Fishing the Sage X Rod

7/6/16- Sage X Rod fishing around the Black Hills

We are extremely fortunate to have a 590-4 Sage X Rod sent to our shop by our sales rep to cast and fish. The first day we had the rod several of us went to the park and casted the X Fly Rod alongside other 5 weights- see Ryan's report coming soon. Over the subsequent days, I have had a chance to fish the rod both on the stream and on a local spring fed pond. This is a fun rod to fish! The X rod is an all purpose player. It makes short casts with ease. Need to stretch out and make a long cast, not a problem. I have been a big fan of the Sage ONE rods, but will definitely look forward to replacing my 5 weight ONE with a 590-4 Sage X. Can't wait to get my hands on a 8'6" 4 weight X rod. It should be a dynamite small stream rod. Now back the 9' 5 weight.

While fishing the Sage X, I casted attractor dries, caddis patterns, nymph rigs, and smaller streamers. It handled all of them very well. The 590-4 Sage X Fly Rod will be an awesome all around option. I had no problem fishing our smaller streams and making longer casts required for fishing on open water. I have no doubt the X rod will be stellar in larger water, and will look forward to fishing it on the Bighorn River and the North Platte.

In our casting demo, we used a Rio InTouch Gold and it seems to be the best all around line for the Sage X Rod. I also fished the rod with a Rio Perception Line. This line worked well, but it doesn't have same performance as the Rio InTouch Gold. To me the Perception line didn't have the same responsiveness with the Sage X as the Rio InTouch Gold did. If I were lining this X rod up for all conditions, I would choose the InTouch gold line hands down.

The Sage X Rod fought fish very well. The tip section dampened the the fish's runs while the butt section provided plenty of power to land these nice rainbows.

Nice Rainbow caught on the new Sage X 590-4 5 Weight Fly Rod.

For the second outing with the X, Ryan and I fished a damselfly hatch on a spring fed pond. The X casted distance and managed a great presentation simultaneously. We had no problem landing the feisty fish amongst the weed growth of the pond. The rod had plenty of power to land the fish, while having a soft enough tip to protect the tippet from breaking. We were thoroughly impressed with the latest offering from Sage. Stay tuned, the Sage X will fish again! Next up....hoppers on a local tailwater?

For any angler seeking out there next premium fly rod purchase, based on our experience thus far, you will be very impressed with the Sage X. Aside from how well it casts, the rod looks great. The blank is a nice deep green color, the grip is the same comfortable grip first featured on the Sage ONE rod, and it is extremely light in the hand. While they are an investment at $895, it is an investment that will serve you admirably on the water for years to come.