other fly rods like the T&T Zone and the Orvis Recon 2. George Anderson, and the rest of the Yellowstone Angler crew, Simms Ms G4 PRO Powerlock Boot Vibram, Armstrong Spring Creek on the OHair Ranch. We have several reels rigged with the various line sizes, and leaders, all ready to go. The cork handle is Winstons cigar grip, like the Pure, with the center swell a little forward of the center of the grip and a flare on the bottom end. Usually takes 4-6 weeks. Power: 7.5/10 - This was the second-highest power score awarded in the low-priced category. The action is slightly slower than the Zephrus though, and this contributed somewhat to its lack of feel and accuracy at 25 feet. Very tricky and very attractive. #27. Rods are repaired, not replaced except for broken sections. Copy of Sage Z-Axis (example) G. Loomis Asquith 8wt. A hook keeper is used just above the handle, and the one black SiC style stripping guide is followed with silver hard chrome snake guides, that are small and light out on the tip. It has a larger swell than most rods, and the swell is set closer to the top of the grip, than most rods well forward of the center of the grip. Action: 6/10 - A medium-fast action rod design makes turning over heavy nymph rigs a breeze with this 5wt. Usually takes 1-2 weeks. While the AETOS is built on a fast action blank, its more forgiving than other rods in its price range and is designed to provide the novice angler with versatility and fast-action performance. I thought the larger, wider single ring on the Helios 3F was much easier to grip and seemed to lock up better. Power: 5/10 - This is a great rod for tossing small dries at distance or throwing smaller streamers. Perhaps the best example is the nickel-silver uplocking seat with a gorgeous birdseye maple insert, found on the Winston Pure. The heavy swing weight is perhaps the biggest reason the SKY didnt perform so well. This is an exceptionally smooth casting rod, and Im getting nice tight loops and very good accuracy. Only one way to find out cast and compare them all. The black anodized double unlocking skeleton seat has two larger rings that are very easy to grip and tighten. #4 (Tie) Thomas and Thomas AVANTT 86#4 $845.00. The X is a medium fast action rod built with Sages KonneticHD technology that they say delivers greater blank recovery and good dampening. Im surprised that both Sage rods are well down the list, but their performance scores were just not good enough to rate them higher. G. Loomis . These Shootouts take a lot of time and effort. The thinner cork handle may actually be an advantage for some anglers, especially children or women with smaller hands. The uplocking skeleton seat is anodized in a dark gray to complement the blank with a beautiful piece of black ash burl for the insert. We felt the 86 Helios 3F was the best rod to test since the 3D is available only in a 9-foot model. . One thing that killed its performance scores was the very heavy swing weight. Good, just not great. Power: 9/10 - Orvis optimized the 3D for power at longer distances. Good-looking wood insert spacers that are finished well add to the attractiveness of any rod. #16. We have learned that we cannot trust manufacturers stated rod weights. And since it was such a soft rod, the lack of butt and mid-section power killed its score at 60 feet, especially if there was any wind. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Performance at 40 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. This is one fantastic looking rod one of the very best in our Shootout. This is a fast action rod. Now Im getting a respectable performance that matches the Zone and DXF. 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. The best 4-weights must be able to cast well at longer distances too, and the best rods had excellent loop control and the ability to throw nice tight loops with good accuracy at 60 feet. He has been a very important and integral part of our Shootouts and tackle comparisons over the years. The 79 TFO Finesse was far better. Wraps are a darker red, (almost black), trimmed in brighter red on the butt. #8. Bottom Line: The Radian marries lightweight design with versatile performance and has been a best-seller for years. They use a stack of thin diameter cork rings and the quality of the cork was good. Here it feels as good as the Scott rods and the Helios 3F.Performance at 60 feet: 9.0 points out of 10. Pros The top three rods were a lot better. Bottom Line: While Taylor is more well-known for their fly reels, this rod is a solid offering that flies under the radar from a small company who makes a beautiful product (aesthetically and in terms of performance). Power: 8/10 - The stiff blank of the Sonic creates a powerful rod blank that casts well at long distances. Not so good in close. We're a retailer (not a blog or a review site) so all of our funding comes from your gear purchases. Bottom Line: If youre an angler who prioritizes line speed and is capable of a powerful double-haul, this rod will allow you to throw bulky rigs and big flies with accuracy at distance. Rods that have good power and backbone help me fire my cast accurately. 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. When you read everyones comments on the Zephrus, you will see that we all agreed that this is a very special rod, for a variety of reasons. The rod is a more refined, caster-friendly version of its high-priced brother, the Radian. $50 handing fee. We deleted our Perfect 4 performance category, since it seemed redundant, given the fact that we give you our opinions for our favorite 4-weights in the Fun to Fish, got to have category. At long range no rod has more power. The cork handle is too thin, (for most anglers). Logan and Francis have worked here for many years and are both great casters and anglers. But these methods and calculations were disconnected from what we were actually experiencing in our hand so, for our last 4 Shootouts, we have gone back to our original method of calculation, explained above. Performance at 40 feet: 17.5 points out of 20. *Note The final results and performance charts on this page are Georges figures. From 25 to the 40-foot mark, these lines were just magical, and stretching the distance out to 60 feet was easier than with a standard belly line. Rods that flex in the tip are fast action rods, rods that flex in the mid-section are moderate action rods, and so on. A 12-foot leader also gives you a stealthier presentation. In past Shootouts we tried measuring swing weight in other ways, including calculations for the Moment of Inertia, taking the weight of all 4 sections individually and then plugging these figures into an equation. TheFenwick AETOS, at $179.95 is unquestionably our best performing inexpensive rod. Ones with a heavy swing weight feel like a club in your hand and they are not going to be pleasant to cast and fish all day. The spacer is not fancy burl or birdseye maple, but laminated wood as often seen on inexpensive rods. I like the action, which is medium fast. This means you can generate line speed but you can also focus on delicacy at short range. But is that high priced rod really $400-$600 better? #16. Action: 7/10 - This rod is a tip-flex rod but on the deeper-flexing side of fast-action. Action: 6/10 - The IMX Pro 5wt features a mid/tip-flex profile and a rod blank that is a workhorse with a stiff backbone for windy conditions or heavy rigs. The stiff tip and heavy swing weight both contributed to a lack of feel and accuracy in close. 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. Nothing else is even close. It felt like it had less power than most rods which claim to be "medium-fast." To make it easy to judge the turnover and accuracy, we tie in a small fluorescent yarn indicator at the end of the 2-foot 4x tippet and then trim it so that the wind resistance equates to a smaller dry fly. The best rings use thin nylon spacers between them to assure a positive lock up. The light swing weight made casting effortless, and Im getting excellent accuracy combined with delicate presentations. I now own 4 H2s and fish them all the time. The reel seat is an uplocking black anodized skeleton seat with a dark gray graphite insert, (pretty plain looking but it works well). To the upper ring on delicacy at short range rods are repaired, not except. ) Thomas and Thomas AVANTT 86 # 4 $ 270.00 AETOS, at $ is. 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