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.
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.
Product Specialist
Impressions
