Post by castlikeaghille on Mar 25, 2007 9:50:40 GMT
The 15' 1" # 10 Sage European was rated by many people as the finest all round carbon double handed salmon rod built to date. Judging by the number of experienced and skilled anglers who fish with them, actions speak louder than words.
So when Sage announced they were going to replace it with something that sounds like a cross between geometry and a 1930's fascist movement, I, for one, was sceptical. Arm and a Leg let me wave one around in Gamefish a few months ago, but it didn't exactly feel like making love to a beautiful woman.
Roll on a couple of months and JD a life long user of B&W, Hardy and other agricultural equipment had rashly gone out and bought a 15' Z Axis. "I don't like it he says" - lets give it a workout say I. So here is the outcome.
Finish
Nobody, but nobody builds and finishes top end fishing rods to the consistent standard of Sage. The fact they do it in such huge numbers makes it all the more staggering. The Z Axis won't let you down. The blank is greenbottle finished with subtle green edged ties. The cork handle and butt is full wells to the top, with the shooting head ridge on the butt section. As ever, the cork is immaculate.
First minor criticism. The reel seat is black anodized aluminum with the usual uplocking double locked fitting. Except they have replaced the original cylindrical fitting with a bolt nut type profile. This is presumably to give more grip in tightening the the seat. However, it actually makes fitting it onto the back end of the reel much harder. Hint for those who've never used a Sage before, it is much easier to put the reel on upside down turning the handle so the reel seat is facing up.
As for rings, there are the two line stripping rings followed by snakes and a hayfork unlined tip. This is a pretty standard spec for a sage double hander. As other manufacturers copy to the exact millimeter the number and spacing of Sage rings we'll call imitation the sincerest form of flattery - no complaints from me.
Big Breakthrough?
Now onto the big Sage claims. Yes the rod is about half an ounce lighter than the 15' 1" European. However, it is also 1" shorter so there's a weight saving there requiring no brilliant design breakthrough. As any shotgun shooter will tell you, it's not the weight that matters it is the balance. The Z Axis with a Super Series 12 Abel threaded balances perfectly at the end of the rod handle with one finger.
Right so we have established it looks good, has a silly new reel seat fitting and beautiful balance - albeit no noticeable difference in weight. Not exactly good reasons for spending 700 quids on a rod. Onto more important things.
The rod is deceptive. Naturally, the action flexs deep into the butt, and the rod has been designed for people who power the cast through the bottom hand. However, when you watch it cast all the move ment is in the top third of the rod, and it recovers with a speed more akin to the TCR than the European (although apart from build quality that is where any menaingful similarity ends). I say deceptive because when you give it a shake in a shop it feels quite soft.
How Does it Fish?
Ok, jury is out at this point. Lets put a line on it. First go is with a 10/11 Hardy Mach II (70' head). The rod could lift the whole head and shoot the whole line with a reasonably tight loop. That says a lot about a rod's usability for a first cast. I was generally surprised it could lift a 70' head and there was a reserve of power that could be easily unleashed without a recourse to the shoulder Gillie style. Mind you, Jammy Dodger felt the 70' head was a little much for him. I would say the majority of casters would get on better with a Snowbee 2D floater.
Speaking of which, we didn't have the floater with us, but we did have the 2D 10/11 sinktip. Same result as the Mach II. First Cast, lifted the whole head and out went the whole line...sweet. This did surprise me because, I've tended to find the 10/11 2D ST a little heavy on some rods.
Next came the Jocky Menteith. I just knew by now this would be a foregone conclusion. Type six tip, black marker just outside the the tip, load, aim, fire....bang out went 35 yards with perfect turnover nae problem pal (although I couldn't manage the whole line as I can with my TCR).
Finally we had a guide line shooting head. That was fine, except for the usual problem with shooting heads. You have to fine tune them to the individual rod. The Guide Line was too light. On shooting heads generally, don't waste yer money on Guide Line or Rio sets at £100 + each. Buy the Shakey Worcster Heads from Malarkys or Tackle Bargains. They are 18m long double taper. Cut off two yards and using 50lbs braid, create a large loop and whip and acquasure them on. On the TCR I use 16m of AFTM 12. Absolutely superb, and my three heads cost less than 45 quids. You can buy the brilliant loop Orange running line from Tackle Bargains for the price of a pint. Guideline and Rio etc are too short for spey casting, and whatever you do don't by a 10/11 head for a 10/11 rod, it won't load it unless you do what Collie Dog does and sticks his Rio 15 tips on the end. Even then you will have to build a stiff loop at the shooting head tip by stripping the coating and doubling back the core or you will have hinging.
Conclusion?
Now where were we, oh yes the Z Axis. So would I trade in my TCRs for one? No, although see confession below. But should you buy one? Well here's what I think.
I was genuinely surprised by how well this rod performed. I think it is marginally better than the European in that Sage engineers have done work on dampening the blank so it recovers quicker and is less bumpy - this rod cast the lines I used on it like I was waving a wand. Unlike in the shop real life casting was much like making love to a beautiful woman and cheaper in the long run
We also have two unknowns; or do we? Would the rod work ok with a heavy full sunk line and a big tube? Why anyone in this day and age is wasting their time with intermediates and wet twos when mutli-tips and shooting heads will out perform them every time is a total mystery to me. The rod can more than handle both of these so the question is irrelevant for me. As for big flies, anyone using a three inch brass tube must be a masochist. You can obtain the same profile and depth so much more effectively using new lines and fly profiles that don't cast like a folding ruler.
And that, gentlemen, is the nub. This isn't a rod built for people who fish with the methods and styles of 20 years ago. This is a rod designed for 21st century casting techniques, lines and styles. If you don't adopt them then this rod won't work for you. If you do this rod is majestic; a high performance machine with the quality of forgiveness. I have to secretly admit I absolutley loved it, and if I wasn't already married...
If you own a 15' 1" European I doubt it is worth rushing out to trade-in. If you don't, and want to move up to owning a thoroughly modern all round rod, give this very serious consideration.
For more info, give Arm and a Leg at Gamefish (Auld Reekie) a call - he soemtimes has demo rods.
Regardez
CLaG
PS - the other unknown is what it will be like to play a fuish as we couldn't manage that on Test
However, given the hidden reserves of power and upper third action I'd be surprise dif it was any different to the standard European
So when Sage announced they were going to replace it with something that sounds like a cross between geometry and a 1930's fascist movement, I, for one, was sceptical. Arm and a Leg let me wave one around in Gamefish a few months ago, but it didn't exactly feel like making love to a beautiful woman.
Roll on a couple of months and JD a life long user of B&W, Hardy and other agricultural equipment had rashly gone out and bought a 15' Z Axis. "I don't like it he says" - lets give it a workout say I. So here is the outcome.
Finish
Nobody, but nobody builds and finishes top end fishing rods to the consistent standard of Sage. The fact they do it in such huge numbers makes it all the more staggering. The Z Axis won't let you down. The blank is greenbottle finished with subtle green edged ties. The cork handle and butt is full wells to the top, with the shooting head ridge on the butt section. As ever, the cork is immaculate.
First minor criticism. The reel seat is black anodized aluminum with the usual uplocking double locked fitting. Except they have replaced the original cylindrical fitting with a bolt nut type profile. This is presumably to give more grip in tightening the the seat. However, it actually makes fitting it onto the back end of the reel much harder. Hint for those who've never used a Sage before, it is much easier to put the reel on upside down turning the handle so the reel seat is facing up.
As for rings, there are the two line stripping rings followed by snakes and a hayfork unlined tip. This is a pretty standard spec for a sage double hander. As other manufacturers copy to the exact millimeter the number and spacing of Sage rings we'll call imitation the sincerest form of flattery - no complaints from me.
Big Breakthrough?
Now onto the big Sage claims. Yes the rod is about half an ounce lighter than the 15' 1" European. However, it is also 1" shorter so there's a weight saving there requiring no brilliant design breakthrough. As any shotgun shooter will tell you, it's not the weight that matters it is the balance. The Z Axis with a Super Series 12 Abel threaded balances perfectly at the end of the rod handle with one finger.
Right so we have established it looks good, has a silly new reel seat fitting and beautiful balance - albeit no noticeable difference in weight. Not exactly good reasons for spending 700 quids on a rod. Onto more important things.
The rod is deceptive. Naturally, the action flexs deep into the butt, and the rod has been designed for people who power the cast through the bottom hand. However, when you watch it cast all the move ment is in the top third of the rod, and it recovers with a speed more akin to the TCR than the European (although apart from build quality that is where any menaingful similarity ends). I say deceptive because when you give it a shake in a shop it feels quite soft.
How Does it Fish?
Ok, jury is out at this point. Lets put a line on it. First go is with a 10/11 Hardy Mach II (70' head). The rod could lift the whole head and shoot the whole line with a reasonably tight loop. That says a lot about a rod's usability for a first cast. I was generally surprised it could lift a 70' head and there was a reserve of power that could be easily unleashed without a recourse to the shoulder Gillie style. Mind you, Jammy Dodger felt the 70' head was a little much for him. I would say the majority of casters would get on better with a Snowbee 2D floater.
Speaking of which, we didn't have the floater with us, but we did have the 2D 10/11 sinktip. Same result as the Mach II. First Cast, lifted the whole head and out went the whole line...sweet. This did surprise me because, I've tended to find the 10/11 2D ST a little heavy on some rods.
Next came the Jocky Menteith. I just knew by now this would be a foregone conclusion. Type six tip, black marker just outside the the tip, load, aim, fire....bang out went 35 yards with perfect turnover nae problem pal (although I couldn't manage the whole line as I can with my TCR).
Finally we had a guide line shooting head. That was fine, except for the usual problem with shooting heads. You have to fine tune them to the individual rod. The Guide Line was too light. On shooting heads generally, don't waste yer money on Guide Line or Rio sets at £100 + each. Buy the Shakey Worcster Heads from Malarkys or Tackle Bargains. They are 18m long double taper. Cut off two yards and using 50lbs braid, create a large loop and whip and acquasure them on. On the TCR I use 16m of AFTM 12. Absolutely superb, and my three heads cost less than 45 quids. You can buy the brilliant loop Orange running line from Tackle Bargains for the price of a pint. Guideline and Rio etc are too short for spey casting, and whatever you do don't by a 10/11 head for a 10/11 rod, it won't load it unless you do what Collie Dog does and sticks his Rio 15 tips on the end. Even then you will have to build a stiff loop at the shooting head tip by stripping the coating and doubling back the core or you will have hinging.
Conclusion?
Now where were we, oh yes the Z Axis. So would I trade in my TCRs for one? No, although see confession below. But should you buy one? Well here's what I think.
I was genuinely surprised by how well this rod performed. I think it is marginally better than the European in that Sage engineers have done work on dampening the blank so it recovers quicker and is less bumpy - this rod cast the lines I used on it like I was waving a wand. Unlike in the shop real life casting was much like making love to a beautiful woman and cheaper in the long run
We also have two unknowns; or do we? Would the rod work ok with a heavy full sunk line and a big tube? Why anyone in this day and age is wasting their time with intermediates and wet twos when mutli-tips and shooting heads will out perform them every time is a total mystery to me. The rod can more than handle both of these so the question is irrelevant for me. As for big flies, anyone using a three inch brass tube must be a masochist. You can obtain the same profile and depth so much more effectively using new lines and fly profiles that don't cast like a folding ruler.
And that, gentlemen, is the nub. This isn't a rod built for people who fish with the methods and styles of 20 years ago. This is a rod designed for 21st century casting techniques, lines and styles. If you don't adopt them then this rod won't work for you. If you do this rod is majestic; a high performance machine with the quality of forgiveness. I have to secretly admit I absolutley loved it, and if I wasn't already married...
If you own a 15' 1" European I doubt it is worth rushing out to trade-in. If you don't, and want to move up to owning a thoroughly modern all round rod, give this very serious consideration.
For more info, give Arm and a Leg at Gamefish (Auld Reekie) a call - he soemtimes has demo rods.
Regardez
CLaG
PS - the other unknown is what it will be like to play a fuish as we couldn't manage that on Test
However, given the hidden reserves of power and upper third action I'd be surprise dif it was any different to the standard European
. No wonder they blow up; it's like using a Porsche to tow a large caravan 
