Howard is a great angler and knew just what he wanted for the perfect 4-weight. GUIDE TYPE: FUJI TITANIUM REC RECOIL. #16. The overall craftsmanship is excellent. It is refreshing to see such a nice rod, at such a low price that is made here in the US, in Park Falls, Wisconsin. Thomas and Thomas $55 repair charges for the original owner, includes shipping. This is one of the best looking rods in our Shootout. 1stimpressions: Sweetest all-around 4-weight rod here. A hook keeper is used along with a single chrome SiC stripping guide. The epoxy coatings over the wraps were surprisingly good for a one-coat finish. When we first saw this new rod from Hardy, we all had two impressions: 1. The Radian is both stiffer and faster in action. At 45 feet the Zephrus is a champ. Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly Rod 13'6'' #8/9 4 Piece +Warranty. Its medium action is far slower than the Recon or their H3F, and it didnt perform nearly as well, especially at 25 feet. Like the Zenith, Wraith, Zephrus and all Hardy rods from the last decade or so, the blanks for the new Zephrus Ultralite family are rolled in Korea. The length and model on each rod section is inscribed as on the K2. The rod has a cork reel insert and pays homage to old-fashioned cane rods. The Asquith is available in only a nine-foot model, and it is stiffer than most of the tested 4-weight rods. Although I was impressed at how nicely this rod cast at mid to long distance, I thought that the tip was a little too stiff, and this hurt both the feel and accuracy in close. Weve found that fluctuating temperature and humidity from one day to the next can make a difference of .2-.3 oz. I do like the 8 foot rods over the 9 footers as they are lighter and the shorter length allows me to strike more quickly, and they often provide better light tippet protection than the longer rods. Features Sintrix 440 Blank construction REC Black pearl recoil guides Fuji Titanium stripper guides Great rods dont make great casters, but there is no doubt that they will improve any anglers casting skills and his ability to catch fish. This is a medium action rod, and slower action rods like this SS have never performed well for us. Guides start with a hook keeper on the butt, and then two SiC stripping guides, followed with hard chrome snake guides that are large in diameter but thankfully use smaller diameter wire. Just about any rod can turn over a 9-foot leader, but only the best casting rods can turn over a 12 footer at short distances. Now that we have dropped our Perfect 4 category, this category gives you our opinions on the best rods and how they stack up. Good, just not nearly as solid or as accurate as the 3F or Radian at long range. Good butt power also helps me land fish in a minimal amount of time. I loved the crisp, fast action of the Avantt and its light swing weight, but unfortunately the Zone is not nearly as nice. Hardy Zephrus FWS Rod - 8'6" 4wt 4 Piece at Glen's Not so good in close. The double uplocking, gray anodized reel skeleton seat uses two rings that are easy to grip and lock up extremely well. So many aspects go into blank performance that its hard to single out one of them. Here is a new rod that has not appeared in any of our previous Shootouts. One SiC style stripping guide is used as well as a hook keeper. It is especially interesting to see how the rods compare in stiffness, and how much the tip section bends. You must register the new rod within 30 days. WinstonLifetime warranty to original owner. One SiC style stripping guide is used as well as a hook keeper. Now the stiffness is becoming an advantage, and Im getting some nice tight loops. A lot of this can be attributed to the nice action good butt and mid section power combined with a lighter, softer tip, much like the Zephrus. Not very good at long range either. The epoxy coatings on the guides were excellent. The DXF and Imperial were much better. The other reason is that this 9 #4 SKY is just too stiff for a 4-weight. $25 handling fee on current rods. Starting at under $700 and offered in weights 2-5, the Zephrus Ultralite provides performance equal to or exceeding other rods priced much closer to the $1,000-mark. The epoxy coatings on the guides were good for the most part but a little too heavy on some guides. Both offer terrific performance at half the price of the best rods in our Shootout. The epoxy coatings over the wraps are nicely done, and I especially like the fact that they inscribe the rod length and weight on the bottom wrap of each section. In fishing to wary trout, I often set my false casts up short and to the side of the fish, and then shoot a little line in on that last cast. For this Shootout, we were able to do the casting here on our lawn at the shop. No better at mid-range. Im able to form fairly tight loops, but the accuracy is not as good as what Im getting with the Helios 3F or the Avantt. Below the final results charts we give you the exact repair charges for each manufacturer. This is a smooth line, rather than one with a textured coating. Lastly, the rod sock is superior, and will dry out quickly even if you put your rod away wet. The stiff tip didnt allow me much feel but the accuracy was decent. Every high-end rod (which I classify as $650+) handles average wind just fine. The blank itself is unsanded natural graphite gray, much like the Scott rods, leaving the tape marks visible. The Sage X is light in overall weight, butfarheavier the most in swing weight. But this power and the stiffer tip hurt the performance in close, where it is similar to the Avantt but not nearly as good as the Zephrus, Pure or Helios 3F. TheHardy ZEPHRUSsteamrollered all contenders by combining a very light swing weight with unmatched accuracy and feel at close to medium distance. For broken rods that are not registered to the original owners, most companies are going to charge you $150 or more for repairs. From 25 to the 40-foot mark, these lines were just magical, and stretching the distance out to 60 feet was easier than with a standard belly line. I thought the larger, wider single ring on the Helios 3F was much easier to grip and seemed to lock up better. Then the dark green finish just sparkles. Nothing else is even close. Ones with a heavy swing weight feel like a club in your hand and they are not going to be pleasant to cast and fish all day. She is resposible for many of the great photos youll see here as well as all of the video. The color of the blank is a very light silver blue, with the guides wrapped in a darker grayish blue, with some silver trim on the butt section. The epoxy coatings over the wraps were a little heavy, but Ive seen worse. This is the best way to examine the action of each rod the faster action rods have tips that bend more, with stiffer butt and mid sections, while the more medium action rods will have softer butt and mid sections and stiffer tips. The Douglas Sky was both heavier and stiffer, and didnt perform as well, except out long at 60 feet. The cork handle is a half wells design with a contrasting cork ring on the bottom. Rods with heavier swing weights or ones with stiffer tips dont fare nearly as well.Ive often had a fish grab a halfway submerged fly in the surface film, when I havent been watching closely enough, and bolt off before I could react, snapping my 6x tippet. Gear Reviews Multiple Fly Rod Weight Rankings Yellowstone Angler Smooth, light in hand, excellent accuracy and feel. Sage promotes the MOD as a rod that will deliver delicate presentations with pinpoint accuracy. He wanted another 4-weight that was very accurate and delicate, yet one that had more power in the butt and mid-section. It would be so much better with a WF-5-F. The blank is an attractive dark blue, with a matte non-glare finish. #24. A great 4-weight rod is the best tool Ive found to meet these demands. Good, just not great. This fast action deflection blueprint, along with Hardys high-modulus graphite and Sintrix Nano resins allow the Zephrus to perform well and feel great at all distances. For guides, there is a hook keeper, then a single SiC stripping guide, followed with hard chrome snake guides that are nice and thin on the tip sections. The NRX LP has proven to be an outstanding rod as a 5-weight, winning our 5-weight Shootout several times. The accuracy suffers too. Performance at 60 feet: 9.3 points out of 10. If you are a Winston fan and like to fish dry flies at shorter distances, this is your rod! This rod uses the more conventional slip over ferrule design as on all but one of the other rods in our Shootout. Surprisingly, even using this lower modulus graphite that should be heavier, the overall weight and swing weight are very good compared to our other top 4-weight rods. Blank performance When you read everyone's comments on the Zephrus, you will see that we all agreed that this is a very special rod, for a variety of reasons. But there are a lot of good reasons. The soft tip also earns it one of the best scores in light tippet protection. Hardy Zephrus Ultralite Fly Rod Review - Trident Fly Fishing Looking for Driftless area fly rod recommendations : r/flyfishing - Reddit This rod gives me a nice light feel in hand, and Im getting good loop control combined with plenty of power and good accuracy. I liked the full wells cork handle better than the odd grip on the Reaper X. Rods are repaired, not replaced. It's actually a balance that I like better than the 4wt FWS and feel it could cover most single and dual nymph setups, small streamers and small-to-large dries on small-to-medium sized rivers taking the exact duties I currently use the 4wt FWS for with a little less weight and a little less splash due to the lighter 3wt lines. Pushing off from the dock on a boat called the Capelin, Sandy Milners small team of scientists heads north, navigating through patchy fog past a behemoth cruise For years, I used to leave my waders clipped to an I-bolt in the bed of my pickup (so they wouldnt fly away). I love the handle design it tapers outward allowing you to quickly get and maintain a good grip on the handle. $895.00. Hardys Zenith rods, discontinued when the Wraith and Zephrus lines were introduced a few years ago, are among some of the most-loved sticks in recent memory. 1. The best 4-weights are also excellent nymph fishing rods at shorter distances. The lower 7 inches of the butt, including the logo is also finished in a dark blue. But its become a moot point since rods like Winstons IM6 or Sages XP hit the 3.5oz or lighter mark. A little better here but the DXF still puts it to shame. Of course it is six inches shorter too. The Avantt tied the Pure for the only perfect scores in Craftsmanship. The blank is finished in a medium brown with brown wraps that complement the blank. Ive helped many manufacturers like G. Loomis, Sage, Winston, Loop, Douglas, and Scott with their rod design process. A big part of the score at short distances is a combination of accuracy and thefeelyou get through the handle which imparts your confidence to put the fly exactly where you want it. The reel seat is a gray anodized double uplocking skeleton seat with sliding band and darker wood insert. And a look at the deflection chart confirms this. They inscribe the sliding band with the line size, which is a nice touch. It is also a stiff rod almost as stiff as the SKY and IMX Pro. Where some rods separate themselves from others is in their ability to handle above-average wind. Now the lack of butt power becomes evident and it is hard for me to get any decent accuracy. Sure, the best rods are generally in the higher price bracket, and are usually worth spending the extra dough, even if you have to save up to buy the one you really want. With your support we can continue to give you more Shootouts and head to head comparisons on tackle and equipment in the future. Craftsmanship is second to none, and is what we have now come to expect from T&T. Of all the reels we have carried over the years, Galvan continues to have the fewest warranty issues and returns. When I first picked the rod up, the overall weight was good but then when I wiggled the rod in my hand, I could see that the swing weight was heavier than almost all of the other 4-weight rods. Beautiful presentation with terrific accuracy. The guide wraps are gray, trimmed with red on the butt section and first ferrule. We set the casting line so that we generally had the wind at our back if possible, or at least off our left shoulder (all of us are right handed). The Hardy Shadow that tied for 4thplace sells for only $350.00. The guides start out with a small hook keeper, then a single SiC stripper, followed with black, hard chrome single-foot guides. The Asquith tracks beautifully and is giving me nice accurate tight loops. This 4-weight Q was one of my least favorite rods to cast in our Shootout. Then we progressed to the mid-priced rods and finally the least expensive rods. I just wish that the performance was as good as its looks. Certainly the Hardy Zephrus is a bargain as our choice for as the number one 4-weight rod. The reel seat is a double uplocking skeleton seat in anodized gold, with a pretty wood burl insert using green and brown highlights to complement the blank. 9 ft, 6 weight tip appears to have been re-wrapped- Thanks for looking at my auction. We can attribute this to the use of one-coat finish rather than multiple coats as seen on the T&T rods. Another stiff rod, the Avantt, was slightly better. The light swing weight made casting effortless, and Im getting excellent accuracy combined with delicate presentations. If you look at the performance scores, youll see that the Aetos finished in 11thplace here also. $495.00 - $595.00. Tippet materials are getting stronger every year, and today we end up fishing 6x, 6.5X, and 7x fluorocarbon a lot of the time, trying to get that perfect drift to entice a big fish to sip in a fly. This is a soft rod, with a slower action than the Pure. With more line in the air Im getting nice loops and good accuracy. Still not so good with very little feel or accuracy. Heavy in hand! The rest of the guides are hard chrome snake guides with nice, small diameter wire snake guides on the upper two sections. Nice and light in hand with very good feel and accuracy in close. If I remember correctly, the 864 also won YA's 4wt shootout, adding to its popularity. We have found that the Asquith rods are terrific rods in the heavier line sizes from 6-weight right up through 12-weight. In the performance distance categories it was better at 60 feet than at the closer distances, but the overall weight and swing weight made it a workout to cast. The skeleton uplocking seat is one of the most unusual Ive seen. I love the feel of this rod it is nice and light in hand, and the action is fast and seems about right. The heavy swing weight hurt, and I wasnt getting the kind of feel or accuracy I got with the G Series Scott or the Orvis Helios 3F. $50 handing fee. I am in the market for a 8'6" 4wt to augment my freshwater rod selection. The insert is a gorgeous piece of bamboo, sourced from the same company that uses it for Lexus steering wheels. The guides start with a hook keeper on the butt, then a single SiC stripping guide, followed with hard chrome single foot guides that seem sturdy enough, but are not nearly as good (or as light) as the nickel/titanium single foot guides used on the NRX LP.
What Drinks Can You Make With 99 Bananas,
City Of Holly Hill Job Openings,
Painting Craftworld Ulthwe,
Stars Academy Tvb Contestants,
Adam Miller Director,
Articles H