Sage X Rod Review and Introduction

Over the past several weeks I have put the new Sage X Rod to the test in a large variety of scenarios.  I have fished it A LOT, and I have many customers on guided trips fish it as well. I have the 9' 5 weight but have also cast the 8 weight.  At the moment, these rods are available to pre-order.

The rod design process at Sage doesn't entail guys sitting around using the same parts trying to build a different action with a fresh paint job.  I want you to understand that their design process starts with exploring new materials and when they discover a new material or construction process with higher levels of performance, only then do they start building proto-types and begin testing.  That is where KonneticHD technology comes in.  The long of the short is that it has and even higher strength to weight ratio than previous models.

Sage X Rod with dry flies.  This rod is very light in hand and the 590 casts very tight loops with a good feel.  As it should for $895 of course.  We found that tucking Caddis flies or Hopper sized flies into paper plate sized pockets out of a moving boat was fairly easy. Its a fast action rod and the quick tempo of drift boat fishing is a good fit here.

Where the rod really shined was reach casting and throwing high energy hooks and mends into the cast.  The recovery of this blank is so fast that manipulating your slack line into strategic positions is easy.  Its a great rod for technical casters.

While the X Rod does have a backbone, be careful what you ask the 5 weight to do. Its still a 5 weight and the line itself needs enough mass to turn over heavy water logged fly and/or a sinking leader.  Because of the amazing line speed and tight loops I think you'll expect too much from it.  I fished it yesterday with a 10' 7.0 ips sinking leader and a sculpin pattern (pictured above) and got some nice trout. 60+ foot casts while wading thigh deep with that gear was a bit much.  Once I reminded myself that a 7 weight would be more appropriate and was glad to have a 5 weight that did complain, because that just means it will provide light touch while fishing "5 weight type tackle".  So in short, it will do everything and then some that any other 5 weight will do.  I really maxxed it out and was still able to get what I needed out of it.  If you really need big distance with big flies out of your #5 rod consider a shooting head line.  The RIO Perception with a 10' sinking leader and big Sculpzilla is an oversized load.

You'll really like this rod if you want one that will fish dry flies with light touch in the evenings, and pitch double nymph setups all morning. The quick action allows you to "tuck" or "dump" casts nymphs aggressively.  That is the type of cast that your flies hit first and the indicator parachutes down directly on top of the flies allowing the flies to sink on a slack line. Other rods are certainly capable of this as well, but like the dry fly comments the recovery of this rod (which allows you to make aggressive reach casts and aerial mends) provides the angler with an edge in technical situations.  This rod is a great mending rod, roll casts a load, and the recovery rate throws weighted flies and reach casts like a champ. 

We have had a tough time keeping this a secret!  The all new X Rod is finally public and is very exciting.  The big story on this new rod is the implementation of new materials, which is what ultimately drives the innovation process at Sage.  The higher density carbon fiber positioning within the blank provides an amplified strength to weight ratio which translates into energy, strength, and vibration free casting.  We have tested the 9' 5 weight on the water a lot already and it casts both tiny dry flies and large streamers with equal accuracy, delicacy, and power when asked.  These rods will do it all with tight loops, straight casts, and vibration free casts.

 

The name Sage "X" Rod represents for the Roman Numeral, as it is the 10th major rod introduction in Sage fly rod history.  It features KonneticHD technology resulting in tighter loops, greater retained energy, and dampened vibration. KonneticHD Technology is the next era in performance graphite rods. Optimizing our graphite-to-resin ratio, we have created a higher density (HD) fiber composite, resulting in lighter, stronger blanks which deliver unmatched recovery, energy transfer, and line/loop control. Building upon proprietary construction techniques developed for Konnetic Technology, KonneticHD gives us an elevated platform to achieve new levels in rod design. 

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