theiceman2

I see one pic of a "coustom streamer" in the water. Do you have any pics of a dry pattern?

I agree, this is a gents sport and etiquette plays a big role. It's kinda like golf except there is no club house and the rules are not posted.

I had the same thing upstream.

I started the hunt saying "I do not want a sage" > I thought they were over priced and you were paying for the name. Not the cse, I tested every rod with a bias against Sage, but still bought one blindfolded.

Tough one. It all depends on if you feel like explaining yourself to the wardens. I wouldn`t attempt it after as case of beers.

The G-lumis I tested felt like a wet noodle, flexed very far down the shaft.

As for rod weight, I went with the 5 weight over the 6 because I fish the Highwood, Oldman, and Castle as well as the Bow. The 5 weight is alittle more nimble then the 6 but I did find it hard to throw big streamers yesterday in the wind. I suggest the 5wt. Matt

Last week I ended up getting a new Sage Flight 5wt 4piece after narrowing it down to and testing all of the rods mentioned on the post. The Reddington, SAGE Flight, and Hardy Demon, ang Greys are so close, flex all within 6inches of each other, are all the same speed, and only a few grams apart in weight. The only difference that stuck out to me is Reddington had two `stripping eyes` versus only one on the Sage and Hardy. The Greys rod looks like a $1000 rod with the Walnut stock, Reddington and Hardy have an aluminnum stock, the sage has a basic wood stock. I chose the SAGE Flight out of these three because they all felt so close the SAGE it was the only one that was hand made, had a case that fits your reel, has a fast turn around warranty, and has the latest in SAGE graphite technology (re inventen in 2009). I think I would have strongly considered the loop AEG if it wasn`t $100 more then the rest of the rods. If you are going to buy a TFO save yourself the money and see Wayne at Hansons Flyfishing downtown, they have their own Rods very similar to the TFO's in my opinion. The new SAGE Flight is actually 20% cheeper at our new jumbo box store then other guys in town. I am a supporter of the local shops so I got a price match with a local guy. Matt

The fall was nice but unfortunatly the ice flows make things alittle tough when you go out in the spring and there is a whole new pile of junk covering the banks. I think the best time is going to be just after mountian runoff in a few months. I will begin to approch sponsors this Monday. Cheers Matt

Yup, that's our dog Odon, he is a 4year old Hungarian Vizsla. Pretty good river dog, now if I could just get him to point on fish rather then gophers and ducks.

First place last year.

Sausage party

BBQ in the park

Pile

Catch of the day, garbage.

Meeting up in the parking lot before

I have been asked by a few people if the Bow River Clean up (BRCU) is going ahead again this year? I think it only makes sense as last year was a sucess in my mind with sponsor support, attendance and total garbage removed from the river. I was thinking that probably the best time would be just after the spring run off, early to mid July. How much interest would there be this year, please post some feedback and suggestions from last year on how to improve the event, and identify sections of the river that need attention. Below are a few pics from last years BRCU. Matt

YOu must have heard that clap of thunder just before supper as well. I was walking home from work, heard it and was thinking the exact same thing. As fot eh humming rods, that must have been some crazy ol weed.

Good poll, I always think about it when landing a fish how stupid I am for reeling and casing right. Good to see I am not alone.

I know its not even in the same ballpark as the Z-axis for quality but bang for the buck and my experience level I'm sure to be happy with it. In the mean time I did alot of digging because I was thinking the same as you, how can they use the same blanks in two rods that are $400 difference in price, is there really $400 worth of better components? There is a website in the states similar to ours ( http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/f...eview-7848.html ) where the guys on there pick apart the new Flight side by side with the Z-axis. Here's what was said. Love to hear anyone's thouhgts. as the last rod I had was a Piece of lumber from crappy tire. "They have made a substantial upgrade. The graphite is the exact same "Generation 5" technology that Sage uses on the Z-Axis. Plus they changed the name....that is sure to indicate better performance!" 2009 SAGE FLIGHT REVIEW I cast both the new Flight and the Z-Axis side by side. I cast them both in 6 wt. with the same line and reel set up. Tim Woodward, an area guide and employee of Jimmy's All Season Angler in Idaho Falls was out with me and he cast both as well as we talked about both of them. Here are our observations: 1. The Flight is actually a fraction of an ounce lighter than the Z. It is a light rod. Having said that, it seemed that the Z felt a little lighter in the hand. I personally think that this has something to do with the taper and "feel" of the rod. 2. Maybe because of the different taper I could feel the Z load a little better for close in casts (15-25 feet). On medium to long casts it was hard to tell a difference. 3. The components are nicer on the Z although I was personally totally satisfied with the quality and build of the Flight. It had a nice knurled uplocking ring for the reel seat and the cork handle was better than I expected. The Flight comes with a Cordura Nylon rod AND REEL case as opposed to the very nice aluminum rod tubes the Z comes with. 4. I have never owned a Z although I have cast them on a few occasions. Tim has owned a few different Z's. Neither of us could tell much difference between the two rods. They are made of the exact same graphite and thus share very similar qualities. Although we could nitpick and find a couple things that felt different to us, we thought that the price difference outweighed any advantages the Z might have by far. If you would have told me that the Flight was a 650 dollar rod I would have totally believed you and also thought that these two rods were obviously in the same category. (does that make any sense?) Bottom line for me is that I am a working man who likes to splurge on fly fishing equipment even though sometimes I shouldn't. If I feel like I need to buy a new rod in the near future I have no reason to spend more than I might spend on the Flight to feel like I am getting a premium rod.

Where, where where? I'm in!

I had my eye on the Hardy, but ended up going with a new Sage Flight 5weight. Apparently they are using the same blanks in it as the Z-Azis in it, pretty excited to try it out. Also I do plan on over weighting it to a 6 to push tandom nymphs and streamers.

I am really thinking about pulling the trigger on a new Hardy rod, or a Grays. Does anyone have any experience with these rods please let me know whaat you think. Or if you would suggest a model that you think is the ultimate Bow River stick? Matt

Depending on your size I have a pair of Orvis pro guide 3 waders that I am willing to sell for a great deal, near half price. They are brand new stilll in the box and have a life time warrenty. As for scierra, I love their reels so much I went back this year to buy a 3-4 weight reel for my dry fly rod. I was told by Wayne at Hansons that Scierra no longer supplies Canada and has scaled back their operations to the UK only. Matt

I just clued into that just then, that's why I erased my reply. Uber is still an ass.