Love at First Cast...
Love... is a multidimensional thing. This crazy emotion comes in all forms and scenarios. One type of love may arise when something is new. I remember my first spey love, the Sage 6126, or “Brownie” – a great, lightweight spey rod seemingly crafted specifically for the Deschutes. But like all first loves, you take it for granted and look elsewhere. And, after one week of posting, I sold it on Ebay. After several casual river dates, with no other spey rod giving me that same feeling, I’ve found long lasting love in the Sage TCX 6119. This is no fling. We have essentially, tied the knot.
6119 TCX
The Sage TCX Switch Series includes 5 through 8 weights, all of which are 11 foot 9 inches long. Sage has placed the moniker, “switch”, to this series but realistically, they should be referred to as short spey rods or baby speys. The length would be a little unwieldy for extended one handed casting and mending. I’ve had a chance to play with a few of the models, but by far my favorite is the Sage 6119 TCX Switch- my new love. This rod really strikes a wonderful balance between size and backbone – as it still maintains enough power to throw sink tips. For floating applications, I’ve been happy with either a Scandi Compact or Airflo Rage 390gr with a 10 foot Airflo Polyleader. Been lining for sink tips with an Airflo Skagit Switch 420gr, and I can easily cast 11 feet of T-11 with a large tube fly. I have a Tibor Everglades that balances out this rod nicely as well as adding a certain bling factor.
6119 TCX - Steelhead Endorsed (Steve Turner Photo)
Sage characterizes this rod as being fast action but the key to unleashing the power is a nice slow methodical sweep into forming your “D” loop. With a nice smooth forward acceleration, the power of this rod really comes to life. If you attempt to rush any portion of the cast, the rod will not load properly and you’ll find yourself trying to muscle the rod instead of hanging on for the ride. I’ve been fortunate enough to land several nice sized steelhead on this setup and found the 6 weight to be more than up to the task. This is an extremely light weight but powerful spey rod that makes cast after cast during a long day on the river seem almost effortless. Yes, she is my new love. The Sage 6119 TXC Switch more than fills the shoes of “Old Brownie” as my go to Deschutes stick!
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