Jul 24, 2013

Sage Method Rod Series (NEW 2013)

Sage Method - New content - 12/26/2013

As promised I vowed to work with the Sage Method in order to get a true feel of this red, high caliber stick beyond what I can get from the casting pond at a show. Believe it or not color has some deciding factor with fly rods today. Many would just be fine if all fly rods are green and that’s the way it should be...Huh?

I've never been one to follow tradition and speaking for myself if I am not exploring or discovering something new then I would have hung the sport up a long time ago. Nothing wrong with traditions and I respect most all fly fishing traditions but keep in mind all traditions started out as one man's daring ability to look outside the norm and make his own discovery, was willing to share it and over course of time became tradition.

Red is the color of the Sage Method and I like it! Sage calls is Magma Red but I think of it as Magnum Red as in High Caliber. If Method was a concert you bet it would be a rock concert and just like a fine Italian Sport car the color has to be RED! If it fits wear it!

The red color sets off the Method as bold and powerful and creates a statement for which this rod needs to live up to. My simple answer is yes! The Method lives up to its look. But we know it’s not that simple. What makes a great rod today is a question that undoubtedly can be debated for years with no clear answer ever awarded. Sounds like a congressional debate is in place. Well step aside Green rod congress as I deliver your veto! This is my article and these are my opinions and I get to choose whether the Method is worthy to be adorned in Magnum Caliber, Italian Sport Car,or Rock and Roll Red.
A great fly rod is a simple desire but a complicated quest. Give me more power, more accuracy, more distance, more feel and make it more comfortable for me to cast. Each and every new fly rod that comes along we look for more of all of this. It’s a careful balance of precision and compromise. In the past more power came with the sacrifice of less feel. Rods got so stiff that the rated line size had trouble loading the rod. So we up line sizes in order to get the rods to load which in turn slowed down the rod. Sure these extra fast rods were very capable of great line speeds but the average caster really struggled to time the load mostly due to lack of feel. In the recent years I believe great strides have been made to create really fast fly rods that load with the appropriate line size and provide much greater feel than their predecessors.

If you like fast action rods than you will love a Sage Method but hold on a minute...Lets say you don’t like fast action rods….I want you fellow fly fishers to go down to your local fly shop and cast a Method. I know on my first cast I was truly surprised how well the rod loaded and how little effort it took to send my line shooting on the forward cast.

I expected POWER but had no idea how GRACEFUL it could be!

All aforementioned attributes of the Method truly puts this rod into High Caliber class but there is one more characteristic I need to bring forth. The Sage Method, (I also have recognized this in the Sage One) possess a very comfortable swing rate. I not going to even pretend I understand how this works instead I purely go by the feel of the cast. What I noticed with these new Sage fly rods is they feel very comfortable in hand and while in a casting stroke.

The best way I can define the new Sage is Power with Grace!


7/24/2013
Sage Method
Earlier this year you heard me talk about the Sage One in my article NRX vs. One. The ONE is an awesome casting rod with a very intuitive feel of stability with Sage’s Proprietary Konnetic Technology. But I said it in the article that The One is not a fast rod and I suspect we’ll see Konnetic Technology in the future refinements of faster action rod categories such as the TCX.
Welcome in the NEW Sage Method.
Sage Method - Magma Red

The Sage Method reaches deep into the fast action rod category and delivers high line speed and tight loops coupled with the greater feel and accuracy found with the Konnetic Technology; A truly welcome edition for experienced casters and demanding salt anglers.

I got my hands on the New Method at this year’s I-Cast/IFTD Show. I like the Magma Red color of this rod and the reel seat expresses quality and strength. It’s light in hand and like The One you won’t believe how thin the shafts are on these rods.

What I couldn’t wait to find out is would this fast action Method live up to the Konnetic technology accuracy that the Sage One excels in! For me the highlight of the Sage One has always been in its ability to track straight thus improving my level of accuracy. The question I have is can this faster version still retain this impressive ability to stabilize your fly line for easier casting and greater distance accuracy?

Greg Darling | Gorge Fly Shop - IFTD Casting Pond

After some time on the pond I am happy to report that Konnetic technology is alive in the Method. The Method feels considerably faster than The One but yet has a much improved feel over the predecessor TCX. It is fast and not for everyone but for those who wish their One to have more, then here is your answer. I look forward to spending more time with these rods and really tune into the feel and timing to see what it is capable of achieving. I was casting the Rio Grand Fly line and you would want this line or the salt equivalent like a Rio Bonefish Quickshooter. The Method should also be happy with a Rio Outbound Fly Line.



Impressions

I like this rod for many reasons. The bold red color, great fit and finish, Konnetic Technology and its fast action but what’s with the name “Method”?! Does it come with an instruction manual? We understood the meaning of Sage One and Circa is a good fit for the traditional feeling rod it belongs to but what is the meaning behind “Method”? Kind of feels like I have to learn something to cast this rod. It’s not for the novice but with that said I did not find it difficult to cast!

The Method is due to arrive around the first of August 2013 and they are available on our website for a pre-order purchase for those who can’t wait…be the first to get one! If you’re in the area stop by and give one a test spin.




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