jack

"I have sat back while you take your shots at Sage and advertise your product line on the chat sites." Never "took shots" at, or have ever discredited the product, Rubin. Please objectively review your perception. But, like it or not, policies and procedures, marketing, et al, are not "above" criticism, no matter how strong the urge is to protect the image. And(just to clarify), I have paid for the advertising banner and "Sponsor's Events/Announcements" on this and one other website because I felt that both of them provide valuable information to fly fishers and that is a good thing to materially support. j

"Sages are made, rolled, finished, etc, etc, right on Bainbridge Island near Seattle. " Of course they are. There is way too much money invested in the design, development and building of those rods, in that facility. No question, even by a critic. "They aren't slapped together in some third world factory with pennies-per-hour labor, loaded by the metric ton into shipping containers, and sent across the ocean. Isn't that statement perpetrating a myth very similar to the "Offshore-built Sage" BS ? The truth is, if someone wants to build well-designed, durable "stuff", no matter what continent, they have to pay their people a fair wage, relative to the the economy where the factory is. Try not to fall for the old "equivalent pay" scenarios that some people project as "truth". If it costs you $100 a day to live and you're making $200 a day income, is that different from a manufacturing job paying the equivalent of $10 a day, if it costs that worker the equivalant of $5 a day to live just as well as you? j

It is "statistically valid" in THAT market. It may not be "valid" where the marketing is not quite as intense or the area has a viable, cost effective, alternative for at least part of that market. Just as one example does not indicate "policy", another example may not be an example of a non-policy, but may be an indication that a policy just isn't working as well as it is somewhere else. j

http://amundson.ca/special_offers.html Now with a 10 year warranty. j

Non-tying comment deleted. :$*%&: j

Just to repeat myself and make it absolutely clear: "They have driven TFO almost completely out of the Wet Coast". My statement was based on first-hand knowledge of the BC market. No where else. j

"Predatory and anti-competitive practices are something entirely different. If you feel that's happening, then contact your attorney general's office to find out how to file a complaint." There are no laws preventing aggressive marketing, none preventing one company from setting their own price. None preventing the arm-twisting and manipulation to place a dealer in a position of dependency. Oil companies do it all the time. It's when they conspire among themselves to set prices that it becomes illegal. j

A bold statement? It's called truth. In spite of the list of "TFO" dealers, try and actually buy one one in the BC Lower Rainland. We can all dream up unlikely scenarios to defend our agendas, but the reality is that the environment is primed for pressure marketing. " I guess Sage feels like they have enough power in the market that they can play hardball with even the small shops." Precisely. And who wouldn't, if the situation was reversed? I'm not bashing Sage, just telling it like it really is. With the acquisition of Redington and Reo, they have broadened their product lines to encompass almost every niche possible. Even selling through big boxes, which only a few years ago was "something we will never do". Remember "Only qualified shops can carry Sage." ?? There is no such thing as "exclusivity" or loyalty anymore. But they do have one hell of an advertising budget/campaign. "If a company is shoved out of a market it is because they are not pushing in the advertising field or because their product is truly inferior and is pushed out by quality." Or it's a closed market. j

Sorry, got sidetracked. That is a stillwater rod. 5wt for normal everyday and the change up to 6wt for punching afternoon winds. I'm not a real fan of two rods, rigged either. Not interested in attaching a second rod to the side of my pontoon(something ELSE to snag a line?) or packing a spare rod down to a river(hell, I pack enough junk around !). Couple of boxes of flies, two reels/lines, some tips and lunch in a pack, that's enough. j

That has been a "Sage Law" for sometime. Cut prices without the Sage OK, and shops can loose their ever-so-treasured Sage dealership. Goes right along with " You aren't a credible fly shop if you don't carry Sage". "As a Sage dealer, you have to carry the full line." And to the consumer: "You haven't reached your full potential unless you have a Sage." It's all about ruthless market control. Prepared by years of propaganda(OK, elitist advertising, then) and now with a weakened economy and competition being somewhat vulnerable, as well as shops being stuck with full inventories, Sage now can apply the pressure to squeeze out the brand variety in shops. They have driven TFO almost completely out of the Wet Coast. One previously successful shop that I know of, fell for the "all Sage" gambit and is now very close to going down the drain. Just doesn't have the variety to supply a wide range of customers, anymore. j

"why would you use/choose a 5 wt vs 6 wt line - bigger fish, throwing nymphs/streamers?! Dry fly and changing to streamers or nymphs, or to combat wind. The idea is a more universal tool, a more delicate 5wt tip and a faster action 6wt tip. Not just a line weight casting ability, but a change of "action" also. The dual tipped rod that was designed last winter is for small streams. It's an 8ft 4pc with two tips, a #3 and a #4. Testing it this summer, #3 was used in early morning with small dries, then when the day heated up and the fish went down, I switched over to the 4wt to high stick czech nymphs and beat the damn interior plateau afternoon winds. j

Oh goody, a fly rod design question!! "Headscan" is correct with regards to AFTMA ratings, although many fly rods "expand the AFTMA envelope", especially with fly rods over 9' in length. "Ratings" and even the "Common Cents" scale fall down due to a lack of updating to the parameters. Most fly rods that are dual rated, (example: a 5/6wt) will maintain their action, without a noticeable change in loading and recovery with a lower weight WF line and a higher weight DT line. Most dual weight rods do not "overline" very well and tend to collapse under a real push while overlined. I personally despise dual rated rods, there is just no need for it. My design preference is to create a rod with two different tip sections, one rated a lower weight and one rated higher(patent pending, by the way). That way the rod can provide optimum performance for both weights. j

It's a back and forth jabbing by friends. Wolfie is originally from "Fantasy Island"(Vancouver Island) so us far-superior "Mainlanders" are honour-bound to flog them every now and then. j

j

RUN !! RUN LIKE THE WIND !! Seriously, don't buy a "kit". Buy individual components that suit you and your hands. j

If it is Coho thou art seeking: j

j

It's not there. Stop looking. I will post a MSRP List once the dealer booking process is complete and we know what all is actually going into production. j

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1gdy0/Amu...010-Fly-Fishing j

As others have said, too much weight and length. You've overloaded the rod and it's collapsing during your forecast. Try the WF line, no tip. Long leader(1.5 times the vertical depth required) with your clouser. Sloooooow your cast down, allow the rod to load and do not try a "gun it" during the casting stroke. j

And that is a story for another time. It involves four guys meeting in Vancouver Airport, one idiot yelling "HI JACK !!" and all of us being "attended to" by security, and we were all "packing" !! j

The point is that, although "regulations" are "there" somewhere in the long list of thou shalt and thou shalt not, the application of those regs are somewhat discretionary. I wore a hat flying from Vancouver to Las Vegas (US Airways/Westjet return) with a large, prominent fly attached( "Professor" #8) to the front. Nobody blinked. However, on my next flight from our one airline, one runway, 2 flights a day, small town "airport" I was stopped by security and had to remove the fly from my hat, in order to board the Dash 8. So, I can see where people can be confused as to what the rules are. Besides, this is not about the flies, it's about missing her flight. And it is something we can do to negate the antics of a couple of "authority figures". Having spent a considerable amount of my working life in law enforcement, most of the time(no not all) I managed to subscribe to: "Let common sense prevail". I tend to think that in this case, there was a failure to communicate, probably on both "sides". j

Rethought my previous idea and am sending 4 fly boxes. I bit more "theme friendly" it seems to me. j

Japanese(wife's family) fishing boats out of Vancouver bring back loads of them. Cut the tentacles into 1' chunks, slice open, remove the sinew vein, pound it with a mallet, boil in water/soy sauce with a dash of vinegar.............. yummy ! j

Is it safe to assume that someone has her mailing address? If so, I would like it, please. I think Amundson can come up with something to throw those gifted flies with. j