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| A few brave souls casting some sweet sticks from Sage and Redington |
On a snowy March morning Ryan and I drove (Ryan drove, I was Miss Daisy) up to Bend Oregon to meet up with George Cook for Georgie's annual Spey Day event of 2016. George puts on this private event so dealers and their employees have the opportunity to come out and test drive all Sage and Redington two hand spey and switch rods equipped with the latest RIO spey lines. No pressure to cast like a champ in front of the general public; just a few guys on the river taking as much time as they want getting to know the rods that they talk about on a daily basis.
Andrew’s Overall favorite:
This hasn’t changed for me at all in three years now. It was the
Sage ONE 7136-4. There is not a rod that is easier to cast out
there. It is just such a joy to cast and
fish all day. If I had just one rod, this
would be it. (Let’s hope that I never have to have just one though).
Ryan’s Overall Favorite:
Mr. Wiggles for the win! The
Accel 7126-4 was awesome! A med/fast action
rod that is smooth, powerful, light in the hand and super responsive. I have been leaning towards shorter spey and
swicth rods these days as they are better fits for my casting stroke and the
water I fish the most. This rod would
absolutely cover most any condition you could run into for winter or summer
steel. Plain and simple, Mr Wiggles is
the bomb!
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Super sweet smooth loops with the Accel
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Andrew’s Surprise favorite:
The
Accel 7126-4, a.k.a. “Mr. Wiggles” blew me away. I couldn’t believe how comfortable and
responsive it was. It reminded me of the
old Z-Axis, but the handle is smaller and more comfortable, and it feels
lighter and more responsive. I
absolutely love it now, and I hadn’t given it much thought before. It isn’t as fast as the ONE, but faster than
the MOD. It is in the favorites list for
sure. Just because it isn’t Konnetic Technology doesn’t make it any less of a
sweet stick.
Ryan’s Surprise Favorite:
The
Sage One Trout Spey 10’9” 2wt.
I thought this stick would just be too wimpy, but it has amazing casting
distance and control and is unbelievably light and crisp. This would be so much fun to fish soft
hackles, dries, and small streamers on.
If you are looking for some small ball fun, this is it!
Andrew’s Sleeper favorite:
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| Andrew ripping some off |
The
Redington Dually 8119-4. I
was expecting it to be heavy and clunky.
After ten minutes or so, I was formulating reasons (excuses) to buy this
rod when I already have three switch rods.
This is light and powerful, and is just right for small coastal streams
with big, strong winter fish. I feel a
little under-gunned with a 7wt switch on the coast in February when the
potential for a 20# chromer is very good, but this fills the gap and is fun to
cast.
Ryan’s Sleeper Favorite:
The
Accel 7114-4 Switch! I love
switch rods, and have had my
Sage One 7116-4 in my hand almost every day on the
water since I bought it. This Accel is
so sweet and smooth. Again very light
like the One, but a bit softer. This
would be a great all around switch 7wt for anyone.
Andrew’s Redington Favorite:
The
Chromer 7126-4 is such a sweet rod!
I had cast the 7136-4 a few times and really it, but the shorter spey
rod had a nice feel to it and really stuck out as a rod that I could get used
to. My casts were flying long and
straight with ease.
Ryan’s Redington Favorite:
Going to be a broken record here: The
Chromer 7126-4. As I stated above I really have started to
favor shorter spey rods and this one proves it once again. Light in the hand, smooth but powerful casting,
the best of both worlds. I have been a
fan of the Chromer 7136-4, especially at the price it retails for, and I think
I like the 7126-4 even more!
Andrew’s Least Favorite:
The Sage Pulse 7130-4 was my least favorite in the bunch. I can say with confidence that any spey rod
that Sage or Redington makes today is far, far nicer than any rod that I
learned to cast with nearly 15 years ago.
This rod is stiffer than I prefer and it feels unresponsive. I still would fish it with confidence as it
is powerful and can launch casts with accuracy, but it was my least favorite
rod in the bunch.
Ryan’s Least Favorite:
Well, I might catch some flak for this, but the MOD 7130-4 and 6130-4
were a bit of a disappointment to me.
Some guys at the spey day liked them, but these rods were just missing
something to me. I am not going to say they
are bad rods, maybe just that for the price they disappointed me the most. They are moderate action, but it doesn’t have
that umpf and “soul” that good moderate rods like the Winstons or Burkheimers
have. They just felt a bit lifeless to
me and that is no bueno for a $1000+ rod.
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| Another great Spey Day with George Cook! |
We are both looking forward to doing this again next year as any day that we can spend on the water casting different rods is a bonus. If you have any questions about any Redington or Sage spey/switch rod, feel free to give us a call, there is a good chance we spent some time on the water with it recently.
Andrew Perrault
Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977
"Fly Fish the World with Us"
