$35 handling fee. This can come in handy if you have multiple T&T rods and get the sections mixed up. The feel was also superb, giving me confidence in the direction of my cast. I’m getting nice loops but the Scott rods were better. I’ve fished this Zephrus myself for the past two years, and it has been my go-to rod when I’m fishing small dries, emergers and spinners in the surface film. Here are my top two choices for the best all-around 5-weight rod: Here is a fantastic new rod that can do it all! Pick any rod here that we rated a 9.5 or better and you have a winner! The epoxy coatings on the wraps were excellent. $75 handling fee. When I first cast the new SKY G, I was amazed at how light and responsive the new Sky G was compared to the older version. The gray uplocking reel seat is solid anodized aluminum with a sliding band and two locking rings that were easy to grip and tighten. Winston produces all these components themselves at their factory in Twin Bridges Montana. We decided it was time for another 4-weight Shootout, since a great 4-weight rod is hard to beat for the angler that loves to fish smaller dry flies. The 7’9” rod has a nice medium fast action, while this 8’ 9” model is far slower – much more of a medium action rod. The weight hampered the kind of feel I was getting compared with the best rods and the accuracy was nothing to write home about. There are a few 8 foot and shorter rods as well as a few 9-foot rods in the mix, especially when manufacturers don’t offer an 8 ½ foot model. The lack of butt and mid-section power hurt a lot at long range. Like the Zephrus, casting off the tip of the rod was easy and fun and I was getting very delicate, precise presentations. With more line in the air I’m getting nice loops and good accuracy. The cork is a stack of thin rings, and the quality of the cork is excellent. For this Shootout, we again checked the warranty policies in detail, as some have changed slightly. It comes in very close to our mid-price winner, the Hardy Shadow. Don’t fret about the price – you’ll find some ingenious way to sneak it into your collection of rods without the mrs. (or mr.) finding out. Three thin coats of epoxy are applied to the wraps, rather than a thick one-coat like so many other manufacturers use. This is the best way to examine the action of each rod – the faster action rods have tips that bend more, with stiffer butt and mid sections, while the more medium action rods will have softer butt and mid sections and stiffer tips. There is no hook keeper and there is a SIC stripping guide, followed with what we felt were very large hard chrome snake guides. For guides, there is a hook keeper just above the handle, and then one SiC stripping guide followed by hard chrome snake guides. This is one of the best rods at long range. Mid-priced rods, like the Fenwick Fenlite Streamflex at $339.95, the Beulah Guide Series II at $295.00 and the Douglas DXF at $395.00 all put in impressive performances in the Power Rods category. Slower action rods with a heavy swing weight are not much fun to cast and as you’ll see the performance figures for this rod are dismal. This is an absolutely gorgeous rod, and along with the T&T rods, the Winston rods get a perfect score for craftsmanship. Knowing the new NRX+ is even tougher than the old one is very good news. Now I’m getting nice tight loops and I can punch it hard into the breeze. We have found that the only good way to pin down these subtle differences is to have at least a half dozen of the contending rods with the line stripped out and sitting there in front of you on the lawn, so that you can take a few casts with one rod, lay it down and pick up another rod, and make a few casts at the same distance, make some notes and then move on to another rod or the next distance. Rods are repaired or replaced. It is a very smooth rod to cast and was excellent at short and mid-distances, but at the longest distance the Radian, Helios 3F, and Avantt were much better. Broken sections are replaced. In our important swing weight category, this rod was one of the worst. However, the 8-foot Aetos turned in much higher scores in several categories, including performance at 25 feet, swing weight and light tippet protection. Both the Trout and MPX lines shoot like crazy and have proven to be more durable and longer lasting than other lines we have fished over the years. The cork is excellent, and Douglas uses darker contrasting composite cork rings at both the top and bottom of the grip. $35 handling fee. A small hook keeper is used. The cork handle is a half wells design with some fancy cork rings at the bottom. On nice days when had little wind, we did the casting outside on our lawn here at the shop. The epoxy coatings over the wraps are very good but a little heavy in spots, as around the feet of the guides. The finish is a bright medium olive, with darker brown wraps. Performance at 40 feet – 20 points available. The rings on the seat were fairly large and easy to tighten, giving a secure lock up. If you look at the performance scores, you’ll see that the Aetos finished in 11th place here also. The quality of cork was excellent. When we first saw this new rod from Hardy, we all had two impressions:  1. I really expected to see this new G Series 4-weight challenge the best rods. These come in two models, the Amplitude Smooth Trout, which is a standard size line, and the Amplitude Smooth Infinity, which is a half line size heavier. A great 4-weight rod is the best tool I’ve found to meet these demands. This same Expeditor service applies to the Asquith but the fee is $250 for 2nd day air. Yellowstone Anglers’ half-century of fly shop and fly rod experience makes these annual lists invaluable. I love how easily I can cast off the tip of the rod with a flick of my wrist. Then it will cast and perform much better. For sure, one of the best presentation rods at 45 feet. Then there is the matter of excessive bias which this review, like all Yellowstone Angler's reviews, is littered with. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one relatively small silver SiC stripping guide, followed with hard chrome single-foot guides. Both offer terrific performance at half the price of the best rods in our Shootout. We stand by our methodology since most anglers that take the time to give us their feedback have agreed with our opinions. For the price, it can’t be beat. $25 handling fee on current rods. The quality of the cork is not so hot though, and a lot of filler is present. A real let down after the terrific performance I was getting with the Pure. To see how James, Logan, Francis, and Chloe ranked each rod click on the smaller charts at the bottom. share. This 5-weight will be a pleasant rod to fish all day, especially with dry flies. The quality of epoxy coatings on the guide wraps was excellent and almost the equal of the T&T rods. I did like the flat, non-glare black finish used on the blank. Some good alignment dots and lines are used. If you want to economize, look carefully at both the Hardy Shadow at $349.95 and the Orvis Recon at $429.00. I gave it perfect scores at 25 feet and 45 feet, but at 70 feet it still turned in an impressive performance that wasn’t far off the best Power rods. In all, one of the best guide set ups we’ve seen. A little waggle helps you to feel this. If Orvis determines that there was a defect, the rod will be repaired or replaced at no additional charge. There is no question that the Aetos is the best performing inexpensive rod in our whole Shootout! Anyway, they just released their 2018 8wt shootout. I love the light swing weight. Personally I don’t care much for the five inches of white just above the cork handle but this has been the Helios 3 trademark and I think that Orvis feels that it will help the rods visibility on the rod rack in fly shops or out on the stream. Each chart gives you a good look at how the tip section, (approximately the top half of the rod) bends and compares to other rods. But the stiffness of this rod and its heavy swing weight hurt the performance scores, especially at the shorter distances. We have found that faster action rods with softer tips give you better feel, improved accuracy, and more delicate presentations, especially at closer distances. Casting accuracy is one of the biggest factors we use in rating these rods, and at short distances accuracy and feel are critical components in obtaining the top scores. The Pure is unquestionably one of the best looking rods in our Shootout, with some of the best craftsmanship. I also like the handle design – it tapers outward, allowing you to quickly get and maintain a solid grip. It gave me impressive feel and accuracy at all distances. Performance at 40 feet: 19.5 points out of 20. Only out long did I feel at a disadvantage to the best rods and I think part of this was due to the lighter Trout line. The reel seat is a simple gray anodized double uplocking, solid aluminum seat with sliding band. The stiffer tip is not giving me any feel and the accuracy is terrible. It’s somewhat embarrassing for a $1000 rod to finish below one that costs only $198.00, but there are some good reasons for this. The reel seat is an unusual, triangular shaped silver anodized seat with no spacer. To read each staff member’s casting notes and performance finishing order, please click on their photo above. The best rods certainly need to handle this distance easily, but most anglers are buying a 4-weight rod for fishing at closer distances, which puts the emphasis on 25 to 40 foot casts. Handling '' rods for freshwater anglers red, ( and heavier ) Sintrix 220 different. Track perfectly is on the testing into two divisions: Presentation rods suited. About any rod here that we can attest to this as these shoot! And nymphs top manufacturers using the diameter is just too stiff for a less expensive rods do cast well the! 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