So what’s new and what’s being discontinued
- This topic has 19 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated Aug 28, 2012 at 12:35 pm by
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I see the Sage Circa coming . . . . . the Sage ZXL leaving.
Winston BII-MX on closeout, rumors of a BIII-SX coming soon.
Orvis Helios on sale, is the Helios 2 on its way?
The Loomis website has many new NRX rods.
Scott seems under the radar.
Please expand the list for both new and discontinued.
The ZXL is a nice stick. I don’t think the Circa is aimed at the same end user. Sure, the ZXL will leave the line-up soonish, but I just don’t see it leaving just because the Circa is coming along. The Circa is being built for guys that like classic fiberglass rods casting stroke but not the weight.
Helios 2 is on the way for sure. I’ve seen the photos and video already.
All the major companies have new rods coming but I wouldn’t get overly excited about a jump in tech. The truth is, improvements in resins and tweaks in tapers are about the only tools rod designers have to play with right now. Carbon fiber isn’t changing much; the resins that hold the fibers together improve modestly over time, getting lighter and stronger as new chemical mixes come on the market or old expensive ones become more affordable.
Despite a lot of the marketing hoo-ha you see, probably 90% of the difference from one premium rod line to the next is due to taper changes. It’s actually somewhat arguable whether these are “improvements” versus mere “changes” to meet shifting angler tastes.
Objectively, you need to go back about 6-8 years with premium rods to start seeing measurable differences, and those differences are usually in weight, which has an effect on the rod’s responsiveness. So for example taking Sage, if you compare a 9′ 5 weight XP blank to a current ONE blank, you might see a couple tenths of an ounce in weight difference, which is statistically significant. Comparing a ONE to a Z-Axis is going to be even more marginal than that.
Next big tech jump is likely to be carbon nanotubes because they potentially could allow a rod to survive deflection without the need for as much (or even any) reinforcing scrim, which creates hoop strength (so the blank walls don’t shatter as they ovalize when they’re bent). Currently, carbon nanotubes do not come in lengths great enough to be feasible for use in rods, but science marches on and they potentially will be able to grow them that long down the line. If those get released to the fly rod market we’d see some real Ferraris – super light, very fast action rods which bend deeply into the blank and which would generate very high line speeds while still protecting tippet and being sensitive. That is the holy grail of fly rod design for some applications; a lightning-fast buggy whip, but right now no rod with those properties could survive being cast because the material strength isn’t there yet.
Zach
Helios 2 is new, as is Winston’s BIIISX, Scott’s T3h spey rods (which look like the S4 series), and Sage’s Circa and ONE Elite.
Helios 2 is new, as is Winston’s BIIISX, Scott’s T3h spey rods (which look like the S4 series), and Sage’s Circa and ONE Elite.
SA has a new “Hover” freshwater line, with a sink tip that sits just under the surface for, I think, slick water fisheries. Tim Pommer invented that and his line won best in show for the second year in a row, so definitely congrats to Tim.
Zach
This is nothing new at all. I could show you lines from a half dozen manufacturers at least that does this already. 😉
Brian –
Maybe not the most tactful way to congratulate Tim, but I think you are correct that other INT sink tips have been on the market before. This line as I understand it has the slowest sinking tip ever made so the line won’t actually drop much below the film; it just helps the fly break the surface for like emerger fishing.
Zach,
I think Brian was saying that he’s bought many “floating” lines that did the same thing, but unintentionally. 🙂
JCYes, I was making a joke about the tips of floating lines that don’t float. It was not a dig at Tim’s SA “Hover” fly line.
It’s a pet peeve of mine.
I’ve tried everything I can think of. Cleaning the line, using different line to leader connections, trying to seal the end of the line so water doesn’t wick into the end o the line.
From my understanding is that air pockets, or microballoons, or whatever they are called…are manufactured into the fly fly lines for buoyancy. That’s what makes the line float….it lowers the specific gravity of the line to be less than that of the water. However, with lines being what they are, they have a taper. The tip is thin by design. This means the tip has less volume and that volume doesnt have a lot of those microballoons. This lowers the specific gravity of the tip. This makes it not *as* buoyant as the thicker part of the line. But alas, the line’s taper and thin tip is necessary.
That makes the tip a lot more prone to sinking. Getting crud on the tip will easily weigh down the tip, a fly line to leader connection that is even remotely bulky will sink the tip.
It’s just frustrating when trying to fish a tiny dry to finicky fish and have your efforts usurped by a fly line with a sinking tip.
H2 should be here this Fall (Oct 1?).
Sounds like a “jump” in tech is coming…
The guy at my local Orvis store told me Spring for the H2.
I was surprised, bc I’d expect them to come out before Xmas.
*shrug*
H2 should be here this Fall (Oct 1?).
Sounds like a “jump” in tech is coming…
The guy at my local Orvis store told me Spring for the H2.
I was surprised, bc I’d expect them to come out before Xmas.
*shrug*
The last thing I heard was four models out before Christmas, a lot of the others in January, and the rest coming in April.
Brian –
I think you’re 100% accurate on that, and there’s just not a good engineering solution available to the manufacturers, especially after the lines get a little age (and crud) on them.
So far, the best thing that I have found is the Rio stuff. I use the wonder cloth and Agent X.
First, I scrub the line with some Ivory soap….not detergent. I get it as clean as I can with this method. Then I use the wonder cloth on the line to get it “even cleaner”. The wonder cloth does a good job of scrubbing the line. Then I dry the line and use the Agent X. It’s not perfect, but it gives decent results.
Sometimes I will use some red tin mucilin on the line before I fish. This is to help keeping the line from sinking into the surface film of the water. This is kind of a work-around to the whole buoyancy thing.
Silk line guys have been using red mucilin forever. Silk lines have a higher specific gravity than water. Untreated, they will sink. Using the mucilin on them keeps the line on top of the water.
Keeping the crud off of the line helps a lot. Taking care of the line helps too. Cuts, nicks, and cracks in the line are bad, especially in the tip…..the part that’s going to see the most wear and is also going to wear the quickest. That goes back to what Zach just said, a little age on a line will affect the lines floating performance.
One word of note is to go easy one applying stuff to the line, if you overload the line with the stuff, the line is going to start sinking quickly as the line treatment picks up dirt and crud.
usual disclaimer: I have zero affiliation with any of the products I’ve mentioned.
I use Wullf lines and find them to float pretty well, I clean my line, but no grease, it’s a dirt magnet. I do grease my leader and that helps a lot to have the leader on top, not pulling the tip down. Loon Payette paste is great for leaders, and also for flies. Then when you want the leader to sink rub thoroughly with spit, best way I know.
JCI hear the Scott T3H will be available in September and go for a grand.
This board seems to have more than a few Scott fans.
I use Wullf lines and find them to float pretty well, I clean my line, but no grease, it’s a dirt magnet. I do grease my leader and that helps a lot to have the leader on top, not pulling the tip down. Loon Payette paste is great for leaders, and also for flies. Then when you want the leader to sink rub thoroughly with spit, best way I know.
JCThat’s a good point, Jon. A little floatant on the leader helps to keep it from pulling the tip down. And you’re right about it being a dirt magnet. It has to be used sparingly.
I have three of the Wulff TT lines. They do float decently, but the tips are always the first to go. Some people chop off the first part of the tip. This will help with the sinking tip, but I’m not brave enough to do that. I like the way the fine tip lays out a gentle cast.
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