Click on any of the charts above to see more charts. Nothing beats this rod at 40 feet. (tie) St. Croix IMPERIAL 86 #4 $270.00. The blank color is a non-glare, graphite gray with slightly darker gray wraps and alignment dots. The softness didnt allow me to make good hard backcasts in an effort to form tight loops. Mystic Reaper X 86 #4 $299.00. This is one of the best rods at long range. The other reason is that this 9 #4 SKY is just too stiff for a 4-weight. In all the rods of any manufacture weve sold with these guides, we have yet to see one break! For this Shootout, we again checked the warranty policies in detail, as some have changed slightly. There is a lot to like about the SKY though, and foremost is its appearance. Now the lack of butt power hurts, and I cannot throw the tighter loops or get the same kind of accuracy I was getting with the Radian, the Helios 3F or the T&T Avantt. Distance The Zephrus Ultralite just doesnt live up to that level of wind-beating performance. The wraps are darker green and the epoxy coatings were nicely done. This rod really excels at short to mid range distances. Accuracy and feel When you pick up this rod, youll first notice how light it is in swing weight. Hardy uses their Sintrix 220 in this rod, a lower modulus graphite than the Sintrix 440 used in the Zephrus, but it provides easy loading yet a sharp recovery. To read each staff members casting notes and performance finishing order, please click on their photo above. It has a pronounced swell that is slightly forward of the center of the grip much different from the more standard western style grip of the G Series. Line speed There are a few 8 foot and shorter rods as well as a few 9-foot rods in the mix, especially when manufacturers dont offer an 8 foot model. and they examine it. Casting head to head, the Scott rods and the Helios 3F were both a lot better. Accuracy is good, just not great. Our hand tied leaders, using stiffer clear Maxima for the butt and midsections, turn over better and more accurately than any of the knotless leaders on the market. My favorite length for a 4-weight rod is 8 feet. At that price there may not be a better rod on the market. One thing I like is that there is a serial number on each rod section. He wanted another 4-weight that was very accurate and delicate, yet one that had more power in the butt and mid-section. No loss of accuracy, power or feel here. The black anodized double unlocking skeleton seat has two larger rings that are very easy to grip and tighten. 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. At that price there may not be a better rod on the market. One SiC style stripping guide is used as well as a hook keeper. #28. (tie) Waterworks-Lamson SS 9 #4 $399.99. 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. Light in hand but the stiffness in the tip is not giving me as much feel in close as the Zephrus, and the accuracy is not as good as the best rods. Its somewhat embarrassing for a $1000 rod to finish below one that costs only $198.00, but there are some good reasons for this. The Galvan Torque reels have proven to be wonderful reels. The finished blanks are then shipped back to G. Loomis, where the rods are assembled, wrapped and finished at the G. Loomis factory in Woodland Washington. This is a fast action rod, a tiny bit stiffer and a tad slower in action than the Helios 3F, but still a very good casting rod. A stack of thin diameter corks is used and the quality is good. Rods are repaired or replaced. Casting head to head, the Zephrus, Pure and Helios 3D are all a lot better. Little feel, and the slower action kills any accuracy. backing and fly line. Orvis HELIOS 3F 86 #4 $849.00. The swell in the middle of the grip is a little more forward than most. The wide single ring was easy to grip and tighten. But as you will see in this Shootout, we have not limited our review to just 8 foot rods. The epoxy coatings on the guides are pretty good but a little heavy in spots. Hardy ZEPHRUS 8'6" #4 $679.00 George's Comments: Hardy has given us another magical rod that produced an absolutely stunning performance to blow away all the contenders. And a look at the deflection chart confirms this. 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. The new Zephrus have a softer tip than the Zeniths which is a good thing for dry fly and short distance accuracy guys. The epoxy coatings were a bit too heavy though, not nearly as nice as what we see on the Hardy rods. Pretty good loop control but the feel and accuracy were not as good as what I was getting with the DXF or the St. Croix Imperial. The handle is a half wells western style grip with contrasting dark composite cork rings at both the bottom and top. The craftsmanship is second to none and it earns a perfect score along with the Winston Pure and T&T Avantt. Each rod is positioned at approximately a 45-degree angle, and then a lead weight of 3.9 oz. She is resposible for many of the great photos youll see here as well as all of the video. The Pure is a brand new rod from Winston. Craftsmanship is second to none, and is what we have now come to expect from T&T. Good-looking wood insert spacers that are finished well add to the attractiveness of any rod. Winston says Pure Feel, Pure Presentation and Pure Fun I cant disagree. We are just trying to call it like we see it, in an unbiased manner. The idea here is to measure the swing weight at the middle of where your palm is likely to sit on the grip. The H3F rated slightly higher over all, but the Asquith had a lot more butt and mid-section power to blast out long casts. The reel seat is a black anodized, single uplocking skeleton seat with a dark wood insert. An absolute dream to cast. But there are a lot of good reasons. The ability of this rod to track precisely combined with its ability to form beautiful tight loops allowed it to perform almost as well as the best rods at long 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. Of course, accuracy is more dependent on the angler than the rod, but a great rod helps. Thomas and Thomas $55 repair charges for the original owner, includes shipping. 5. It would be so much better with a WF-5-F. (Click here to see more deflection charts). Since this is a softer rod than the Zephrus, we settled on using the lighter Trout line but this rod had the power to handle the heavier Infinity nearly as well. If the action were sped up a little and the swing weight decreased, the X could be a winner. #22. The Radian placed 2ndin our last 5-weight Shootout and I was surprised to see that it was this far down the list in a 4-weight. Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly Rod 15'1'' # 10/11 - 4 Pieces Brand New $1,202.36 fishingonline4 (18,829) 100% Buy It Now Free shipping from Australia 5 watchers Sponsored Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly Rod 12'6'' #7/8 4 Piece +Warranty Brand New $1,055.99 fishingonline4 (18,829) 100% Buy It Now Free shipping Of course it is six inches shorter too. I just dont think the 3Fd is nearly as good looking as some of the more traditional looking rods, in our Shootout like the Scott, Winston, T&T, and Hardy. The feel Im getting is not that good either. He has been a very important and integral part of our Shootouts and tackle comparisons over the years. Still not so good with very little feel or accuracy. Like the K2, the Q is only available as a 9-foot rod in a 4-weight. Im surprised that both Sage rods are well down the list, but their performance scores were just not good enough to rate them higher. I found the locking rings easy to grip and tighten. The stiffness hurt in close but this is one of the very best performing rods at long range. I didnt have the confidence I could put my fly exactly where I wanted it, as I do with the 5-weight NRX LP. *Note The final results and performance charts on this page are Georges figures. As they are reviewing 5wt rods in this article they do not talk about why it is their favourite 4wt rod. The craftsmanship on the LP is typical Loomis excellence. This rod has a slower action than the fast action NRX LP, as well as a stiffer tip. Out long the overall softness of the rod is a handicap. If you want to economize, look carefully at both the Hardy Shadow at $349.95 and the Orvis Recon at $429.00. While not quite as light as the Douglas Sky G, it is one of the lightest all-around 5wts on the market. Both of these for $130 less than just the Sage Dart (again, my Sage rods are my favourites in my rod quiver). The Zephrus has an even stiffer butt and midsection with a softer tip than the Zenith. As youll shortly read, our top rated rod, the Hardy Zephrus is $679.00, nearly two hundred dollars less than the next three rods, which are each close to $850.00. 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. Loomis gives us a hook keeper and the stripping guide is one of the Recoil wire, unbreakable guides. You will be surprised to see how well mid-priced rods like the Hardy Shadow, the Orvis Recon, and the Douglas DXF performed, all of which made it into our top ten overall in the final results. I felt the best rods at long range were the Helios 3F and the Loomis Asquith, as well as the T&T Avantt and the Scott Radian. As part of the Expeditor policy, Loomis includes a FedEx call tag so that you dont have to spend any money to send the broken rod back. $75 handling fee. The guide set up starts with a hook keeper, then one relatively small SiC stripper, followed with good sized black hard chrome snake guides that are nice thin diameter wire. These will hold up longer, even with hard usage. The Recon is a very pleasant rod to cast wonderfully light in hand, and responsive. Single-foot guides, a unique reel seat, and the companys proprietary Sintrix 440 resin combine to create a 95wt rod thats a paltry 2.5oz, while the 99 5wt tips the scales at whopping 2.8oz. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one relatively small silver SiC stripping guide, followed with hard chrome single-foot guides. Images: Tim Romano and Jeremy Roberts. Im getting nice loops and good control, but at mid-range the 3F and Scott Radian were better. It was very light in swing weight, and quite accurate in close, but it just didnt have much feel in close like the best rods. Moreover, if you want to fish with a 4-weight we consider to be the optimal choice, you dont have to spend $850, $900, or $1000, but only $679 for the Hardy Zephrus. Whats really eye-catching, though, is the reel seat. To my credit, I didnt throw a tailing loop, but my first cast wasnt exactly pretty. They use a stack of thin diameter cork rings and the quality of the cork was good. TheFenwick AETOS, at $179.95 is unquestionably our best performing inexpensive rod. They inscribe the sliding band with the line size, which is a nice touch. Hardy uses a comfortable half wells, western style handle and the quality of the cork is superb. The cork handle is a western style grip with a flare on the lower end to accept the uplocking seat, and a nice taper forward providing a very comfortable grip. 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. It comes in very close to our mid-price winner, the Hardy Shadow. The guides are one hook keeper; a single SiC stripper and then all the rest are hard chrome snake guides that are durable but heavy. It is especially interesting to see how the rods compare in stiffness, and how much the tip section bends. (tie) Thomas & Thomas ZONE 86 #4 $495.00. If you look at the deflection charts you will see how soft the butt and mid of the Mod are compared to the best performing rods. If you buy this rod, you need to put a WF-5-F line on it. Rods with softer tips help you avoid break-offs like these. Why? Once we determine how the rods perform at the various distances and compile these point values, we then add in points earned from all the other categories to determine the final finishing order. This is a test that anyone can duplicate. Now Im getting nice tight loops, and the rod tracks very well with better feel and accuracy. Im convinced that the key to catching more trout, (and especially larger trout), is casting accuracy. Just keep in mind that all these measurements must be made the same day with the same room temperature. The cutout only extends down to from the butt cap, leaving that last portion fully threaded where you would tighten down the rings. Fly selection is far less important. Rods are repaired, not replaced except for broken sections. This rod has good power in the butt and mid sections and a softer tip, much like the action on some of our top rated rods. And once youve picked out the perfect rod, stay and enjoy a few days on the water with one of our top guides. But if you look at just the three distance performance scores, it would have finished below the top dozen rods! Personally I dont care much for the five inches of white just above the cork handle but this has been the Helios 3 trademark and I think that Orvis feels that it will help the rods visibility on the rod rack in fly shops or out on the stream. Nickel silver is used for the winding check and rear grip check as well as the hardware on the reel seat, which is a sliding band and one wide locking ring. Heavy in hand! However, as youll see in the Performance Only scores, it finished much higher in 12thplace. Wow It is super light in hand, and 2. Still very doable excellent in fact! Ive fished with Howard here, on our Montana Spring Creeks, and better understand how and why he came up with these designs. The cosmetics and components of this rod are similar to its shorter brother. He wanted another 4-weight that was very accurate and delicate, yet one that had more power in the butt and mid-section. The fancy burl wood insert just jumps out at you with its striking color lots of red and orange mixed in very attractive. The logo-imprinted cork in the tube lid is a nice touch, and metal caps over the ferrules gives a little extra love to a sometimes vulnerable part of the rod. 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. The stiff tip and heavy swing weight both contributed to a lack of feel and accuracy in close. Only one way to find out cast and compare them all. Performance at 60 feet: 7.5 points out of 10. Overall weight is certainly a factor, lighter being better, but swing weight is far more important. Rods are repaired, not replaced, except for broken sections. First, the Zephrus Ultralite's blank is surprisingly strong, stiff and stable given its weight. The feel was also superb, giving me confidence in the direction of my cast. When I put this rod in my hand it feels more like a 5-weight than a 4-weight! No other rod maker does this better. Anglers used to high line speed, laser-tight loops, and the hiss of line shooting through your guides wont get that experience from the Zephrus Ultralite. If you cannot find or cast the rods that interest you, we are here to help. The lower ring uses a thin nylon spacer that helps it lock up securely to the upper ring. Very nice! 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. I am surprised at how well it performed at closer distances considering how much power it has on tap. Head to head, the Radian and Avantt were better. The Douglas Sky was both heavier and stiffer, and didnt perform as well, except out long at 60 feet. The uplocking black anodized skeleton reel seat utilizes a single ring that is easy to grip and lock down. Sage MOD 86 #4 $850.00. At 40 feet you need a rod that is light and pleasant enough to do a lot of false casting, as you will when fishing dry flies, but you shouldnt have to double haul to get the rod to perform and hit this distance. If you are thinking about buying a fly rod, we suggest reading one of our Shootouts for the line size rod you want. The added weight and relative stiffness over the other best rods hurt many of its scores. Performance at 40 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. The cork handle is what Sage calls a snub nose half-wells. We have experimented with the ways to measure this in past Shootouts but we still prefer our tried and true approach using the postal scale since it provides believable and meaningful results. I dont have the feel I can place the fly just where I want it, as I can with the Zephrus. And thats saying something, given that the past half-decade or so has seen most rod makers touting the light weight of their blanks. Nothing Ive cast yet is better in terms of feel and accuracy from in close right out to 40 feet. The DXF and both Scott rods were better, while the Zephrus and Pure were in a totally different league. It is also a lot heavier in overall weight and swing weight, mainly due to the fact that Loop is using a much lower modulus graphite than in their more expensive K2. Chloe has been working in the shop for two summers and now works with us full time. Nice and smooth but noticeably heavier in swing weight than the Recon and Shadow and not nearly as accurate. These single foot guides are finished in a dark color to complement the blank. For those of you wondering if the Hardy Zephrus is different from its predecessor, the Hardy Zenith: It is. One of the reasons is that the SKY is available only as a nine footer, while the DXF is 86. The Hardy Zephrus series of fly rods features our award winning Sintrix material . Here is a recap of each manufacturers current policy, their latest fees and what we have experienced for repair time required. Did not feel overpowered, and loaded quickly. Performance at 40 feet: 17.5 points out of 20. Effortless, delightful, accurate, and FUN. The G. Loomis Asquith rods are designed here in the U.S. but the blanks are rolled in Japan and then the rod is completed here in the U.S. Scott claims that this gives their rods better strength and we cannot argue with this as we see very few Scott rods broken. Standard corks are used and the quality is excellent. For guides, there is a hook keeper, (The 3F has none), a single SiC stripping guide is used followed with hard chrome snake guides. These come in two models, the Amplitude Smooth Trout, which is a standard size line, and the Amplitude Smooth Infinity, which is a half line size heavier. The best rods certainly need to handle this distance easily, but most anglers are buying a 4-weight rod for fishing at closer distances, which puts the emphasis on 25 to 40 foot casts. You must register the new rod within 30 days. Alignment dots are placed at the ferrules, which is handy. A counterbalance opposite the handle is used to keep the reel running smoothly when a fish is racing away from you. It was even a little sloppy on the tip sections. To read their comments, simply click on their photo above at the beginning of our Shootout. Their choices sometimes differ from mine, but we are almost always in general agreement on the top 4-6 rods in the Shootout. The color of the blank is an olive green that Orvis calls shadow green. The wraps are brown and the epoxy coatings are OK but a little heavy and not nearly as well done as on the 3F. I could hit this distance easily enough, but I had much better feel and accuracy with the faster, lighter rods. 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. Hardy SHADOW 8'6" #4 $349.95 George's Comments: Wow - It is hard to believe that this mid-priced Hardy finished up with the top rods! Some people might consider high priced rods status symbols. This is one of the worst scores at long distance in our Shootout. I did not find that to be the case. It was hard for me to get any feel or accuracy with such a stiff rod and a light line. The blank is olive green with matching olive wraps that are trimmed in gold on the two lower sections. The X is an attractive rod with the same fine craftsmanship that we have come to expect from Sage. The light swing weight made casting effortless, and Im getting excellent accuracy combined with delicate presentations. The stiffer clear Maxima butt sections on our leaders achieve this. In all, one of the best guide set ups weve seen. One of the things that I liked was the light feel of this rod in my hand. An oversize tip-top is fitted to match the large guides.
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