Short Fly Rods Offshore:
Does Size Matter?
The Test Subjects
The Sage BASS Series fly rod has gotten a lot press in recent months. The rod is immediately recognizable by its metallic gold all-graphite blank, and as in all Sage rods, the selection of components, fit and finish are impeccable.
The rod tapes out at 7' 11", and is made in 4-pieces, which makes for a very compact travel size. The rod is sold with a matching weight-forward floating fly line, and comes in three sizes: Bluegill, Smallmouth and Largemouth. The sizes correspond to the intended line weight, with the Largemouth model being designed to throw 330 grains of fly line. Note that I didn't name a specific AFTMA line weight (more on that later). The action is fairly soft, consistent with bass bugging using a floating line.
The fighting butt on the Sage is short, about the same diameter as the grip, and has a small butt cap. It's clearly not intended for extended fights, but it's long enough to prevent you from reeling your shirt up into the reel at the end of the day, and keeps the reel out of the dirt when rigging. The reel seat only has a single locking ring, but because of the design of the sliding hood, we didn't run into any problems with the reel loosening up. The guides are built with chromed round-wire frames instead of the stamped frames that are in common use nowadays.
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The TFO Mini Magnum was released last summer, and is an extension of their Bluewater rod line. It is a 3-piece rod made with a mixture of S-glass and IM6 graphite. Like the rest of the Bluewater line, it is designed to have a lot of lifting power. It features large diameter guides, and a 2" fighting butt with a fairly large butt cap. Unlike its bigger brothers, the Mini Magnum does not come with a foregrip. It is rated to throw a 350 grain line. The TFO TiCR X 7'6" 8 wt. rod was a bit of a surprise to us. Despite its short length, it is a 4-piece rod, and its IM-6 graphite blank uses spigot ferrules, rather the more common tip-over-butt ferrules. It has a reel seat and fighting butt design nearly identical to the Mini Magnum, and also features large diameter guides. The blank was much thinner than I was expecting on an 8 wt. (more on this later, as well). Fit and finish on both of our TFO test rods were good, exceeding what we expected for rods with MSRPs of under $250. The purchase prices do not include a rod case, although the Mini Magnum does come with a nice rod bag. Our TiCR X arrived in a poly bag. |
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