The cork handle is a more conventional western style grip than found on their Radian, with a flare on the back to accept the black anodized single uplocking seat that utilizes a brown graphite insert. This rod gives me the confidence that I can place the fly just where I want it, and do it with a delicate presentation. The epoxy coatings over the wraps were a little heavy, but Ive seen worse. by Spencer Durrant - Monday, Oct 9th, 2017. It is one of the few rods in the Shootout that excels at casting a size 24 midge on 7X tippet, yet still has the ability to chuck a size #6 lead eye streamer on 2X tippet. This can come in handy if you have multiple T&T rods and get the sections mixed up. The light swing weight made casting effortless, and Im getting excellent accuracy combined with delicate presentations. Id like to see Howard Croston re-design this rod with a softer tip. Mystic JXP 9 #4 $499.00. The Zephrus Ultralite is ultra-light. Rather than give us their beautiful nickel silver uplocking seat with a fancy wood spacer of birdseye maple as on the Pure, the Nimbus uses a silver anodized uplocking aluminum skeleton seat with one wide ring and sliding band. The soft tip also earns it one of the best scores in light tippet protection. Equal to the IMX Pro but thats about it. The overall weight is good, but the swing weight is greater than all the other top ten rods. And for a rod that is half the cost of the Helios 3F, the overall weight and swing weight are actuallylower! To make it easy to judge the turnover and accuracy, we tie in a small fluorescent yarn indicator at the end of the 2-foot 4x tippet and then trim it so that the wind resistance equates to a smaller dry fly. Reel seats should lock up easily and hold firmly, without having any tendency to come loose. Craftsmanship is second to none, and is what we have now come to expect from T&T. Rods that have good power and backbone help me fire my cast accurately. Now the lack of butt power becomes evident and it is hard for me to get any decent accuracy. The quality of cork was excellent. A contrasting dark composite cork ring is used at the top of the grip. The double size uplocking ring was easy to grip and tighten. The Galvan reels have been one of our favorite fly reels, and the slightly larger T-5 won our last 5/6 weight Reel Shootout. 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. Shipping isfrom their US warehouse, usually takes 2 weeks. We were all especially anxious to see how the Orvis Helios 3F and the new Winston Pure would fare, compared to our favorite 4-weight, the Hardy Zephrus. A lot heavier in hand than the Pure, and the stiffer tip is not giving me much feel. This is still a very good casting rod overall, but it just doesnt come close to matching the scores turned in by the top rods in this Shootout. In Livingston we usually have plenty of wind, so we had to wait until we got some fairly calm days, to do the casting. Hardy uses a comfortable half wells, western style handle and the quality of the cork is superb. The double uplocking reel seat is plain anodized aluminum dark gray with silver rings and not nearly as attractive as the better skeleton seats with good-looking wood inserts. $60 handling fee. The thing that killed this for me was the cheap looking reel seat. This is a classy reel seat, which is much better looking than some of the anodized aluminum insert seats. Anyone whos fished recent Hardy rods knows theyre on the faster end of the spectrum, and thats what I expected when I threw my first lawn casts. 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. The epoxy coatings on the guides were good for the most part but a little too heavy on some guides. The S.A. Amplitude Smooth Infinity line made every cast feel like a 75-yard Young to Rice TD! Orvis Trident TL 8'6", 4wt., 2pc, 8.0 Mid Flex Fly Rod. The blank color is a non-glare, graphite gray with slightly darker gray wraps and alignment dots. Feels good in my hand, and Im able to cast well off the tip. 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. The epoxy coatings over the wraps were surprisingly good for a one-coat finish. Gear Reviews Multiple Fly Rod Weight Rankings Yellowstone Angler 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. A 3-weight fly rod can be great fun on windless days, but those days seem to be rare. Ive found that it is almost impossible to judge accuracy and presentation if you have strong gusty winds, but having a little wind tells you a lot about how the various rods perform, especially at long distances. I was hitting the plate almost every time. Usually takes 1-2 weeks. The Ultralite has a proportionally stiffer tip than the Zephrus, and much softer butt and mid section. Casting head to head, the Scott rods and the Helios 3F were both a lot better. 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. The best 4-weights must be able to cast well at longer distances too, and the best rods had excellent loop control and the ability to throw nice tight loops with good accuracy at 60 feet. The softer tip on this rod gave me good feel and decent accuracy at close range and the amount of butt and mid-section power seems about right for a 4-weight rod. The stiffer tip didnt allow for much feel or accuracy. The action is much slower, this being more of a medium action rod. You must register the new rod within 30 days. Keep in mind that what you will read here are only our opinions. And while each rod has its own personality, two things remained consistent throughout the new Ultralite family: unfair accuracy and strikingly smooth casting. But if you look at just the three distance performance scores, it would have finished below the top dozen rods! Both the Zephrus and Pure were far lighter in hand, and far better in performance at 40 feet. #19. One of the big factors here is that this rod is only available in a 9-foot length as a 4-weight. (tie) Loop OPTI K2 9 #4 $549.00. We also kept on hand, and compared, what we felt was the very best rod the Hardy Zephrus. Shop Now. Below are all the 4-weight rods in the order they finished. It would also one of the best 4-weight rods for throwing streamers. Ive fished with Howard here, on our Montana Spring Creeks, and better understand how and why he came up with these designs. and comes complete with the original Orvis tube and bag. 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. After fifty years in the fly fishing business as a guide, shop manager and shop owner, Ive learned a lot about what it takes for a fly rod to perform well. WinstonLifetime warranty to original owner. Opens in a new window or tab. Our answer is a definite yes. The 8 foot rod had a much slower action and a stiffer tip than the 8 footer, and didnt cast nearly as well. The quality of epoxy coatings on the guide wraps was excellent and almost the equal of the T&T rods. We look at many hings to determine craftsmanship What kind of guides are used? The quality of the cork is not so hot though, and a lot of filler is present. This rod has a slower action than the fast action NRX LP, as well as a stiffer tip. 5. Beautiful presentation with terrific accuracy. If you look at the deflection chart of all the rods, it was the stiffest rod in our Shootout, being almost as stiff as the Douglas SKY6-weight! The 79 TFO Finesse was far better. The 8 foot Pure had a much heavier swing weight, and would not be as much fun to false cast all day as this 8 footer. Nearly all manufacturers now have some kind of limited Lifetime warranty. Well, the Orvis unconditional guarantee is only 25 years. In the past we have used the Scientific Anglers lines since they shoot better and hold up longer than any other line we have found. Out at long range it performed extremely well and was one of the very best, pretty much being equal to the Helios 3F and Avantt. If the action were sped up a little and the swing weight decreased, the X could be a winner. It is nearly impossible to cast off the tip of the rod like I can with the best 4-weights. Winston says Pure Feel, Pure Presentation and Pure Fun I cant disagree. The epoxy coatings were a bit too heavy though, not nearly as nice as what we see on the Hardy rods. So, for $530 you will get 2 set ups so you can begin to contrast and compare the differences between the 2 rods. 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. Ive always liked the smooth lines, as they dont make so much noise running through the guides. hardy zephrus for sale | eBay The Expeditor service fee for the Asquith rods is $250.00 for ground or $275 for 2-day air. An oversize tip-top is fitted to match the large guides. It was a little better than the Avantt here, but not as good as the H3F. The rod has a cork reel insert and pays homage to old-fashioned cane rods. The ring seems to lock up well. Performance at 60 feet: 7 points out of 10. Both the feel and accuracy were outstanding. I think that the vague feel I was getting hurt here. Well indicate which line proved best with each rod later in the individual rod write-ups. I also like the alignment dots. And since we are in Montana, there is no sales tax.Once you get your new rod or outfit, do some casting on the lawn, and if you feel it is not just what you want, (and has not been fished), well allow you to return it to us for a full refund, less the shipping charges. Gear Reviews Multiple Fly Rod Weight Rankings Yellowstone Angler Performance at 60 feet: 9.5 points out of 10. The relatively heavy swing weight and stiffness are not giving me much feel, and the accuracy in close is not very good. Those rods are both a lot lighter in swing weight and faster in action. This auction is for a lightly used Orvis Trident TL 8'6" 4 weight mid flex 8.0 fly rod. It was even a little sloppy on the tip sections. The 8 foot Pure had a much stiffer butt and mid-section and a soft tip that is much softer than what we found on the Nimbus. It was hard for me to get any feel or accuracy with such a stiff rod and a light line. Personally, Im used to that sort of line speed, but most anglers arent. 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. If you do a lot of nymph fishing, the extra length will help, and this rod has enough butt and mid-section power to also chuck some smaller streamers. If you cannot find or cast the rods that interest you, we are here to help. T&T uses multiple coats to produce a finish that is simply beautiful. Out long the overall softness of the rod is a handicap. The Reaper X is an improved model of this original rod. There are matching burgundy wraps on the guides, and the epoxy coatings were very well done. GUIDE TYPE: FUJI TITANIUM REC RECOIL. Thats the trade-off you make for light weight and insane feel in close and its one Im personally happy to make. Youll find these on our Yellowstone Angler home page atyellowstoneangler.com.If your favorite local shop stocks the rods you are interested in, by all means visit them, try a few rods and purchase an outfit from them. 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. I just didnt care for the moderate action that was a lot slower than the X. w/ Hardy Reel + Rio Backing & Line. 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. #3. My advice has always been if you can afford it, buy the best performing rod you can find. The quality of the standard size cork rings was excellent. The amount of power seems to be about right, and it performed best at the longer distances where I could punch it hard without throwing tailing loops. Whats really eye-catching, though, is the reel seat. The 79 model was far better and a lot more fun to cast and fish. The rings should be easy to grip and tighten. The front half of the reel seat where the reel foot is held in placeis all cork. The Hardy Zephrus comes in a hard rod tube and wrapped in a nice rod sock. The final change in our performance categories is putting a lower value of 10 points on the longest distance 60 feet. If broken from neglect or any other cause, you must use the Expeditor service. The Hardy SHADOW at $349.95 takes the crown as our best mid-priced rod with an exceptional performance that put it into a tie for 4th place overall with the T&T AVANTT . The added weight and relative stiffness over the other best rods hurt many of its scores. Scott feels that this gives the rod a smoother one-piece type action, and I agree as this is a very smooth casting rod that gives me a lot of feel at short to mid distances. This rod gives me the confidence that I can place the fly just where I want it, and do it with a delicate presentation. Rods are repaired, not replaced, except for broken sections. The Loomis NRX LP gets a perfect score of 10 for their excellent Expeditor repair program which costs $100, but returns the angler a brand new rod, not a repaired one, in just a few days! I found the rings harder to grip than most and without any nylon spacer they will likely loosen up more easily than other rings with them. The action of the Zone is much slower than the Avantt (and also a lot slower than the Recon or Shadow). In addition it will cost you $15 or more to ship your rod in for repair or have your local dealer do it for you. The lower 7 inches of the butt, including the logo is also finished in a dark blue. Because of the cost, we downgraded the Asquith to 7 points. $35 handling fee. If the rod is broken because of a defect, or while fishing, replacement is free. The big reason it didnt do better than middle of the pack was the action. A stack of thin diameter corks is used and the quality is good. The cork handle is a Steve Rajeff design; a half wells but with the swell slightly larger towards the front of the grip, and smaller back where the heel of your hand rests. Although the overall weight was an amazingly light 2.3 oz, the swing weight was a fairly heavy 8.0 oz about equal to the Scott G series. This rod has the gusto to launch it out to 60 and then some! Sage promotes the MOD as a rod that will deliver delicate presentations with pinpoint accuracy. Most of the rest score 9s, which was a $60-$75 fee for repair or replacement. When we first saw this new rod from Hardy, we all had two impressions: 1. First we try to determine what we felt were the best performing rods. The Pure is unquestionably one of the best looking rods in our Shootout, with some of the best craftsmanship. These Shootouts take a lot of time and effort. Both were perfect at 40 feet, and then the Zephrus was better at 60 feet. Surprisingly, this is often true. And since it was such a soft rod, the lack of butt and mid-section power killed its score at 60 feet, especially if there was any wind. Guides start with a hook keeper, then two SiC stripping guides followed with fairly large diameter hard chrome snake guides. Its also nice to look down at your rod and appreciate the craftsmanship as well as its performance. . Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. 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. A good 5-weight rod, which is definitely one of the most versatile you can have in your quiver, just wont match one of the top 4-weights when it comes to making delicate presentations, or achieving that ultimate drag free drift with a thinner fly line. Quality of the cork was excellent with a stack of thinner rings. Click on any rod to see the full write up. Mystic Reaper X 86 #4 $299.00. 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. But the Avantt and Helios 3F are far better. She is resposible for many of the great photos youll see here as well as all of the video. The wraps are all in blue, and the epoxy coatings are all extremely well done. Like many of the other 9-foot rods in our Shootout, it was at a disadvantage in weight to the shorter 8 and 8 foot rods. For those of you wondering if the Hardy Zephrus is different from its predecessor, the Hardy Zenith: It is. Heavy, slower action rods never perform well. 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 At 60 feet the Zephrus was still performing extremely well. The 79 rod has a nice medium fast action, while this 8 9 model is far slower much more of a medium action rod. Tracks beautifully with nice tight loops that are giving me great accuracy. 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. Heres a category that we used in our last 4-weight Shootout, that we deemed important when you are trying to judge the best 4-weight rods, that will often be used with very light 5x, 6x, and 7x tippets. 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. Features Sintrix 440 Blank construction REC Black pearl recoil guides Fuji Titanium stripper guides If you are a Winston fan and like to fish dry flies at shorter distances, this is your rod! 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. The one thing that I have never liked much on the Reaper is the shape of the handle. The stiffness hurt in close but this is one of the very best performing rods at long range. Cheaper rods often utilize pre-formed grips that use a lot of filler in the cork that will chunk out or erode with hard use. Performance at 60 feet: 6.5 points out of 10. I thought the larger, wider single ring on the Helios 3F was much easier to grip and seemed to lock up better. The wraps are also black, nicely trimmed in light gray on the butt sections. When you read everyones comments on the Zephrus, you will see that we all agreed that this is a very special rod, for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately like a few other rods, it is only available in a 9-foot model as a 4-weight, and this hurt its performance scores a bit. 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. The best handles now use a stack of thinner cork rings or standard size rings with very few defects that are laid up individually and then sanded down. Now it tracks perfectly and Im getting nice tight loops. TFO FINESSE TROUT 89 #4 $229.95. If you buy this rod, you need to put a WF-5-F line on it. Fun to Fish/Got to Have 10 points available. As long as there wasnt much wind I could easily hit 60 feet but accuracy suffered. 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. Here, the softer rods, ones with softer tips and rods with lighter swing weights post the highest scores. Looking for Driftless area fly rod recommendations : r/flyfishing - Reddit Performance at 40 feet: 19.3 points out of 20. Orvis 25 year warranty to original owner. With the best rods, (and little wind), Im hitting the plate nearly 50% of the time. For $699.95 you can get the 9' 5wt Zephrus Ultralite with Hardy's lifetime warranty, superior build quality, and all the incredible performance attributes mentioned above. They are used to throw nymph rigs, hopper/dry droppers, small streamers and some dry flies, although this is probably my least used method. Here is a new rod that has not appeared in any of our previous Shootouts. The guides start out with a hook keeper, then one SiC stripper followed with hard chrome snake guides that are nice and light on the tip sections. These stiffer 4-weight rods require lines that are slightly heavier than a standard AFTMA 4-weight line. Nice and light in hand and pretty good feel, but the accuracy is not as good as I was getting with the Aetos. This is a very smooth rod to cast and Im getting nice tight loops and good accuracy. The guides start out with a small hook keeper, then a single SiC stripper, followed with black, hard chrome single-foot guides. So many aspects go into blank performance that its hard to single out one of them. Just keep in mind that all these measurements must be made the same day with the same room temperature. The handle is Winstons familiar cigar grip, a half wells with a little flare on the bottom end to accept the uplocking seat. Its slower action means slower line speed, but thats relative to the norm in todays industry. The IMX Pro is one of Loomis newest rods and we have liked it in the larger line sizes, like their 5 and 6 weight rods. $75 handling fee. Its somewhat embarrassing for a $1000 rod to finish below one that costs only $198.00, but there are some good reasons for this. Of course it is six inches shorter too. Smooth, light in hand, excellent accuracy and feel. For 4-weight rods, when you are fishing at shorter distances, (most of the time), it is particularly important that leaders turn over well. Non-original owner $150 per section. and they examine it. The Zephrus has that perfect balance between power and sensitivity; its easy to control but has the ability to turn it up a level when reaching out to longer distances or when conditions require a bit moreoomph.The softer tip on the Zephrus will protect the lightest tippets. The other reason is that this 9 #4 SKY is just too stiff for a 4-weight. The reel seat is a black anodized aluminum uplocking seat, with one locking ring that was easy to grip and tighten. 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. From $689.00. Perhaps the best example is the nickel-silver uplocking seat with a gorgeous birdseye maple insert, found on the Winston Pure. The cork is a stack of thin rings, and the quality of the cork is excellent. Although we thought that the Winston 8 foot Pure was a fantastic 4-weight, the Nimbus didnt get us too excited. Usually takes 2-4 weeks. Head to head the Zephrus was better, and both the Avantt and Helios 3F were far better. 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. 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 Ultralite is a very attractive rod. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one huge stripping guide that looks way too big, followed with thin wire hard chrome snake guides. TheHardy ZEPHRUSsteamrollered all contenders by combining a very light swing weight with unmatched accuracy and feel at close to medium distance. First, it is very light in swing weight and the fast action is a lot like the Zephrus in that it has a stronger butt and much softer tip than most of the other rods. The locking ring is easy to grip, but Id prefer a double ring seat as this one looks like it will loosen up more easily than most. The handle is a western style grip, without much of a swell in the middle but a flare on the lower end to accommodate the uplocking reel seat. Usually takes 4-6 weeks. The best rods in our Shootout can handle this distance with ease, and are actually capable of casting much farther in an expert casters hands. Line speed At that price there may not be a better rod on the market. Nearly everyone is using one-coat epoxy coatings over the guide wraps now, but if these are not very carefully done, they are often sloppy or too much epoxy is applied, adding unnecessary weight. The rest of the guides are their terrific nickel/titanium single foot guides that are light and flexible but will never break.
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