4wt 10 foot

[smallstreams.co.za]

If you want a 4 weight with backbone, try the T&T Whisper Lite - not available in a 10 foot though. Mario will bear me out, this has a most unusual taper for a 4 weight.

Beaut of a rod - still have me a little perplexed with that Beyonce butt and Kate Moss tip!!!

Thanks Mario

Hahaha Clarkson learnt his lesson with the GT-R and giving too much poweer!(one day I will have a GT-R)

Bryan, that is my only worry/concern with the 4wt. I agree if Winston made a 5wt 10' I'd have gone for that. (sigh)

only way to cure it is get a ross F1, straight stick the rod and turbo charge the recovery

If you want the Winston, get it, because if you buy another brand in a 510 then you will still not be totally happy.

[fly_mike]

If you want a 4 weight with backbone, try the T&T Whisper Lite - not available in a 10 foot though. Mario will bear me out, this has a most unusual taper for a 4 weight.

Thanks Stephen!

I'll do a little research on it

[chrisvd]

I was also in the market for a 10ft 4 or 5 weight rod build. At the end of the day I got myself a #3 Winston BiiT and a #5 10ft Sage VXP. I must admit that I am very happy with my choice, the Winston is a real beaut and the VXP can do everything I want it to do.

My short list was:
1. Sage VXP 10ft (#4 or #5)
2. Sage 99 (#4 or #5)
3. Thomas and Thomas Helix 10ft (#4 or #5)
4. Orvis Helios 10ft (#4 or #5)
5. Winston Boron 10ft (#4)

I fished with the Orvis for a morning and its a great rod, my worry was that the one I fished with broke on its second outing, fighting a 600gram yellow

The 99 was to much of a nymph only rod for the purpose I needed it for. With hindsight and all the comments from guys that fishes this rod, it probably is more than just a nymphing rod, but it was still something that put me of.

The T&T in my opinion still is a great choice in this category and a lovely blank.

The Winston is awesome and probably (IMHO in any event), the best of the bunch, the only problem is I decided on a #5 and a #3 and the #4 was kinda in the middle and I have a nice #4 Orvis 9ft.

I am not that fond of the Z axis and it did not even make it to my short list, nothing wrong with the rod, it just does not blow my hair back.

Hope this helps you a bit.

[fly_mike]

Thanks it is useful, good to hear from others who were in the same situation.

I haven't heard great things about the orvis (it's moerse expensive)

The 99 also entered my mind. I actually don't know anything about the T&T. I've never fished them, only ever saw how they were made on "How it's made" on discovery.

I tell you sourcing these blanks can be troublesome. Just something I've picked up, often the shops pick the blanks up at reduced prices, than what they actually list them at i.e. the retail price.

this is how some of their kits are such good value for money.

Definitely need to get into that circle in the US...

How does one become a Pro-Staff member for these FF rod companies???

[Andre]

Doesnt quite line up with your post a week or two ago - what's the difference between perfect for just about everything and an "allrounder"?

http://www.flytalk.co.za/forum/showt...?t=8661&page=5

I would never rate a 10 foot 4 wt, as an all rounder, but then again, it depends on what your definition of an all rouder is. The stangest thing though, is that my Sage 99 4wt, is the closest rod to an all rounder that I have found. It is a great nymphing rod, although only 9 feet 9 inches, and technically not really designed as an exclusive nymphing rod. As a stillwater rod off a drift boat, casting with the wind, I overline it with 6wt line, and it casts like a cannon, and due to it's tippy nature, it handles 4 pound leader tippett admirably, and with enough mid and butt strength to pull really hard.
I have fished with other 4 wt rods, and they are nothing like the 99. It's a rod that stands out on it's own.

[chrisvd]

It is a great nymphing rod, although only 9 feet 9 inches, and technically not really designed as an exclusive nymphing rod.

Funny, this is what SAGE says about the 99:

A day of multi-bug rigs, wind-resistant indicators and the requisite high-stick rod position can be enough to make your arm fall off before lunch. But the fact is, there simply isn’t a more reliable, effective technique for finding big fish. Which is why we created the 99.

Built with the same advanced G5 Technology as our Z-Axis rods, the most obvious nymph-specific feature of the 99 is its namesake 9-foot, 9-inch length, which makes short work of long, drag-free drifts. But that’s just the beginning. The 99’s unique taper loads lower on the blank to generate open loops, helping avoid tangles with multiple fly and indicator rigs. At the same time, a stiffer tip section handles heavy payload delivery but retains the sensitivity needed to detect subtle takes.

The 99s also feature slightly oversized guides specifically placed to make stack mending, shake-out and line feeding easier. Put it all together and you have a light, perfectly balanced rod that casts like a 9-footer but fishes like a 10. High-Stickers rejoice!

Everyone I know that has a 99 agrees with you though, that it is a great casting and all round fishing rod aswell, although it seems that SAGE had high stick nymphing in mind when they designed it.

[fly_mike]

I would never rate a 10 foot 4 wt, as an all rounder, but then again, it depends on what your definition of an all rouder is. The stangest thing though, is that my Sage 99 4wt, is the closest rod to an all rounder that I have found. It is a great nymphing rod, although only 9 feet 9 inches, and technically not really designed as an exclusive nymphing rod. As a stillwater rod off a drift boat, casting with the wind, I overline it with 6wt line, and it casts like a cannon, and due to it's tippy nature, it handles 4 pound leader tippett admirably, and with enough mid and butt strength to pull really hard.
I have fished with other 4 wt rods, and they are nothing like the 99. It's a rod that stands out on it's own.

I see one way to settle this properly... I'll build the rod, and then when I move to CT in around about 18months we go fishing and compare notes. If the winston doesn't cut it, to ebay it goes to try and pay for a 99

[fly_mike]

I'll use it up here in the mean time, if it sucks sooner than then I'll flog it.

[Andre]

Funny, this is what SAGE says about the 99:



Everyone I know that has a 99 agrees with you though, that it is a great casting and all round fishing rod aswell, although it seems that SAGE had high stick nymphing in mind when they designed it.

No they didn't. It was only one of the applications they had in mind, and although good consideration was given to this, they also had others... read your own quote carefully. they say its good for nymphing..blah blah... "but thats not where it stops".. and they go onto listing some other apps where it is good. Hence, I said that the 99 was not designed exclusively with nymphing in mind.
In fact, one of it's primary design criteria, are for middle to large size American rivers, where multiple heavy flies are cast a long distance, and significant line mending needs to be performed, while being able to have good sensitivity, and protect light tippets.... A good criteria for stillwaters.
Also read carefully, where it says that the lower down load of the blank, enables open loops with multi fly setups... this is a critical criteria that is often missed by stillwater boat anglers, particularly the way that many of us fish larkensvlei....

[Korrie]

As Andre pointed out, most of the USA nymphing is with a HUGE strike indicator and casting heavy flies, mending the line.

Read carefully what is said in the official site
--------------------------
A day of multi-bug rigs, wind-resistant indicators and the requisite high-stick rod position can be enough to make your arm fall off before lunch. But the fact is, there simply isn’t a more reliable, effective technique for finding big fish. Which is why we created the 99.

Built with the same advanced G5 Technology as our Z-Axis rods, the most obvious nymph-specific feature of the 99 is its namesake 9-foot, 9-inch length, which makes short work of long, drag-free drifts. But that’s just the beginning. The 99’s unique taper loads lower on the blank to generate open loops, helping avoid tangles with multiple fly and indicator rigs. At the same time, a stiffer tip section handles heavy payload delivery but retains the sensitivity needed to detect subtle takes.

The 99s also feature slightly oversized guides specifically placed to make stack mending, shake-out and line feeding easier. Put it all together and you have a light, perfectly balanced rod that casts like a 9-footer but fishes like a 10. High-Stickers rejoice!
--------------------------------------

Most of it is for the long casting nymphing.
Not the more short nymphing.
The only refference to short nymhing, i.e. Polish and Czech nymphing "high stickers rejoice"

So, IMHO, that is why the 99 is such a lovely boat rod. Designed to cast multiple fly and indicator rigs.