Sage, Redington, Rio Casting Demo Review

A couple weeks back we held a casting event at Canyon Lake Park with our Sage representative Dave Gellatly. Thanks for everyone who turned up for the opportunity to cast new rods and two socialize with the other attendees. We have a great time but we also learned a lot ourselves. Having the opportunity to cast all of the Redington and Sage product line with different Rio fly lines really opened our eyes to some new exciting possibilities for both trout, warm water, and salt water setups.

On the Redington side several of the highlights came from the Predator series rods. The six weight Redington predator rod was outstanding with the Rios smallmouth line. The Rio Smallmouth line has an identical taper to the Rio Bonefish Fly Line, so one can imagine this will also be a stand out lightweight bonefish rod. Rod had plenty of power but felt really smooth. The rod loaded with enough flex in the tip to feel it load, but still had to get Great distance. We could also see using the six wait predator with a beefier line like the big nasty for fishing small mouth bass. In addition, this set up would make an excellent carp rod.

The Redington Predator Fly Rods are also offered some surprises in the 10 weight category. The standard 10 weight rod in the predator series features a fast action that when paired with an outbound line or a saltwater specialty line like the Rio Tarpon line, will make short work of casting in stiff wind and long distances. The 10 weight Predator Pike rod when paired with the Rio Pike Musky line especially when using the correct Pike taper line.

Another great offering from Redington was the new Vice series. I had the chance to fish and my brother's Vice Four weight this past summer. For the price this is an outstanding rod. In the demo on Tuesday I got the opportunity to try the Redington Vice five weight paired with a Rio Grand fly line. Wow. For anybody looking for a big step up from their starter set up but still don’t want to break the bank, you be hard-pressed to find a better Nine foot five weight under $300. This fast action rod definitely works well with heavier lines like the Rio Grand.

On the Sage side of things we spent plenty of time playing with the new Sage X series rods. I have a 9 foot 4 weight Sage X and have fished it and the 9 foot five weight X rod. If you like a powerful rod with plenty of feel you will love the new Sage X rods. Tuesday offered me the opportunity to try some of the heavier weight rods for the first time. I was extremely impressed by the Sage X 691–4 saltwater/warmwater six weight. This rod was a cannon but it still had ample field. This would be an awesome streamer rod for trout, great light saltwater outfit, and perfect for chasing carp and smaller bass.

Another Sage X model we casted was the 9 foot nine weight. I had particular interest in this rod as a permit fishing rod for future trips to Mexico. When paired with the Rio Permit line, this rod feels like a winner. The tip allows the rod to load a close distances. However, when you need to push it and get along cast it has more than enough power. For anybody looking for an all-around permit fishing set up try the Sage X nine weight, paired with a Rio permit line and Sage 6200 series reel.

Along with the name wait we casted to seven and 10 weights in the sage ask. The 10 week with a Rio Big Nasty Line is a fresh water cannon. If you chase big fish with big flies you can’t go wrong with this set up. The 9 foot seven weight would be perfectly at home chasing most warm water species. Pair of the seven weight with a Rio Smallmouth Fly Line and you have an excellent popper rod.

On the trout side of things I really enjoyed casting the new Sage mod 486–4. This rod can be comfortably finished with a trout LT or a Rio Gold line. If you’re an angler who prefers and moderate action rod, you’ll love the new sage mod. They nailed the action on these rods. Making them perfect for small to midsize streams for anglers you love a comfortable casting stroke and want to make delicate presentations.

Another sleeper in the sage lineup are the little one trout rod. While Sage discontinued this one line up last year, they did keep the little one series. We casted the 8’2” three weight, with a rio trout LT line. This is a perfect pair. If you fish smaller streams and fish a lot of dries this is an awesome set up. Keep it light with a Sage Click II Series Reel to make a full outfit.