Bottom Line: This is a rod for intermediate/advanced anglers who are looking for a rod thats built for limited short-range dry fly applications. Little feel, and the slower action kills any accuracy. Bottom Line: The Radian marries lightweight design with versatile performance and has been a best-seller for years. Ive helped many manufacturers like G. Loomis, Sage, Winston, Loop, Douglas, and Scott with their rod design process. The guide wraps are a dark green to complement the rod. It has been several years now since our last 4-weight Shootout, as we have concentrated on both 5-weight and 8-weight rods. Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. The rod also has the power to slug it out with sizeable game, and the fighting butt to tuck in your gut and settle in for the fight. The best 4-weight rods are superb at the short to medium distances, such as the Zephrus, the Pure, the Scott G-Series and the Orvis Helios 3F. Fenwick-Lifetime warranty. Performance at 25 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. I wish they would had used the lighter, flexible nickel/titanium snake guides found on the Helios 3F, or even better, the nickel titanium single-foot guides found on the Hardy Zephrus, which would have improved its heavy swing weight. Wow It is hard to believe that this mid-priced Hardy finished up with the top rods! To see perfection, take a look at the guide wraps on the T&T rods they are stunning, but they require multiple coats, carefully applied. Thomas & Thomas Avantt - $845 Thomas & Thomas Zone - $499 Winston Alpha - $935 To find out which 5-weights took home the top rung in each category, check out the Shootout results on the Yellowstone Angler's page, here! LoopLifetime warranty to original owner. The double size uplocking ring was easy to grip and tighten. 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. For this Shootout, we were able to do the casting here on our lawn at the shop. For this 4-weight Shootout, we decided to make the short distance 25 feet, the mid-distance 40 feet, and the longest distance 60 feet. backing and fly line. Action: 5/10 - The Epic Graphite features a mid-flex design and a soft tip for accuracy at any distance. Good, just not great. (tie) Loop Q 9 #4 $229.00. Sign up for our Newsletter, a monthly dose of new ideas and exclusive deals on great gear, sent directly to your inbox. In addition to being a test caster and editor, hes responsible for some of the photos and putting all of this on line. The blank itself is unsanded natural graphite gray, much like the Scott rods, leaving the tape marks visible. It is also a soft rod, so it scored very well in light tippet protection. Performance at 60 feet: 9.3 points out of 10. For guides, there is a hook keeper, (The 3F has none), a single SiC stripping guide is used followed with hard chrome snake guides. The guides start with one SiC stripping guide followed with very large diameter hard chrome snake guides. The quality of the cork is superb. The final change in our performance categories is putting a lower value of 10 points on the longest distance 60 feet. We have several reels rigged with the various line sizes, and leaders, all ready to go. And a look at the deflection chart confirms this. Because of the cost, we downgraded the Asquith to 7 points. The color of this rod is an attractive olive, with the guides wrapped in dark brown. The Expeditor policy on the IMX Pro is $85.00. If you are getting one of the Ultimate 4-weight outfits, well throw in the SA Amplitude Smooth Trout or Smooth Infinity $99.95 line for free, and also ship it to you for free! We have liked the Mystic Reaper that has done well in some of our early 5-weight Shootouts. Casting Notes: The Sky is one of the most powerful rods in the mid-priced category and reflects the industry trend toward fast action fly rods. Orvis has totally revamped the Recon series and this is a much different (and better) rod than the original Recon 8-weight. This rod is absolutely the winner for our Best Buy (best inexpensive) 4-weight Rod. Even better than the Helios 3F. The soft tip also earns it one of the best scores in light tippet protection. Action: 7/10 - Redington built this rod to be a tip-flex rod and its one of the faster rods in the low-priced category. 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. They are light but very durable. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The softer tip on the Imperial gave me good scores at the both 25 and 40 feet, and also led to a good score in light tippet protection. For 4-weight rods, when you are fishing at shorter distances, (most of the time), it is particularly important that leaders turn over well. The two locking rings are large and easy to grip and tighten. Bottom Line: If youre a serious dry fly angler, this is one of the best fly rods on the market. New rods must be registered at time of purchase. Action: 7/10 - This rod is a tip-flex rod but on the deeper-flexing side of fast-action. The quality of the cork is not too good either and it used a lot of filler. The cork handle is what Sage calls a snub nose half-wells. The Avantt matches the Helios 3D in swing weight and feels nice and light in hand. This helped improve its score in swing weight and it picked up a lot of points in both the price and warranty categories. Performance at 40 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Its a great all-around rod and less technical than the 3D. Now Im getting nice tight loops, and the rod tracks very well with better feel and accuracy. This is one of the worst scores at long distance in our Shootout. At long range no rod has more power. The uplocking black anodized skeleton reel seat utilizes a single ring that is easy to grip and lock down. It has a sliding band and single locking ring that seems to lock up well enough but squeaks a little as you tighten it. Casting Notes: The Epic Graphite 5wt is one of our favorites. We have learned that we cannot trust manufacturers stated rod weights. Im getting nice loops and good control, but at mid-range the 3F and Scott Radian were better. Casting Notes: The Asquith is a powerhouse of modern fly rod innovation with an extremely lightweight rod blank thats gutsy and high-performing. I think a hook keeper is very useful on trout rods. Nice and smooth. This rod is great for dry flies at long distances or small streamers. Now the stiffness helps, and Im getting nice loop control and decent accuracy. A 5wt can be used in a variety of freshwater angling scenarios but is most commonly used to target Trout. Usually takes 4-6 weeks. Now it tracks perfectly and Im getting nice tight loops. I was getting far better presentations and accuracy with both the Hardy Zephrus and Winston Pure. From 25 to the 40-foot mark, these lines were just magical, and stretching the distance out to 60 feet was easier than with a standard belly line. I normally prefer an 8 foot rod in a 4-weight but when we cast the two rods heads up, and put them on the deflection board, it was obvious that these rods had two different actions. Action: 8.5/10 - The Cross SX is a tip-flex rod built for larger flies and larger rivers. 5. The epoxy coatings on the guides were good for the most part but a little too heavy on some guides. Power: 2/10 - Low power levels reflect this rods purpose-built design. Click on any of the charts above to see more charts. It can be tied in sizes 1/0 - 10. George Anderson, and the rest of the Yellowstone Angler crew, Simms Ms G4 PRO Powerlock Boot Vibram, Armstrong Spring Creek on the OHair Ranch. It would be so much better with a WF-5-F. Pick any rod here that we rated a 9.5 or better and you have a winner! Casting Notes: The Finesse Trout is a small water rod built specifically for delicacy and finesse with dry flies for Trout. Better than the Radian and Helios 3F in close. Only the Loop Q was worse. Rods are repaired, not replaced except for broken sections. 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. I like a lot of things about this rod. The heavy swing weight and stiffness made it impossible for the JXP to compete with the best mid-priced rods like the Orvis Recon, or Hardy Shadow. Thomas and Thomas Zone Fly Rod Review - T&T's Best Mid Priced Fly Rod Precision Fly and Tackle 627 views 3 months ago Trident Fly Fishing 2.3K views 1 month ago Thomas and Thomas Zone. Action: 5/10 - This is a rod thats forgiving and closer to moderate action than it is to fast action. Thomas & Thomas Zone - $499 Casting Notes: The Zone is a versatile freshwater 5wt with the ability to throw a variety of flies from nymphs to dries to small streamers. The handle is a half wells western style grip with contrasting dark composite cork rings at both the bottom and top. With the inexpensive warranties that most manufacturers offer, your new rod is one that will last you for many years. Unlike some of the stiffer 4-weights, this rod performs well at the shorter distances too. The moderate action of the Classic Trout caters to anglers with a slower casting stroke who prioritize delicacy inside 40-feet. Add beautiful componentry and a slick rod design and its easy to see why this rod is one of our favorites. The Orvis H-3 is clearly one of the best fly rods to ever leave the Orvis shop, but it's not all about the long cast. Rods with a light swing weight are pleasant and effortless to cast. The best rods in this category are almost always the lightest in swing weight, especially if you are doing a lot of false casting when fishing dry flies. 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. Hardy has given us another magical rod that produced an absolutely stunning performance to blow away all the contenders. Performance at 40 feet: 18.5 points out of 20. $35 handling fee. Everyone here at our shop liked the 8 footer better, so we put only the 8-foot model in this Shootout. The swing weight was fairly light, but not quite as good as either the Hardy rods or the Orvis rods. Taylor Lifetime warranty to original owner. The quality of the standard size cork rings was terrific. Loop Cross SW. Scott Meridian 9wt. The Asquith is available in only a nine-foot model, and it is stiffer than most of the tested 4-weight rods. 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. It also sits dead last in our Fun to Fish category. The quality of epoxy coatings on the guide wraps was excellent and almost the equal of the T&T rods. The components are not in the same class as the Helios 3F, but that is to be expected considering the price. The DXF and Imperial were much better. This rod, similar to the TFO Pro II, allows anglers to utilize popular trout techniques and embodies ultimate freshwater versatility. This is a very smooth rod to cast and Im getting nice tight loops and good accuracy. Chartreuse is a favorite color for warm-water predatory fish. Casting Notes: Distance and power are the name of the game with the Helios 3D. Just keep in mind that all these measurements must be made the same day with the same room temperature. Here it feels as good as the Scott rods and the Helios 3F.Performance at 60 feet: 9.0 points out of 10. The rest of the guides are their terrific nickel/titanium single foot guides that are light and flexible but will never break. For those anglers that like fast action rods with more power, (for fishing at longer distances or in windy conditions), the G. Loomis Asquith, the T&T Avantt, and the Scott Radian are good choices. Nothing beats this rod at 40 feet. These Shootouts take a lot of time and effort. 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. Loop Cross SX. There are matching burgundy wraps on the guides, and the epoxy coatings were very well done. Power: 4.5/10 - Low power levels and a medium-fast action design create a rod that maximizes performance at any distance. This rod encourages high line speed and wind-cutting power in technical situations. Its medium action is far slower than the Recon or their H3F, and it didnt perform nearly as well, especially at 25 feet. This rod has a medium fast action with tons of power in the butt and mid-section, which allowed it to perform pretty well at the longest distance. We kept the best rod in each category, high priced, medium priced, and inexpensive category handy for comparison. Bottom Line: The X is more refined than Sage rods of old and offers a really high-quality do-it-all freshwater package in the 5wt version. 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. The rings on the seat were fairly large and easy to tighten, giving a secure lock up. Heads up the Recon and Shadow were far better. A half wells handle is used and the quality of the cork is only fair to good compared to the best rods. Mayfly emergers are often stuck in the film for quite some time making them easy pray for hungry trout. Fly rod action, on the other hand, is how a fly rod flexes when cast. 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. The one thing that was a negative is the heavier swing weight. 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. The lower ring uses a thin nylon spacer that helps it lock up securely to the upper ring. 3. The softness didnt allow me to make good hard backcasts in an effort to form tight loops. The heavy swing weight and stiffer tip gave me very little feel. This same Expeditor service applies to the Asquith but the fee is $275 for 2ndday air. 5. The epoxy coatings are painstakingly done and close to perfect. It tracks well and I was getting very nice loops and good control, especially at mid to longer distances. Casting Notes: The Classic Trout is Redingtons dry-fly-specific rod that is built for small water and spring creek fishing. Those ravings were well warranted, given that the original Contact was a superb example of what a thoughtfully designed Euro rod could be. Guides start with a hook keeper, and then one SiC stripping guide, followed with black hard chrome snake guides. If you look at the performance scores, youll see that the Aetos finished in 11thplace here also. These stiffer 4-weight rods require lines that are slightly heavier than a standard AFTMA 4-weight line. The quality of the cork is not so hot though, and a lot of filler is present. Quality of the cork was excellent with a stack of thinner rings. The quality of cork was excellent. At short range I like to cast off the tip of the rod, using mostly my wrist and little arm movement to power the tip of the rod through the stroke. Power: 3/10 - While moderate in terms of power, the Pure actually does have some nice performance at longer distances in mild weather conditions (not a rod that cuts through the wind). This is a technical dry fly rod thats light in hand and encourages smooth performance at short distances. The Orvis Recon comes in three . Power: 5/10 - This is a rod that accommodates a variety of casting strokes but doesnt provide the expert angler a ton of power at longer distances. A contrasting dark composite cork ring is used at the top of the grip. Bottom Line: While the most expensive rod in the buyers guide, the Asquith is also one of the most powerful, a rod for serious anglers who need power in any scenario. This makes for a very comfortable grip that improves casting at longer distances. 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. Thomas and Thomas Contact 10'8" . Rating: 100%. Fun to Fish/Got to Have 10 points available. Orvis CLEARWATER 86 #4 $198.00. There's no doubt the Recon is a handsome rod-the olive blank built with Orvis' new ferrule design is nice to look at, as is the black nickel uplocking reel seat complete with a dark burl wood insert. : 18.5 points out of 20 very little feel, and Scott with their rod and. Start with a light swing weight performance categories is putting a lower value of points!, we were able to do the casting here on our lawn the... 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