Cuba Gear List – Sage One

Another rod I’ll be bringing along down to Cuba will be the Sage One.  I think I’m getting this in an 8 wt, with an 11 coming from Redington and maybe from Orvis as well.

The Sage One has received a LOT of praise. The Sage One pretty much cleaned up at IFTD show in The Big Easy.

Tom over at the Trout Underground even had some thoughts on a promotional video for the Sage One.

These sorts of products are supposed to be game changers and usually five years later they are just another product release in a long line of product releases.  Every once in a while you run into something that really DOES feel different.  The Orvis Helios and G. Loomis NRX were kind of like that for me.  Super light for big rods, it DID feel like a game changer.  I am really looking forward to getting the Sage One out there and seeing if it really is everything that has been promised to us, the masses.

Tags: , , ,

9 comments

  1. The Galvan T-series reels were like that for me. They’re so big, and so light, and so strong, they’re in a whole other universe from your Hatch or Abel reels (good reels though they are). I used the T.12 on my #8 XTR this last trip to Andros and it balanced that rod (which is a fairly light rod) perfectly. Think of that, a #12 reel on a #8 rod. Balanced. Amazing.

  2. I guess I need to cast One… 😀

    I am not convinced that fly rods are accurate; I always believed that casters were accurate.

  3. Dude, I need to share w/ you my tarpon leader settup. Gonna try to put together a little vid today n post.

  4. bonefishbjorn

    Yes… you DO need to share that with me!

  5. Went to the Pasadena Fly Fishing Show and held the Hardy Sintrix #8 in a one-piece. WOW! Wouldn’t expect them to ship one of those but maybe a 4 piece???? On the other end of the price range, a TFO BVK would be nice a nice addition to trip quiver as well.

  6. Ok, here’s the formula: 50-30-20, ish… it can be 50, 25, 25 too. No worries. Main thing is to use lighter than expected mono for the butt section — say, 40 or 50 pound test max. Then I drop down to 30# for the next section, then 16# for the breaking strength. (You can go 20# here if you want, no worries.) I use Ligature knots for my connections here, but you can use Blood Knots as well. Then I put an 8-Turn Bimini in the end of the 16# (or whatever your breaking strength is). 8 turns is stronger than 20 and makes a smaller knot. Then I use a 5-turn Bristol to connect my bite-tippet to the Bimini. This is a straight connection, tiny knot, and it’s super strong. Best part is after a tarpon shreds the tippet, you can simply clip the bite tippet right at the knot and unravel the rest of it, leaving you with a clean Bimini to attach another bite tippet. This way you leader never gets shorter.

  7. bonefishbjorn

    So that knot is the knot from your class tippet (with your Bimini) to the shock but fewer turns? How heavy is the bite tippet? 80? 60?

  8. Well, I’ve been fishing the Keys for tarpon mostly, so they fish are pretty pick. Mostly we try 60# flouro then drop down to 40# when we start getting too many refusals. I also use 40# for here since the fish are pretty small.

    As for the knot, yes, it’s from the Bimini in the class tippet to the shock/bite tippet. I go w/ fewer turns because it’s not like the bite tippet is going to break at the knot, and I find 5 turns seats better/easier than 7.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *